[ While it hadn't been Fern's intention to imply that Adrian should hurry back to the motel, she isn't surprised that he comes to that conclusion and doesn't think it will do her any good to argue the point with him. Surely the markets will be closing soon anyhow. ]

No, I hadn't thought of that, though I suppose we could if this persists.

[ She doesn't sound all that bothered by the prospect of waiting out the power outage, however. It's nothing the two of them can't handle.

She turns onto her side on her bed, adjusting her phone against her ear. ]

But while I was exploring the area after the lights went out, I ran into someone — his name is Alucard. More importantly, he's a dhampir.

[ The first one she's met in the flesh, though Van Richten's guide had given her some information to go on, at least. ]