He paused in the shadows of a dark alleyway, hunger a gnawing ache within the pit of his stomach. Slowly and silently he searched and then found his next victim. He crept upon her, movements sure and agile, getting closer, but not enough for her to see him. She quickened her pace, sensing something not right; her dark eyes growing slightly wild, movements more erratic. He could hear her breathing, quick short pants, a desperate attempt for air but crowded by fear.

He lunged, a dark blur of shadows. Her mouth opened to scream--but too late, his large hand captured it before it escaped. Mouth opening, his fangs gleaming faintly by light of street lamp, he buried them deeply into her neck. Heat coursed through his body, as he drained her of life and spirit. Hunger assuaged, he dropped her. Straightening his body lengthened, blurred, and became that of a crow. The nosferatu threw itself in the air with a deafening shriek, and as the echoes faded, so too, did the vampire.