hospital.”
        She listened somberly as he detailed his grandmother’s symptoms, the staff’s failure to take them seriously, and his suspicion that other patients were being attacked.
        The nun’s eyes flickered. “Is this your grandmother’s decision or yours?”
        “Mine. My grandmother is too out of it to know what’s going on.”
        The nun looked him in the eye. “Do you have a power of attorney?”
        He was flustered. “Well, no.”
        She assessed him evenly. “If you don’t have power of attorney and she’s unable to speak for herself, we’ll have to do a special evaluation.”
        “And how long will that take?”
        She looked into the air. “It could take two or three days, maybe longer.”
        Dan assessed her angrily. “That’s not acceptable.”

#

        It was Halloween night and there was a full moon. Dan was in bed, exhausted. The thought that his innocent grandmother was being feasted on by some kind of real-life vampire while everyone pretended it wasn’t happening weighed heavily on him. But he was relieved that it would be over soon. He and Robin had a plan. In a few hours, they would whisk Gramma out the hospital’s back door before anyone noticed. He was grateful not only that Gramma would be safe but that he and Robin would accomplish the rescue together, like family.
        At midnight his phone chirped. In the darkness he blinked at the display. It was Robin.
        She spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Dan, I’m scared.”
        “What’s wrong?”
        “Things are getting weird here. Whoever’s been attacking the patients has started in on the staff. All the nurses are acting really bizarre. They’re talking with that weird monotone and their eyes are all glazed.”
        “Are you safe?”
        “I don’t know. I’ve got the lights off in here but I’m frightened.”
        “Okay. Just lay low and stay quiet. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
        He drove like a bat out of hell, then in the darkness hurried through the parking lot into the labyrinth he’d recently come to know so well, through the same corridor, up the same elevator, turned right at the same hallway to Gramma’s ward. As his footsteps echoed through the abandoned spaces, he wondered if he was about to be attacked by a vampire at any