“I do not believe in vampires.” Emily repeated the mantra hoping to reassure herself as she stumbled through the thick underbrush of Boone County’s national forest. A hundred yards in the distance loomed her destination – a great hulking house eerily outlined by dawn’s first light. Stopping she listened for the sounds of the forest, unreasonably reassured by the chirp of the cricket and the croak of a frog in a far off pond. Surely the forest itself would be silent if something evil lurked in its midst? She crept forward and questioned her sanity for the umpteenth time. What was she doing here for God’s sake? She was a deputy sheriff who handled domestic disturbances and Saturday night drunks at the local bar. She was not some Agent Scully wannabe chasing UFOs and other ‘unexplained’ mysteries. Sure, she had a brown belt in karate and knew how to shoot a gun – pretty damn good if she did say so herself – but a fat lot of good that would do if she did encounter a vampire.
