The first time she flew with Gabriel, Alyssa was unconscious. Her return trip was a much different story. Despite how dark it was outside, Gabriel has no problem navigating and making all the right turns when he had to. Despite her town being well over a hundred miles from Columbus, Gabriel has flown her back home in less than a half hour. It took less time for him to draw her blood and drink it than it did to fly back to the camp. She pointed out a small part of the town that was normally deserted this time of night. It was way past curfew so there was no chance they''d be seen. Once back on solid ground, Gabriel took the large bag off his back and handed it to her. She was wearing one herself so she had quite the supply on her. She had raided his bathroom closet as well, since Vampires have no need for cosmetics and medicine. Combined with a great deal of canned foods and other items, she was coming home with not only her life but a successful haul. Gabriel hoped that would be enough to turn away suspicion.


    "Thank you again." Alyssa said as she gave the young man a kiss on the cheek. She couldn''t help but notice how cold his skin was. Almost as if he was undead as well.


    "Thank you." Gabriel said back to her. Before he could say anything else, there was a voice calling at her. Before the person speaking could put a flashlight on her, Gabriel launched back into the sky and was gone.


    "Who the hell is out there!" the voice called out.


    "David, it''s me." Alyssa called out.


    "Alyssa!" David called back, "That''s not possible!"


    "It''s me." Alyssa said as she held up here bags. "And I didn''t come back empty handed."


    "Holy crap, woman!" David called out, "Forget that stuff, we thought you were dead!"


    Without saying anything else, David picked up the bag and grabbed her arm and walked her away from the small park. She knew exactly where he was taking her; to see the Mayor. The same man who sent her out on that brutal assignment her first time out. David knocked on the Mayor''s door despite it being a late hour. Moments after the lights came on the door swung wide open and the Mayor was there, wearing a robe and slippers.


    "What is the meaning of..." he stopped in mid-sentence and could hardly believe what he was seeing. "Alyssa?"


    "The very same." Alyssa said with a smile. "Sorry I''m late."


    "How did you survive?" The Mayor asked, still shocked.


    "I managed to get out of the store and find a place to hide until things cleared up." Alyssa lied, unwilling to tell the truth for now. Considering that her first assignment wasn''t supposed to be that difficult, she wasn''t trusting of the man before her at the moment. "Did anyone else make it?"


    "No." The Mayor answered, "A herd of undead pushed at the wall a day ago and two of your crew members were among them. We assumed you were killed as well."


    "Happy to say I''m alive and well." Alyssa said as she even took the bag off her back and dropped it as his feet. "I even managed to find something we could use."


    The Mayor couldn''t believe what he was seeing. "I knew you''d be good at this!" he said with a smile. "But I''m just happy to see you! The rest is just gravy!"


    "I need to see my sister." Alyssa then said. "I need to tell her I''m all right."


    "Wait till morning." The Mayor suggested. "Last thing we want to do is start a commotion after curfew. We''ll announce your return in the morning at breakfast."


    The Mayor let Alyssa into his home and allowed her to crash on the couch. When first light came the next morning, Alyssa was up early and was just excited to see her sister again. To preserve food and prevent waste, the entire town ate at the main hall and it was a good time to for the Mayor to pass on news and organize wall watchers and runs for supplies. Usually when the Mayor made his entrance at breakfast, he''d discuss business but he was ready to present good news first.


    "Look who we found last night!" He called out as Alyssa came out into view and stood beside the Mayor.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Mouths were gaped in shock. Everyone had assumed she was dead and cheered. Many were also crying tears of joy, but that was nothing compared to what happened when Alyssa''s sister spotted her. Diane hopped up from where she was eating and ran over to hug her sister. The two girls clutched to one another as both had thought less than a day ago if they would ever be able to see each other again.


    "I''m so sorry." Alyssa said between tears. "I came back as soon as I could."


    "It''s okay," Diane said as she never let go. "You''re safe; that''s all that matters! Don''t you ever go out there again! We already lost father that way. I don''t want to lose you too."


    The mayor couldn''t help but overhear what she said and walked over. "Diane, I know you''re happy to see your sister again but she did really well out there. She not only survived but brought back a lot of supplies we needed."


    "You can''t!" Diane said, almost on the verge of tears once again.


    "She''s good at this." The Mayor repeated, "We need her help."


    Diane couldn''t handle it and ran screaming from the main hallway, crying as she left. The room was visibly upset but the spectacle, but the Mayor was already used to it.


    "I don''t like being the bad guy." The Mayor said as he sighed deeply. "What would you do if you were in my shoes?"


    "It''s alright, Sir." Alyssa said as she paused for a moment. "I''m willing to go back out there but I have a few conditions."


    "Name them." The Mayor replied almost immediately and without hesitation.


    "I need a new place for me and my sister." Alyssa said, "Preferably something with a roof and close to the wall."


    "I can make that happen." The Mayor admitted, "Most people prefer a home closer to the center as opposed to near the wall. What else?"


    "I need to work alone." Alyssa then asked, fully aware it was against the rules.


    "I can see why you''d prefer that," The Mayor said as he scratched his three day old beard. He smiled as he really did understand. "Without two more people slowing you down, you were faster and were able to avoid the undead easier."


    "That''s right," Alyssa said, even though it was a bald faced lie. There was no way in hell she was going to tell him the truth. It''s not like he''d believe it anyway.


    "If you can come back with the same supplies you did last night, I would have nothing against you going alone, especially if that meant two less people to put at risk every time you went out." The Mayor replied, which surprised her a bit. "I know it''s against the rules but if you go out there alone, it''s all on you."


    "And two more," Alyssa said, as she already knew she was pushing her luck.


    "Why not;" Max said as he took a seat, "Let''s hear it."


    "I go out every two weeks instead of once a week." Alyssa informed him.


    "Keep bringing in hauls like you did last night and I''ll be okay with that." The Mayor said as he took another sip of his coffee. "What''s next?"


    "I go out whenever I want. No schedules." Alyssa said as she also took a seat.


    "We need a little organization." The Mayor started to protest.


    "All I want you to do is give me a list every two weeks." Alyssa informed her superior. "I''ll do my best, but I come and go as I please. No questions asked."


    Alyssa was really pushing her luck but she didn''t care. This was the best way for her to keep working out there with the best possible chance to survive; with Gabriel by her side instead of two people that would get in her way.


    "Alright, I accept all your terms." The mayor said as he finished off his coffee. "Let''s give this a trail period; every two weeks for two months and we''ll see how this works out."


    "Agreed," Alyssa said as she put out her hand.


    The Mayor shook it with a smile. He couldn''t believe how eager she was go to back out there but had no idea the kind of help she had out there. If everything went according to plan, she''d have all the help she''d ever need.


    It took her a few hours to talk her sister out of the state she put herself into. When she told her most of how she made it, without mentioning Gabriel, her sister seemed to calm down a little. Four days later when the Mayor moved Alyssa and her sister in their new home, he moved them into an apartment building that was near the wall. As promised, he gave them a spot that had access to the roof. He wasn''t sure why she wanted it but he was willing to let it go for the time being.


    To Alyssa the reasoning was quite obvious: it would give Gabriel somewhere safe to land. She had decided to use the roof to tan, at least to convince some people it was her true motive really wanting the space. It took Diane and Alyssa only a few days to get settled into the new place. During that time, Alyssa had used a few hours a day when Diane was asleep to use the medical tools Gabriel gave her draw blood from her arm. Gabriel has shown her how to do it properly and she was careful not to take too much at a time. Only doing half a bag a day and then taking a break after having one full bag pumped. She would take a break for a few days before doing it again. She kept the blood in the fridge, which was one reason why she wanted a place of her own. She could explain the blood away to Diane but wanted to be sure no one else would tell the Mayor. She still didn''t trust him and likely never would after what had happened during her first scavenger run. Had it not been for Gabriel, she would have been killed with her first crew, and she often wondered if he had done that on purpose. The two other members of her crew were not popular in town so that would have been three birds killed with one stone. For the time being she had to keep her accusations to herself as right now all that mattered was taking care of Diane and that meant taking care of Gabriel.