Opening my eyes, I discovered it was dark as well. I groaned and tried to roll over, but my body was aching. I was outside still, on the ground, and I had no idea how long I’d been there, whether a few hours or days. Vance had fed from me until I lost consciousness again. “Vance?” I called into the darkness surrounding me, but all that answered was silence. Not even the noise of a cricket broke the stillness, nor did any breeze stir through the branches. There was nothing. I stretched my muscles out, trying to remove the stiffness from lying down for an extended period of time, before I tried standing. I had to lean against a tree for support, still feeling terribly weak over the blood loss. Silently wishing for some form of lighting, I stumbled forward, trying to get a bearing on which way I was facing. It was completely dark though, so I concentrated on the cabin in the woods and commanded my body to evaporate to it.
