"Nadine? W-wha-?"
Jon recognized her from school, though he rarely talked to her. Few people did, really. Still, he knew her reputation quite well. The term "religious nut" could only begin to describe her. Known for her prudish attitude and antisocial habits, she was hardly the person one would expect to see lurking in sewers and stabbing vampires.
"The surprise is mutual," Nadine replied. "And I asked you a question. What are you doing here?"
Jon racked his brains for a suitable answer. "Um, I was captured by that vampire and brought here." It wasn't a complete lie.
Nadine stepped closer and brought her face within inches of his. Normally, Jon would have felt awkward to be this close to anyone except Karyn, but something in this girl's eyes made him too scared for embarrassment. Tearing his gaze from her pale gray irises, he noticed that she had taken her necklace out from the collar of her outfit and had pressed the cross-shaped pendant against his chest. She kept it there for a few seconds, like a doctor using a stethoscope to hear a heartbeat.
"Looks like you're clean," she stated with a nod. Wrinkling her nose, she added, "Well, maybe 'clean' isn't the word to use here. Odd that a vampire would transport his victim so far without mesmerizing him first. Still, it's not unheard of, especially for one who uses the sewer system as his lair. It's like having a freeway right to your doorstep."
Crouching down, she inspected the clamp on his leg along with the disconnected chain dragging behind it. "I'll have to get this off you later. Right now, we need to get out of here. There could be others." She stood up and started walking away. "Follow me."
Jon stumbled to catch up. "Uh, Nadine?"
Without turning around, she shushed him and kept going. Saving his words for later, he concentrated on keeping up.
