'No, he's just struggling like a nightmare we can't wake him up from. Micah and his parents are in with him now. Why would you ask if he said anything?'

'Ares was possessed just by being bitten with the rotting disease. I wondered if it would work the same way on regular people.'

'Wouldn't Micah's dad have manifested some sort of weirdness by now if it worked that way on humans?' Nathaniel asked.

'Probably me being paranoid. Do you recognize any of the cops in the hallway? Anyone who I've met since we landed and who didn't hate me on sight?'

'Having more trouble with the local police?' Nathaniel asked.

'A little, but I really need to talk to someone there right now if possible.'

'Anita, what's wrong?'

I had to swallow past a lump in my throat as I said, 'They stored the vampire bodies in the morgue there, along with the zombie parts.'

'They didn't burn them?' he asked. That was my boyfriend; he knew more than Hatfield did.

'No,' I said.

'Why not?'

'Fire hazard in the woods, and later I don't know. Do you recognize anyone in the hallway?'

'Deputy Al is here.'

'Good, can you put him on?'

'I love you, and you'll explain everything later,' he said.

'I love you, too, and yes, I will.'

He didn't argue, he just did what I needed. I loved him, but in that moment I loved him even more. The next thing I heard was his voice, distant, saying, 'It's Anita, she needs to talk to you.'

'Hey, Anita, what's up? Your boyfriend here has a serious face on him.'

I explained about the vampire bodies and zombie bits being in the morgue. Deputy Al said, 'The fire hazard makes burning anything in the forests too dangerous.'

'I accept that, but ... Al, Captain Jonas can't get anyone to answer the morgue extension. He's trying to get someone in the hospital admin to let him send someone to check on it without panicking anyone. I don't care about that, I just want someone I trust to see if the dead vampires stayed dead. I'm not sure if the zombie bits will be moving around, but it's the rotting vampires that I'm most concerned about.'

'We blew them to hell, Anita. Brain, spine, heart, all splattered. That's dead for a vamp, according to most of you marshals.'

'It is for most vampires, but rotting vamps are different, much harder to kill. Fire is the only sure thing, and even then I'd deposit the ashes in different bodies of running water.'

'Really?' he said, and sounded skeptical.

'Look, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but if there is even the faintest chance I'm right, then the vampires have been walking around down there for a while. I have no idea how long it took for them to heal the damage we did to them, but by now, if they can heal it and walk again, they will be.'

'Now you're scaring me.'

'Good, you should be scared,' I said.

'Shit, okay, I'll grab a couple of other men from up here and we'll go check in with hospital security and see if the morgue is full of dead people or not-so-dead people.'

'Thanks, Al, and watch your back.'

'Always,' he said. 'I'll give you back to Nathaniel.'

Then Nathaniel was on the phone again. 'I heard enough. So you think they killed everyone in the morgue.'

'It's a possibility, and I'd rather be paranoid and wrong than reasonable and really wrong. You and Micah be careful. Who's with you for bodyguards?'

There was a knock on the door and a uniform finally came through with an ice bag wrapped in paper towels. I took it, because they'd gone to the trouble, but I'd actually forgotten my face hurt. I had to use my right hand to hold the ice in place since I was using my left for the phone.

'Bram and Socrates. Micah sent everyone else home to get some sleep.'

'Shit,' I said.

'What?' Nathaniel said.

'I'd just like you and Micah to have more than two guards with you, that's all.'

Edward held up his car keys and just raised his eyebrows. I nodded, and we headed for the door.

'I'm not done with you, Blake,' Jonas called.

'You can yell at me later, and yell at me more if I'm wrong about the morgue. If I'm right, we don't have time to wait.'

'They're sending hospital security down to check,' Jonas said.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. 'What's their security armed with?'

He asked the person on the phone. 'They don't know. They say the guns are black. Does that help?'

'Shit, did you have someone who doesn't know guns at all send security down to the morgue? Do they have any idea what they're walking into?'

'They aren't walking into anything,' Hatfield said. 'I did my job.'

'I hope you're right, Hatfield. God knows I hope you're right.'

Edward said, 'Captain, with respect, talk to someone on security personally and warn them, or they'll just be more bodies.'

Jonas hung up and redialed. 'I know an ex-cop on their security; I'll call him.'

I opened the door and said, 'Good.' I wasn't sure Jonas had heard me, and I know I didn't care.

Hatfield yelled after us from the open door. 'There's nothing wrong at the hospital. I did my damn job!'

Edward and I both ignored her. We'd pick up Dev and Nicky from the front of the station and head to the hospital. If I was wrong, we'd get down there and look silly, but if I was right, people would already be dying, or dead. If I was right, Micah and Nathaniel were just a few floors up from half a dozen rogue vampires and a whole bunch of zombie parts that would do their best to tear people to pieces. God, I hoped I was wrong.