That night Lahn dreamt of her again, he dreamt of Mai. She had been Lahn’s love since they were children, and he foresaw himself one day marrying her. They had decided that they would wait until he was done with medical school before they wed, but that day never came. In his dream Lahn recalled that Mai had been acting strangely for several days, and he decided to confront her. He was not sure what had her so upset, and he certainly did not expect what happened that next evening. She began an irrational argument and then after some horrid words ran away from him. Lahn was shocked but chased after her anyway. He was sure that Mai saw the truck that was speeding towards her, but she just stood there frozen. The driver was unable to stop in time, and Mai was killed instantly. Lahn had not dreamt of her for many years, but lately his dreams about her had been more and more frequent. He found that odd, as she had been dead over eight years. Lahn thought that maybe her spirit was telling him to move on.

Lahn awoke from the dream, and immediately smelled a sweet aroma in the air. It was still dark outside as he sat up in his bed. He could have sworn he had felt a pair of lips on his face an instant before he awoke, yet there was no one in the room. Lahn laid back down and was soon again asleep. Mai stepped out of the shadows once she was sure he was once again slumbering. “I am sorry I woke you my love.” She spoke barely above a whisper as she slipped into the bed along side him once again. “Please live your life, I will not return to you again. You have my blessing to find a wife,” she gently whispered into his ear. With that said, Mai slipped out of his bed and slid out the window she had entered through. She had taken a few steps away from the house when a figure emerged in front of her.

“So, this is where you have been sneaking off to.”

“Master Buun,” Mai replied as she bowed her head in respect.

“You only needed to wait a few more years, and then you could have returned to him,” Buun scolded. “Now I need to kill him.”

“Please, no Master Buun!” Mai dropped to her knees and prostrated herself before her master. “He does not know I have visited him, as I only visit him while he sleeps.”

“How did you enter his room then?” Buun looked at Mai suspiciously.

“I asked him if I could come in. He talks in his sleep, and I learned a long time ago he will answer questions while he dreams. It was easy to ask him if I could come in.” Mai looked up at her master as she replied.

“If that is the case, then his life is safe, but should you risk exposing yourself again, I will need to take action,” Buun warned. “You may rise.”

“I understand, and this was the last time I planned to see him.” Mai began getting up when she was alarmed by Buun’s gaze. She turned her head to find Lahn standing behind them.

“Mai, Mai is that you?” Lahn was shocked to see his beloved kneeling before another man, a man whose gaze was now locked onto him.

“What an extraordinary man, your Lahn is Mai,” Buun uttered. “He is quite extraordinary indeed.”

“Master please,” Mai begged.

“It is too late for that now Mai and you know it,” Buun turned his gaze down to Mai and gave her a commanding look. “You are not to move.”

“Who are you, and why are you ordering her like this?” Lahn moved closer to the pair.

“Tell me Lahn, what do you do?” Buun asked as he moved closer to him.

“What do you mean?” Lahn stopped moving forward.

“I mean, what do you do?” Buun repeated “What is your vocation?”

“I am a doctor, I work for the military,” Lahn replied.

“A healer, it makes sense now,” Buun leapt forward and sunk his fangs into Lahn’s neck. He began to struggle but Buun was several times stronger. As he lost consciousness, Lahn kept hearing Mai’s frantic cries.

It was still night-time when Lahn awoke; he was in an alley and had been covered in an assortment of old paint rags and garbage bags. He stood up and then immediately bent over in pain. He had never felt such hunger, and he needed to feed. Lahn’s mouth felt strange so he felt the inside of his mouth and found that he had fangs, just like the ones Buun had a moment before he attacked. Trying not to panic, Lahn began taking deep breaths, and that is when the scent hit him. Lahn instinctively moved toward the smell that was reaching out to him, and soon found himself back at the medical tent where he worked. The scent was irresistibly strong here, and he ventured inside.

Most of the men inside did not scream, they had been too heavily sedated, and the ones that did, were too weak to put up much of a fight. When Lahn emerged once again from the tent, he was trembling. His normal steely nerves shattered by all the lives he had just claimed. The hunger was insatiable, and by his count, ten men were now dead by his hands. He had killed the very patients he had sworn to help, and he was disgusted with himself, and full of shame.

“I am sorry my love,” Mai uttered as she emerged from the shadows.

“Mai, what happened to me, why did I do this, why couldn’t I control myself?” Lahn walked over to Mai still with a look of shock. “How are you still alive?”

“My love, we don’t have much time, so I must be brief.” Mai reached out and pulled Lahn close to her body and clutched him.

“What are you saying?” Lahn was at a complete loss.