Hunger rumbled my stomach. Its severe emptiness had gnawed holes into my sleep, and I sat up in the dark with a gasp. Had I turned into a vampire? Would I even know if I had before it was too late?

But my heart still beat, as strong and true as it always had. Unless that sound was false and some kind of coping mechanism of the brain, I was still me. Still here. And starving.

I shifted on my mattress, careful of my bandaged leg, and knocked on the door. "Hendry? I ...