Panic still tightening her chest, Izzy watched the child sulk back to his corner. She stood and glanced around the room, glad the ill effects of losing blood did not apply to her in this instance. But the question then became, by how much had her abilities increased? 
	She looked to her hand and flexed her fingers as if it would offer a simple answer.
	“Okay,” she breathed heavily. Tugging the hem of her shirt down, she went to the desk with the flashlight. She grabbed it and clicked it off. She blinked in the darkness that flooded around her, taking advantage of the absence of their adversary. 
	Though she could see better in the dark room, it was by no means enough to be very encouraging. With her mouth pursed in uncertainty, she clicked the light back on. Sparing the sword a quick glance as if to reassure herself it had not disappeared in the couple moments of darkness, she left the room to search for anything that could be of potential use. Even if whatever she found would be good for only a single strike against the White Wolf, if she was lucky, at least it would be [i]something.[/i]
	Testing her speed, she ran through the halls. As far Izzy could tell, she was moving a bit faster, but by how much, she could not say for sure. She could only hope it would be fast enough.
	As quickly as she could, she began gathering a few things she hoped could be of use to her should the sword fail. Tying and weaving a few lengthy wires together, she created what she hoped could potentially be used to trip the Wolf up if she concealed it well enough. And if it did not just snap.
	She stopped near the front doors with their broken chain and lock, grabbing the longest strand of intact chain. She pulled it taut, trying to pry the links apart to test the chain’s strength, as well as her own. She felt them bend slightly, but they did not break. Not sure if that worried or satisfied her, she coiled it over her arm alongside the length of electrical wire, then collected bits of desk legs and broken pipes that had rusted away, leaving a sharp point on at least one end.
	Once she had her arms full, juggling various items while keeping hold of her flashlight, Izzy went out to the playground. 
	Located behind the school, it was in just as bad disrepair as she remembered it, if not worse. Ivy strangled the rusting monkey bars. The dilapidated equipment that had been forgotten by the city sat as dark, forlorn shapes in the night. Weeds and grass overdo to be cut burst from between the cracked cement and licked at the base of what equipment remained like the earth’s version of flames. 
	She dumped her load onto the ground, then clicked her light off. Though the moon was scarcely a sliver, she could see fairly well by the light radiating from the nearby town. At least sufficient lighting would not be a problem she would have to tackle when going against the White Wolf.
	She set to strategically placing her pickings about the area, hiding them where she could while keeping them easily accessible. She dropped the chain on the ground near the skeleton of a swing set, the rusted links fitting in with the rest of the rotting playground, then tied her strand of wire as high as she dared between the monkey bars and what remained of a dome climber. As far as she could tell, the tall grass sprouting between them hid the wires well.
	Trying to not think about what these poor excuses of weapons could potentially do to Trevor, she tried to focus instead on how she could bring down the Wolf. If Trevor was still in there somewhere, perhaps she could appeal to him. Perhaps he could fight against the Wolf’s influence, if she could only get through to him.
	The uncertainty of it all made her stomach churn.
	She headed back to the school and hurried into the vampire child’s current classroom. She went to the sword, and gripped its handle with an unsteady hand.
	[i]This’ll work,[/i] she tried to reassure herself. [i]This [u]will[/u] work.[/i]
	Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, she picked up the sword then stepped to the doorway, her legs moving slower from the weight of her worries and fear. She tried to push aside the doubts hanging thick around her. She had to do this. At last, she had found something she could do to help Trevor, something to return the sacrifices her friend had made for her, no matter what had driven him to it.
 	With her flashlight still in hand, she paused in the doorway, hanging her head. She closed her eyes for a moment as she took another breath, then tilted her head toward the vampire child’s corner.
	“Thank you,” she began, her voice stiff. Her tone loosened, growing sincerer as she continued. “I know how much this sword must mean to you.” She turned to better face him. “I’ll take care of it, and make sure I bring it back. Safe and sound.”
	Not expecting any kind of answer, Izzy disappeared into the shadows of the hallways.
	She returned to the playground. Scanning it, she went to a spot almost at the center of her layout of hidden makeshift weapons, then carefully concealed the sword beneath a pile of rocks and weeds. She practiced drawing it from the hiding place a few times, then knelt down within arm’s reach of it. She licked her lips then bit the bottom one as she pulled her phone from her pocket.
	This was it. It was time to try to draw Trevor and the Wolf to her. Her shaking thumbs making it difficult to type, she went to his contact and started a new message:

[center][i]It’s wearing off. Cerasus. He’s getting his powers back.
I don’t know what to do. What *he’ll* do. Can’t find Riley anywhere.
At the playground at the old school.
Please, Trevor! If you're still in there, I need you.[/i][/center]
	Swallowing hard, Izzy hit the send button. She watched the message until her phone got a moment of service, and it sent. Replacing the phone in her pocket with a quaking hand, she wrapped her arms tightly around her torso and closed her eyes, listening to the night, waiting for any unusual sound, any sign that the Wolf and Trevor had taken the bait.