Dance With A Vampire for Chapter 13

I waited for a moment,my heart pounding with anxiety. I couldn't see anything from my vantage point. I wouldn't be hurting anyone if I poked my head in to get a better view. I pulled a branch back and crept inside the thick brush. The foliage blocked out much of the streetlight and I could barely see the skinny trees before me. I guided myself around them with an outstretched hand in the faint moonlight. The wind whistled through the barren trees. I passed a creepy white broken fence with only a few pickets left, leaning like aging tombstones. I managed to carefully step over a few stumps, downed branches, and fallen trees. I couldn't see Alexander anywhere. I could hardly make out the woodpiles, rocks, and discarded mattresses that were before me. Just then I heard a branch snap. I spun around. "Alexander?" I didn't feel the familiar presence of my boyfriend. I turned back around and cautiously crept forward. It was impossible to tell where I was. I studied the ground to see if I'd made tracks, but the hardened dirt and dead grass showed no signs of combat boots. I stepped once more, not knowing if I was going toward the street or farther into the woods. The dog howled another time. Its cries seemed stronger. Was it howling at Valentineor my own true love? "Alexanderwhere are you?" I remembered my parents were waiting for us at the Cricket Club. Alexander and I were supposed to return before the meals reached the table. We would have been back before the fish and chips arrived if I hadn't diverted us into the woods. "Alexander!" I called again. Then I realized if Valentine was here, my continued shouting was calling attention to my location. I heard a fluttering in the trees above me. I could barely see what looked like two frightened squirrels racing up a branch, running away from a winged creature. It looked like a bird, but then the moonlight illuminated its small, mouselike face. This was no birdit was a bat. It hovered in place intently, then headed straight for me. I raised my arm to cover my face. "Alexander!" Nothing happened. I opened my eyes and saw the creature fly overhead, through a break in the trees, into the night sky. Then it disappeared. A hand fell hard on my shoulder.