The oppressive silence of the night was a heavy blanket, broken only by the frantic drumming of her own heart and the ragged gasp of her breath. She ran, blindly, through an endless, suffocating darkness, the sounds of the forest – even the crickets – eerily absent. It felt like forever, but stopping wasn't an option if she wanted to live.

She paused, gasping, her eyes already adjusted to the gloom. Shapes of trees emerged, scattered branches underfoot, and the unsettling glint of nocturnal eyes. Tripping and falling meant nothing; the primal urge to survive propelled her forward.

Then, a cold hand clamped around her neck, stealing her breath. Before she could process safety, the man she fled materialized before her, his eyes burning crimson, devoid of mercy. He hissed, fangs protruding, a guttural whisper tearing through the quiet: "You should die."

Alice bolted upright, the sudden creak of a door her rude awakening. The scene, a recurring nightmare, was less terrifying now than it was familiar. It was a fragment of a life that wasn't hers, yet it pulsed with a raw fear she intimately understood. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up." A nervous voice, apologetic. Carl. He shifted, a nervous smile on his face, clearly fearing her wrath. She’d fallen asleep in her chair, a rare vulnerability her body demanded after days of relentless hunting. Pesky vampires, always keeping her busy.

Checking the time, she gathered her things with practiced efficiency. "I’ll leave you out of today’s mission if you want to space out like that. I don’t mind leaving a person." Her words were clipped, devoid of emotion, as she swept out of their quarters. "W-wait for me!" Carl stammered, scrambling to follow.