The creature just hunched over the boy. With papery skin the same color as the shadows just before sunrise, it seemed to blend into the night. Wild hair burst from its scalp in an explosion of black coils. The creature perched on the kid’s back, savoring the moment before its final strike.

The boy’s eyes darted to Eric’s and then to Jong’s, now realizing that she was in charge. She saw terror, pain and pleading mingle together in his face. The creature had better get on with it. And soon.

“Help me!” The hustler’s world-weary tone vanished, and the true sound of this child revealed itself. He was just a scared boy drifting through the city like garbage blown about on the streets. “Please,” he begged them. “Help.”

And then the moment arrived. The creature dove down on him. The kid howled as it tore into the back of his neck. Jong looked away, unable to watch the mutilation of that beautiful child, a run-away at seventeen who lived and would die for a chemical high. Poor kid didn’t know a damn thing and never would get the chance to find out.

A beam of light suddenly burst through the bushes and shone on them. The creature spun to face the flash light. It was beginning to resemble a woman now, but its fangs were still showing. They were red and wet, shining in the torch’s glow.

“What the--?” was all the policewoman could say before she too was thrust onto the dirt beside the boy.

“No, no!” Jong yelled. It was about to kill a cop! “Eric! Stop her!”