Freezing rain pelted down on Chuck''s Roadhouse, the neon sign reflected on the wet street outside. Inside, John sat across from Dean Ray of the University of Waterloo, he tapped at the table nervously. They were discussing his possible return to the football team after his disappearance.


    "Look, John," Dean Ray said, swirling the ice cubes in his glass. "The team found someone else when you vanished. It wouldn''t be fair to just remove them from the team now, maybe you can stay on as a reserve, and focus more on getting back into the swing of things after such a traumatic experience."


    John''s jaw tightened, and anger bubbled up inside him. He didn''t understand why the dean would have called him out here if he was just going to say no anyway, he had wasted his time thinking he could just slide right back into his life before he was kidnapped. With his emotions high, he struggled to keep control of his newfound vessel abilities. His grip on his lemonade shattered the glass into pieces, shards flying like daggers across the table. One sliced into the Dean''s cheek; another embedded itself in John''s hand.


    "Damn it!" John cursed, staring at his bleeding hand. He pulled the small shard of glass from his hand and as he freed it from his skin the wound began to close on its own. John watched himself heal in shock but he wasn''t the only one, Ray watched with his mouth a gape.


    "Wha- What are you?" the dean stammered, blood trickling down his cheek. Unable to pull his gaze from John''s hand, which now looked as if nothing had ever happened.


    "I uh, I have to go" John muttered, pushing back his chair and sprinting out of the roadhouse. The freezing rain quickly soaked him to the bone, but he didn''t care. He needed to escape, to get back to Ethel before anyone came after him for this.


    "John! Wait!" Dean Ray called out, stumbling after him into the downpour. But John had already vanished into the darkness. Frustration and confusion settling in, the dean still couldn''t believe what he had witnessed. His mind replayed John''s hand healing itself instantly and he thought about the scientific advances the University could make with this discovery.


    A rustle from the dumpster nearby caught his attention, and he approached cautiously. "John, is that you?" he asked hesitantly. A sudden force gripped him, dragging him behind a dumpster. The last thing he heard was the sound of his own scream as his invisible attacker sunk its fangs into him.


    -----


    Meanwhile, in Deb''s dorm room, Zack and Deb cozied up in her bed, preparing to watch a movie. The clandestine meeting felt like something out of a classic Shakespeare play, the rain adding an element of drama to their whispered conversation. They had stolen away from Jessica and Father Bill, who were attending a parish prayer night.


    As Zack leaned in for a kiss, his elbow pressed into the remote. The TV sprung to life with the news coming it view. The sudden noise caused both Deb and Zack to jump, before laughing at the events. Deb reached for the remote and took aim at the TV, but stopped short of changing the channel.


    "The dean is dead." Deb mouthed, her voice barely audible over the rainfall. She was watching the story unfold on the news coverage.


    Zack''s attention turned to the new anchor, who was standing in the freezing rain while police roamed the scene. "What? How?"


    "Judging by the amount of police officers, it wasn''t natural causes," Deb replied, adjusting her glasses that flashed with the colors of the TV. "Just what we need, another murder. Jessica will probably use her connections at the morgue to see the body and make sure the supernatural wasn''t involved."


    Zack frowned, piecing together the information in his mind. "I haven''t sensed anything off around campus, I doubt it has anything to do with the supernatural. Though it could have been one of Gluttony''s vessels, we have no idea how many are still out there or who they are."


    "Is it wrong for me to hope it is just a regular murder? I feel like Pablo is enough for us to worry about," Deb said, her dark eyes serious. "He has every exorcist tracking every lead they have on Gluttony''s vessels, he wants to find them and eliminate them. He really wants to avenge Abby''s death."


    "Which is why we need to find them first before they are killed," Zack murmured, knowing the stakes had never been higher. "I''m not sure Ethel is really trying to save them, not after she let Pablo kill that woman in the woods. I might have to find them myself."


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "you don''t have to do it alone," Deb said, taking his hand in hers and giving it a little squeeze, "You have me and Rob and we will find them and make sure they are safe from Abby''s psycho ex." She moved in and gave him a single tender kiss, that filled him with reassurance that they really could save the missing vessels.


    -----


    The following morning, at the University of Waterloo, Zack stood in the crowded locker room, filled with the sounds of lockers slamming and teammates bantering. A peculiar sensation washed over him, like an electric current surging through his veins; he could sense another vessel nearby. His eyes scanned the room trying to locate the source of the aura.


    "Alright men, let''s hit the court. The season is almost over so let''s finish with a bang." Coach Reynolds instructed as he motioned toward the change room doors.


    As his fellow athletes filed out onto the basketball court, Zack followed suit, determined to identify which of his teammates had been turned. He tried to play it cool, but his attempts at nonchalance were clumsy at best. During practice he went from teammate to teammate, trying to get a better sense of their auras. He would get a little too close while on defense, grazing his fellow players as a way to sample the aura, but to his team, it was getting a bit creepy.


    The coach blew the whistle to switch drills and the team made their way toward the net. Zack raced up to Yusuf and Mike, the last team members he needed to test.


    "Hey, man," Zack said, clapping Yusuf on the shoulder, "you''ve been hitting the gym? You''re looking... different."


    "Uh, thanks?" Yusuf replied, visibly confused by Zack''s invasion of personal space.


    Zack didn''t bother to continue the conversation, instead, he offered Mike an awkward fist bump. "Nice moves today. Keep up the good work," he said, attempting to sound casual while scrutinizing Mike''s dull aura.


    "Thanks, Zack. You too," Mike replied, raising an eyebrow at Zack''s odd behavior.


    No one on his team was a vessel, but the aura was so strong in the gym that it almost overwhelmed Zack. Zack scanned the stands and that is when he spotted John cleaning the stands. As their eyes met, Zack felt a jolt of recognition—the same sensation he''d experienced when he met Ethel, only stronger. He knew instinctively that John was the other vessel.


    Just as Zack went to approach John, Lindsey burst into the gym, her blonde ponytail bouncing as she ran towards the team. Her blue eyes were wide with concern, and her voice trembled as she spoke. "Please remain calm, I am looking for an eyewitness to a crime committed last night. I need to speak to Nathaniel Boon."


    A ripple of shock spread through the court as murmurs and questions filled the air. Seizing the opportunity, Zack whispered to Rob, "That guy sweeping over there is a vessel."


    "What! Are you serious?" Rob said louder than he should have, some of their teams'' eyes turned toward the pair. Rob and Zack both did their best to avoid making direct eye contact and acted like they were also looking for the source of the outburst.


    Once everyone returned to their own discussions and Lindsey started to lead Boon away, Zack continued "He could be one of Gluttony''s we need to talk to him,"


    "I agree, but I also think we might need to listen in on what Boon saw last night, the only crime I can think of is the Dean''s murder. He may be able to tell us if it is supernatural or not." Rob reasoned. "The vessels are Ethel''s deal, text her and let her know. She can take care of him while we take care of this."


    Nodding in agreement, Rob and Zack trailed behind Lindsey and Boon, careful not to be seen. They watched as she entered the Dean''s office with Boon to get a witness statement to the authorities. Pressing themselves against the wall outside the door, they strained to hear every word.


    "Yes, John and the Dean got into a fight last night," Boon said, his voice sounding cold and uncaring. "I was at Chuck''s Roadhouse, and I saw it all godown. John broke a glass and then took off."


    Zack exchanged a worried glance with Rob as they listened, neither one knowing who John was. Rob quickly googled John but without a last name, it was too generic, however, John''s missing poster came up. He turned his phone to show Zack, it was the guy cleaning the stands in the gym.


    "You don''t think..." Rob started as his mind filled with possibilities.


    "No, there is no way," Zack said seeing where Rob''s mind was headed, "It is just a coincidence. He didn''t kill the dean." but Zack wasn''t sure of anything right now, he needed to speak to Ethel to figure out exactly how to approach this situation.


    As Zack tried to figure out what they should do, Rob grabbed his sleeve and gave it a yank, Zack turned to meet his friend who was pointing at the door to the Dean''s office. For a moment he thought they were caught, and he would see Lindsey''s disapproving stare but instead, he saw something far worse. Pablo Rodriguez had taken the Dean''s place, his name displayed prominently across the door.


    As Zack processed this startling turn of events, he couldn''t help but feel a growing sense of unease. Whatever was happening, they now knew a vessel could be involved, and that meant that their chance to be normal University students had to be put on hold again.


    "Things are getting complicated," Zack muttered to Rob, his mind racing with questions and concerns. "We need to talk to Ethel, she knows more about this stuff than we do."


    "Agreed," Rob replied, determination shining in his dark brown eyes. "I don''t like her, but she always seems to know exactly what is going on."