Bauer? A vampire hunter? It sounds crazy.a Ari shrugged. aNot that crazy. People talk about him. How he got weird after his wife died last spring. You remember. He had to take a leave from school.a aGive him a break,a Destiny said. aThe poor manas wife died. So he needed time off for a while. Ari, this kind of gossip is just ugly. My dad hasnat been the same since my mom died.

Do you want to start rumors about him too? I donat think you can blame Coach Bauer for being upset.a aBut the whole thing was strange. My family and I went to the funeral. It was a closed-casket funeral. My mom said that was very odd.

Mrs. Bauer died of a heart attack. So why wasnat the casket open?a Destiny shook her head. aIam sorry. This is too dumb. Maybe itas a family tradition to keep the caskets closed. There could be a hundred reasons, Ari.a aBut thereas more,a Ari insisted. aPeople said that after his wife died, they saw Bauer trapping rabbits and squirrels behind his house.

He set out these traps all over his backyard, and he caught animals in them.a

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Destiny squinted at him. aFor what? Why would he do that?a Ari shrugged again. aBeats me. Iam just telling you what I heard. Maybe he was going to use the animals to lure and trap vampires. I donat know.a aThatas crazy,a Destiny insisted. aThe whole thing is ridiculous.a aBut cool,a Ari said, grinning. aI mean, wouldnat that be amazing to see a real vampire?

Iad join the hunters. Really. If they would take me, Iad join. Iad do anything to see a real, live vampirea"wouldnat you?a aNo way. I think it would be terrifying.a Destiny shuddered. She stared hard at Ari. aYou really would join them?a He nodded.

aItas totally outrageous,a she said. aWe live in a tiny, quiet town. How would someone in Dark Springs ever become a vampire?a aItas easy, Dee. It could happen to anyone, I guess. Even people in Dark Springs. You just have to be bitten by a vampire.a aThatas it? What happens after youare bitten? You become a vampire? Thatas all there is to it?a

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He scratched his head. aWell, some of the books Iave read say thereas a little bit more.

There has to be a full moon at its peak in the sky. And a vampire has to drink your blood under the light of the moon, and you have to drink the vampireas blood.a Destiny scrunched up her face. aYuck. All that blood drinking is so gross.a She suddenly realized she had her hand on the mark on her throat.

aIam just telling you what Iave read,a Ari said.

aWell, is there a cure?a Destiny blurted out. aI mean, people who are bitten. Can they be cured?a Ari thought for a moment. aI donat think so.a aYou canat ever become normal again?a Destiny realized her voice had risen several octaves.

aNo. Thereas no cure. Iave never read about a cure. Maybe if the person is only a neophyte aa aA what? A neophyte?a Ari climbed to his feet. aI could give you some books to read, Dee, if youare interested.a He started to his bookshelves.

aNo. Just tell me what a neophyte is,a she insisted.

aItas kinda like being a half-vampire. If a

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vampire drinks your blood, but you donat drink theirs, youare only a neophyte.a aAnda"?a aYouall be a neophyte until the next full moon. Then the vampire can finish youa"

exchange blood with youa"and make the trans- formation complete.a Destiny could feel her heart pounding.

aAnd what if he doesnat finish you? What hap- pens to you?a aYou go crazy or something. Some books say you become like an undead creature, half- human, half-vampire. You spend all your time trying to satisfy your hunger for blood.a This is crazy, Destiny thought. This canat have anything to do with Livvy and me.

But the memory of last nighta"of the pow- erful craving, of hungrily devouring the rabbitas blooda"made her tremble. Her mind spun with ugly, terrifying thoughts.

Destiny realized she had shut her eyes. She opened them to find Ari staring hard at her.

aWhatas wrong, Dee?a he asked, his eyes pene- trating hers as if searching for answers in them.

aWhatas up with you? How come youare sud- denly interested in vampires?a

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She took a deep breath.

Ari dropped back into his chair and brought his face close to hers. aWhatas up, Dee? Come on. Tell me.a aOh. Wow. Sorry,a Destiny said, smoothing back her short hair. aI just remembered some- thing. I promised Dad Iad go to the supermarket.

And what am I doing? Iam sitting here listening to your disturbing vampire stories.a She started for the door. He remained sitting backward on his desk chair. aHey, itas great that you came over, Dee. Glad you donat think Iam weird because Iam interested in vampires and stuff.a aIt was interesting. Really.a He jumped to his feet. aWhere are you going? The Stop and Shop on Sweetwater?a aWell, yeah.a aIall go with you. Mom and Dad are at the club, playing seventy-two holes or something.

Thereas nothing in the house to eat.a Destiny had her shopping list in one hand and pushed the cart with the other. Ari tagged along beside her, muttering about how he couldnat decide what to buy.

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aMy dad is really losing it,a Destiny said, shaking her head. aThereas no food in the house.

I donat think heas gone shopping in a month! His mind, itas just aa Her voice trailed off.

It was a little after two in the afternoon, and the long supermarket aisles were nearly empty.

In the vegetable section, a white-uniformed boy was spraying water on the lettuces. In the middle of one aisle, Destiny saw an old woman, leaning heavily on the handle of her shopping cart, reaching for a box of cereal on a shelf high above her head.

aWhere is everyone?a Ari asked. aItas so deserted. Do you think an alien invasion has taken place, and you and I are the last few people on earth?a aThat explanation wouldnat be first on my list,a Destiny said.

aDid you see that Twilight Zone where a man wishes everyone would go awaya"and they do? That was a classic.a He continued to talk, but his voice faded from Destinyas mind. Instead, she heard a loud rush, like the roar of the ocean. She covered her ears, but she couldnat shut out the sound.

Blinking hard, she could see Ari talking, but

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she couldnat hear him over the deafening roar.

She stopped in front of the meat counter. Her mouth began to water. She swallowed hard.

The roaring sound faded as her hunger rose.

Iam not imagining this. Iam so hungry.

Supermarket music jangled in her ears. Her senses were suddenly alive. The tangy-sour aroma of the meat in the refrigerated shelves filled her nostrils.

Hungry a Ari stood beside her, one hand on the side of her cart. She could hear the tinny supermarket music and she could hear the steady pulsing of the blood through her veins.

Her heart raced as the craving swept over her.

Ari was bobbing his head in time to the music. His pale throat suddenly gleamed in Destinyas eyes.

Her stomach growled with a gnawing emptiness. She could feel saliva dripping down her chin.

I canat help it. I canat stop it.

She grabbed Ari by the shoulder and low- ered her mouth to his throat.

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Chapter Thirteen.

aI Need To Feeda aOuch!a Ari gave a startled cry and pulled away. aHey, supermarkets turn you on?a Destiny wiped her chin. Her eyes stayed on his neck. She could see the blue vein pulsing down from his jawline.

aDee, I didnat think you liked me.a He leaned forward and kissed her. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Then he lowered his head to kiss her again.

Iam so hungry. I need to feed.

Yes. Yes. She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, preparing to pull him close and sink her teeth into his throat.

But no.

I canat. I canat do it to Ari.

It took all her strength to push him away.

He grinned at her, excited by her kisses.

He doesnat understand. Iam so hungry, Iad do anything a

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aAri, would you do me a favor?a Her voice came out tight, shrill through her clenched teeth. aMy dad needs pipe tobacco. Itas called Old Farmer, I think. Could you find it for me?a He nodded, his eyes still wide. aNo problem.a She watched Ari take off down the long aisle. When he was out of sight, she turned to the meat display. Her chest heaved and she began to pant. Her hands shook as she reached down for a package of meat.

A package of liver. A wet-looking slab of purple meat, dripping with blood.

Dripping a Oh yes. Oh yes.

She lifted it off the shelf and brought it close to her face. The rich aroma of the meat, of the red blood, made her dizzy.

Oh yes.

With a loud grunt, she ripped away the shrink-wrapping. Then she raised the package to her face and began to drink. She sucked up the blood noisily, her tongue lapping the bottom of the package. Then she grabbed the slippery liver in one hand, held it over her head, and squeezed it, squeezed all the good juice from it, squeezed it into her mouth. Every

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drop. Every last drop.