form that had once been Darren. Two was pulling it toward the closet, where she had already deposited the corpse of the girl in the bed. Two glanced over at Sam, shrugged. She finished her task, closed the closet doors, walked over to the desk, and lit a cigarette. The first drag made her cough. Made her head spin. The second went down more smoothly.

“And I thought you didn’t want any of those.” Sam said.

“If I can’t have anything to love, I’ll take something to need.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Here, Darren brought us some clothes.”

“Okay. Two?”

“Yeah.”

“What now?”

“Let me think about that. You don’t owe me anything, Sam. There’s money in the safe. Take it and run. Or stick around. I’d be happy to have someone to talk to, at least for tonight. I have to wait here for a while.”

“I’ll stay. Go take a shower. Am I safe with... her?” Tori was again curled up at the base of the desk, seeming to doze.

Two nodded, got up, and headed for the bathroom.

The shower was heaven. Good, hot water and lots of it. After two days on the road, and skipping a shower at the motel, she‘d felt terrible. Being clean helped. Being rid of Darren helped more. She didn’t regret it, not at all. One oppressor down. The other was not yet something she wished to dwell on.

Two showered, dried off, brushed her hair back into a ponytail and tied it wet. The girl in the mirror looked pale and tired, but more alive than the heroin addict who had stared back at her not two months ago. Theroen had done that for her. Now he was dead.

She put it out of her mind, and left the girl in the mirror behind.

“You going to try to get her in there?” Sam indicated toward Tori, who was now sprawled out on the bed, snoring in a way most unladylike, oblivious to the blood on the covers.

“Going to try. She stinks.”

Sam nodded again. She was counting money, pulled from the safe and spread across the desk. Two pulled off her towel. Sam held up a hand and looked away. “Whoah, hey, let’s keep the full frontal nudity to a minimum. Tori’s enough.”

Two laughed. “Sorry. I used to shower with other girls in this building all the time. You stop thinking about it.” She put on some clothes. Darren had managed a good guess at both her size, and Sam’s. Two had never been a heavy girl to begin with, but now vampirism had shaped her form to its absolute peak. Clothes that would have fit the Two that Darren had known were now a little loose.

“Tori. Hey, Tori. Wake up, lazy. You want to take a bath? Or a shower?”

Tori rubbed sleep out of her eyes and looked up at Two, puzzled. Two indicated toward the bathroom with her hand, and Tori glanced toward it, not comprehending.

“Ah, fuck, you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. This should be interesting. Come over here, Tori.”

Tori followed Two into the bathroom. After a moment, Samantha entered as well. “Gotta see you try this.”

Two grinned. She turned on the water and motioned toward the bathtub. Tori looked nervous.

“Look, silly, it’s like rain except it’s warm, and there’s no mud. You’ll be fine.”

Tori was alternating between looking at the shower, and looking at Two. Her expression was skeptical. Two laughed.

“You’ll be fine Tori. Look, Samantha and I both took showers, and we’re exactly the same.”

“Well, technically our hair is now ‘full of body and life,’ I think. According to the shampoo bottle, anyway.”

Two rolled her eyes. She moved toward the shower, ducked her head under the water for a moment, then returned to where Tori sat. “See? It’s fine, Tori.”

“Bathroom’s getting soaked, Two.” Samantha tossed a towel on the ground.

“The superintendent’s dead. I don’t think he’s going to bill us. Come on, Tori. We haven’t got all night.”

Tori’s expression was uncertain, but she allowed herself to be lead toward the shower. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped in and, feeling the warm water, gave them a brilliant smile. Two laughed.

Samantha held up her hands. “Okay, I’m out of here. As much as Darren might’ve appreciated it, I’m not into watching you teach Tori the miracle of soap. I’ll be waiting.” She departed, returning to her counting. Two turned back to Tori and began attempting to instruct her.

* * *

Two left the bathroom laughing. Tori trailed behind her, appearing bewildered by the towel wrapped around her upper torso.