Carl was feeling more then a little uneasy. It wasn't just that they were taking the long way home from Transylvania, though that was certainly annoying enough. Van Helsing seemed to want to follow up on every rumor of monsters they came across and while admirable from a work ethic point of view, it meant they were still very far away from the Vatican and Carl's much missed lab.

Van Helsing while thorough was not someone to seek out extra work. Generally he did the job assigned and came back home, tossing broken weapons and mocking comments at Carl when he arrived. This sudden change of routine was just a bit disturbing.

Though not as disturbing as Van Helsing's other behaviors. A couple weeks out of Transylvania, Carl had begun to notice the speculative looks Van Helsing was giving him. He would watch Carl as he moved about the campsite and often when Carl least expected it, he would suddenly appear right behind him. Startled Carl no end and left his nerves more then a little rattled.

As the days passed, it had been getting steadily worse. The other day he was bending over looking for something in his pack when he felt eyes on him. When he looked over his shoulder, he could swear he saw a hungry look in Van Helsing's eyes. And this morning when he opened his eyes, Van Helsing was leaning over him – and Carl could swear he had been sniffing him.

Carl was beginning to think that maybe Dracula's cure wasn't as effective as everyone had thought. He was also beginning to think he was in very big trouble….