That afternoon, Joe ditched school and went home. His head was throbbing and he couldn’t concentrate. When school had let out, Frank had come home and fussed over them. He got them whatever they needed so they could relax.  

At sunset, the phone rang. Frank answered the phone and a moment later, he put it down. He turned and left the house.  

Joe looked at Nancy. He said, “It’s time to go.”  

Nancy got to her feet. “It’s time for this to end.”  

Nancy and Joe left the house. They went to the apartment building. They got in the elevator and went up to the 12^th floor. They went down the hall and used the stairs to get to the 13^th floor.  

Reaching the 13^th floor, Joe slowly opened the door. They made their way inside. They looked around the room. There was no sign of Frank anywhere. There was very little in the room. There was a couch covered with dust, but nothing else. Nancy tried to recall the previous evening. She looked at the doorway. She knew that was where she had seen Frank.  

“Joe,” Nancy said softly. “Let’s go toward the door.”  

Joe nodded and led the way. They peeked around the doorway. The hallway was empty except for dozens of candles lined up along the floor. They moved silently into the hall. They stopped quickly when they heard some movement at the other end.  

Nancy looked at Joe, who was looking at her over his shoulder. Both of them heard voices. They easily recognized Frank’s voice. There was another voice, a female voice, talking to him. They made their way down the hall. They moved past the kitchen. There was a door on the other side of the hall.  

They heard the female voice speak. “It’s time for you to join me. Then we will be together forever.”  

“I’m ready to join you,” Frank said evenly. “We will be together forever.”  

Nancy and Joe looked at one another. They both noticed Frank’s voice seemed dazed. Nancy leaned close to his ear. She said softly, “We need to get in there.”  

Joe nodded his head. They moved to the door. Joe pushed the door open. The room was filled with candles. They saw Frank stretched out on a bed. A woman, with long, black hair, that neither of them recognized, was kissing his neck. Frank’s face was pale.  

Joe ran at the woman. He knocked her off Frank onto the floor. He watched her mouth fall open. He could see her fangs. Her fangs were dripping with blood. Joe said, “You’re a vampire.”