Hunter couldn’t believe it, one second to go. He was dripping with sweat and shaking from fear.

“Violet! You have to hurry, we know where Rachel is,” the evil subject said.

“What do you mean? You found her?” Violet asked.

“Yes! We got word that she came up on the radar. She went back home apparently and she’s alone,” the evil subject continued. “She’s back in Westchester and back at her high school. Quick, we have to go now! You got off this time, but I’ll be back for you soon,” Violet said as she glared at Hunter.

“Let’s go,” Violet ordered to the guards and she slammed his cell door shut and ordered the guards away.

He watched as they left and then put his arms down and slunk down to the floor. His body cold and lifeless as he lay on the floor praying for his life. He sat there in awe of what had just happened and the miracle that intervened and saved his life.

Then as is by pure fate, he looked at the lock to his jail cell and noticed that they’d forgotten to lock it back up before running off so quickly. He sat there in shock, staring at it, making sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. He stood up and walked slowly to the lock, making sure no guards were around watching. Hearing nothing and seeing nobody, he knew this was the time to make his escape. It was now or never.

He tiptoed quietly over to the gate and slowly lifted the open lock and put it down on his bed making absolutely no sounds at all. He then reached his hand outside of his cell to open the large brass handle. As he lifted it, it made a loud creak. He pulled his hands back in and stood there, quietly, waiting to see if anyone heard him.

Nothing.

He lifted the handle and pushed the cell door open, slowly and steadily. He peaked his head out to confirm that nobody was around and then he slipped his body out, closing the door behind him.

He walked down the hallway towards a big metal door that sat ominously at the far end of the walkway. As he approached it, his heart was racing faster than he’d ever felt before. He didn’t know what would happen from this point on. He didn’t know if there were guards, or Violet or any evil subjects on the other side that may get in his way of freedom. Although he knew he had a long way to go before he would consider himself “free” from this place.

He stood at the large door with his ear pressed against the cold metal, listening to see if he could hear anything. He heard some voices and footsteps that got quieter as the minutes passed. Then, for a while, he heard nothing. He figured the coast was clear so he pulled open the handle and creaked the door open, just enough to see if anyone noticed. He then poked his hand out to see if that caused any commotion, but it didn’t. He opened the large door and started down a narrow corridor towards the outside world, when visions of Penelope locked up alone, possibly being tortured, filled his head. He couldn’t leave without her; he had to rescue her, too.

He continued down the hallway, trying to remember the path they’d taken when he was blindfolded the other day. He listened for clues, or anything that might bring him to Penelope. This castle was huge and strangely enough reminded him of the castle he grew up in. Knowing what he knew about castles and prisoners, he knew there were few places that one might stash a prisoner. He knew she would either be in the tower or in the dungeon. He couldn’t exactly remember if Violet had mentioned anything to the guards about her whereabouts in front of him, but figured, if he were as evil as Violet he would have put her in the dungeon. The dungeon is the most frightening and creepy place of any castle; he knew Violet would choose this form of punishment for what she’d done to her.

He wound his way down the stone spiral steps, which led down into what he figured might be the entrance to the dungeon. Luckily he didn’t pass any guards on the way, but he knew the dungeon could be higher security and he didn’t want to take any chances.

As he got down into the cloakroom, he saw extra clothes, jackets, and uniforms hanging on hooks. He thought fast and started taking off his prison clothes and changed into one of the guard uniforms that hung in front of him. He figured it might be his only chance at escaping this crazy place.

Once in the uniform, he felt much more comfortable to walk around the castle. He didn’t look so assuming and he figured if he passed someone, they probably wouldn’t think twice about him. Just as he was thinking that, two guards walked by holding tightly to a prisoner, kicking them in the shins as they walked him blindfolded down the hallway.

“Good day,” the soldier said.

“Good day,” Hunter replied, looking down at the ground.

As they passed each other, Hunter couldn’t help but thank God that he had put on that uniform just in time. If he hadn’t, he was sure they would have grabbed him and started kicking him, just like the other prisoner. He felt bad for the guy, but knew he couldn’t intervene. He had to continue on to find Penelope, his one true love.

He felt almost if fate had led him here, to this castle, to be imprisoned by Violet so he could see Penelope again. It had been over a century since he’d seen her, yet he had never forgotten her. He had not met anyone since that remotely came close to the love they shared for each other. He knew it was a once in a lifetime type of love and had basically lost interest in other women since the two had been torn apart. He wanted to marry her and be with her forever, and now he thought he may finally have the chance to finish what he started and complete his dream of being with her forever.

“Help, someone!” a voice came from the cellar.

Right then, he knew, it was Penelope, calling out for him, for anyone to help her.

“Please!” her voice rang out.

He quickly followed the echoes of her voice, which led him down another set of winding stairs into a dark, damp, dungeon. He didn’t know what to expect as he crept through the candlelit hallways in the dungeon. Her voice called out again, followed by silence. He waited to see if anyone else was around, but heard nothing. He knew she was alone.

As he approached a large wooden barn door, he opened it, and then, on the other side, he saw her, looking frail and scared, standing in her cell alone.

“Penelope?” Hunter said. “Are you ok?”

“Who are you?” Penelope asked, staring at him in his guard uniform. “How do you know my name?”

“It’s me, Pen. It’s Hunter!” he said, smiling and taking off his hat.

“AH!” Penelope let out a scream.

“Shhh. We have to get out of here!” Hunter said.

“How will you get me out of this cell?” Penelope asked.

“Where do they keep the keys? Have you noticed?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, they are over on the wall, on that big ring,” Penelope said, pointing.

Hunter walked over to the wall and picked up the large ring of keys and started fumbling through them, testing them out on her lock. It wasn’t budging. There must have been fifty keys on that key ring, all-similar looking, with rust on the ends.

“Hurry!” Penelope said. “I’m scared.”

“I’m trying!” Hunter said, “I can’t find it!”

“I love you!” Penelope said, putting her hand out of the cell and onto his face.

Hunter looked up as his heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but smile and say, “I love you, too. I always have.”

“How did you find me? How did you escape?” Penelope asked.

“It’s a long story,” Hunter said as he continued trying the keys.

“Didn’t Violet see you?” Penelope asked.

“No, she left to go find Rachel. One of her evil subjects got word that she’d been turned and was back home in Westchester,” Hunter said, trying to fill her in.

“What do you mean she went after Rachel? Why would she want her? Is it because she thinks you love her?”

“HA!” Hunter laughed. “No, that’s not why!”

“Then why?” Penelope asked again.

“She wants to find Rachel and my brother and kill them both!” Hunter exclaimed. “We don’t have much time. We have to go warn them.”

“But why? I don’t understand. Why would she want to kill an innocent girl?” Penelope asked.

“There’s an old prophecy that one day a vampire will turn a human girl without the consent of the council. That human girl and the one who turned her will lead to the downfall of the evil vampire coven. The only way to prevent the prophecy from coming true is to kill them both,” Hunter explained.

“No! I can’t believe it. Do you think she’s the one?” Penelope asked.

“Yes! She’s got incredible powers. We have to go quickly. Violet is smart, she knows that Benji will go looking for Rachel and she will have them both trapped and killed.”

“I got it!” Hunter said, opening the lock on the outside of her cell.

“Thank you!” Penelope said, flinging the door open and throwing herself onto Hunter.

“There’s no time for this, not now!” Hunter said. “We can catch up later. Quick, put this on.” He threw her a guard uniform and hat and had her quickly change into it. It was a little big, but it was better than nothing. This way, they wouldn’t draw so much attention to themselves.

“I can’t believe you thought of this! It’s genius!” Penelope said, as she finished buttoning her white collared shirt.

“Let’s go!” Hunter said as he pulled her out of her cell and closed the door.

“I know the way!” Penelope said. “I’ve been here quite a while and they’ve let me outside a few times. I can get us there!”

The two ran through the corridors of the castle, winding their way up and down staircases and over drawbridges. Then, without a hitch, they got to the front doors of the castle. They stood there; looking at each other, realizing this was their last obstacle before they were free.

In the distance, Hunter could see two guards sitting at the doors, signing people in and out. They walked up to the guards as if they were one of them and said, “We’re on break now, off to get some dinner!”