Iam wide awake. And I need to do something about this thirst.

No. It was more than thirst. Her stomach growled. Hungry a Starving.

I feel empty, completely empty. I have such a powerful craving.

Craving a for what?

In the rectangle of moonlight, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Then she crept barefoot to the stairway. Down the stairs, so lightly the floorboards didnat squeak once. To the kitchen door and out into the cool, clear night.

Crickets chirped loudlya"pounding in her earsa"as if the volume had been cranked up. All of her senses alive and alert now.

Heart pounding, Destiny followed her hungera"around the side of the house, past the garden hose left tangled on the ground, past a clump of tall weeds, past Mikeyas silver scooter

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beside the driveway.

Such a strange, powerful craving. Her mouth watering now. The back of her neck prickly and cold.

She began to jog, bare feet slapping the dew- wet grass.

She stopped when she saw the rabbit hunched at the side of the driveway. Its ears perked up. It stiffened, then froze in place.

Destiny dropped to her hands and knees in the grass.

She swallowed hard. She tried to force down her hunger. But her whole body ached with it.

Slowly, slowly, she began crawling over the grass.

Iam hunting a hunting like an animal.

Why am I doing this? I love little bunnies. I want to learn to take care of little bunniesa"like Dad.

I love them. Yes, I love them.

Love them.

Love them.

She pounced.

The rabbit let out a weak squeal as Destiny grabbed it around its middle. As she tightened her hands around it, she could feel its heart

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thudding, feel its warmth in her cold hands, feel its chest heaving up and down.

I love bunnies.

I love bunnies.

Iam so hungry.

She stretched the rabbit out, baring the pink skin of its belly. She raised the soft belly to her moutha"

a"and someone elseas hands grabbed at the head. Someone elseas hands tugged the rabbit away from her.

aNO!a Destiny whispered. She pulled the wheezing rabbit back with a hard, desperate tuga"and raised her eyesa .

aLivvya"no!a aGive a it a back.a Livvy grabbed its ears and pulled.

The rabbit let out a final squeal.

Destiny had it by the middle. She lowered her head and sank her teeth into the soft, warm flesh.

The rabbit jerked, then went limp.

And both girls buried their faces in the warm body, and fed a fed so hungrily on the warm blood a satisfied the craving, the new craving, their frightening new hunger.

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Destiny heard a rustling in the trees.

Was someone there?

She didnat care. She had to drink. She couldnat stop.

Finally, the rabbit corpse lay like a crumpled bag in their hands. Destiny heaved it into the hedges. She felt the thick, warm blood rolling down her cheeks, her chin.

Still on all fours, she stared at her sister.

Panting hard. The sweet metallic taste on her tongue, on her lips.

Like an animal, she thought. Like a wild beast.

A hoarse groan escaped from Destinyas lips.

And then finally, she found her voice. aLivvy,a she whispered. aLivvy, what has happened to us?a

Part Three.

Chapter Ten.

aWeall Get Back to Normala A short while later, Destiny and Livvy were in the long T-shirts they slept in, standing awkwardly across from each other in their room.

Destiny had turned on all the lightsa"the lamps, the ceiling lights, even the desk lampa"fright-ened that the darkness might swallow them up or turn them into creatures again.

aI a donat know what to say,a she whis- pered.

aOh, Destiny!a Livvy cried, and flung her arms around her sister. She pressed her face against Destinyas cheek and let her tears fall with her sisteras.

aIam so scared,a Livvy said, when they finally let go of each other. aThat was so a horrible.a Destiny pulled Livvy over to her bed. They sat down together. Livvy clasped her hands tightly in her lap. Destiny kept rubbing her face.

She had taken a long, hot shower. Had she

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washed all the blood away?

aIam not sure what happened out there,a she said. aI just suddenly felt so hungry.a aMe too,a Livvy whispered. aIt was like a I couldnat help myself. I couldnat stop myself.a Destiny nodded. She bit her lip to keep more tears from coming.

aWe killed that little rabbit,a Livvy said, tugging at her long, wet hair. aWe ripped it apart, Dee, and wea"we drank aa Her voice faded.

Destiny didnat reply. She stared hard at a spot on her sisteras neck. aLet me see that.a She scooted closer and brushed a tangle of Livvyas hair out of the way.

aDee, what is it?a aA little red mark.a Destiny rubbed her finger over it. aA tiny scab.a aOh my God!a Livvy whispered. aDee, youave got one too.a Destiny uttered a soft cry. They stared at each other, the two sisters suddenly so close, yet each lost in their own horrifying thoughts.

Tiny throat wounds a the overwhelming urge to feed on animal blood a Arias story about vampires loose in the woods a animals drained of their blood a

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The terrifying worda" vampirea"hung silently between them. Destiny refused to say it.

aItas the virus,a Destiny said, breaking the silence. She coiled her hair around her finger, tangling it and untangling it. aThatas it.a aVirus? What are you talking about? You mean the virus Ana-Li was talking about?a Destiny nodded. aWe caught it.a aI guess thatas possible,a Livvy said, shaking her head. aBut I donat feel sick. Do you?a aNo,a Destiny whispered. aBut these marks on our necks a maybe we should talk to Ari,a she said, thinking out loud. aWe could swear him to secrecy, anda"a aAre you crazy?a Livvy jumped to her feet.

aWe canat tell anyone what we did. Itas so a sick. It has to be a secret. We canat let anyone know.a aBut Ari knows about these things,a Destiny argued. aYou heard him tonight, talking about the deer in the woods. Heas a total expert on everything strange happening in the world.a aDee, Ari lives in a total fantasy world. He spends all his time at the movies and on Star Trek websites. He is a sci-fi geek. He thinks half the teachers in school are werewolves and zombies!a

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aOkay, okay.a Destiny motioned for Livvy to lower her voice. aSit down. Iam just saying he knows a lot of stuff. I donat know who else could help usa"do you?a aWell aa Livvy lowered her head, thinking.

aMaybe Dr. Curtis? If it is a virus, he woulda"a aNo way,a Destiny interrupted. aWe canat go to our family doctor. Head tell Dad.a aOh. Youare right.a aAnd we canat tell Dad,a Destiny whispered, glancing to the stairs. aWe canat let him and Mikey know. Dad is still messed up over Mom. Itas been six months, and heas not getting any better.

He seems really depressed. It scares me. He doesnat need any more bad news. I think it would just put him over the edge. And Mikey aa aMikey has changed too,a Livvy said. aHe never used to be so skittish. This afternoon, a cat wandered into the yard, and Mikey ran into the house. He never was afraid of cats or dogs. It was sad to see him run away like that.a aHe never used to spend so much time in his room,a Destiny said. aMikey is definitely very troubled. We have to be careful, Liv. We canat let Mikey know about us. We donat want to scare him.a

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aScare him?a Livvy whispered. aIam scared, Dee. Iam really, really scared.a Her body seemed to crumple, her shoulders shook, and she began to sob.

Destiny wrapped her in a tight hug. aWeall get back to normal, Liv,a she whispered. aWe wonat let it happen again. Weall find a way. I know we will.a But a terrifying thought lingered in her mind: What if we donat?

What if we donat?

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