#ultimaandxellwrite

Sure, it had sucked. Drakken couldn’t deny that it did. Being incarcerated had been absolutely the worst experience he had ever gone through. It had been bad enough that he had only been 15 when the sentence it started, but the fact that It had lasted until his 26th birthday had added a level of despair he never previously known before. Drakken had remained locked up, deemed a danger to society and to other, a threat to be contained, and quite honestly he had been inclined to agree with them, up to a point. He knew that he couldn’t deny what he had done, the evidence stacked up against him in ways that only could glaringly point to the fact that he indeed was the culprit. He hadn’t tried to deny it, even pleading guilty during his trial simply because he knew there was no saving him.

 But That have been fine. He had only been 15, so of course he hadn’t been able to perfectly calculate the crime in order to get away with it. He hadn’t had time to plan, hadn’t had a moment to try and think about what this might have meant for him because he had only one thing on his mind as he had washed the blood off his Hands and grabbed the matches.

He would protect her.

It had been the singular most glaring thought in all of the 11 years that he sent his sentence had spanned. He would’ve done anything to protect her,  the lengths and depths of his need to ensure she had always been happy boundless as the sea that now spread before him...and when she had asked him to help her, to get him to stop, take care of the threat that hung over her head like a wordless guillotine, get rid of the man that was denying her the childhood she deserved ..., Drakken had been all too happy to oblige.

Drakken had Committed murder with a smile, and set his family house a blaze with hardly a look over his shoulder.

For her.

Only for her.

Drakken watch the waves as the ferry took him in, docking on the side of this little hodick island in the middle of nowhere. His duffle back sat neck to him, set firmly at his side as his hands held onto the metal bars that line along the sides of the overly large ship, the sounds of laughter and boisterous voices spilling from the inside, away from the chill and spray that came with the movement of a boat over sea. Drakken however, stood apart from the rest, away from prying eyes with the hood of his grey sweatshirt pulled up and over his head. 

He didn’t have any desire to mingle with the rest of the inhabitants on this boat. All he wanted was to get off and  get to this island as quickly as possible.

Drakken had never heard of Whatt island. True, when he had been trying to find a ticket to this place he had found that actually many people had never heard of the place, and was incredibly difficult to even find out that this place had a ferry that ran from the mainland to it. Most people just assumed he was making a place up and had hung up on him, and the increasing frustration he had felt trying to find this place was only added by the fact that he was just so damn close, so fucking close to his goal and it was like everything wanted to get in his way.

But he had found it, found this boat and had payed the five hundred dollar ticket with only a minor grimace, and now he had sat at this small little corner of a very large boat with too many people, grey eyes locked on the horizon as he scanned the waves for any stretch of land, like he might find what he was looking for in the wave of the ocean and the drops of ice scattered along the waters.

Though the boat was full of people, He stayed apart having come to this place two hours before they had taken off and he hasn't moved since then, hair matted to his face with the dusty spray of the boat, The salt of the water stinging his eye but he refused to close them, refuse to allow himself to take his eyes off this island in the middle of nowhere so that he could get off this god forsaken boat the instant he was able.

She was here.

He knew it.

Drakken had come here, for one thing, and one thing only. It wasn’t t escape his past, or to find peace or anything else that the people on this boat sought. No, Drakken’s reasonings were something a little more substantial, something a little more held up by the ties of fate and a bond that could not be served, no matter how desperately she might have tried. Drakken’s though fell onto his one reasoning for living, the spill of laughter that made his chest clench and the pull that lingered deep in his gut when ever he thought of her.

His sister, Jordan.

How long had it been? The thought sprang to life in his mind, almost accusingly as it settled to the front. How long had it been since he had seen her?

Honestly he couldn’t really tell you. It was a stereotype the people like him knew the exact amount of time that they had been away, knew it down to the second, the minute…. But he couldn’t tell you anything other then the fact that it had been a long, long time. The years had felt far longer Than their days, spacing out far longer than then their seventy two hours, and the months had spanned on for eternity and beyond. 

He supposed that was what prison did, however. Locked up and away from normal society , people tended to lose track of things like that. He had. Fates only know that Drakken had lost all sense of anything living in those walls, living in the cells of a max security prison with nothing but criminals and guards who looked the other way when things started to get bad. He had lost more than his fair share of time in that place, had lost what felt like a lifetime, but he had managed to do what most could not and he had crawled his way from the depth of that hell and back into the world with only 11 years of lost time.

 Drakken had lost a lot, eleven years of his life, time he could not get back, his innocence, his future, his teenage years.  He had lost it all to the labyrinth that they had put him in, the hellhole that made up their prison and only one thing had pulled him through it, only one thing had made him stay focused and contained and together.

And he was here to find her.

He could tell you it had been eleven years since he had seen her, eleven years since he had been able to physically see the long streaming silk of brown hair that tumbled over her shoulder, eleven years since had had seen those eyes turn to him and look to him with hope and trust and… All Drakken could think about was what would happen when he met her, what would happen when he finally saw her again. 

He didn’t have time to dwell

Drakken felt the boat tremor under him as it finally docked, the sound of joyous cries from the center of the boat doing nothing to brighten the dimming glow of wicked embers that burned in his chest.

He was here. This was it.

I’m Here, Pumpkin.

Safe, like, if she was in his arms, nobody could touch her. As long as his hands were on her, as long as he was there, around her, nothing could hurt her. He was warm against her frozen flesh, his suit wrapping her in the comfort of smells that she had grown to love, cigarettes and woods. A smell that haunted her waking hours, the smell lingering over her clothes long into the school days. He even smelt like home, or at least what she wanted home to be. The familiar feel of just being generally wanted rose up the back of her throat as his fingers threaded through her hair, his nails grazing lightly over her scalp to produce a relaxing motion.

There was something almost magical about those fingers, something that had her completely wrapped up in within seconds. She needed him. That much was undeniable now. Now that he had left her for a whole week. He hadn’t opened his apartment door to her knocks, didn’t return phone calls or text, no response on any social media. The boy had not even shown up to school. He had just left, disappeared without any sort of trace, right along with the other three. And no one seemed to be worried, not a single person seemed to be out looking for him. Not a single person bothered in any sort of absence of the bubbly blonde boy.

Besides her, that was.

She closed her eyes to the feel, trying to keep out the incessant buzzing that seemed to be blaring at her through her blonde haze. She could feel him speaking, his chest rising and falling against her cheek, she could even feel his heart beating, her own trying to slow down to match his. Her fingers came up to bunch in the fabric of his suit, pulling him closer, as if, if he was not touching her that she would explode into some sort of wild array of something probably pretty important to keep together.

She wanted it to be a blonde bundle of overly excitable boy, she wanted it to be the boy that she had been longing after for two years. Kasmir. She wanted him to be hers, she wanted her to be his.

He was speaking now, his words only hushed hums through her ears, even as he took hold of her chin, forcing her to look up to him, she could not understand. But she watched those lips move, watched as those icy eyes pulled her into some sort of daze that she could not possibly understand. But she watched those lips form each word, diligently. Saw his pink tongue dip to touch his lips and she saw the small quirk to his frown as he watched her.

There was a pause between his words though, as he waited, for a response she supposed. That was the norm. To respond when someone said something to you. But she had not heard him, his words literally going over her head. Instead the buzzing still rang in her ears as her thoughts raced across the channels that she seemed stuck on. It was shrill, loud, brought a shiver that wracked her bones as she tried to pull back into the warmth of his chest.

“Liam… He doesn’t like astrology. Says it’s a waste of intelligence. Intelligence better to place somewhere else. He doesn’t know any. Not a single constellation… You do. You care about things. You care about me?”

Her eyes lifted from his lips that drew her in, seeking something, to the bridge of his nose, exploring his cheeks as she spoke. Her words flowed easily from her mouth now. There was no stopping them, not once she had started. Not once she caught on to the small obsession she had been holding on to with him. Her own fingers came up to caress his jaw, her finger running soothing circles over his skin as he let worried eyes rest on hers.

The affection that bloomed in her chest for the boy was alarming, something that her mind cold steadily focus on through the euphoria that was clouding out the bad. He was always there, he was always ready to defend her to the hell and back, but Emmy had only been able to appreciate it through a false facade of just friendship with him. A tick that she knew right off the bat that Kasmir did not appreciate. But here she was, in his arms, uncaring of their surroundings. Instead she was trying, with every ounce in her to hears his words. To understand why he looked so forlorn. But try as she might she couldn’t seem to focus beyond the string of thoughts running through her head.

‘Why did he leave you for so long if he really cared about you?’

‘He probably got sick of your excuses and just wanted to get away from you.”

‘It’s your fault for choosing Liam over him. Why should he have to say anything to you when he decided to leave?’

“You could have at least said goodbye.”

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She wasn’t listening, or she couldn’t listen, that much Kasmir was able to tell as he watched her eyes move along his features, tracing them with her gaz as he tried to draw a response out of her. She didn’t fight as he moved, his hands sliding along her body so that he could hook her legs in the crook of one of his arms, pulling her close to his body as he held her, her arms wrapped around him as she pressed her body harder against him.

 Her voice spilled, fall as he turned away from the massacre before her, her eyes wide and unseeing as she spoke of a boy hours past dead, her head rested on his chest as she spoke whatever it was that came to mind. Her question to him made him pause his movements, Kasmir looking down at the woman in his arms with something of a surprised look, confused but there.

 His mouth opened, lips parting as he took in a breath. All words seemed to catch in his throat, to stay stuck to a gummy tongue as he swallowed thickly to try and speak again, but he found he had no words, not a single clue as to how to answer her. Kasmir was a bright boy, not the top of his classes but damn near close, but no amount of studying or reading had prepared him to give voice to the emotions she brought to life in his chest. He wasn’t Davy, he didn’t know how to find the words to name these emotions, didn’t have the skill to string them so artfully together as his friend did even if he had managed to find the words. He didn’t have the words for what she really meant to him, and even trying felt forced and felt flat on what he really wanted to say. There wasn’t a way to voice it, this heat, this need , this fire that boiled his blood. There was little he wouldn’t do for his friends, but there was even less when it came to the woman in his arms, her touch, her kiss, her body on his drove him crazy in all the best of ways. He needed her, needed her in his apartment laughing as she found his baby pictures again, In his kitchen, clinging to him with her legs and arms wrapped around him as she begged him to cook something for her because she was starving, and if she didn’t eat, right now, she was absolutely going to die. He needed her in his bed, completely on top of him with her hair falling in his face, nearly drowning him as it got caught in his mouth but what did that matter if it was her in his arms?

 Kasmir loved her. The words were weak and tired and overdone, but they were true.

 “Of course I do. You know that, Emmy. I’ll always care about you“ He muttered as he pressed his lips to her temple, walking past the bodies of friends and men he called his family.  His words were spoken against her temple, light brushed of his lips on her skin, nuzzling into her as he walked them both toward the only exit in the school.

 “You know I love you. I won’t let anything happen to you…. I got you, It’s okay, just relax…”

 He was thankful, suddenly, absently, that he didn’t really have to deal with the same struggles his friends, his brothers had to, the ones who were now starting the hunt to track their girls down, the ones that were now turning from the bloodshed of the masses to those who had either wronged them or they desired. Kasmir didn’t care really either way, his mind having heavily settled on Emmy since the moment this plan had come to fruition, only a few other names added to the exempt list because of him. His mind was wholly consumed by her, and he thanked whatever gods may be that Emmy had simply walked straight to him, into his waiting arms with only a mumble against his chest.

 She was shaken, in shock, but she came willingly, and that was what stuck with him.

 “I won’t leave you, not ever.”

----------------------------------

 “Hmm? Who?”

 There was a hum as he snapped his gaze up, pulling it away from the blood that was starting to pool at his feet, to seep into his shoes and collect about the sole. He didn’t know why he bothered to look really, considering Neferox didn’t see himself as a particularly bright boy, names often slipping from him almost instantly after him learning them, the effect of a few too many concussions left untreated. He leaned into Vaughn’s Touch, his kisses, the little smile on his lips widening with every press of his lips to his cheek. Blood soaked hands moved along the back of his brother’s suit, the fabric wet and sticking with the blood that coated him, to reach of the little strip of cloth that had been placed in his pocket, pulling it out to wipe off his hands. The handkerchief,  quickly changed from white to pink to red, stained forever with a memory he carved, painfully, into his mind.

 The small little gestures of affection pulled a laugh from his lips, a chuckle building in his chest before he looked to his brother, catching the same mismatched gaze he held boring into him. There was a smile on Vaughn’s face, a pull to his lips he hadn’t seen in so long that he had almost forgotten what it looked like, what his brother looked like without the troubles of another bully, or the wounds from yet another fight that they had found themselves in littering their skin, bruise blooming under his eyes, lips pulled into a deep frown as he fought to stop the bleeding from his nose and split lip. Everyday had been the same thing, over and over and over, the same fights, the same bullies, the same beatings from people who didn’t have the courage to face the Matthews brothers on their own. They had endured it, had learned from an early age that life was not, would not, be fair. Fair was for bedtime stories and kindergarten classrooms, a non existent concept anywhere else. They had learned that there wasn’t anyone who would help them, had learned from a young age that they only really had each other, and over the years, that had taken a toll on their morale. Neferox could hardly recall the last time he had seen Vaughn really, genuinely smile, and to see it lighting up his brothers face now made his chest tighten with an affection he could not name.

 If Nothing else came out of tonight…. At Least Vaughn was happy.

 Neferox turned his gaze away from his younger twin, dual colored eyes flicking toward the sight of Neket and Audi as Neket drew in the taller boy easily, the same sort of knowing movements that had Neferox’s hand moving to his brother's hair, fingers running soothing little lines along his scalp. He glanced at the set of twins before them, the vivid pastel purple and the glimmering fake strands of the girl next to her, and it took a moment for it to click, the names coming back as he drew in an excited little gasp. His eyes widened as he allowed his own smile to drift over him, hands moving excitedly for a moment.

 “Oh! I actually know this! That’s Lunthe and Braithe! Neket’s wifi wifey, and Audi’s eye candy!”

 There was pride in his eyes, a flash of it as he turned slightly toward his brother, before pulling a face at hima twist to his expression as it became just that slight bit darker, that little shift that had his smile sliding straight from a puppy like adorable tick to a smolder of darkness that had been present on his face before, the sadistic flair to his features as he turned them away from the sight. The laughter bubbled in him, in his chest, the feeling foreign and almost new, a memory he had about another life. He had never felt so wonderfully free, wonderfully justified and righteous and god he felt Powerful, lives taken by his hands, his tormentors, the ones who had specifically made his life hell.

 “But they aren’t the important ones…. Now are they?”

 His voice changed slightly, a dark velvet hum along the scent of blood that now hazed the air like a lingering fog.

 There Was the minor sound of gurgling blood behind him, the slight shift in tone as someone let out a dying breath, the plea silent but there, present and unanswered. The sound sent a shiver down his spin, a jolt straight to his gut to pool and simmer with need.

 “I know I personally have no real interest in Lunthe and Braithe…. Not tonight at least.”

  --------------------

 He could hear the concern lacing each word, the thoughts projecting the caring tone in his voice. He could hear the slight agitation that seemed to build up at the fight that his Khaleen put up. A valiant attempt to protect a sister that they both knew she could not. At least not for long. But he couldn’t bring in him to spill his guts at this moment. Not while his eyes were on Lunthe, not when he could see the shivers running up her spine and the chill to her blood. Her heartbeat was a roar in his ears as he made his way over to the girls and his bleeding heart of a best friend. Not an etch of the concern was in his features, they were all hard edges and mockery. That was until those caring hands reached out for him, fingers wrapping around the back of Audi’s neck to press him closer to Neket.

There was a twinge, a small quirk to his smile as the mask crumbled just that little bit. Just that fraction for just that split second as those multi colored eyes landed on his, shifting his attention entirely to his Dhouti. There was a crack somewhere in the armor he wore for Neket, there always had been and he was sure there always would be one. He just slipped under his skin, warmed his very veins and on the bad side, brought a lump to his throat when he thought about even trying to lie to him.

Audi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his free hand coming up to cup the back of Neket’s neck. He let the small connection soothe him, let the calm wash over him at the feel of his own Dhouti. His fingers smoothed back strands of wild black hairs, twirling the locks between his fingertips before answering.

‘I’m as fine as I can be… Let me just get this done so i can get Lunthe out of here.’

There was a pause a subtle flicker of acknowledgment as he heard the sigh rip between the two, Neket’s lips parting to let out small sigh. The smile on his lips turned into something sweet for a moment, Audi’s hands worked quickly, pulling Neket’s forehead down so that he could press a soft kiss to the crown of his head. His own smile lifting as he kept his lips pressed for a second.

The truth was, this night was not meant for him. Honestly, he could not even tell you if this life was fit for him yet, but it was perfect for Neket. Suited the King more than it suited others, more than it suited the Michaels at least. Or just him, his brother seemed to be stepping into the position as shadow king very well. But point being, there was a spot in his heart that was just for his Dhouti, strictly. And that spot enabled the boy to be able to get in and pull on some heartstrings, enough to get whatever he wanted from Audi.

Even now, Audi could feel it, the need in Neket for Audi to be just as happy. And it was that need that built the smile up just a little bit more. There was a need rising up in his own  guts to give his Dhouti exactly what his Dhouti wanted.

Dhouti’s get what they want.

Lee’s, they take what they want.

‘Don’t worry about me, Tovak. Besides,... you have bigger things to worry about. Do what you came here to do.’

He let go reluctantly, his eyes stuck on Neket’s for a moment longer. He wanted him to be happy, could honestly say that he wanted almost nothing more in this world than for his Dhouti to be safe and happy.

But they were there for bigger things, than the small connections that they needed to feel from time to time.

The second he turned his eyes from him though he could feel it, the dread pick back up as eyes as blue as the ocean swept him up. A fear hidden behind them that caused his heart to absolutely stumble in his chest and threatening to rip him apart from the inside out. She was scared, terrified, her heart erratically pounding against her chest, her eyes were wide, tears on the cusp of falling, droplets sprinkled across thick lashes as her eyes shifted from him and Neket and back again.

There was sorrow that raced through his vein for her, and he was moving, the ache to soothe those fears encompassing him before he even knew what he was doing. His hand moved almost on instinct, moving to rest her cheeks in the palms of his hands, his thumbs coming up to wipe at unshed tears.

He shushed her, his body bending so they could look at each other on an eye level . There was concern, genuine running through him. He could understand, her need to stand up, to protect the one person in her life he knew she needed. He could understand her fear of him as he pulled her into his arms, letting one single hand move to her hip. He could understand the punches that she threw.

Hell, she didn’t know what was going on. Had not a single clue as to why it was this was happening around her. But she also didn’t know that she was safe, that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. That nothing,... horribly bad would happen to her sister. At least not fatally.

It was not her fault that she didn’t know their plans, she didn’t have any sort of clue what she had in store at this point.

“Calm down, Khaleen. You’re fine. I’m not here to hurt you.”

------------------------

“They aren’t even looking this way. Break the window.”

“Jess, they are going to hear i-”

“Just break it Thomas. I swear to god. I’m not trying to die tonight.”

They were all talking, they were all whispering among each other as the shots rang out, their eyes wide as they focused on nagging each other instead of the situation at hand. Their scared and panicked tones kicking up into the air to create a thick layer over the already tense atmosphere. Brown eyes shifted, watching each movement from her corner of the room, she watched as they argued and nitpicked, their hands coming up to push at each other as their words got more and more heated. But she knew. Knew what fear could do to a person. Even if it was quite possibly the worst decision they could possibly make in a situation like this.

Circee ducked into the corner, her back sliding along the cold of the wall as she dipped down to the floor. Logically speaking, none of them were going to be able to hear the window breaking. Not over gun-shots. They would have to be right in the general vicinity of the classroom. Which since they the shooters thought they were all stuck in the gym, they would not be. Really, Thomas was being the fucking idiot here.

And he was going to be the reason they got caught.

“Jess, listen. We can just go see if the exit’s are open there’s one that's not too far down the hall.”

“It’s locked. And you heard his announcement.”

“They couldn’t have locked them all. Not that fast. Come on.”

“Thomas,...”

“Trust me”

‘Don’t do it Jess, you’ll regret it.’

“Alright. Fine”

‘Fucking Idiot.’

The thought was short, blunt. But they had decided on their own death. And their was nothing Circee could say, let alone wanted to say. The girl followed the dumb jock to her death again. And they would end up being the romeo and juliet of the sunday header of the newspaper.

That's what they had decided their lives could amount to.

“Come on, baby. I got you don’t worry.”

Thomas was gonna be able to play tough guy up until the moment that those gunshots were heading straight his way, then Jess would be left out in the dusk. But Circee supposed she was really going to die one way or the other so what happened.

“You’re right baby. You’re right.”

They shuffled in their spots for a minute, unsure on their next movements, but with a small touch to the small of the little black haired girls back, Thomas was able to move her forward. Her hands reached for the door, turning the knob as quietly as she humanly could. She didn’t move, didn’t dare breath as they opened the door, the soft click of the lock catching as the door shut behind them was almost jarring in moments like these.

But what was it she was supposed to do to escape from the same hell?

But the world around her went quiet, the shots fading almost just as fast as they had begun. The screams that had echoed died, and there was only quiet now. Something that seemed to shake her even worse than just the terror that had just been rising through the air.

Circee was not a scared girl, she didn’t shy away from danger. Hell, usually she ran face first into it. Taking on any sort of challenge as she seen fit. Bungee jumping, sky diving, tank diving. She’d been surrounded only the best, all of her friends or family willing to jump head long into the danger of it with her.

But right now. She was shivering, and not just from the cold that clung to her skin, her heart was jerking erratically against her rib cage. Right now, she was not a strong girl .She was not brave. She was scared. Intimidated. Cowering in the corner of a classroom with her hands brought up over her ears to only deepen the bone chilling silence that was resonating now.

‘Breathe. Just breathe. In through your mouth and out through your nose. No one knows you’re here.’

She couldn’t sit here and call people names when she could not even gather the courage to stand up, to look for some sort of exit. She couldn’t even lift her eyes as something rang out low in her ears, the words or sound all together inaudible, but it was long, and if she had to guess it was probably screams. Probably Romeo and Juliet themselves getting caught up in an idiotic plan, that Romeo that was the ‘smart’ decision.

‘No one knows, no one knows you’re here.’

There was a crash, loud, reverberating through her bones again causing her to jump. The sound rocketed off again. Soaring through the night air as a loud holler of enjoyment echoed through the halls. The twins sounds collecting into a noise that she wanted nothing to do with. She shuffled, resting her forehead on top of her kneecaps, er ears still covered by both her hands.

‘Someone had to have called the police by now. They are probably on their way here already...’

The bangs shifted, turning into loud low shrieks of shrill metal running across the hallway bricks. If she had to pin point the sound it sounded like an aluminum baseball bat colliding with the hard brick that was the foundation of their school. But that was not the part that had her trembling, that part was that the noise was getting closer, louder as it approached. The scream of metal obnoxious in her ears, even through her hands, even through her desperate attempt to quiet it. Her body shrinking in on itself to the best of her abilities.

But then it disappeared, gone past the door to continue on through the halls. Until finally she was dipped into the silence again. At least for that moment.

---------------------------------------------

His words were nothing, something she could only call a hum of background noise as her mind suddenly came to screeching halt as she took in his looming form. moving through shadows and oceans of blood before he came to a alt before her, her eyes locked on him but his attention for the man before him, his eyes flickering over to her before he turned to reach for the smaller man that was already reaching for him. Her eyes flickered between them, the Snow that kept her sister glued to her phone, who her sister stalked and fawned and laughed over, who she cried for when she told him she couldn’t talk to him anymore. She still remembered her sobs, the gut wrenching churn in her own gut at hearing them as she watched her sister's phone light up in her hands, His messages falling through before she could manage to pull up the contact she would need to block him from reaching Braithe’s phone.

 ‘Braithe, Wait.’

 ‘Please Don’t do this.’

 ‘Braithe please i can’t I can’t lose you’

 ‘I can deal with nick, It’s not like he can make my life worse’

 ‘Braithe don’t give up on me i need you’

 ‘I can’t do this’

 ‘Please don’t let me go’

 ‘You’re all I have left’

 The last of the messages before she managed to block him hovered in Braithe’s inbox, and Lunthe could remember looking at her sister as she screamed into her bed, holding her stuffed animals as she sobbed her misery over losing possibly the only man she had ever seen her sister really, truly care for, Lunthe had deleted them, the whole of their conversations, and continued on the mission that Braithe had asked her to do, To Block him from reaching her on any social media, because Braithe didn’t have the heart to do it herself, but she couldn't let Nick Destroy Neket Snow.

 And she had. She had done her job as her Older sister, had done what anyone would have done to save the person that meant everything to them from further pain. But it had apparently backfired splendidly, as now Neket let go of the taller man, his smile unhinged and his eyes snapping back to the silent younger Durandal.

 Lunthe hardly noticed Neket, could hardly focus on anything as Audi turned his gaze to her, locking her in her place, froze and unable to even so much a breath.

 It was him. It was him, it was him, it was him. She felt the tears start, the burn behind her eyes falling to burn along her skin. She shook, her hands trembling as she sucked in a little, her eyes on him as the realization hit her that it really was him, Audi Michaels, the silent boy who had managed to steal her attention away without her even realizing it was happening. She didn’t really know when she started to look for him. She could remember having him in a few classes, mostly required classes she decided to take a little early or electives, and he never said much, was never really involved with the rest of the school. She could remember watching him, watch as he ignored the school around him, as people passed him for a partner, for homework, almost like he wasn't there.  It had started somewhere around her noticing him, her seeking him out to be his partner on projects or lab, her taking a seat next to him in classes when she saw him. There was something about him, something in his clipped responses and him looking away from her as he responded to something she had said that pulled her, the boy a mystery she wanted to know, an ocean with hidden currents. She found herself thinking about him, wondering as she  laid in bed at night with her sister cuddled next to her about what he was like,w hat his room looked like, his favorite color or his life.

 Audi was a mystery, but a mystery that had already started to seep into her veins. Even now she felt it, that strange allure, but it was tainted now, a dark thread of fear tracing through her blood to make her body tremble. Audi had always been quiet, but she had never seen him as violent, never seen him so angry and free and unrepressed. He moved easily over the floor, straight to Neket without so much a a flicker of his lashes, uncaring about the lives around him. There was the instant fear, the shiver of terror that closed her throat and had her hands clenching tightly to Braithe.

 It hit her like a freight train.

 She was going to die tonight.

 He stole the breath in her lungs as he moved. His hands found her cheeks, pulling her to him, His words sliding along her skin as she moved to fight, to struggle and pull from his hold. Her eyes were wide, fear rippling through dark blue eyes as she gasped in surprise, his arms steel she could not bend. She pushed, getting nowhere as she heard Neket move, shifting as she heard her sister’s twin gasp. Her heart stalled, eerily silent in her chest before it reappeared in her throat, pulsing out a roar in her mind that made everything else fade away.

 “Everyone’s Dead. Everyone… I know is dead.” Her Words fell, her eyes wide as she pushed, though her strength had died long ago. Her hands clenched now, pulled at his jacket as she stared, vivid, distant eyes, terror apparent in the shine of it.

 “I didn’t mean to make anyone angry.” she was babbling now, her mind starting to frizz over with the harsh static of fear,

 “Don’t kill her, don’t Hurt Braithe.”

 -----------------------------------------------

 Arsen was going to be sick.

 The scent of death hung heavy in the air, the reek of dead bodies seeping through the heavy wooden door Arsen had locked behind him. His stomach curled as he stifled a gag, his eyes snapping away from the door, his hand moving to cover his mouth for a moment, before he dragged it down along his face. Arsen had never had a particularly strong stomach, not able to handle the bloody gorey movies Heru and Neket seemed to love so much, or the particularly bad food combinations that the High minds of Neferox and Vaughn, or Inness and Oberon liked to make. He never had a good tolerance for things he found absolutely disgusting, and as it was, it turns out that people in general were one of them.

 People were absolutely disgusting. Rotten, sewage from the inside out, only proven by the stench of death they emitted when they passed. Spilled blood created a thick stench of metal decay, a burn along his throat as he breathed in, his tongue tasting the rot and curling in on itself, waging war with his self control.

 This past week and taught him the importance of scents. He was able to pick out the healthy from the sick, the sober from the drunkard and the weak from the strong. Everyone had a scent, but Arsen had found that every human he had ever come across smelled the exceptionally awful, lingering rot following in their wake.  Their true stench was one of decay, rancid to the core and pungent enough to make his eyes water and his stomach to heave. He was lucky there was nothing solid in his stomach as he turn to walk out of the front office, taking in a deep breath as he stepped outside those confines.

 God He hated blood.

 “Ugh…. Someone tell me That the announcement went all the way through the school… I’ve had it with the gun play.”

 The words echoed in his mind, along the bond where he could feel the presence of each one of his squad members, the minds of each of them bubbling along his own thoughts as he tried to shake the vaguely sick feeling from his gut with a ruffle of his hair, his eyes closing as he breathed.

 “What? Can’t Handle a little Violence, Mr.Trigger Happy?” Oberon’s voice purred along his thoughts, the rumble of his Twin’s laughter following immediately after. The twins were notorious for getting under people’s skin, and now it appeared that they had set their sights on Arsen.

 “Took the first kill away from Neket and everything. Greedy.”

  Arsen rolled his eyes, hardly acknowledging them as he heard the warning snaps from His Dhouti, before he just sighed, his arms crossing as his stomach slowly started to settle down. Oddly enough, this connection, one he had once thought would be more embarrassing or strange and hard to get used to, was actually surprisingly comforting, a low constant hum of activity over him, an anchor he needed to remain grounded. It was them, his friends, the only ones who had remained by his side, lingering in the back of his mind. It was hard to explain how it worked, much like talking but all completely mental and over longer distances. He felt it with all of his kind, with the man He called his father and the others who had saved his friends, and feeling them there was soothing over his nerves, by himself but never really alone. Even the insults and teasing light remarks fell short of irritation, Arsen simply shaking his head.

 “She shouldn’t have treated me like a dog. Either way, I wanna get this going. I’m already sick of staring at these walls again.”

 “Then let the Hunt begin. Everyone knows the names of the people who are off limits, so if You find anyone you don’t recognize from it. Off them. The less people left alive the better. I’d rather not have the police arrive a little too early.”

 The smile curled along his lips, spreading along his features like melting butter. His eyes narrowed, his back straightening as he  turned to make his way down the hallways. His head tilted as he listened, hearing the groan of a building settling, possible for the last time it would hold students within it’s walls.

 Ryker was here. Somewhere… Somewhere in this maze of classrooms and halls and lockers.

 And he would find her.

--------------------------------

“Shh, shh, hush now, Khaleen. Everything’s going to be ok. I promise. It’s going to be okay.”

His words were low, whispered under hushed breaths as he watched her, his fingers moving to capture her tiny wrist into the palms of his hands. His own fingers a velvet cage around her fragile flesh, cradling her as soft as he possibly could in his hands.

His words seemed foreign, even on his tongue, just a mimicked way to make the only girl who had ever caught his attention seem somewhat safe in his arms. He knew that in her eyes, everything was probably not gonna be okay. Even ‘if’ she did make it out of this. Her whole world was going to change, her entire logic and sound mind was going to be twisted until he was her very rock. The person she would cling onto for affection the only person that was ever going to be able to satisfy her again.

She was going to be his, so everything, in the end of these grand schemes was going to be okay. There was no real lie behind his words.

There was a moment where all he could do was watch her, her reactions, the way she felt in his hands, the way her eyes screamed with so much built in emotions. There was a moment where he could only marvel at the woman that he had only dreamed of holding thus far. The girl he had let hold his imagination during those nights where he just could not bother to go to sleep. Lunthe Durandal, the girl that he only dreamed he could possibly even stand a chance with.

Those chances slide right into his fingers in the grace of his King, the grace of the only man who had made this possible for any of them to be here. It was all thanks to NEket that right now the very definition of human perfection stood right in front of him, in his hands, crying for him. Yes, he knew it was for Braithe and herself, schoolmates that he had personally never got onto a friendly level with that was making her actually cry. But it was him she begging, it was him that those eyes were finally focusing on. It was him that finally had all the attention that he had so rightfully deserved. Lunthe had no choice but to acknowledge him, she had no choice but to plead to him, she had no choice but to choose him.

He wasn’t giving her the option. Not anymore.

“You didn’t make anyone mad baby, no. This isn’t your fault… “

Not when she had chosen so wrong for so long.

Audi let his knee hit the ground as he stared up into wild blue eyes. There was another tug on his heart, the world already hazy seemed to blur into nothing but blank ground. Her skin felt nothing like the way his late night fantasies had felt, silk and satin held no candle to the pale flesh under his. Her eyes more blue than he had ever expected, the bright flecks of sapphire more vibrant in her eyes than had ever been able to see. In this sort of despair, the sort of defeat that was beginning to cling to her like a second skin, she seemed fragile, so easily broken that he needed to keep her. Had to keep her, by his side, protected, endeared and loved properly for the first time in her life.

He needed to provide for her the safety that she had never been offered before from this world.

“Lunthe, listen. As long as you cooperate, as long as you listen, Braithe is safe. She won’t die tonight. Okay?”

One of his hands shifted pulling both of those wrist into one of his hands, his other hand came up to push violet strands back behind her ear, his finger coming down to trace the pattern of her jawline until his thumb caught up under Lunthe’s chin, tipping it backwards slightly so that she had to catch his eye. And entrancement took over him, petty and weak to the ways of his violet haired queen.

“Lunthe, you do understand me, right?”

-----------------------------

It was quiet in the gym now.

 Derek marveled at it as he sat in the bleachers, bright blue eyes flickering over the bodies of people he had grown up with, people he had sat next to in class, had given paper to when they had been out. His eyes danced over faces that had sneered at him, faces of people who had made his life a living hell and laughed as they watched his misery unfold before their eyes, not a single one of them lifting a hand when the world seemed to be closing in on him. They passed im, ignored him, for something as trivial as the person who had helped conceive him’s sins.

 None of them had helped him. None of them had reached out a hand for fear he would be like the man he was forced to call his biological father, for fear he was like a man he didn’t even really know, a man who had been in his life long enough to leave the ragged scars over his body and heart and soul, his mind ravaged and bleak, but not a single person had lifted a hand to help.

 Why should he help them as they beg for their lives now?

 He listened for a moment, the heavy feeling of his phone in his hands as it lit up once again with another text message, listened and ,used on the sound of their hearts, the rapid fire beats that filled the air, silent to those who had not made the change and strangely comforting to those who did. Namely. Him. Derek listened to the hearts as they started to stutter, slow, but the sound of more, or harsher heartbeats covered the last dying soft beats with rapid, vivid pounding, the course of blood singing in their veins before he shifted, lifting his phone backup to read the little box that held Kasmir’s message.

 Derek was happy for him. Honestly if there was anyone in their group who had deserved a no fight capture of their girl, it was Kasmir. Now, don’t get him wrong. Derek Loved Emmy. Adored her really. She had easily become one of their group when she had started hanging out with Kasmir, her intergration not nearly as awkward as he had anticipated it to be. She fit in well with them, mismatched as they were and as Rowdy as they could potentially become, Emmy had become sort of dear to them, the past two years seeing her on a near constant basis. Derek loved her, but he didn’t love her like Kasmir did.

 Derek could honestly say it was almost sickening how much Kasmir loved the girl. For years, all he would draw was her, little doodles on homework that Derek was trying to copy because work took too much of his time, on paper probably best left untouched but kasmir couldn’t ever find it in himself to care. Derek could remember rolling his eyes as Kasmir went off, again, about her, some thing she did or something she had said that some how made the sun shine out of her ass. Watching him was nauseating. But he was happy for him, happy he found some who made him feel that way.

 At least he had the courage to start something with the girl he loved. Derek had never so much as said a word to his in real life.

 His heart rate sped has he thought of her, the one girl who had managed to ensnare him with nothing but the wave of her hands and the glance of her vibrant eyes. Derek had never really spoken to Romi Masters in real life, but he had developed something of a crush on her early on in his school career. It wasn’t hard to see why. Even when they were younger, Romi had always been pretty, a child everyone loved to be around and tried to befriend. Derek had watched from afar, the heavy cloud of his father’s last name following him everywhere he want, preventing him from basking in the sun with her when all he was meant for were shadows. Like every other boy his age, he had developed a crush on the girl, and his feelings never wavering but never intensified either as he made his way through the grades. It just was, she was continuously the prettiest girl he had ever seen, and it had remained as simple as that.

 Until he found her online.

 He hadn't been looking for anything discriminatory when he had found the website. Rather, he had been curious, bored enough to go through the effort of searching, a long hot night of summer that found him skimming over blue links as he typed away. It wasn’t until he notice a few words, over and over and over again that he found the tumblr in the first place. He could remember the panic in his veins as he saw video after video, picture after gif after gif and picture of her, bent over in various degrees of undress and that had been the start of his slow decent into madness. There she was, a practical goddess, a queen of his school, talking and laughing and joking, her private snapchat and her private accounts available with a monthly subscription.

 Romi Masters was a Cam girl, and she was a damn good one, and Derek was not a strong man.

 He had started looking for a job the next day.

 Derek closed his eyes now, breathing in as he felt his body shake again.

 Looking back on it, it all seemed just so innocent. An Innocent crush. He was just like the rest of the men who followed her, lead by hormones and teenage impulse. He had never expected it to lead to this, to lead to this burning aching feeling that lingered in his blood long after she had gone to bed for the night and told him goodnight.

 But it saved her tonight. Her ability to pull his heart strings with a bat of her lashes saved her from the massacre that he watched indifferently.

 “Kasmir’s on his way back to the Hold. Emmy’s all sorts of out of it, but she’s not putting up a fight. If only we all could be so lucky.” Derek’s voice snapped out of the silence, amplified slightly by the open air of the now near empty gym. He stood easily, sliding his phone back into his pockets as he allowed his foot to slip of the bleacher, catching himself mid fall with the other foot to send a loud resounding  bang out across the acoustics.

 His mind was filled with the pretty dyed white and brunette, his thoughts lingering on her as he settled on the ground floor, taking in a deep breath as he heard the heart beats racing at the sound of his footsteps.

 “Do you hear that?” Derek’s voice purred as he tilted his head, missing as his brother rolled twin colored eyes, though one was a much lighter blue than the other, scares spilling down one half of his face as a reminder of what this night was really about.

 “Yes Derek, Because there isn’t ten thousand other sounds going on right now.”

 “Shut up Helix, I mean that thrumming.”

 His gaze shifted over the bodies, listening, as his body tense, lips pulling slightly in the slightest of smirks.

 “Someone’s still alive in here.”

 -------------------------------

It hurt. So bad. She could not recall a moment in time when she had ever felt any sort of pain this bad. Not even the time she broke her leg in third grade falling off the fireman's pole. Even then she had been able to keep a smile on her lips, hell, she had been the one to comfort her parents. Her mom was in damned near in sobs, her father had tears running down his neck. But Romi, she had kept that smile on, let them believe the pain was nothing. But not now. Now she cried, her heart stuttering to a halt before picking up pace again in her throat. Pain bloomed in a wild array,her head throbbing right along with arm, the bullet still lodged into her shoulder. Now pain was the only thing that she could concentrate on while the world around her was going crazy.

  She couldn’t recall a time where there had seen so much blood, slipping through her fingers to cruise down the length of her other arm as well. No, there was not a single memory she could even try to connect to as much blood there was in this moment. But the scene played behind wet eyelashes hundreds of time over now. The kid that had decided to have just the right amount of courage to ask her to prom, all smiles, sweet. Aaron Weatherly. His hand wrapping over her shoulders as Arsen Michaels began to talk. A valedictorian she had not even heard of before, but he was way too serious, more than anyone should be at prom.

 Aaron let her rest in the crook of his body, warm and protected almost, as he bent down to whisper sweet little nothings into her ear. Which she really couldn’t lie, they were working, blush crawling its way up her neck as he spoke softly. Words only meant for her. Words that distracted her from the problems that were pursuing on stage, as she pulled closer to him, her arms wrapping around his waist.

 It was a good night. All the fun and magic that she had heard of. To be honest the night had been exactly what she had wished for it to be. She had a hot date, who knew how to treat her, she had the perfect dress, people were staring in awe.

 That was until the shocked gasp ripped through the air, another person she really could not name taking the stage with a swoop of enthusiasm that the other boy just didn’t seem to hold for the night. And that’s when her night turned sour. The magic seemingly disappearing in an instant.

 The scurry, the crowd clattering, running over one another to get to the doors before the shooters could get to them. There was a sickening calm as they had been huddled back into the gym. This new figures words echoing through the room, only to cause more panic. Shots rang out, wild and coming from every angle. There was a rip, an audible one she could hear. But it wasn’t just the sound, it was the pain, the burn that blossomed in her shoulder that made her realize what had just happened.

 But there had been no time. No time to collect herself, to try to get somewhere safe. No in the frenzy of the crowd.

 She had lost Aaron, not a second later. Almost immediately, his body collapsing on hers in a messy heap. His body completely limp as he looked down at the world with dead eyes, his mouth open, blood already swelling to pour over what she had once or twice that night thought were rather pretty.

 It wasn’t the initial terror she would have thought would have went through her mind, it was confusion. A deep rooted confusion that had her head spinning. It took only seconds for the disgust to build up, another one she had not expected if this situation had ever occurred. But even that subsided as realization hit. A scream of terror ripped through her lips as shifted, desperate to get out from underneath her dead date. Her fingers clawing into the cloth that made up his now ruined suit jacket.

 “Here,... Romi grab my hand!”

 Electric blue filled her vision, gold eyes penetrating her as a pale hand was offered, even though his eyes reflected the panic that she could feel rising there was a certain courage that he held that she knew she didn’t. But she moved, latching onto Tanner’s extended arm.

 An from there that how they had found themselves here. Huddled in the back corner underneath the bleachers, with Tanner’s hand trying to pry away blood soaked fingers. She could vaguely see the furrow of his eyes brows, the concentration that he was exerting to move her hands, the small plea in his eyes as he flickered from the wound to her and then back again.

 “Romi,... I have to stop the bleeding. You have to let go.”

 He was crouched in front of her, back to the darkness that surrounded them, his only concern helping a girl that felt utterly helpless.

 “Do you have your phone on you? We gotta call the cops or something…. I can’t find mine.”

 Her voice came out softly, barely a whisper, almost what she would call inaudible. She shook, with pain, her voice cracking underneath the pressure of her tears. But she didn’t move, didn’t lift her fingers from the wound even as his fingers pried.

 “No, i don’t… But someone had to have already… Romi… I need to see your arm.”

 “It hurts.”

 Silence bristled between the two for a few seconds. The thick atmosphere not any clearer back here than it was out there. But she could feel his body warmth over her, the protection that he was exuding was something she clung to now, in this moment there wasn’t anything else she could really concentrate on. Her fingers pulled away, only to rest on a clean cut suit, bunching the fabric in her fingers.

 “I know.”

 --------------------------------

 It was strange. Death was not something new to the black haired girl. Death was something she had seen, and witnessed up close and personal. She had never personally had a hand in the death of another being, having never been the one to land the last blow that ended a human being’s life, but she had seen it, witnessed it as her brothers tried to move her out of the way, tried to block her vision but never quite being able to fully shield her away. Death wasn’t something new to her, but this was something more than just death, something more than the brush of inevitability, The light at the end of the tunnel that everyone would see.

 The massacre she watched unfold before her was nothing more than pure, cold hearted revenge, such brutal violent acts could only be spawned from the hatred that must have boiled in their blood, found home in hearts blacker than coal. There had been only one instance she had seen when the rage in their movements, their laughter, the wicked gleam to their smiles, in another person, and it had been years ago, days long past but now, she felt like she was reliving that horror all over again, but in a scale so grand it both dazzled and terrified her.

 This was not how she had thought she would die, and the fact had long since settled in her gut, a thick pill to swallow but done easily with the fear that now raced through her veins, her heart hammering in her chest to pulse out a beat of her terror, fast paced and loud in her ears. Her eyes were stuck, locked on the sight of boys she knew, boys she used to hang around when she would be waiting for Heru to leave a class or a meeting with a  teacher, boy she had watched grow up as she did, had followed behind as their school existance got darker and bleaker, and Nephine found that in the deepest parts of her heart, she could not pass judgement…. At the very least, not for the actions they chose.

 Pushed enough, tempered enough, hurt enough…. Everyone had a breaking point. It just seemed that These boys had met thiers.

 Nephi breathed as she huddled behind the curtains on the stage, her heart hammering as she glanced around the shadows surrounding her, once again to try and find a way out they may not have thought of. She already knew the doors to the gym were a no go, one already sealed shut in some sort of way, the other guarded by someone who was plucking off daring would be escapees one by one. The bathrooms on either side of the stage were a no go was well, she would have to walk down the stairs to get to the bathrooms to even attempt to get to the windows that lined the bathroom walls, running a higher risk of being heard. Nephine’s heels were already resting in a forgotten corner of the stage, her breaths shallow as she tried to breath as silently as possible.

 Gunfire had slowed to nothing, and now she could hear the soft murmurs of voices, too muffled to make out words but just clear enough to hear tone, for her to make a guess on who it was. She could hear them as they converse, bits and fragments of sentences as they moved, the rippling sounds of sobs the only other accompaniment to the laughter and purr of voices along the gym’s floors.

 In times of trouble you can’t sit still, Nephi. You have to move, you have to try and get yourself away and get to one of us. It’s harder to hunt a moving target, so make sure you're the most difficult target there is.

 Cain’s voice drifted to her  mind, her heart rate slowing as her Eldest brother’s words ran over her again, a soothing tone she had always found comforting. Her eldest brother was a little over protective of his family, far more than willing to do whatever he had to to ensure their safety. He had taught Nephi how to survive in the streets, how he had, how to fight, that fair was fair but victory was dirty, and you always strived to be the victor. His voice sparked to life a little flicker of an idea, growing as she breathed in, her eyes closing as her tried to calm herself. Her heart slowed, just the tiny bit, her head clearing slightly of the haze that terror had created, her thoughts falling to one single sentence.

 She had to find Cain.

 The thought hit her, even now, oddly. She felt like a child for it, felt like a child because it was the first thought she had.  Nephi’s single thought was to find her brother, simply for the fact that Cain was Cain, and he always had the answers. It was like this since as long as she could remember, where Cain was always able to solve the problems of his Younger Brothers and sister, always had the answers to any question, and problem that popped up. It was a long shot, she could give it that. Besides the fact that her school was locked down and there was manic killers left on the loose, boys she once knew but could no longer recognize. There was also the fact that her brothers, all eight of them, had suddenly up and disappeared. About a week ago, Nephi could remember waking up to a silent house, something unusual for the family of nine. Her house was not known for quiet, wasn’t known to be peaceful. It was hard to maintain any level of order when there was eight boys crowded into a house, regardless on how much space her brother had.  So when she had woke up to silence, She had been confused. Later she found all her family gone, left with coffee still steaming in the pot and a note from Cain that simply said “Use for food and emergencies” and instructions on how to use his credit card. It was true, there was some times that Her brother went on ‘business trips’ and oftentimes many of her brothers went with him, be it for protection or intimidation, Nephi never got to hear,but it was never all of them, certainly not Sterling, the only other protected Child in the family besides herself.

 She knew part of her plan was because she missed them, but a huge part, the larger part, was the scared little girl that would run to find comfort in her brother’s , the girl that ran to them when ever she got bullied. They were nasty, they were crude, they were assholes, but they always protected her, and right now, all she wanted was the familiar. They had been gone for a week now, and it would be a huge jump, but she could go to Cain’s hideout, where his office resided and he could usually be found, if not that, then a clue as to his location.

  If nothing else, if by some miracle she found him, he would be able to keep her safe, would be able to fend off any monsters that might creep into her nightmares, would fix this and help her find Ryker and Braithe and Lunthe, visions of them, uncharacteristic but there in Nephi’s fears, huddled away as they shook in fear, Her heart plummeting at the thought of Ryker’s breath catching in her chest as her body worked itself into overexertion. Worry hit her harshly, and she squared her shoulders and pushed off the floor, hands braced against the floor as she started to move.

 Her only option at this point was to try and get to the back door of the stage, the rarely used exits of the dressing rooms. She started to move, her mind scream at her as she tried to silence her raging heart, bare feet hitting polished wood as she sucked in a breath, heading straight for the stairs that would lead to the back maze of dressing rooms, and hopefully to one of the few girls Nephi would give her life for in a heartbeat, be it the pastel twins or her little golden girl.

 She stood as she came to the door threshhold, her nerves on fire as she pause to listen, to try and hear if anyone could hear her. She heard nothing as the door moved silently only, thankfully , oiled hinges, her eyes scanning the area before moving on, allowing her feet to hit the stairs as she felt around in the dark for the rail. She pause only for a moment as the door closed, allowing her eyes to adjust to the pitch black, before she continued on, a determined look across her face

 Keep moving…. Don’t stop…

 Nephi breathed, trying to keep herself quiet, finally down the stairs and into the dark. There was a sliver of light from the little glass rectangle in the door, where she could see them standing, just a few yards away from the stage, backs turned toward her. She would have paid it no mind, would have turned away from them if it wasn’t for the flash of pastel purple strands and bright pink gloves and rainbow shoes.

 The twins.

 Her heart dropped as she watched them, her hands on the wall as she stood on tiptoes to see them, the hands of the abnormally tall Michaels wrapped around Lunthe’s body, the lavender colored girl pushing and shaking her head. She still couldn’t hear words, but she saw Neket, the mirror image of her own demon, move toward a practically vacant Braithe, the small girl’s eyes locked on him, never moving.

 She knew it was stupid, knew that her best plan of action would be to find a way to get help, to get to her gang leader brother and get back up, weapons, anything, but she couldn’t leave them, not like this, not in their hands. She couldn’t just do nothing, and so she moved, biting back a curse as she stepped back into the darkness, looking around for something, anything she might be able to use as a weapon. Most props were pushed to the sides, on top of one another in a rush to get things ready for prom. She shifted, creeping until she felt her hand close around something solid and small, long enough to swing and heavy enough to do some damage. She wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be, some sort of cane or staff of some sort, gnarled wood with of black along it, smooth but bumpy.

 That’ll work.

 There wasn’t much time to plan, as she knew she would only have maybe a second or so’s opening to do anything, so she moved, creeped slowly until she was in front of the door, green eyes lifted to peek out again, this time t judge carefully for her opening.  Her hand moved, placed on top of the light switches just inside the door, hoping and praying they were what she thought they were, a connected set that would turn off the lights to the gym.

 Her gaze never wavered, her heart a steady pulse in her ears, her breath caught and stuck in her lungs. She wouldn’t allow them to kill them, wouldn’t allow them to take her friends.

 Not without a fight.

 Okay...GO!

 Nephi’s hand swiped down on the lights next to her, her prayers answered as the whole of the gym descended into darkness for a moment. The bright lights stopped, only the disorienting flash of the colorful strobe like lights moved along the wooden floor, music pulsing the back ground to cover the groan of her opening the door. They looked up, blinking as they tried to adjust back to darkness, off guard for all of a moment.  They didn’t see her as she moved, creeped along the floor, before she burst forward and swung, eyes closing as she threw her weight into it. She felt it connect, but she didn’t wait before she turned, using her moment to strike at the other.

 She didn’t look to see what she had done, only moved to pull a Stunned Lunthe and a shocked Braithe to their feet, pushing them to run as she pulled them along to the now guard free door.

 “Run. Run run Run Run Run Run!”

 Nephi couldn’t remember speaking them, but she heard it, a chant in her mind and on her tongue as she bolted, ears ringing and her heart pounding as light flooded behind her again.

There was a soft click of metal on metal as the stall door shut in place behind her, dark eyes turned to the brunette she called her best friend. Who, in this instance looked just as confused as her. The voice was strong, confident as he spoke out loud. His voice carrying more authority than he really ever had before, or at least more than she had  ever heard from the dainty looking Michaels.

Arsen was not a confident man. But the man on the stage? He was. He was confident and proud and was for once standing up for himself. Something she had been saying they all needed to do.

‘Good for him.’

“Lee? Who the fuck is Lee? You don’t just fucking disappear for a fucking week and then come back with a new fucking name. You’re friends are fucking idiots.”

Buster smiled, looking up at Axel through a rim of thick lashes, letting her forearms rest on the cold granite of the sink, brown eyes finding green a little too easily. The brunette only offered her a stoic expression and a eye roll, her lips pulling carefully into a sarcastic smile herself.

They both knew damned well that the small group of misfit loser had become more like family to them. They both knew that the group was like a second home, would either of them admit to the truth? Never. But that didn’t mean it was not true.

No matter how ‘hard’ Buster wanted to pretend she was, her boys would always have a little soft part of her heart.

There was a pause between words though, a shuffle that she couldn’t quite keep up with, instead she turned her attention to the sink she currently had her hands under. The water was warm, refreshing where the air around her seemed frozen. Like it had dropped twenty degrees with no sort of announcement. She knew she was going to get cold. It’s part of the reason why she originally planned on wearing a tux. Before Oberon had said yes to her, that was.

She could feel the sting to her cheeks as she thought about it, a sting of shy that she was nowhere near used to having, crawled its way up her spine. Trickling through her veins until she felt as if her entire body was lite up like a fucking christmas tree.

Oberon fucking Mathers.

Just the thought of him, his name alone, brought a warmth to her chest. One that try as she might she could not squash down.She still hadn’t seen him tonight, though he had left her many instructions. Including taking the damn limo that had got herself and Axel there. To be honest, after a week of no messages or never seeing the familiar faces at the school she had thought they dipped out on her and Axel. She thought they had all decided to take themselves away from the girls.

But she had seen Neket, she had seen Heru and Brahm. Heard Arsen even now. They were here, if the others were. They basically didn’t exist without the little squad.

-----------------------

Axel wasn’t sure who Buster was trying to fool, but it certainly wasn’t her.

 The smirk curled along her lips, pulling like the slow spill of ink over a white canvas as she leaned against the counter. Her Eyes flickering toward Buster as she leaned against the counter, that little blush drifting over her features, almost invisible, hidden so well that if Axel hadn’t known her for years, she might actually think that Buster had no cares about anyone in the squad, had no qualms about them and couldn’t care less about what happened to them, like she did for most of the people who had ever come in contact with her. But as it was, there was no one who knew the bond like Axel did, and she would see it, the light tint of pink over her cheeks as her mind drifted, as it always did, to the one one who had managed to wrap the strong willed Xander around his fingers.

 Oberon Mathers.

 Axel wasn’t sure how the two hadn’t fucked already. It was obvious that the two cared for each other, regardless of the insults that seemed to flow between them like one might give a lover kisses. She had watched her train with him, watched her as she had spoken to him longer than she did most, the soft little motions they gave to one another when they thought no one was looking, how they only continued if nothing was said, the slightest of questions enough to get their guard back up and the curses flying again. There watched each other when the other wasn't paying attention, always seek each other like they had been apart for years rather than hours. The past week had been pretty horrible to watch, watching Xander, her best friend, one of the only girls she could actual claim to love, get her hopes up as doors opened and she waited for a  head of platinum blond hair that would never show. Her heart ached, but she kept her mouth shut, her lips sealed from making any comment on it that might embarrass her or make matters worse.

 Because she was missing a Blond Haired, Storm Eyed Mathers of her own,and Axel knew first hand the hurt that could be accompanied with a name.

 Axel sighed as she looked back to the mirror, running her lips stick along her lips before she pulled back, taking in her whole expression, wholly stoic and free of any emotion besides complete and utter boredom. She watched herself, the vision of a girl with infinitely aching heartbeats and spiraling nerves, a girl she knew too intimately and could hardly guess at. Axel tried to make herself pretty, had learned all the tricks and tips to make her eyes pop, to make her lips look fuller, to make her hair fall in just the right way to bring to mind thoughts of tangled limbs and silken sheets. She had struggled to make herself someone to be seen, someone people wanted to be near… because that was supposed to make him want her, supposed to make him see her. Everyone loved beautiful people. So she became pretty, so that he would love her.

 There was a moment of pause before she pocketed the useless thing, not sure why she was even bothering if the boy she wanted to see her tonight hadn’t bothered to show.

 Axel wasn’t stupid. Despite how he acted, what he said, what he thought, Inness wasn’t completely heartless. He wouldn’t have left her in the dark if it wasn’t something important,a  grain of truth she held onto when night fell and sleep evaded her because her messages had went unanswered, again. He was, at the very least, Her friend, someone she had grown to lean on, to care for, maybe possibly more than she should have. He didn’t usually go this long without answering her, without telling her off for blowing up his phone or for being outside his window, throwing rocks, acorns and climbing his tree so she might just knock on the window to see if he was there. This past week, she hadn’t seen him, hadn’t heard from at all and while this was strange… She knew he had to be here, having seen a few of the members of the Squad, had even caught eyes and waved to Neferox as he slid through the crowd. They didn't go really anywhere without each other, and the squad would not leave the squad behind on prom night. She just hadn’t seen him, and the thought of maybe he was trying to avoid her sprung up, unwanted but possible.  She supposed it wasn't anything she could really be mad at.

 After all, He had never told her to fall for him. He hadn't told her to be attached to him. He hadn’t told her to want to be around him or talk to him nearly every second of the day...

 Axel was just an Idiot.

 She sighed as she tilted her head, listening as Arsen spoke up, his voice clear, strong, distant and muffled in the sort of way that she could not really hear what he was saying, more understanding the tone. She smirked as she listened, turning back to the refection in the mirror as she lifted her hands to her hair.

 “Sounds like Mr. Valedictorian grew a pair.”

  She hummed, before she heard the rumble of confusion and the shriek that followed. There was a sound, something she could not describe before she heard it, the single fire before the screams ripped through the air and footsteps started to roar. Axel’s heart dropped, her lips parting as her eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as she whipped around to stare at the door.

 “Lock the door Buster.” the words were spoken lowly, whispered as she felt her heart sink and slam into her gut, lungs not getting enough air.

 “Where’s my phone…?”

-----------------------

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

 The words slipped through her lips, barely audible but spoken to Axel nonetheless.There was a mixture of confusion that was swarming, buzzing in her head with enough intensity to throw the blonde completely off. Her eyebrows were narrowed at the door as the screams tore through the gym, shrill and enough to leave a chill up her spine. She could hear Axel’s frantic whisper, eyes wide on the door. Just as much of the confusion that Buster felt was painted over her best friends features.

 “Did he say Neket? He said Neket… Neket’s doing this?”

 It was real. This was really happening at their high school. Someone had really decided to shoot up their school on prom night. Someone had actually showed up, dressed to the nines and looking more than likely the best they ever had in their life and decided that this was the perfect time to get rid of their problems. And from the sounds that swarmed outside of the door, it sounded like every breathing person in the school was a problem.

 It was seconds later and another shot fired through the air, those terrible screams stopping momentarily. All of them coming to halt as she heard the shuffling begin to pick up. She heard the soft click of heels against the wooden floor, the hard clunks of students dragging their feet in defeat. There was a silence again, only the low sobs of distress, and a hollow laugh picked up. Loud and clear through the quiet of the night. Buster’s heart plummeted, dropping until she could no longer feel the organ. A hand pressed into Buster’s shoulder, yanking her attention from the sounds of horror that lay outside the thick door.

 Buster let her eyes fall back to Axel, momentarily before Neket’s voice picked up again. Just the sound of his voice sent a tremor up her neck, setting her hair till it felt like it’s ends. He was unhinged, completely lost in some sort of madness that he had found.

 “Lock the door….”

 There was a hesitation to her moves. They were her friends she thought. Neket, Arsen, all of them. They were supposed to be the boys that had a shit time in highschool but once they were out. You knew they were gonna make it big. She used to say it. All the time. Mabe not in so many words, but they were her boys. They were supposed to be by her and Axel when they graduated. They weren’t supposed to turn on her. They weren’t supposed to turn on Axel. They were supposed to be there when times got too hard for them.

 Though from the looks of it, she was never there during their hard times.

 “Lock the fucking door Buster!”

 Buster moved, launching herself forward until she was against the door, her fingers shook as they turned the gold lock into place, the click louder than she would have liked. But still she pressed her ear to the door, listening to the words that Neket was speaking to the crowd, their cries becoming increasingly louder.

 “Get to the window, see if you can reach it. If it opens.”

 It felt like a black hole was starting in her chest as she skidded to Axel’s side, who was already turned to the bathroom stalls.

 ----------------------

She didn’t hear words, didn’t hear really anything as she watched Buster moved, launching herself at the door to lock it with trembling fingers. She watched her as she pressed her ear against the door, her own heart drowning out the words that spilled past her lips, her body already turning, eyes snapping toward the small square windows that lined the  bathroom wall.   Her hands were shaking, her vision blurring as her breath felt like it was caught in her lungs, shallow pants accompanying the sting in her eyes.

 She had heard his voice, Had Heard Arsen Michael's Voice, then she had heard the noises, the screams that had burst and bloomed along the night, to join the cry of the cicadas outside. She had heard it as his voice disappeared, heard the calls of another familiar voice, once that she had last heard a week ago as it mumbled something about needing space and time, the notes to that voice so melancholy it broke her heart. There was nothing of that sorrow now, as his voice rang out in confidence and pride, resounding victory interlaced in every word as she moved through the stall, her hands pressing against the white wall that held the windows, her only chance it felt, at surviving.

 She didn’t know what to think anymore.

 She thought she knew them. Axel had spent years by these boys side, years spent hanging out with them, getting to know them, growing closer and closer to the boys until she couldn’t imagine a life without them in it, all of them, their differences so vivid and bright, people she proudly, and often proclaimed as her boys. They were supposed to have each others backs, supposed to care about one another, but now, if what she feared was true, they had turned, betrayed them, and Axel was left in the dust now, wondering about whys and what ifs.

 Her mind raced, hearing those shots again, every little sound making her jump slightly as she reached, lifted her hands so she might graze at the bottom of the sill. She reached, not able to get much leverage in the heels she had decided to wear, grunting as she reached for something just beyond her grasp.

 “I can’t reach it.” the words were strained, tight as she left out a frustrated sigh, her heart hammering as a certain kind of anxiety slid along her spine, making her feel heated, hot, like there was a beast breathing on her neck that might finally catch up to her, jaws snapping against soft skin as she jumped, trying to reach it. She heard her moved, the soft click of her shoes as the screams got louder, her hands finding axel in the dark, the lights slowly, methodically, turning off.

 Axel nearly let out a whimper and fear closed around her throat, tightening like solid fingers over her neck as she gasped for air.

 Axel didn’t want to die. Her heart hammered with desire, a lightning hot flash of desire to live, the desire for the life she had always fantasized for herself.

 Axel wanted to see that new horror movie that was coming out next week. It was supposed to be wicked scary, completely and totally out ranking the old ones on gore and scare, and she was hoping to ask Inness to go with her.

 Axel wanted to go to the mall with Buster tomorrow. She had presents she had to shop for, little graduation gifts she wanted to buy her boys and little party favors for the parties she would throw just for them. She wanted to buy Buster those new boots she had been eyeing, wanted to spoil the girl she had come to care so desperately for. She wanted to take her to her favorite places, wanted to hold her hand as she walked down the boardwalk.

 Axel wanted to own her own  auto shop, a place she would love to hate and love to love and work, placing all her love and interest into a single place, a place she could just work on cars and learn new tricks or just relax as she did what she loved, working on a new car for herself or for him because let's face it, she was a sucker for that half smirk that was more malice than joy and a blond with pretty grey eyes.

 She wanted to get her own apartment, realize she hated paying bills and be an adult but still live with it because the house would be hers, the tiny little slice of an apartment would belong to her, and it wouldn’t be much but it would be a place she could make into a home,A Place He could go when life around him seemed to be to hard, a place to call his home away from home, where she could protect him and black out all the hate the world seemed so determined to throw his way.

 She wanted to live. She wanted with everything she had to live.

 Buster pushed her up, axel’s hands catching the sill of the window. Axel was never a  strong girl, fast but weak. Her arms shook as she pulled herself up, trying to fight with the lock on the window as her mind raced and pushed her shaking hands to work faster, her eyes widening as she felt it, the danger creeping up on her and Buster. She shook, but finally shaking fingers had their day, the lock finally releasing as she pushed, the heavy window feeling like it hadn't been moved in centuries.  

 “Push me up!” Axel spoke, her hiss accompanied by her eyes flickering over the moon lit courtyard of her school. She wasn’t that high up, she realized as Buster pushed her farther up, but it would take a minute to jump down without hurting herself.

 “Okay, Come on.”

 Axel held out her hand as she shoved herself halfway through, dragging Buster up with her as her body started to slide down.

 Just a few more minutes…. And they would be free.

--------------------

 It was every where, it was on her hands, across her chest, her neck, splattering across pale cheeks, she could feel the blood dripping off her fingertips as they dangled off the sides of the bench. The droplets hit with a light tap against the floor, barely audible in her ears as she stared out the wide windows of the gym. The world was a haze around her, blurring objects around the edge of her vision, all the while she tried to concentrate on the moon. Tried to take the constellations in but through the slim confines of the tiny windows she could only see the moon and clouds that seemed to be devouring the sky.

Or at least the view. Even the moon dipped, under the cover of the clouds. Almost as if the scene that was unfurling in front of it was too unbearable to watch. Stas peeked from the clouds, dotting the sky in a shining brilliance before receding back into the comfort and safety of the clouds.

“Ursa Major…. Aquila…. Lyra….”

There was a buzzing behind her ears, a dull thump roaring to life just to disappear just as fast as it appeared. There were dull unearthed screams, humming of the tragedy that was her living nightmare. Serving as a dim reminder of what was happening feet away from her.  But blue eyes were unphased by the surrounding. Her lips still moved to mumble each of her memorized constellations, her mind trying with all its seeming might to block out the gathering frenzy around her.

The words came out a little louder than before, trembling around each word as it passed her lips.

She wasn’t ok.

“Orion… Scorpius…. Cygnus….. Draco, Taurus.”

Emmy moved her hands, the shaking digits came up to push against the wood that she rested on. But all she did was lean forward, her eyes shifting to the floor, and back to the window.

She wanted to stop trying, she wanted to stop fighting, she wanted to give up. She wanted it to be done with. She wanted someone to take her out already, she wanted to stop feeling. She didn’t want to feel the terrible tremors running through her veins anymore. She didn’t want to feel this deep rooted dread that thrummed evilly through her body.

There was a moment's breath as she stood from the bench, her eyes turning from the window to the wave of people that seemed to be falling one by one. She could see the blood filling the floors, feel it slick under her heels. There were familiar faces, faces she called friends and some she only knew from a meeting in the hall. Some alive,... some dead. Some of them stretched, reached out with blood splattered hands out to her.

But she couldn’t feel it. Couldn’t feel the sympathy to bend down to any of them. She couldn’t find the drive to tell them it was going to be okay. That they would get out of this. What was the point in lying to people who were already dead? What was the point in lying to them when there was no sort of real hope that anybody was making it out the doors alive unless these people so willed it.

“Ursa minor, Pegasus,.... Cassiopeia, …. Persuess.”

Her eyes glanced over one of the perpetrators, his grin alive and crawling with evil, his multi colored eyes grazed over her. But there was not a single reaction, his eyes quickly going back to the task at hand, back to the malevolent acts, that smile unwavering. Others passed her, never even batting an eyelash  towards the girl.

But Emmy barely noticed, instead her attention was on the soft clicks of her heels, the sound becoming louder as the screams began to die off, the guns unloading less frequently. She could hear the groans of the people on the floor that were still breathing. But her eyes were on the wildcard blonde that she had once called her kryptonite.

The person that she knew ultimately would steal her life away from her one way or the other. The man that had taken her breath away in whispery kisses and late night conversations. The only person she could truly say if she had lost she would not know what to do with herself. He was her… her friend? Lover?... Possibly killer.

But she couldn’t even really concentrate on him, her eyes shifting back to her feet, her hands were shaking, uncontrollably, her eyes shifting over the little group she had grown to love bit by bit. Even if it was rocky at first. Davy. Derek. Dean. And Kasmir.

Each of them sported a gun, each of them sported the same splashes of blood across their clothes as her and about everyone else in the room. They were lethal, she could feel it in her bones. The way they carried themselves now, each of them different. Physically, mentally. They looked professional, like they did this every tuesday and then went home to sip on jack afterwards.

“Volans,... Leo. Pyxis. Uh,... there has to be more.”

Even her words were shaking now, playing through her mouth with a chatter to her teeth. Wet hot streaks spilled down her cheeks, something she hadn’t noticed until tears began to roll down her neck. She let her hands come up to her neck, wiping uselessly at the tears, her bottom lip jutted as the tears began to build up. Burning behind her eyes. But there was no stopping them when they began to fall, there was no ridding her from the threat of her tears overflowing.

“I can’t remember them all. There’s more. There’s more than that… Maybe. I-i I don’t know…. I can’t think…”

 ---------------------

He couldn’t do it anymore.

 There was only so much that he could take, the wave of nausea hitting him, rolling over his spine as little shivers shook his body. His stomach heaved, jolted in his throat as he turned away, his eyes closing as he sucked in a  weary breath... Arsen wished he could be like them, wished he could be like his friends and like Heru, able to reveal in the direct destruction he was able to cause. His body moved, turning away, his lower back resting on the podium as he fixed his eyes on the wall of curtains behind him, his heart pounding out harsh irregular rhythms in his mind as his chest shook with every reverberating beat.

 He almost didn’t notice when the principal moved, shifting as they finally let go of the young student president to bury their face in their hands. The old man’s voice wavering as he sob his prayers, words no one would hear, words that meant nothing more than wishing.

 “Please God…. please god, no…. Make it stop...”

 He could hear the sobs, hear the whispers of running tears and the sniffle of a running nose as the Principal crouched along the floor, huddle in his hands as he shook, blood pooling around him as he tried to gather himself in a ball as small as possible, trying and failing to keep out of the blood. Arsen watched him, and oddly distant look to his gaze as it stilled on him, hardened and cold even as he caught his breath.

 “God?” He heard himself ask, his voice smooth, slow, questioning in the heat of screams that smoldered around them. He heard the music sing, the strangely soft embodies purring over the scene around him, mingling in the momentary bloodshed, the slowly quieting screams as one by one by one, they were all picked off, the laughter of his friend echoing off the walls. His footsteps sounded hollow, cheap wood with cheap labor matched fault for fault, as he closed the distance between them, his gaze never leaving the man’s hands, watching them as they shook, every little twitch and clench memorized as he pointedly ignored the bleeding body next to him. He didn’t look, did not allow his eyes to drift from the man before him, the man who looked up with a shivering gaze and a blubbering sob that disgusted Arsen to look at.

 “Has he answered you?” He continued, expression hazed over, a strange distant look to his eyes as he bored into the older man’s, “He never answered mine…. Maybe I wasn’t important enough to save….” He mused, mummering quietly to himself as he leaned back on his heels. He tilted his head, looking upwards for a moment before allowing his gaze to fall straight back onto his, a dark burn lingering in his eyes as he watched the man sob.

 “I wonder if He’ll save you? Up. Now.”

 Arsen snapped the words, The principal jumping as his tone suddenly changed. There was a growl to his voice, a ripple in the tone as he flicked his hand up and stood, eyes narrowing on the man the refused to move. He looked confused, blinking at him with wide bleary eyes, earning only an eyeroll from the irritated boy. He moved, reaching out with strength he should not have, pulling the man to his feet. The smaller man trembled under his hold, the tall boy scowling as he moved, pulling the man along as he made his way over the stage, hallow footfalls leading him to the stairs, drawing them out of the white hot spotlight that filled the stage.

 “I don’t have all night, Morath. Don’t waste my time.“ the words were double edged, the blades of which found their mark as Arsen heard him whimper, the memories clear as they sprang to the forefront of his mind, flooding his thoughts and Arsen’s as he took them to relive him seeing a fifteen year old Arsen Sobbing in the chair before his desk, brown hair ripped and pulled, nose clearly broken, his eyes nearly swollen shut. He saw his bruises as The principal had that day, and heard him as he spoke, his tone irritated as he shoved the box of tissues toward the hurt boy and sneered.

 “If you're just going to cry about it, then just go home already. Don’t waste my time.”

 He had sent him on his way with a kick, the words of an over worked principal who hadn’t heard many of the other stories stinging along the last hope Arsen Micheals had ever held. He had wanted to believe that his school would save him, that this wouldn’t be like elementary or Middle school, where they used the phrase ‘Kids will be kids’ at him enough that he hated the phrase, that they would hold people accountable for their actions.

 No such thing happened. High School was just like middle and elementary school, but with more social pressure and raging hormones. People didn’t care about you, people didn’t want to deal with you...You had to deal with your own problems.

 Arsen allowed a single quirk of his lips as he pulled the man past Audi, through the hallways that held the rest of the students, the people who had managed to slip by them and the ones who were not to be harmed. He could hear some of them, light panting and hearts that fluttered like a fly in his ear, a low hum, a buzzing in his ear that followed him through the familiar halls, the lockers, the darkened hallways. Up the stair cases he knew so well, along the twist and turns and classrooms before he finally found the front office.

 “Open the door.”

 The principle let out another whine, only moving as Arsen’s hand pushed, shoving him forward to slam against the door. He brushed his hands off on his suit as the man searched his keys, frowning as he shook his head at the feeling of having touched someone like him for so long. Violet eyes narrowed on the figure, little more than a silhouette in the dim orange light of the street lights outside. He pushed open the door, Arsen’s hand coming up to hold the door as he stepped through. He grinned as he shut the door behind them, his hands falling to his pockets as he turned to look at the Principal one more time.

 He was so much more suited for things like this, the parts of the plan that did not involve gallons of blood.

 “Get in your office, and turn on the intercom. I want you to repeat after me….”

 -----------------

 “Attention, all Students! ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS! Congratulations, first, for making it this far. This did not prove to be an easy feat, as the good majority of you now are…. lying dead….. along the gym floor. Oh God Please-”

 There’s the sound of a scuffle, the sharp sound of something heavy hitting wood, the sharp cry of pain followed by the slow cries and sobs of a broken old man.

 “... For those still alive, The game has Changed. You did well to Hide, But now…. It’s time to Seek. We are going to hunt you down. We are going... to get what we want. ... “ Another sob, more scuffling. The sobs changed, are strained more somehow. There’s a whisper, a hum along the waves that can’t quite be picked up.

 “See... if…. you... last any longer than I- PLEASE DON’T-”

 SNAP.

 There’s a low thump, then silence.

 And the intercom shuts off.

 -------------------------------------

 Kasmir was weak.

 This much he knew, without a shadow of a doubt. He was angry before, filled with vivid rage that seemed to consume him wholly, Had spilled from him in the form of a strangle battle cry as he had launched himself at Liam, words flowing from the bastard's mouth that only added fuel to his anger, white hot and painful in his limbs as pain exploded on his knuckles. He knew that it was stupid, that he was already better them him so he didn’t have to prove a thing, but the moment he saw him, Kasmir forgot about the change in his blood, forgot the new legacy he had taken like a crown, forgot everything. He was suddenly nothing more than human, and he was overwhelmed with the hate he could have for the man who held a claim on the woman who had claimed him. He had beaten him, ripped him apart with his own two hands and Kasmir had reveled in it, his grin widening as he laughed, and laugh and laughed, unable to express his fury in any other way.

 He was his first kill, and the memory of it was enough to burn in his body like his blood was made of gold the sounds of violence to loud to drown out, the soundtrack that would be his prom now seared into his veins. The other had only watched him, had pulled him off when Liam was nothing more than a corpse, shot full of holes and bean in bruises that bloomed over paling skin. They had been the ones to direct this new found energy into the revenge before him, though that really came as no surprise, considering these boys were the closest he had to a real family, people who cared and loved him completely unconditionally, accepted him in all the ways the world would not. That anger had not dissipated, had not waver for some singular moment, held fast and steady strong as he watched the bodies pile up as the screams turned to sobs, tears of people he would not touch and those he would love to watch die.

 Until he saw her.

  Kasmir was weak, his will and steel backbone melting as he finally saw her, hands lowering as he turned from Davy to look at that figure he was watching, the silhouette of her fame materializing out of the gloom that had started to settle in with the darkness around him. She moved easily; smoothly, like she wasn't thinking on the blood on the ground or the bodies of the people she knew, but rather was just mildly irritated, a stroll in downtown on a particularly windy day. She moved with a purpose, like there was a mission set in her blood and she would burn from the inside out if she did not see it through to the end. She walked toward him, her eyes flickering from him and his friends to the ground and hands before her, her lips moving but he could not quite make out whats he was saying, the thrum and reverberation of gunshots just too loud to let him hear. As she got closer he could make it out, confusion sliding over his features before he moved, taking a  few steps toward her as she neared his friends. She stepped right into his arms, his arms moving, coming out to drop the metal gun in his hands to pull her to him, her face pressed into his neck, free of any blood, as she started to let those tears fall.

 Arsen’s announcement started, his words drifting over the dying sounds in the room. Kasmir hummed, before moving his hand, trailing it so that it cupped the back of her head to press her into him, not letting her up as he held her to him, one ear over his heart  and his lips near the other whispering soft little words to her so that he might take away some of the fear still lingering in her gaze.

 “Shhh…. Shhh. it’s okay. It’s alright Emmy.” His words fell softly, lowly, a soothing hint along the purr as he pressed her into him. He sighed as he heard her speak, her words something that would make no sense to others, to most normal people, but Kasmir’s mind instantly went to the nights he had spent with her on the roof of his house, night spent with a few pillows under their head as they rested on his thickest blanket, comforter pulled up around them, her hands pulled tight around him, for warmth and pleasure. Her words drifted over him, a song he loved and craved as she carved out the figures in the stars for him, her head resting on his chest, directly over his achingly thumping heart, hand moving to trace messages and figures in the night sky with only her imagination. She traced the patterns again and again for him, night after night after night, and Kasmir could just barely remember them, the names she gave and the smile that graced her lips as she pointed them out. Stars were a mystery, fascinating to be sure, but Emmy was just that much more captivating.

 It was hard to keep his eyes on the stars above when all he wanted was to count galaxies in her eyes.

 He ran his hands through her hair, nails running soothing paths through her brown hair, his heart aching but unable to take away her pain, no matter how much he wished it. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, brushing his lips over the crown of her skull as he played soothing patterns on her back, in her hair. He held her, pressed her too him, trying for all the world to be whatever it was she needed.

 “You don’t need to remember them all…”

 Finally the announcement was done, a furrow to his brow as he pulled slightly away from her, not allowing her to look away from him as he moved his hand to her cheek, fingertips brushing, running over her soft skin as he took her in. Her eyes were wide with fear, lost in her mind as he locked his own blue gaze with hers, a drew in a breath.

 He could remember trying. Trying and trying and training and failing to count the stars in her eyes, the seas that drew him in and begged him to come explore their depths. He could remember the color of her eyes vividly, but in the past week he hadn’t had that, hadn’t had colors or emotions or anything. He had felt as he had before when he would see her with Liam, almost empty, filled with nothing but rage and revenge. But when he looked at her now, he didn’t have to remember, because the color bloomed to life before him, radiat skies that made his knees weak and his breath catch as he struggled to find himself in her eyes.

 She was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. H had always thought this, but new eyes took her in, aching, bubbling with all the emotions he had thought she had lost.

 More than beautiful, she was his. Only his now.

 “She okay, Kas?” He heard Derek speak, his voice turned and twisted, concerned mixed with trepidation. He was worried, that much was sure, But he could see it in the eyes of the other, Dean and Davy that were looking over their shoulder to their little honorary member of the group.

 They worried about the Squad. They worried most about their own. Emmy was theirs now, and so their worries over the other bleed straight into their worries about her.

 “I have to get her out of here.” it was his only reply, the only thought that did not circle about Emmy. He saw Davy cast a look to to Derek and Dean, catching their eyes to pass a look between them they thought he couldn’t see. Kasmir ignored them as he shifted slightly, leaning so he could speak to her lowly, her heart hammering in his ears.

 “Emmy. Emmy, baby, My love, I’m gonna pick you up now, okay?”

 ---------------------------------

There it was. That steel she had been waiting for, the anchor in the  turbulent storms that she called her emotions. Braithe’s words hit her, harshly, and she felt herself dig her teeth into the soft flesh of her tongue, trying drawing vivid blood red to the surface, to fill her mouth as she swallowed thickly around the need to tell her how wrong she was.

 Now, really was not the time, and the Purple haired sister cursed as she realized she would have no time to try and dislodge those ideas forming in her mind.

 She sucked in a breath, fighting the urge to speak her mind, knowing that every minute she spent arguing was another minute spent in the growing open. She moved, keeping her sister’s hand locked with hers, the feeling the weight of her hand in hers the only thing striving off that fear from taking over her again. There was a mission now, a goal she had in mind,a living breathing desire that she held tightly with her hand as she moved, pulling the girl in the remembered direction of the school bathrooms. She didn’t bother to look around, trying to hide in the shadows as much as possible, screams drifting into an almost non existent shiver over her hearing as she pulled Braithe along.

 She had to get out of here, she had to get Braithe out. She crept along the floor, crouching low to the shadows as she pulled them back towards the walls. Her free hand moved, other clenching at Braithe’s fingers like they were a lifeline, painted nails lightly grazing over the weirdly thick paint that seemed to cover all public schools. She crouched, forcing her sister into a low crawl as they crept along the walls, slowly but surely making their way to the only bathrooms in the gym.

 She didn’t get to go very far before she heard him, the scuffle of shoes on the wooden floors of their gym stopping her as she heard his laughter spill past his lips. Her heart raced,panic in her blood as she  stood slowly, her body rising without her telling it too, before she felt the heavy weight of something cold and silver on her shoulder. She could feel it as her throat closed, swallowing thickly around the lump that had formed as he let out a low whistle, taking his cane off her shoulder as Neket Snow moved, danced into their line of vision.

 He looked…good. It was a strange thought, but in a sick, twisted, strange sort of way, Neket had never seemed happier. He looked free, a light to his eyes she had not seen before lighting up the mismatched gaze that seemed to drift, constantly, toward her shivering sister, the girl she pulled back behind her, placing her body between them. He moved easily, eyes shifting back to her, ands he was able to see the worry lifted off his expression, his body relaxed, casual, like he was just walking down the boardwalk.

 The smile on his lips practically spread from ear to ear, his shoulders, usually slumped slightly, weighed down by the burdens his life had become, were sight, squared as he moved to swing the showman’s cane until it was resting on his shoulders, other hand moving to catch the other side like one might a baseball bat.

 “Well, well, Well Look who it is…. The guests of honor!”

 His voices slid uneasily along her spine, her body instinctively moving her and Braithe back a step as he moved forward. His arms spread in grand gesture as he spoke, a pause as he watched her move, the smile only growing wider as he carefully shifted his expression, a clearly mocking look of surprise on his face.

 “You’re afraid of me? Oh that’s just fucking HILARIOUS!” His hands moved, cane swinging as he crossed his arms over his torso, laughing heartedly as he bent backwards slightly, black hair falling as he jerked back up. His eyes were wild, untamed as he snapped his eyes back to hers, locking on them as he rolled his shoulders, fingers and hands moving the cane idly, a dangerous ripple of lethal ease sliding under his skin.

 “You should know better by now….. It’s me, Neket! Loveable, droppable, dangerously homicidal! … Neket. Now, you know you never answered my Question Braithe.”

 It was like she wasn’t even there. His eyes slid past her, moved to her more sullen sister, her eyes wide as she clenched harder to Lunthe. The purple haired girl let out a hiss of displeasure as Neket moved forward, eyes only for her twin sister, his hands playing with that cane, tapping it against his hand, his leg, his shoulder as he swung it up once more. Lunthe held up a hand, fingertips pressing lightly into his chest as she pushed back lightly, trying and keep him apart from her pink haired sister.

 “Stop… Neket, please, don’t do this.”

 -----------------------

 It was fun. This was supposed to be a fun night. And it was. All the fun he could have imagined and more.  

Revenge was a foggy haze in his mind as he moved forward, his arm coming up to rest around his brother's shoulders, the other coming up to pull the man closer to him. His lips found Neferox cheek, pressing adoring kisses all over the tanned freckled skin of his big brother, the last one sounded off with an obnoxious pop as his fingers pulled the chin closer to Vaughn cheek. He was happy, what could he say? Something that did not happen very often in Vaughn’s case. But it was a special night. A, to put it into Arsen’s words, ‘night to remember’. Corny bastard.

The smile that broke over Vaughn’s lips was anything but innocent, the sound of Neket’s laughter pulling up the bubbling giddiness that played a twin, running through his veins. He let his cheek rest against Neferox’s, his eyes moving over the screaming students, his fingers unable to keep still, running their lengths over the fabric that was Neferox’s tux.

Honestly, there was not anybody else that he would rather be here with him. No body else that he would have wanted to share these moments with than all of the squad, his brother.

This was what he supposed to be doing. He had always been meant for this. Him and his squad. It suits them well, more than any of them really cared to contemplate over. But he knew, in the bottom of his little black heart that him and his brother. His friends, cousins. All of them, they were born and fated to be kings. It had just taken a little while and a little pain to get to the position they so rightfully deserved. For the world to finally right itself of its past mistakes.

They were happy, truly happy. Beaming, god damn it.  

Not an ounce of pity behind those smiles that they wore tonight, not an ounce of self loathing or any guilt that would have wracked them usually. Instead, there was a genuine happiness running through them, connecting them all to one another. There was nothing and no one that could take them on, not with them finally feeling the most alive they ever had. Not when they knew they were on top of the world, above them all.

But the scene was coming to a swift end, the blood that had been flying across the room was fading, instead there seemed to be a gathering lake of it. People who were crawling across the floor, smeared it, uncaring in their state that they were ruining their nice attire. There were plea’s now, plea’s that bleed through the thick air around them, those who were left begging for their lives, hoping that in some way they could possibly have a hope, some sort of escape from their inevitable death.

He felt nothing for them, no remorse, no guilt, not even the vague tingle of shame as he watched them, his grin only spreading as pain filled eyes turned up to the boys. Really the only emotion he could equate for them was the fact that they had been able to do what only one other person had been able to do. Only one other person seemed to flare the ‘emotion’ to life, much like the students littering the floor. Only one other person brought this sort of warmth in the pit of his stomach, blossoming in its heat as he watched. And it was that one other person that could soothe it, the only person he would allow.

“Rock fucking solid, my man.”

He didn’t have to ask Neferox to know he felt the same, he didn’t have to even look at his brother's expression. He could feel it, thrumming through him, feel his cheeks move as those lips pulled into a sadistic smirk. A twin of the smile on his own lips. He had seen some of the actions he had chosen, seen some of the things that he had done to the few students that he had specifically marked as his.

Neferox was marvelous, at his absolute prime. The glimmer in his eyes alive and well as he huffed out the shook breaths that held him. His heartbeat was singing in his ears, screaming at the enjoyment that he had raised from the occassion.

Vaughn shifted, pulling himself apart from his brother, his fingers came down to run his hand over the confines of his slacks, his hand running over his covered dick for a moment, before restraining, pulling his hand back up to the back of his neck.

Just as the announcements began Vaughn shifted, his eyes moving to Neferox and back to the doorway. That Audi was moving from, his eyes on the purple haired siren that he held eyes for. A clear ‘battle’ bubbling as he pushed his way through the mass of dead bodies, his eyes never shifting from the girl, the one who seemed too ready to lay down her life for the pink haired one.

His head dipped, lulling on his shoulder to catch cognac eyes. Vaughn feigned a frown, his lips pulling down in an exaggerated display, but his arms came back up to cross over his chest. There was no denying the fact that he knew the girls, saw them or heard about them on daily basis, thanks to Audi and NEket. But the interest never seemed to stick, their names and faces easily slipping from his memory.

“I can never remember names. Which ones are those?”

---------------------

“She speaks! A little odd, considering. You’re not really the one I saw begging me for anything.”

 Revenge was going wonderfully. It was more than he had ever dreamed, the screams of the people who had tormented and robbed him of the life he should have had, the dying light fading in their eyes, the disappearance of which made his heart sting with a memory of watching his own burn out, watching his light fade with every passing year. He couldn’t remember when it had died, just waking up one morning to look in the mirror to see the eyes of a corpse, a dead man walking and talking and breathing, but he was no longer there, a part of him detrimental to healthy human life gone. Their pain made his heart warm, made his body feel light and bright, like his veins were filled with fire. He could still smell it, the blood that flooded the floors of his gym, the salty tang of metal that hung like candy in the air. He breathed in, taking in a deep breath to feel it as the scent filled his lungs, his gaze trying, valiantly, to remain in Lunthe as she pressed her tiny little hands into his chest, like that would keep him at bay.

 Courtesy kept him at bay, and only the ties of loyalty saved her from the fate the rest of her classmates shared. Neket didn’t dislike Lunthe, Rather, back when he had still been nothing but a human, he had actually rather liked her. It helped she was Braithe’s twin, easy enough to look at when she looked exactly like the one you desired, save the mismatched colors. They had gotten along, mostly talking over Snapchat or texting when he wasn’t attached to Braithe’s, He didn’t dislike her, But the fact of the matter was, she was becoming a problem, a hurdle between him and his one.  And to him, though he liked her, cared for her…. That made her expendable.

 However, her saving grace was that she belonged to, not only a squad member, But Neket’s very own newly crowned Lee, the one he would give his life for if it came down to it.  She was not his to touch, not his to play with. Lunthe may have looked, a whole awful lot like his, but he knew better than to try and take what was Audi’s.

 Neket moved, his gaze never leaving Braithe for long, as he reached out, felt the strenuous tremor of the bonds that connected him to the rest of his Squad now, bonds that connected him and his thoughts and their minds to his with a simple thought, his words drifting, seemingly into nothing but knowing that Audi would hear them, that all of his Squad would hear them as he thought them into the bond. His head tilted, the heavy wood of the cane laying heavy over his shoulder, taping once, twice, as he flicked his duel colored gaze toward the man already shifting through the bodies.

 Come get your girlfriend, Tovak. I promised I wouldn’t hurt her, but She starting to get in my way.

 There was no malice to the words, only a slight, light warning laced into the tones. He grinned, turning his attention back to the twin girls before him, pink and purple fluffs that hid their crazy colored hair under synthetic wigs, though usually they were far more lively. Neket stepped back, seeming at ease with it all as he cast a wink to Brathie.

 “So tell me, my darling, Did. You. Miss. Me?“ He purred, his hands still moving that cane around, this time his fingers circling over it to bends and twist, playing with the thickness, trying to see how much pressure was too much as his hands shook with anticipation.

  “Really, i’m just Dying to know…. Not as much as everyone else, but i’m pretty damn close to second.” He amended after cast the Gym a look, his face falling as there was  a moment's pause between his words, his gaze narrowing on the sea of bodies next to them as he played with the hem of his pocket, cane on his shoulder again as he turned to face the approaching brunette with a smile and a light filling his eyes. His hands moved, almost like a reflex, his body turning to step forward toward him, his hand moving to reach out and pull the man to him, arms finding their place around his body, hands trailing before finding his cheeks, fingertips on one hand and his palm resting on him as he looked up at the taller boy.

 His expression fell as he took in his gaze, took in the features of the face he had come to know so well.

 My Audi… Tell me you're okay. The words were there, silent but hanging in the thoughts between them. Neket’s expression fell slightly as he pulled him closer, so that he could lightly bump his head against his, forcing him to look him in the eyes. Neket needed Audi to be okay. He needed it if tonight was going to be anything close to perfect, and he could see the worry in Audi’s face, the slight difference in expression. His eyes flickered back to Braithe and lunthe, who stood rock still in their spots…. Which was smart.

Neket did not look bothered, quite the opposite. He looked practically on top of the world, positively in his prime. A lethal machine as he moved through the crowds, dissecting his prey with piercing eyes and a devilish smile. He was proud, truly proud to be himself for the first time since they were small. He was distractingly cocky, and Heru watched for a moment as he spun his way through the small burst of people.

 A low rumble slipped through Heru lips, his own eyes scanning over the crowd again, until a small cluster of girls fell into his view. Bringing up a lump in his throat that he had failed to realize was growing in size. It was almost overwhelming just to see her from afar. It was almost like the world was coming to a halt, just for him. Just so that he could take her in and not have to miss any minute that he could have with her by his side. Where she rightfully belonged. Where his Nephie had always rightfully belonged.

 “Ryker, please. Pick up your phone.”

 The voice came from the vivacious darkling, skimming over the crowd to his nely sensitive ears. Smoky. Suggesting dark nights and silken sheets. Sex and Sin. Velvet like a neat whiskey so smooth, yet burning all the way down.

Heru closed his eyes. His body tightened, a savage, urgent reaction to that amazing voice. No woman should be allowed to sound like that. That candlelight and “come fuck me” tone gave her unfair advantages over a man.

He turned slowly. No one could possibly live up to that sultry, drawl so erotic and sensual, an invitation to wild nights and temptation. She stood draped against the wall, one hand on her hip, her enormous eyes on her phone. He would never forget those eyes. Before, they’d taken up her face, a wild flower green fringed with impossibly long, thick feathery lashes, as dark as the cloud of hair tumbling around her face. Now, her eyes drew attention to her remarkable skin and the perfection of her bone structure.

 As if her inviting skin and the wealth of thick black hair cascading down her back weren’t enough to bring a man to his knees, her body was all soft inviting curves, and firm defined muscle. Her legs were long and slender and she had a small waist, emphasizing her breasts and hips. Her generous mouth had full, curved lips, bringing on enough fantasies to last a lifetime. His breath caught in his throat and need slammed low and mean into his body.

His reaction to her shocked him. His beast raked and clawed for supremacy. His body hurt, a deep savage ache, every muscle tense. He’d never had such a visceral, intense sexual reaction to a woman in his life. He wasn’t a gentle man, his beast was too aggressive, but he’d learn to control and kept a tight grip on both the man and the beast. For her, he would turn over everything he had. What the hell was it about Nephine Avendale that sent him spinning out of control?

 A low growl rumbled through him, deep, grounding as he let his eyes lavish over her. The sight of her provoking some possessive burst through him, something that turned his blood, and roared in his head as he watched the worry paint her pretty features. He wanted to reach out and brush the worry from her features with soothing caresses.  

 There was a thick swallow as he ripped his eyes from the girl, trying to fight down the urges that were screaming to be let go. It wasn’t near time, Neket had not made any sign of starting yet. And it damned sure was not going to be his fault this whole scene was not going to get to play out the way his brother had wanted it to.

------------------------

He hadn’t meant to say her name.

 Not at first, at least. He hadn’t really meant to say anything, had simply intended to glare at the person who had dared to bump into him, not really wanting to make much of a scene before it was time, but not quite willing to act as if walking all over him was okay again. He had intended to ignore most everyone until he couldn’t any more, But the moment his eyes landed on hers, there was a shift, a sudden awakening. His eyes locked on hers, and suddenly his vision,which had bled dry of colors for about a week now, his world lost in hues of greys and blacks and whites that he could call colors blasted by hues of them, suddenly exploded again, vivid and bright in color as he stared at her startlingly golden gaze.

 This would make the third time that Ryker changed his life, and as they say, third time's the charm.

 Truth be told, Arsen wasn’t sure he would have seen her here at the dance, considering anytime the dance was ever mentioned Ryker seemed to be more than a little pissed off and more than a little stressed about it. But here she was, low bags under her eyes as she flickered her gaze up to meet his, her hands reaching out to rached over the suit he had gotten just for tonight, His breath hitching, heart racing in somersaults as she actually recognized him, her lips pulling in a smile and spoke his name around alluring lips and tongue. He lost himself a moment, watching her lips form the words, little pink tongue brushing out just slightly, occasionally to wet her already glossy lips with a flick of her tongue, all sorts of little vivid fantasies racing through his head. He smiled, his eyes adoring as he looked her over, taking in her dress and body as he took a step closer.

 “Not as Incredible as you, Ryker, You’re rather bad for my health you know, stealing my breath and heart like that. ”

  He grinned at her, extending his hand to her, palm up fingers lightly curled, extended for her to place her hand in his, his gaze never leaving hers as he took her in. He could see it, through the shining beauty she had, the dark circle under her eyes, the shortness of her breath.

 “I had a bit of trouble getting here….. But I’m glad i made it as well, if only because I get to see you.“

 ----------------------

  ‘Oh, no. No. Nope nope. He is not supposed to be… this. ’

 She watched the movement, her eyes moving to the out lifted palm of his hand, the change in him something so apparent that it almost hurt. Gone was the clumsy, shy boy that always offered her his help or food, gone was the boy who had gone out of his way to try and talk to her. This was not the same boy that she had talked to over a week ago. Not even in just the way he looked, but in the way he spoke, in the confidence that seemed to exude from his lips and his very pores. Everything about him had changed, he seemed… bigger than before. Filled out. And she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she heard his words, heard his attempt at flirting.

 Something he had tried many times before, but she had just thought it was cute. Thought that the way he stumbled over his words and the way his cheeks lit up as he spoke was probably the most adorable thing she had seen. But that was not who was standing in front of her, and instead her usual reaction to his flirtation she could feel her heart stumbling and failing to keep up with her emotions. Her eyes flicked to the deep violet, drowning almost instantly in the depths of all that was Arsen Micheals.

 “You’re date is a very lucky lady, sweet words and good looks. You don’t usually get both.”

 Her voice was low, a shake to her words as she moved, placing her hand daintily into his hold, the warmth of those fingers instantly wrapping around hers. Was he always able to make her head spin like this? No. That was impossible, she felt light headed, she felt the second her hand was in his it was where she belonged. Her fingers curled over his palm, trying for the life of her to get more of his skin.

 Ryker was a leader among her peers. Number one in most of her classes, least the one that Arsen was in. She was only a junior and already had full scholarships to go where ever she liked. Whether it be an ivy league or public college. She had the world at her fingertips, nothing seemed to be an impossibility for her. But even with all this, even at her peak, she could feel it in her chest that if he let her go none of it was going to be worth it in the end.

 Or maybe that was just her cough medicine kicking in finally.

 She didn’t need people. She was Ryker Ecchevarria. She controlled her destiny and she controlled how the outcome to most situations played…. But she felt lost in his gaze, in his touch. She felt so completely wrapped in him that she could not look away if she wanted to.  She felt like if those fingers were to release her there and now she would sink, her only lifeline would fall away from her.

 -------------------

He heard her, heard her as her words drifted past her lips with a light tense waver to her voice that he wasn’t entirely sure he would have picked up on if he had come here unchanged like he had originally planned. His gaze never left her  body, flickering over her as she took him in for the first time in a week. She seemed, confused, the low mummer around him spiking for a moment as her thoughts flared sudden and intrusive in his mind like a stray anxiety he didn't want to think about. His gaze flickered, moving from her face to thier hands, interwoven like they couldn’t let go of the other, his thumb moving to brush  over her skin, taking in the feeling of actually having his hands on her, a feat once impossible to him.

 But Nothing was impossible now. The world was at his fingertips, and true to Neket’s word, everything seemed… easy, like the world was finally realizing that he deserved more than it had given him and was now trying to make up for lost time with gifts draped over pretty golden platters. Everything he had ever wanted… Just within reach, just beyond his grasp suddenly in the palm of his hands, and the unbridgeable gap that had been them seemed suddenly, much more manageable.

 Arsen moved, slowly, every inch of him alight with promise as he drew in a breath, allowing the smile to move languidly over his lips, watching her gulp slightly, swallowing thickly around an already formed lump in her throat, and his heart hammered, sudden, harsh, stumbling into a race he did not know how to win. He forced his gaze up again, back to her eyes, those vividly golden eyes that had brought back the colors he really hadn’t missed at all.

 His other hand moved, brushing along her features as the sight of her stress seemed to slip through the cracks, but he smiled, shaking his head as he answered her, his girl, ( and she was his, that much had become certain the moment she had made his heart stammer in his chest with only a look, had become his the moment she had locked eyes with him and he realized that the emotions that had filled him as a bullied nobody hadn’t left like he had imagined, thought they would, only grew in intensity and fire) To satisfy her curiosity.

 “I can assure you, even if I had one, I don’t think she’d see herself as lucky. I don’t think I’ve noticed a single person since you bumped into me, everyone pales in comparison… But you don’t seem to be feeling all together.”

 He spoke, his expression falling into something of concern as his hand brushed along the sides of her face, pushing back black strands with a soft gentle tease, tracing his fingertips over her skin and cheeks and hair, enjoying, immensely, too much, the feeling of her under his hands. She looked so tired, looked so stressed, Arsen moved, pulling her closer to him, their hands never leaving each others as he pulled her flush against his body, letting his free hand fall, over her exposed shoulders, the soft fabric of her dress and the light indention of her pretty curves. He turned her, so her back was against his chest, her own arm in front of her and still laced with his as he brought it up to his lips, dipping just slightly to brush his lips against her knuckles as he moved them through the crowd, the sea of people parting as he moved to take them away from the bubbling noise of thoughts and people.

 “Have you eaten lately, Ryker?” He asked easily, almost as if he was talking about the weather, his lips brushed her knuckles again, before he looked back toward the lined up catering. He could smell her, through it all, through the aromas that filtered up from sizzling grills and running punch. She smelled… Different, then he remembered, off and slightly daunting. There was something about her, maybe a new perfume, that didn’t make her smell bad( He felt she could have literally taken a dip in sewage and he’d still find something he liked about the scent) but there was something just… off.

 “You’re almost running a fever, you look stressed, uneasy. You’ve been overworking yourself.”

 He loved the feeling of this, of her in his arms, guarded, protected. He wanted to make sure she was alright, that she was taken care of. He wanted to be that person….

 He didn’t want to let her go.

 “Haven’t you?” the tone was playful, not an inch accusatory, and he smiled as he pressed kisses to her hand again, wishing to just trail up open skin and devour her for all she was worth.

 ----------------------------

Ryker wasn't picking up her phone, and in a crowd like this, Nephi had managed to lose every single person she had come here with in the span of twenty minutes, a feat she both marveled and fumed over.

 “Of Course. Just perfect. This is exactly how I wanted to spend my night.” She hissed, low sinister sounds slipping past full lips that peeled back to reveal a snarl of irritation that managed to fight it’s way free from her chest.

 This wasn’t the way she had envisioned her night going at all, even without the deviant fantasies that she had envisioned when she was younger, smaller, filled with the not yet broken childish giddy joy that came with having crush. Nephi rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall she had found herself perched on, looking through the masses of people she had classes with and would never remember, past the people about her that seemed to be bubbling with happiness, living out their dreams as best to their short sighted imaginations would let them. She narrowed her eyes as she shook her head, long waves of ink black hair spilling over her shoulder as she leaned her head back,allowing it to hit lightly against the wall.

 This wasn’t how she envisioned her prom, and if she was going to be honest with herself, she had known her prom wouldn’t live up to her expectations anyway. She wasn’t really like the other girls, who had spent days and years and long sleepless nights fantasizing about it, about what her prom would be like and building up some sort of expectation that would be sure to far surpass what actually happened. But Nephi hadn’t been immune, and she could admit she had thought about the idea before, had had a hope that she might actually enjoy her prom, that maybe it would be like the movies and books and be everythings he dreamed, a night that made her imagination come true….

 But it wasn’t.

 That much was sure, was cemented long before she said yes to someone she didn’t even care about or lost all her friends in a wave of people that never seemed to end. That hope had died, the moment that Heru Snow had made it, more than apparent that he didn’t want her around anymore, that he was tired of her, tired of her trying to stand up for him and told her to back off.

 It had been him she had hoped she would share tonight with. She was honest, if only in her mind. It was him, Heru, always Heru Heru Heru for years on a nonstop loop, a mantra in her mind she desperately wished she could stop. It had always been him, had been him that she hoped that she would (Shyly, though she wished she could say otherwise) give herself to at the end of the night because he was just about the only boy she had ever had eyes for, her attention never pulling from the tormented outcast that seemed to drift farther and farther away the more she watched him from afar. She used to stop them, used to step in and push and punch and kick and fight to get the people who hurt him to stop, to see them just as red as her vision when they dared to touch him.

 But He had snapped at her, had turned that narrowed haunted gaze to her and told her to back off and that she was embarrassing him.

 She hadn’t approached him after that.

 How did you try and talk to someone who had torn you apart inside without even a second glance back? She didn’t know, and instead, Nephi had buried herself in her own group, her friends and her Brother’s little gang, not quite part of it but affiliated, her aggression and her temper and pain making a formidable weapon to use in her after school activities. She hadn’t talked to him, didn’t intervene when she saw him getting bullied, instead turned away doing exactly as he told her to.

 But it just wasn’t enough to ignore him. He was in her system now, a part of her, as vital as blood and as painful as a knife. He was the glass in her veins,there and ripping her apart from the inside out. She could not leave him entirely, she could not give him up.

 He was her first, Her first crush, her first love, whatever you wanted to call it, and she had hoped he would be all her firsts, but he wasn’t. Stupidly, Nephi had saved herself, played it off like she hadn’t, the whole school thing she would easily fall into bed with anyone half good looking, and honestly she prefered it that way. She acted like she didn’t need anything, didn’t need anyone, that she was just fine on her own, and the school bought it, believed her bluff easily, a pull to her passed off her lies.

 The whole school believe her, and for a moment, Nephi was almost able to believe it herself.

 Until she saw him.

 Her gaze lingered, flickering over the faces of all the people she would never remember, only to stop on the on the one face she would never forget.

 “Heru.” She breathed, everything stopping for just a moment as the crowd parted just enough for her to see him past all the heads.

 He looked…. Amazing. God she had thought about him in multiple different scenarios, ranging all from complete and total fantasy to mundane, but how he looked now… it caught her off guard. He looked, Relax, a sort of tenacity to his shoulders she imagined would never leave him, but he seemed, easy, like nothing really bothered him. She found herself moving without her making the conscious decision to move, her body reacting to the sight of him, the call that seemed to exist between them, even if she was the only one to feel it. Her breath hitched, her heart hammering in her chest, one hand coming up to press against her heart, manicured nails pressing into dark flesh, wings fluttering in her rib cage like it beat against steel bars.

 God, was it even legal to look like that? She was sure there was some law that dictated no one was allowed to look like that, to have that look and that slicked back hair all wrapped up in a suit, ready and primed to annihilate Nephi with only a quirk of his lips.

 He Didn't know how much power he had over her.

 Nephi took a few steps more, pushing through the people that created the crowd before her, her eyes locked on him as her heels clicked against the ground, the wooden floor of the gym. She Pushed, pressed her body against and through groups to try and get closer.

 Before the truth hit her in the face.

 Heru didn’t want her.

 It wasn’t like she had forgotten. The way he had snapped on her wasn't something someone really forgot, but there ad been a moment, one that lingered in her blood as she reached up, out to him like she could cross the rest of that distance with just a touch, her eyes widening and falling to the floor before she pulled her hand back again, fists held at her side clenching with enough force to allow her nails to bite her skin.

 Why run to him when he would just push her away again?

 “Some prom this turned out to be.”

 Nephi was ready for this to end. Now.

 ---------------------

  She felt small.

 Childlike almost. As if Arsen himself were someone to be listened to, as if he was someone who could somehow get her into some kind of trouble. Her ability to think straight was beginning to drain from her as he dipped his head, thoughts seemed to fly away from her as she watched on. He was in control, and he knew it, just as she did. A shiver ran up the length of her spine as those lips found her knuckles, brushing soft caresses over her flesh, enough to start a slow churning in the pit of her stomach.

 Though his lips moved, even though words slipped from him, she could only stare at him in baffled amazement. All ability to comprehend his words dissipating with just the simplest of touches. Her tongue touched her lips, trying to gather some sort of motion to concentrate on rather than everything that was Arsen Michaels.

 “...I’m fine. “

 Her words came out as a hushed whisper, her tone wavering more than she could ever remember.

 She didn’t know how to act, she didn’t know how to react to the once nervous Arsen. She didn’t know how to handle the boy that stood in front of her now. Before she could write it off. Before she could name each movement that he made as cute, something to be adored and smiled at. Now though, he was different. Now he demanded the attention that she had failed to give him before. Now he demanded her presence, even if the motions were sweet. Even if the words were soft and whispered against her skin. He demanded her.

 Normally she wasn’t a girl to give into demands. And yet here she stood. Still with him and still enthralled by him.

 He moved suddenly, her breath knocked out of her as she spun slightly, her body pulled back to press against his hard chest. The gasp that passed her lips falling short as he moved through them through the small burst of people.

 Oh god, if she didn’t know she shouldn't, she was an idiot. But still her body moved, melting into him while he spoke to her, a small groan escaping her as her other hand found his, resting still on her hip. Her head leaned heavily, her chin lifting to try and catch his gaze again. She felt weak, if it was because of the fever she was sure should have broke by now or him she did not know. But she felt her knees buckle slightly, felt the heat rising up her throat finding its way to her cheeks far too easily.

 This wasn’t her. This wasn’t him. No matter how many times she thought it she could not shake off the emotions running through her. She was rational, she was grounded in her choices in life. She always took the high road and always made sure she came out on top. And from the looks of how this was moving if she didn’t try to wiggle her way out of this situation she was gonna be a goner this time around. Arsen was going to take her for everything she was worth. And at the moment as much as she was trying to fight back the feeling. She knew she would let him.

 “Arsen?”

 His name hit her heavy. How was this the same person, how was it that he had the ability to make her feel this way? This couldn’t have been him, could not be the same person as before.

 Ryker shook her head clear, trying to release the thoughts from her head.

 Her fingers slipped from his reluctantly, pulling her arm back to her own side. She tried to seem unphased, tried to push the wild emotions down as she pulled away from the violet eyed enchanter that had a hold of her. But the second his hands left her she felt cold, empty suddenly where she had just been whole.

 Ryker offered him a quirky smile, her eyes turning to the crowd that had grown too thick to try and alleviate some of the ache that was beginning to fill her chest when she looked at him.

 “It’s just a cold, i’m fine really. I think, i’m just going to go home for the night. Try again on monday, you know.”

 ----------------

 He could feel it, feel his face twist slightly as he heard her words, took them in, processed them easily even as the slight unease settled on his features, his gaze never leaving hers.

  He didn’t doubt that she would be fine by Monday. Somehow, some way, Ryker had this sort of… ability, he could call it, this strange and aggravating ability to be perfectly fine after leaving to her home, leaving and finding her place away from him, away from the bubble of humanity that they were forced to  be a part of. He watched her, often, more frequently than he really wanted to admit, as she left stressed and came back seemingly better than ever. She never seemed bother for to long, always beyond any problem this world could throw at her, nearly an entity beyond human on her own. If Nothing else, Ryker certainly knew how to fake it.

 But that didn’t make it any easier to see her so distressed, didn’t make it any easier to see her so stressed out and bothered and sick. The sight of it bothered him, since long before a week ago when everything in his life changed.  He wanted to be the one to take care of her, he wanted to be the one that saw that stress lifted and her troubles ebated. He wanted to be the one to care for her when she was sick or hurt or scared but he had never really had the chance. She had never let him, always brushing him off and never really seeing him as a person, a guy, but rather as some cute charity case she had in a few of her classes.

 He wouldn't let her brush him off anymore.

 There was this urge, this almost overwhelming protective wave that seemed to invade his mind, entirely take it over as he pressed her further into him, her hand never moving  from his as he let out a little sigh of disappointment. He let her drift, not far from him, closing the space between them with a step so that she only had a slight bit between them, not allowing her to drift far from him. He leaned, his weight to his leg, allowing his hands to fall to his pockets as he took her in, a soft, almost affectionate look to his eyes.

 “You’ll have a lot more mondays, But You’ll never have another Prom, Ryker. I wouldn’t want Prom to miss out on a sight like you…”

 His words were smooth, black velvet as he moved silkily between them. His hand moved lifting her chin as he captured it between his fingers, forcing her to look at him, look him directly in the eyes. His armageddon swallowed as he bored into her, her emotions a symphony of flavors on his tongue as he breathed her in. His eyes flickered, to her lips and back, a moment’s lapse where he moved his thumb, brushed over her bottom lip with a gentle motion, watching her lips part for him, enticing his own.

 “You never answered my question, but I suppose That is an answer all on it’s own. Follow Me, Khaleen.”

 The word was foreign on his tongue, a sudden drop of knowledge he did not have spilling past his lips. Arsen paused only slightly, his eyes flashing with surprise before covering it with a smile,  letting his hand drifted along her again to her hand, the other moving to settle heavily into his pocket.

 “At least Try for me, I might miss whole nights of sleep worrying over you.”

 -------------------

 Her voice called to him. The voice was melodic, pitched to wrap itself around his heart. Need slammed nto his body, into his soul. Deep and hard and urgent. It roared through his blood stream with the force of a freight train. He could see her features, he had no idea her thoughts but he saw the expression that crossed over, and his soul cried for hers. Low and hushed under the roar of an overly excited crowd, even under the blare of the music that was thrumming through the room he could hear the pull in her voice. Something so kinetic he could feel the warmth growing in the pit of his stomach as gooseflesh found its place along his skin. A tremor rushed up the length of his spine while let his gaze arc through the small gap behind him and the girl he was undoubtedly going to win over one way or another this night.

 His heart was beating faster than normal, a phenomenon that intrigued him. His heart was always the same since turning, rock steady. He controlled it casually, easily as he controlled every aspect of his now body, but the racing of his heart was now unusual, and anything different was welcome.

 Her eyes locked on his and Heru took an immediate step forward before coming to a dead stop. Everything in him went completely, utterly still. He had not seen color in the whole week, yet he was staring at green eyes that shined underneath the shifting lights. It seemed almost impossible, not real. Perhaps he was losing his mind as well as his soul. No one had told him that a preliminary to losing his soul was to lose his color at varying intervals.

 But tonight was different, even from before. Even when he was seeing colors in his human life, nothing had been as vivid as the colors he saw now. Nothing as intense as the need that was hitting him hard straight through his veins.

 Everything seemed vivid. His hearing was even more acute than usual. The flashing lights were threads of glittering silver dancing behind and against Nephie. Heru inhaled, taking in the scents, separating each until he found the one he was looking for. One breath and this woman had already changed his life for all time.

 Heru moved completely enthralled, caught by the attention in her eyes, the sheer intensity of it. She glowed with a sort of happiness, something that if he was human he never would have noticed, but it was happiness she did not even try to hid from him. Though he was more than aware he deserved some of the whiplash that he was getting from her. Her body had went from reckless wandering to completely still. But now there was a subtle difference. She was wholly feminine, soft and inviting.

 But he knew it wouldn’t last, the magic of the moment. Nephine was too strong, too god willing to allow such a thing as want happen to let her slip in her grudge he knew well that she held.

 It was yet another reminder as to why tonight had to happen. The sight of her back turning to him.

 But he was off, his legs carrying him through the small crowd as she walked away. Something it seemed he was not going to allow as he reached out to her, his fingers wrapping around her thin wrist. He pulled lightly, forcing her body to swing back towards him, the surprise in him seemed to be lit a twin her, her expression conveying it all. There was a split second where he tried to think about his actions.Where he really gave it the good college try to think of a reason why he shouldn’t just take her and leave. But it seemed his mind was made up, the second his free arm swing to press the much smaller girl to him, locking arm around the small of her back. His body pressed tightly against her, taking in the soft of her curves on him.

 “See, i’ve got this little problem. I’ve seem to have some stalkers,... I need a cover. I need for you to pretend we’re having a scintillating conversation and you are wildly entertained.”

 Heru tried to throw his best crooked smile as, his fingers moved smoothly to entwine their fingers together, spinning her slightly into the crowd of dancing students.

 ---------------------------

 His voice was one of unparalleled beauty. She found she wanted to succumb to his dark power. His grip was extraordinarily gentle, tender even, he held her with exquisite care. Her awareness of his enormous strength, combined with his gentleness, sent strange flames licking along her skin. She was trapped for all time in the fathomless depths of his eyes. There was no end there, just a free fall she couldn't pull out of. Her heart did strange flips in her chest as he moved her back in towards him. Refusing to wholly let her get away from him. His determination was something to marvel at though.

 Ryker had a will of iron, honed in the fires of trauma, and yet she couldn't pull free of that dark, hypnotic gaze, even though a part of her recognized she was under an unnatural black magic spell, which logically made no sense. Her body trembled slightly as he dipped his head, as he brought his hand to her chin, catching her easily. But it was the slow caress that made her sigh.

Ryker’s eyes widened in shock. Warmth. Heat. It was sensual intimacy beyond her experience, and all he had done was touch her lips. His fingers moved over hand before she could even notice it, soothing a caress along the back of her hand. Black velvet and sensual. Her entire body clenched, went liquid in front of him. Her breath caught in her throat. To her utter astonishment, she could feel the blood rushing right back into place on her cheeks, her body turning back into a honey for the man in front of her, he moved his hand from her mouth to leave a tingling awareness behind. The violet eyes drifted over her face, intense, burning.

Intimate.

She could only stare at him helplessly for an eternity it seemed, lost in his eyes. She forced air through her lungs and nodded her head slowly.

They were moving before she could properly answer him, not that he really cared for the lie he seemed to know she would have tried to spill to him. They were in front of the buffet in only a couple strides of Arsen’s legs. But he was speaking again.

He spoke softly. His accent gave his voice a sensual twist she seemed to feel right down to her toes. She had smelled the scent of him before, in the night air of the stuffy gym it seemed a little more alit. It had called to her before, but nothing like this, it beckoned her through the darkness like the brightest of beacons.

‘What the hell is wrong with you, Ryker.’

This wasn’t right. None of it, gold eyes flicked over the food in front of her, only causing the small sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach grow. Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal. This was not normal.

The boy went from a high school crush, someone that she would occasionally talk to. Someone she hoped she would see while walking down the halls to a flame. A hot wave that burned deep in her chest. Now, his body moved like poetry.

Ryker moved delicately away from him, needing a  small space to herself. To think. To breathe. To be Ryker and not part of this heat that was setting her ablaze.

“I’m not hungry Arsen. Did something happen,... while you were gone?“

------------------

 She never even got to fully turn, her body already in motion when she felt those hands on her arm, a touch she had nearly forgotten finding it’s place on her once again. His hands found her wrist, encasing her arm in his hand with an iron grip. Nephi let out a startled gasp as she felt his hands circle around her, her eyes snapping first to the hand that had captured her from retreat, marveling on how tiny her arm seemed in his hand, a sight that was foreign  on her thoughts, almost confusing in a way.

 Nephi was in no way shape or form small, except maybe in height. She was used to being the strong one, the most muscular of her friends and being the girl who was able to arm wrestle the best of the wrestling kids and come out a winner.  Her brothers called on her when stamina was required for the violence, Her brothers called on her when physical force was needed. She was Used to feeling a thousand feet tall and unstoppable.

 But in his hold, she suddenly felt… small, nervous, altogether made of glass, and strangely enough…. It wasn’t exactly a bad feeling.

 Either way, Heru didn’t allow her to mull on it for long, moving smoothly, (too smoothly, had he always been able to move like that?) his hand sliding along her side to find it’s place at the small of her back, her body pressing up against his, chest so much more wide then she remembered, until he was flush against her, her other hand caught in his as his fingers intertwined with hers.

 In an instant, she felt it, the sudden electric pulse that rippled through her, almost a burn as it found it’s way into her blood, veins strong and true and positively singing with golden fire. Her face flushed, a light burn running over her cheeks as she dug her fingers into the cloth of his shirt to grab hold of in surprise, Her eyes widening on the little smile that played along his lips, that burning dual colored gaze holding her own. She felt her body move, responding to his little signals, turning easily on heels like she had practiced all night for  one dance. Her eyes remained on his, but the sudden rush from the pleasure of his hands on hers faded from her mind, letting the situation slip through into her thoughts.

 It was Heru.

 This was Heru. Her Elementary school crush. Her childhood friend. Her partner, the Boy who told her she was embarrassing him and to back off. The boy she had cried over, the boy she had needed to break her addiction of, tried to move on from.

 Her first heartbreak.

 “Heru… I… What?”

 It wasn’t the most eloquent thing she had ever said, and the moment the words were out of her mouth she wanted to reach out and grab them from the air, to put them back so that she wouldn’t have to feel the burn along her cheeks, the bright glowing fire that was her embarrassment. She stilled, forcing them to a stop where they were, not noticing the small little space the students had given them, not daring to touch  the outcast boy but not having much room to move. She blinked, her lips parting to draw a sharp breath, and she lightly pushed, trying to move out of his hold.

 “What are you doing? I Thought….”

 I Thought you didn't want to see me

 She couldn’t finish it, her lips closing after a moment of silence, her breath catching in her throat at his eyes on her. She felt his stare, like hands along her skin, a whip of heat and desire racing over her to twinge darkly in her gut. She swallowed thickly, tongue darting out to lick her lips and look away slightly, eyes trailing to his lips.

 Worse Idea.

 “It doesn’t matter.” She spoke around vivid fantasies of how she would ravish that mouth if given the chance, her lips brushing over his own to catch it between her teeth. He let out a little growl of pleasure as she pressed kiss after kiss onto his lips, tongue soothing over bite marks and swollen lips from her heated kisses as her body pressed flush against his own. She’d take her time, explore every bit of him she could, her lips finding home with his more often than not and she’d memorize the little rumbles he gave when she kissed him the little bit harder. Her fingers tracing along his neck, feeling every inch of him, her reverence clear in her loving kisses and worshiping hands.

 “You sure know how to give a girl whiplash. What happened to ‘You’re embarrassing me, back off?’” Nephi snapped, trying to blink away her fantasies with nothing more than pure anger. She pushed again, this time a little more harshly.

 You’re gonna fuck me up all over again.

 ------------------------------------

That made him freeze.

 Arsen was not a good liar. He never had been, His father and mother always able to tell when he lied, able to see right through him and right to the truth he was trying to protect.  Really, he hadn’t really tried in his new life, had never tried to use any of his new found power to see if he might have been a better liar, because he hadn’t needed to up to this point, it had never even really been a need. If He was going to be honest, he didn’t think he would be any better a liar then he had been when he was human. There were just some things, some ticks he could not change no matter what power he happened to come into.

 But how did he explain what really happened to him?  Everything he had known had been turned upside down, all he had known was shattered, and the person he used to be had been murdered in a blaze of  pain and blood and fire, body peeling away to reveal the man he had become, the same but nothing like he was before all at the same time. He hardly had words for what had happened over the past week, and now, as he looked at her, turning his head slowly to take in her gaze again, realizing she wasn’t going to eat anything and that she was starting to try and distance herself from him for some reason.

 How did he explain what happened without sounding like a fucking idiot?

 With Vague truths.

 “Something always happens, Doesn’t it? Nothing moves without something happening...” He spoke, his gaze sliding off her face to the crowd, seeing the bodies but not really seeing them, his mind thousands of miles away in the dark of night, in a gleam in the darkness that had become his life. His vision flickered away from her, to the floor and back again before they returned to her, his lips still pulled into a smile, though it was a little more forced than before.

 “So I suppose you could say that. ”

 It wasn't a lie, but he refused to go any farther, his head turning away from her as his hands clenched in his pockets, lips pressing into a thin line. His heart hammered, unease hitting him for the first time in a week, the feeling so newly eradicated you would think he would be prepared for it, the feeling something of an old friend to him, lingering in the hazy memories of his previous life like a filter of a photo, there and evident but impossible to really describe. Arsen allowed his smile to drop a little, turning his gaze back on her, locked on her form as he took her in once more, this time with the slight flavor of nearly forgotten emotions bursting on his tongue.

 He could remember how it felt. He could remember seeing her in the hallways, seeing her surrounded by all those who care for her, those who loved her, who longed to stay with her, by her side, who would miss her when she was gone and he could remember the disconnect he had from that feeling because she was right there in front of him but was simultaneously far beyond his reach. He could remember how his heart had raced when her eyes caught his, her lips pulling into a smile, one that wringed his heartstrings and had him returning her gesture with one of his own, hand lifting to wave before he would, eventually lose his footing as some more popular kid passed him and pushed him, making sure to  make him slam into the metal of the lockers in an almost eye roll worthy impression of bullying. He could remember the excitement when she would sit next to him, the way his heart fluttered when she whispered to him, and all he could remember was that he had desired nothing more then to make her laugh, to make her smile and see that she was okay. He wanted to protect her, to take away her stress to place it on his shoulders, better suited for the heavy mantle,  and it amazed him, fascinated him really, that that had not changed in the slightest after he changed.It was still there, burning in him, harsher than before and much more vivid in its instance.

 But what was he supposed to do when the thing she needed to be protected from was him?

 “Are you sure you want to leave Ryker? I promise I can be absolutely professional if you let me play Doctor.” He tried one more time, a slow burning smirk sliding along his lips as he cast her a look through hooded lids. He took a step closer, not liking the distance between them, His hand lifting, coming up to follow the path that had created that breathless ball of fire in his chest. His fingers found their home on her skin, tracing light patterns over her cheeks before his fingers found her chin, thumb moving to brush over her lips again.

 Instantly, that white hot need flushed over him, making his whole body light up as he sucked in a breath. Her lips were smooth, soft, and it took everything in him not to bend to taste what his two am fantasies  and his imagination could not possibly conjure.

 “Though I can’t say i won’t be tempted. You’re gorgeous Ryker.”

 ------------------------------

   “Aye! I’ll drink to a better night!”

  Pale fingers moved to take the drink from Lunthe’s hold, her own body pressing into her twins side, her free arm coming out to hook itself around the slim waist of the blonde. There was something about clinging to her sister that had her feeling safe, made her feel like she was almost invincible as she chugged the disgusting mix of alcohol and juice, her taste buds all but dead by the end of it. But still she cheered, her arm jutting up into the air to holler her excitement through the gym. Some cheered, some screamed, others ignored her completely. Really none of who or why they did it mattered, what mattered was Braithe was here. IT was supposed to be a pinnacle in the life of a young adult right?

 So why didn’t she feel alive? Why couldn’t she find the will to go out and seek the attention she generally craved? Why couldn’t she find some sort of shred of happiness in her veins on the one night she was supposed to remember for the rest of her life?

 Her sister seemed happy, or at least content. Ryker and Nephie well, they were always like this. She couldn’t change it. But she could see Nick in the distance, a smile on his mouth and a sparkle in his eye. Someone who was thriving in this scene. But his girlfriend, well she was falling behind.

 There was a split to her lips however, a smile that she refused to let drop no matter the circumstance. With or without the actual emotion behind it, she would convince them tonight, that she was happy. With this thought process she released her sister, her other hand coming up to grip the back of her neck, then let it slide, until it reached her collarbone, her thumb rubbed soothing circles over the skin.

 “Why are we jus-”

 Her words were cut short by strong hands, a small squeal pulling from her lips as she spun around. Confusion smacked her hard, her vision spinning but her hands moved out without a thought, locking around the man's neck so that she didn’t lose her footing. Something almost laughable to think about.

 And shock ran through her body as she stared up at… Neket?

 No, it couldn’t be.

 Braithe pulled herself closer still, until every muscle of his body was imprinted on the softness of hers. His mouth moved, words only meant for her ears, hot silk, while molten lava flowed through her bloodstream. The entire universe shifted and moved, and Braithe gave herself up completely to his seeking eyes, blue on multi colored eyes, and icy grey and something like dark wood. Her body melted, soft and pliant, instantly belonging to the man that swept her away.

His mouth was addictive, her eyes returning to them every time he spoke. Braithe made her own demands, her arms creeping up around his neck to cradle him close. She wanted to feel him, his body strong and hard pressed tightly to hers. Real, not an elusive dream. She couldn't get enough of his mouth, a vice she didn't care to have. Braithe didn't think of herself as being a sensual person, but with him she had no inhibitions in the two seconds it had took for him to sweep her literally off her feet. She moved her body restlessly against his, wanting him to touch her, needing him to touch her.

There was a strange roaring in her ears. She knew no thoughts, only the feel of his body against hers, only the sheer pleasure of her vivid day dream, his mouth taking possession of her so urgently. She gave herself up completely to the sensations of heat and flame. The rush of liquid fire running in her veins, pooling low in her body.

He shifted her closer, his fingers finding her thighs to pull her up flush against him, she gasped at the exquisite pleasure. She hadn't expected company, not of this variety. His thumb nudged a strap from her shoulder, a simple thing, but wicked.

His mouth opened to blaze a path of fire along her cheeks. She heard her own soft cry of need mingle with his groan of pleasure. Pretty eyes yelled hums of need,  her body went up in flames and every cell cried out for his possession. His arms were hard bands, trapping her close so that she could feel the heavy thickness of him, an urgent demand, tight against her.

A shudder shook Braithe's body. Something dark and dangerous raised its head. His needs were swamping him, edging out his implacable control. She noticed it, the feral snap just underneath the smooth surface.

“Wow, you’re pretty.”

Fraternizing with the enemy.

The words came out of nowhere. With a low cry of self recrimination, Braithe dragged herself out of the little day dream that had wrapped itself around her mind. It didn't matter how familiar he looked, he wasn't human, and he was very, very dangerous. There was something about him, something about the guy that had tingles running up her spine a tremor running through her veins.

This was something that Carson had always known. Humans were, by nature, self absorbed creatures, creatures that relied on the ‘every man for himself’ as a law of nature. They were absorbed in themselves, wholeheartedly selfish, a key trait that had played a large part of monsters, beings of power and fame, going unnoticed for millennia, living among them right under their noses. It wasn’t anything they could help, an inherent flaw in them as a race, but it made things sort of interesting, fascinating to watch unfold, creatures so oblivious they walk straight into a hunter’s trap.

Tonight was the night. Tonight was the night that everything changed, and Carson watched in amusement and a curious fascination as the people filed into one of his many homes, thier bodys shivering from the snows icy touches, winter not yet here but just around the corner, the nip in the air a gentle reminder of it’s presence. He watched as they huddles around each other, the fire, for warmth and smiles, alcohol long since finding it’s way into the hands of needy teens who wished to let loose and rebel just that tiny bit. It was curious that they could not feel what was looming, be it winters turn in just a few weeks, judging by the amount of skin showing, most girls had blatantly ignored the chill, or be it the dark looming shift in the air. Tonight was the night that everything would change, and not a single one of them batted an eye at enter his mountain home.

Could they not feel it? Could they not feel the energy, the touch of the unknown just beyond their realm of sight. Carson felt it like a lover’s hands, the brush of fingertips along his spine, little shivers of pleasure accompanied by a nearly silent purr, deep rumbles in his gut that expressed his pleasure. He could feel change as she brushed feather light lips over the back of his neck, lingering in the air to create a hum of energy under the voices beginning to gather, a spice that he could almost taste on a heavy tongue. It was amazing they could not, all smiles and relaxation as anxiety licked along his spine, his hands gripping the banister so that he might have some hold, his thoughts racing and lifting, slipping past his mind’s fingers  like ribbons of smoke in the cold. He could feel her as if her hand was on his spine, and they felt nothing at all.

It was no wonder they were on the path to extinction. They never noticed anything that wasn’t  told to them.

There were a few exceptions, of course, a few humans Carson had noted that didn’t seem to fit the social norm that humans had created. Those favored few, They were observant, maybe not as  much so as a monster might be but significantly more than a normal human. They Weren't dull, vapid, boring, they were interesting and coy and while they did not recognize him and his brothers for what they were, they had seen past layers carson hadn’t even known were there.

Carson’s gaze flicked back to the growing pond of people at the foot of his stairs, a make shift sort of dancefloor made in the center of his foyer, as he heard the sounds of laughter, screams and enjoyment as the people found all the party favors he had set up, as any true host would. Beer, hard liquor, food by the tons  and endless music and wood to ward off the chill, Carson had left nothing up to chance. The night had settled in, the sun not quite gone but setting, streaking the  sky thousands of colors, lighting up the forest that was surrounded by his family's walls, beautiful, but Carson’s eyes skimmed over it, watching the door intently, with a purpose flashing in dark and light   mismatched eyes.

He breathed in, taking in the music that was pouring from the speakers, the spice of alcohol he had provided creating a slightly sensual and exotic tang in the air, a night for bonfires that burned brightly in the fire pits that had been douge into the  earth in front and behind his house, for secrets, lust and need. This energy was alive, a beating in it’s own right, infecting them all with that slow dreamy sort of haze that burned them, slowly, inch by inch, every moment another blaze and he could feel it....Every lick of need another hit to his veins. Carson wanted to burn, and He wanted to burn slowly.

Every inch of him ached for  it, the layer of need this night had created, and his gaze moved, taking in body after body after body, searching, hoping waiting….

For her.

“Have you seen them Abram? They said they would come, right?” Carson’s voice was low, a purr of unease now in his chest as he searched the people in his home. He allowed his eyes to move, flickering over to his best friend and practical brother.

“Why aren’t they here…. They said they were coming.” his impatience was starting to color his tone. His body tensing as he allowed his anxiety to take over, and he clenched harder at the wood railing, fingers tapping as he foot lifted to tap his toes against the floor, all signs of the ball of nerves that was plaguing him.

He just had to see her….

--------

Honestly, nothing should have been as difficult as opening the front door to this house.

It was just a house. Just like any other…. Alright. Maybe it was a little more extravagant. But wasn’t that even more reason to want to go in?

The sigh that parted her lips was long, exasperated as the others gathered around her. Their words hardly reaching her ears. But she could hear the music already thrumming, hear the low hum of laughter and conversations she was better left out of. The smell of liquor and weed hung thickly in the air, a tell tale sign of a Dhouti party. A party that no one in their right minds would miss. Not when people were clamoring to make the Dhouti boys happy.  Clamoring to get a minute in the lime light, even if that meant just hanging in the shadows beside them. Watching and hovering in the masses that followed after them.

But that wasn’t Requiem. And hell would freeze over before it saw the day of her begging for any Dhouti attention.

So, why was she here?

Right now, she should have been scurrying to rush into the home, into the warmth. Should have been striving to get the icy burn out of the tips of her fingers. She knew that they were pink, knew that her nose and cheeks would match. But she could not find the motivation to press forward and open the door. Instead she stared for a minute, watching the shadows move behind the glass.

“Requiem?”

The voice was soft, pushing in the tone, but it was enough. Enough for the darkling to lift a single eyebrow, grey eyes flicking to the brown haired beauty at her side, those royal violet eyes almost smoldering as they rested on her.

She shouldn’t be throwing attitude to her only companion, the only other person who didn’t seem too interested in being here either. The only other person who had just as much anxiety rolling off her. But still she did. Still, she could feel her nose scrunching up. She could feel her eyes rolling as she flicked those grey eyes back to the door, all pretty stained glass and stained wood.

“Ashlin.”

She knew why, the second the her name passed her lips. She knew that it was only because Ashlin knew. Ashline always knew. She could feel Requiems anxiety just as easily as Ashlin could feel hers. It was a comfort to know she wasn’t the only one. But never the less, there were others with them. Ones who only ever got to see this side of her. Ones who would judge her.

“Are you fucking kidding me Requiem. Open the fucking door you fucking ingrate.”

Those eyes snapped back to the blonde that was all snapping teeth and snarled tone. Her own expression irritated and she moved to cross those arms across her chest and she only looked all the more pissed. It was a second, it couldn’t have been more than that  before Menzy was moving pushing her way through the small crowd of girls, pushing aside the ones who didn’t move.

“Hard of hearing now too, princess?”

Menzy moved, her own fingers pressing down the lock on the door to release it, where the warmth of the house began to flood out. Almost no one noticed, their attention to thwarted by the awe in the house or too engrossed in each other or their drinks too notice. Grey eyes paused on the emeralds that were staring Requiem down, and what did she do? The only thing she could think of to do as an acceptable reply.

She shrugged.

“Jesus.”

And that was it, Menzy moved on, pressing forward and disappearing into the house. IT wasn’t a weird case for her to act this way. The attitude, the pushiness. None of it was out of character for Menzy. But, the word ‘princess’ rarely came out of those lips. Her insults generally pointing at her ‘carelessness’.

“Where’s Ankou?”

“She’s already here. Probably off with Echo, let’s be real.”

“That explains that.”

-------

“Shhh. Shhh,shshshshsh.”

His arm dropped his arm loosely across the shoulders of his taller Alpha, his other arm coming up to cross Carsons chest just to come up to caress the clearly unamused darklings neck, his thumb brushing across the fine jawline. He let his eyes lock onto that multi colored gaze, his own lashes fluttering in an obvious display of his affections.

“I’m here now my love. There is no more need to fret.”

“You literally just walked in… and you already have everybody staring Echo.”

“Let them look. To miss it would be tragic.”

Echo let his eyelashes flutter against, his hand only coming off when Carson put a gentle hand over Echo’s, his fingers prying lightly at the fingertips. He was bothered. Obviously. Something was wrong, the tension in the tall darkling almost spilling off of him in waves.

“What’s wrong Carson? The girlies giving you trouble again? Want me to beat them up for you?”

A small chuckle passed the blonde's lips, his arms dropping to his sides just to find warmth in the depth of his pockets.

He would be lying to say that seeing the expression on Carson’s face didn’t bother him. The only solace he could take was Abram taking his place next to the boy, his own lips quirking slightly as he leaned over the banister that Carson had been on. Blue eyes thrown up towards him, the smile on his lips was sincere but obviously cautious as he smiled up at Carson.

“I’m sure they are coming, Car. You gotta chill a little bit.”

A hand patted Carson’s back in what Echo had to assume was supposed to be some kind of reassuring motion but Echo would never have a clue why.

“Who? Who are we talking about right now?... Damn. All right.”

If looks could kill Echo would be on the floor probably bleeding from the mouth, Abrams face one not to be reckoned with in those seconds. And Echo could only put a hand over his heart, feign baffled by the look. Like it was something easily tossed his way.

In reality, it was something thrown his way too often and too easily. And not from just little baby Abram either. His friends and family seemed to give the “The look’ just as often and just as easily as Abram. But he knew that when it concerned Carson from Abram, he had better clam the fuck up.

-----------

“Read ‘em and weep, boys! That makes three wins, and by rules of best out of five, I win! I’ll be claiming all of your wallets and your dignity now, thank you.”

The smile was apparent, even without seeing Ankou DeAngelis’s expression as she placed her winning hand on the table for the group to see, the men huddled around the table in nothing more than their underwear leaning to take a look at her cards before the low groans of disappointment and irritation began to bubble around her in a full bloomed chorus of manly dejection. Ankou’s grin only widened as she crossed her legs, her hands moving from the smooth feel of her cards to the wood of the table, her bright eyes, flashing poison green, bright but hazy with a  light hint of alcohol. She tapped the table, once, loudly, with one long finger, one brow raising in question as she watched as some of the men started to stand, making gestures and curses like they were just going to leave.

She didn’t allow her smile to falter, her tone all sun and ease and laughter, a hint of something dark, primal, that stopped the men in their tracks.

“Ah, Ah Ah…. I believe you have something of mine. I would hate to have to collect on any of you over a fun little game, simply because you could not keep your word.”

She supposed, given the chance, most of them would have tried to make a  clean getaway. She knew it was on their minds, a thought that rested in the shadows of bad ideas and alcohol brightness shone light in the dark. They stared at her a moment, and Ankou could practically read the ideas flickering through their minds. They all wondered, briefly, for a moment, of their chances of making it out of this with their money if they just ran. I could never be said it was not a thought.

But they knew better then to act on that idea. There were just some things, no matter what pack you hailed from, there were some things and some people you did not touch, did not fuck with, and as it was, Ankou was one of the. It was not wise to cross her, hell, most would have advised stray from even catching the young woman's eyes, vivid green a siren's call that too many had fallen victim to. It wasn’t that Ankou was particularly nasty...Ankou was… friendly, smooth and warm, the kind of girl who smiled and made your day a little brighter. She wasn’t the cold beauty that Ashlin and Abby had, she wasn’t the regal distant princesses that only allowed the gods themselves to part their legs, like Requiem and Perilium. Ankou was…. Summer nights and cinnamon liqueur, the burn of Alcohol and the hum of butterflies in your stomach as your crush wound their hands around your waste. She was sensual burning and slow touches, heated glances and panted breath, all the heat and lust high schoolers seemed to desire. She was the embodiment of your first love,your highschool love and unrequited crush, and that made you want to please her. She was the kind of girl who spurred feelings of desire and heat, and she made you want to try harder, take more.

But Ankou was a wildfire, and as quickly as she could warm you, Ankou could consume you, burn the flesh of your bones and leave you, empty, used up, a shell of who you once were. She showed no mercy, none to those who would cross her path and spike her temper, and it was common knowledge, you did not cheat her of her prizes, for she would use every bit of what she stole from you against you, and bring you to your knees.

“Your wallets, place them on the table before you leave.”

She watched their hesitance with an amused eye, watched them before they sighed and fished their wallets out, eight thumps of distinctive leather on wood before they moved, grabbing their clothes and leaving the room in a huff, her hands already on the leather to place them in the jacket pockets of the jacket she had stolen a week ago, much to large sleeves sliding off as she grinned and laughed at her new fortune.

She pocketed them all, the smile on her face changing slightly as she hummed her contentment.

Now, she really needed to find her girls.

She stood, her spine cracking as she lifted her hands, stretching them out as she yawned, her body stretching as she stood on her tiptoes for a moment, her head lolling slightly to the side before she inhaled, the familiar musk of smoke and sweat and woods filling her, her eyes closing as she allowed her hands to drop. Her heart ract stuttered, her stomach clenching as her thoughts shifted, to his smile, his eyes, the feel of hima against her… she felt that familiar ache, the need thudding through her veins, ands he sucked in breath, trying to calm herself.

First Menzy…. Then she would go look for him.

She had just enough liquid courage for that.

“Oh Menzy~”

Her voice sang, waving through the crowds as she followed the embrasses men and left the room, her eyes flickering over the moving bodies and sensual fire light. She only had to look around twice before she spotted that head of platinum blond hair, her smile returning with even more force than before.

“MENZY!”

That was the only warning the girl got, before Ankou had thrown herself on her, her hands wrapping around her as she pressed her body flush up against her best friend.

“What do you want? What is the end game here? If you wanted us dead, we already be dead, if you really wanted our girls that are home and safe, you would have found a way to get them…. This isn’t about a game… What do you want…”

  “Azalea, Come on, what does it matter. We need to leave,…. Aye! We get like a 30 minute head start, right? Since, you know, you guys got freak powers and such? Only seems fair.”

  Azalea could hear Elody’s words, feel the pressure of those reassuring fingers massaging soothing circles and it helped, if only slightly. That there was no change in her demeanor helped. The way that the generally bubbly girl was still the same, too ready to make a joke out of death. If only Azalea keep up that same demeanor.

   But her heart was steady growing wilder in her chest, almost to the point that the only thing she could hear was the steady thump of the organ. Her breaths were shallow as Casper spoke, her words firm and strong, her eyes steady and she was every bit of the leader Azalea wished she could have been.

  But it wasn’t seconds after those words that there was a startled scream, one that ended abruptly as blood splattered over the ground in front of them, hitting some, missing others. Lifeless eyes stared up at a darkening sky, but the body was what got that scream caught in her throat, what made her turn heel at the sight of it.

  It was the mangled limbs, the way bones splintered out of the skin, the way those eyes that stared so lifelessly looked directly through her, that forced her to lift a now trembling hand, wiping at the blood splatters that had landed across her cheeks.

  “You want a deal? There it is…. Don’t want the same fate?...”

  Blue eyes turned to this creature, a creature that more stalking than walking, more predator then anything she had encountered before. And there it was, the actual fear as those eyes were turned on her, her foot sliding out behind her as she stepped back in a hurry, her only luck to catching herself was Elody’s hand slipping under her arms.

  But the creature stalked on too close for her comfort, blood still dripping off the fingers, drops dripping off the mouth in an obscene display of terror as it leaned in only inches away from the two. Azalea swallowed thickly at the sight.

  “Then run.”

  “Yep, alright.”

Elody’s voice rung out still a little too chipper for her liking, but the panic in her voice apparent as the blonde dipped, her finger’s tightening on Azalea’s before releasing quickly.

   “See ya later, Sweet pea!”

 ------

   Save them, save them, SAVE Them!

 The words rang a mantra in her mind, filled her limbs with anew purpose even as her gaze refused to leave the body that had been tossed so carelessly in front of them. She could hear it, the dark rumbling laughter of a monster snapped loose, sanity forgotten in the wake of the freedom that this night gave them. The monster that moved was covered in the blood of its victim, body too mangled to give the poor soul an identity, and Casper moved, instinctual protective need rising in her to push the girls beside her behind her body, placing herself between the monster and body and her girls.

 “Go… GO!”

 Casper’s voice shot out, pushing on the backs of Elody and Azalea as her gaze finally flickered back to the monster before them, to the one behind him who’s sharp grin with ever present, unworried as she felt her heart race with adrenaline. She heard the words, heard Elody’s pretty melodic voice ring in the air even as she felt her pull away from her fingertips, away from her and Casper couldn’t say she blamed her. In any normal situation, people like them would have left a long time ago, with no care for the few left behind if it meant that they would be spared. And for all the world, she knew that was what it looked like. Elody hadn’t wasted much time, had simply turned tail and bolted with a flippant wave over her shoulder, not even sparing the girls a glance as she ran, and if Casper hadn’t known just what weight her words carried…. Well, as she said, she wouldn’t have been able to blame her.

 Casper moved, pushing off her heel to send her forward, her hand sliding over Azelea as she moved, fingers finding hers after a moment to clutch at her own little sanity line, pulling as she ran to make the girl follow after.

 She didn’t know how long they had to run…. They had to make the most of it.

 She needed to get to Her Car…. Or Elody.

 -------------------

 “Aren’t they just so cute when they run ~”

 Ashten said nothing, didn’t move as he heard Aku’s voice, more a guttural growl then a real tone, move from the shadows. There was a deep rumble, a purr pulled from the beast that many, or all who were in their right minds knew to fear, the unhinged beast of their little group. The sound of claws scraping along the ground followed the man wherever he moved, and in the corner of his vision he could see the brown fur and dark scales that made up this particular demon’s beast like form slither into view.

 He could see it, in the way that Aku’s form twitched and purred, or in the way that Del had hardly taken his eyes off of the girl’s backs, the underlying air of excitement that was different from the one that usually showed on Liberatio. The excitement then was simply a way of escape, a way to be free from the confines that society placed them under…. This… this was more than that, more powerful than a night and more exciting than a revolution. This was obtainment, fulfillment, completion in its finest form.

 Aku purred again as he slide to the ground, claws finding the ground to claw and snap his teeth in their direction, vivid green bright and alert as they watched the spot where the girls had disappeared. He could see the twitches again, the want, the need pulsing in his veins as he whimpered and growled.

 “She’s just so cute… so adorable… My little hunter, I wanna see her bleed, I wanna taste her when she cries… “

 “… I’ll give you that Aku…. There’s just something adorable about how they think they can escape from us.” Ashten moved, pushing off the wall as he took his place next to their resident King of monsters, Del. Violet gaze moved, slid over him, before flicking back to the dark alleyways of the city they called home.

 “Do we give them the thirty minutes head start?”

 Aku’s question was met with mutters, silence from Ashten as he tilted his head, musing over it for a moment before a grin split over his face, a ripple of darkness over his skin as he did.

 “We’re monsters, Aku…. Since when do we play fair?”

 -----------

  It was the fear that was lingering on his tongue, the pure want for the feel of his girl under his fingers, that stirred him, forced him to push off the wall his eyes lingering on the spot that Casper disappeared. His teeth dug into the flesh of his bottom lip as he ran one clawed hand over his hair, his eyes closing as he took a calming breath in. Trying to calm his over excited nerves, trying to dull the hum that was ringing through his body at the thought of having her beneath him, under his hands, under his control.

  First, he had to actually get her, now didn’t he?

  Dell, for lack of better expression, was happy. His lips curled as he leaned forward his eyes moving to the only other man, monster, whatever you wanted to call them, to be on equal levels with himself. The smile never faulting, instead he clapped his hands together a small jump to his step as he moved, his eyes growing just a bit wider.

  “Well then fellas’, let’s go get em.”

   Dell had to pace himself, had to make himself walk at a normal pace, his excitement trying to force him to run, to rush the claiming process. He just wanted her, no want was not the word. He needed her, with every fiber of his being calling out for her, his body crying out to know hers. God, there was just some things in this world you had to take with patience though.

  And claiming her was one of them, the first time only happened, once right? He needed to make sure it lasted, to make sure he got as much from the experience with her as he could.

Because whether she accepted him or not, tonight she was going to be his. Tonight, he was going to make sure not only he knew it but so did she.

  It was not every day you got to claim the love of your life for yourself.

 ------

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!! FUCK!!!”

  The words were exasperated, long, huffs of breaths coming between each word, and with additional fuck Azalea could feel her temper spiking. Ella was not a quite girl, ever. Even in the face of danger apparently, because she would not shut up.

  “Dear lord, please, I beg you, shut up. We are supposed to be quiet, we are running from inevitable death, you dumb ass.”

  The words came out exasperated, her hands catching on to her knees as she bent to catch her breath. Her eyes moving from the brunette an right back to Casper, who seemed lost in thought, which was never a good sign.

  “What are we doing Casp, Car or with Elody? We know Misses and Lorelei are headed that way anyways….”

    Just the words resounded in her head, repeating in a melodious tone that Elody carried with her. Sweet pea, one of her many ways of letting her little mafia of monster hunters know where to go. The only thing was she did not have nearly as many people as she usually did, instead only two people were there. Only two others there to protect themselves from a whole slue of monsters.

  “….Fuck, Casper…. What should we do?”

 ----------------

 She could feel it, feel their gaze on her as her eyes, mismatched in color narrowed on the ground as she clenched her fists at her sides. She had to think, she had to plan, but all she could hear was her own racing heart, all she could feel was the terror, white hot and painful in her veins as she saw his face, his smile, the way he looked at her behind her lids as he clenched them shut.

 She had to protect them… They were looking to her for answers and God, for once in her life, she needed to not fuck this up. She needed to be the leader they all wanted her to be, the one she knew that she could never managed but god did she try…

 She had to try, for them.

 “I mean, at this point we’re running around with no weapons and no protection. My car has a few weapons, knives mostly but a couple of handguns… ad that’s not going to do anything against a wave of monsters. We need to find Elody, need to get to her and her little gang and see if they have a safe spot or something for us to hide until tonight is over.”

 It would be stupid to try and fight. That much was certain. Casper wasn’t the kind to turn tail and run, but if she wanted to fight what that monster called ‘Statistics’ then she needed to be more cautious then prideful. All it took was a look, a short look around her small group to know that they were tired, hungry, running on fumes while these monsters only gained strength as the night went on. They needed to find a safe place and get in contact with her sisters, her best friends and She needed to find her twin, make sure that she was okay.

 She had to get them out alive, or god help her she would die trying.

 “Okay, Let’s go. Stick together, it’s better to move slow and quiet with multiple eyes on the look out than go crazy. Az, I need you to guide us. Sweet Pea was that one house on main and 12th, and I need you to guide us there, El…. Ella… Ella, LOOK at me!”

 The moment she tried talk to her, All Casper saw was panic written on Ella’s features, Her pretty eyes wide and her breathing hitched and shallow. Casper moved, reaching out to take the small girls face in her own, fingers brushing over skin as she turned her head, forced the girl to look at her as she whisper soothing noises, little hushes and purrs past her lips.

 “Shhh… Ella, calm down, okay? I need you to calm down. Excessive noise can get us killed, and I’m trying to help you guys, okay? I’m gonna make sure you all get out alive, I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise, Okay. You know me, I don’t take promises lightly.”

-----------------  

 Cutttttteeeee…..

 Ashen hummed, feeling the trednils of shadow sliding along his body as he moved, walked, sauntered along the alleyways in search of his pretty little Queen. He could hear her, not close, far enough away to call on that strange little pride that she always seemed to pull from him with ease, a feat not many had been able to pull. Pride was a strange emotion to him. It wasn’t that he didn’t have it… No, he knew he had it in spades, for himself mostly, and the only other person he truly felt it for was his brother and his best friends. In almost all others, he saw nothing but a pawn, a tool to be used to get what he wanted no matter the cost. He didn’t feel pride when his group projects got an A, that was just expected… He didn’t get pride when he won something for his writings, his essays his work, because he already knew he was the best, already knew that he was born to be…. Better.

 And yet here she was, this adorable girl who so easily ensnared his heart…. She had run farther then he thought, gotten away faster than he had thought she would, and to prove him wrong was something he normally would take offence to, but with her, It only serves to cement her status as his one.

 “She thinks she got away….. Let’s prove her wrong….”

 The shadows moved at his command, pulsing at his laughter as the shifted, grazed against flesh that was not his. The darkness moved, before reaching out to latch on to one of the girls, tugging and yanking at the limb it had ensnared to drag them to the ground, pulling them swiftly toward the darkest corners of the alley. His voise slither through the darkness, licking, nipping at them as they scrambled and screamed, music to his ears and the very blood in his veins.

 He loved hearing her so scared…. It got his mind all sorts of racing.

The gasp that slipped from behind those lips tugged at her heart, pulled the frantic organ straight into her throat. There was no hiding the shiver that ran up her spine at the mere sight of the monster’s that lingered in front of her.

  “Excited to see me? Well, that’s a change I can live with princess.”

  Then there was those fingers, if you could even al the pointed talons that, coming up from the beast side in a motion that made it seem like it was moving at its leisure. And something about it rubbed Azalea wrong. The tips of those ‘things’ ran the length of the tanned skin of her best friend.  The flinch from those fingers is what caught her, the fear that was so deep in Casper’s eyes that Azalea was sure that Casper thought no one noticed is really what set her off. It was what really made her heels dig into the ground, what forced her to take that step in front of her, blue eyes narrowing on irises’.

 “ Back off!”

  Thin fingers pressed into the flesh of Azalea’s forearm, Casper’s multicolored eyes lifting from the ground to her own blue.

  “Cute~… Cute, cute cute! You know this whole ‘protective’ business you two having going on?”

  Azalea forced her legs to stay strong, to not buckle or turn to run. Instead she pressed her hands into Casper forcing her to take steps back from the monster. The one that was currently turning, its fingers and opening back to point one long talon straight in their direction.

  “Its gonna be even cuter watching that crash and burn. What do ya say? Wanna make this a game baby? …Casper?”

  The monster crouched its forearms catching on what she could only suppose was supposed to be its knee’s. Those eyes locking back on its intended target.

 --------------

 “Ahh… Don’t be harsh on them, Del. No need to push an answer right now…. After all, we have all night to break their cute little bond.”

 Casper could feel the lump starting in her throat, closing off her already shallow breaths with a bubble of fear that threatened to break past grit teeth, a silent scream bubbling in her chest that she swallowed like a bitter pill. It hurt, she numbly realized, to feel herself sliding, slipping, dropping into the fears this monster brought her, the fact that no matter who she presented herself as outside, there was still something that could make her, A daughter of the Dhouti family, fear for her life.

 God, why hadn’t she just hopped in her car and sped home when she heard those stupid sirens? She could have been home, with her mother and her father and safe, with her Sisters… God, why had she thought it would be a good idea to just blow it off? Liberatio wasn’t a day to play with, and her choices had led to not only Her Being locked out, but all her friends as well.

 Mismatched eyes moved, flicking from the creature crouching before her, the one who’s talons were burning scorching trails over her skin, to the other monster behind it, the one whose gaze slide past her to the people she cared most about in the world, one of the girls who she could call sister, if not by blood, by fate. Azalea had move her, pushed her behind her to try and place herself between her and the monsters smiling down at her, but Casper wasn’t the kind to just tuck tail and run, no matter what the obstacle stood in her way.

 She was never good at listening to what others wanted of her anyway. Thus why she was Hell’s Mouth’s perfect little disappointment.

 “A game?  Sounds like someone is ready to fucking lose….” Casper hissed her response, pushing forward to stand next to Azalea, her fists clenching as her gaze narrowed on the beats before her.

 Now or never…

 “And if You’re so willing to make it a game, how about you don’t waste my time and make it interesting. You and me, Beasty. We play for keeps. You hunt me down, and You get me, if I win you drop off the face of the earth. But it’s just you and me, you and your lot leave my friends alone.”

 After all, she was the one they were after, right? That’s why the other one hadn’t said anything, just let this monster bound after her like some sort of demonic puppy. If she could get them to leave her girls alone….

 -------------------

 “That’s adorable.”

 The words slid past his lips, unbidden, unconsciously. Ashten shifted easily, movements smooth, slow, unhurried as he slid from the shadows he called his home, his territory. Violet eyes moved, flashed as he step before Delirium, lifting one of his arms to run a hand over the crouching monster’s head, the grin sliding along his lips as his head tilted, all ease and confidence.

 “She’s got a pet name for you and everything. Such a valiant little one you have.”

 The words were true enough, but he had known all along she would try and pull something like this. It was almost too easy to predict how this one would act, almost too easy to guess that the minute her friends appeared to be in danger she would be the first one to, metaphorically throw herself into the flames. He had always found Casper Dhouti predictable in this since, in that no matter what the situation, she seemed to have a default action that she would fall on. It was comforting, familiar, like a non-toxic habit that he couldn’t break. But it didn’t interest him…

She didn’t interest him…. However….

 Azalea was a whole other story.

 From the moment he had met her, Ashten had known something was different about this particular girl, something off about her that drew his attention like a wolf to prey. She was Smart, brilliant, intelligent, more so then he had met in a long, long time. She was quick on her feet to thing and that mind was only matched by her looks, a body cursed with curves that drew the attention of men who Ash was all too happy to dispose of, her skin smooth and soft, dark tan with shimmers that seemed to beg for his touch.  She was small, tiny little thing, with dark brown hair that spilled to frame her face, full lips matched with brilliant blue eyes, endless oceans that Drew Ash in and refused to let him breath, until that was it, he was done.

 Ashton was a drowned man, a man under her tides and wholly taken over by her. He needed her now, all the air in his lungs calling for her as he took that step forward, to her, the only one he needed, the only one that mad his black heart race and the tainted blood to flood every inch of his body.

 “But completely useless. You see, what I want, has nothing to do with you… and Everything to do with your little friend there.”

 His fingers found her body, one long nail tailing over her skin to trace over her cheek, jaw, to catch her chin with his hands and tilt her head up, forcing her to look at him as his eye widened just that little bit wider.

“I’m here for you… You should feel honored, none have ever interested me like you do…”

 He leaned forward, a low growl under his breath as he hissed his next words in her ear, promises of sultry breaths and satin silk.

 “I wonder if your screams will be just as enticing… Will you help me find out… or will I have to make you? Please do make me…. It’s been too long since I hunted a true prey…”

 -------------------

  He could feel the curl of his lips, knew his eyes were focused on his intended target, never wavering, never pulling from the dark-haired beauty. His own light eyes taking in every subtle curve, every movement of her muscles under sun kissed skin, every little breath that she inhaled. He noticed the smallest motions. The way her fingers curled when she spoke, the way her voice wavered ever so softly under those strong words, her lips quirking in a mock form of bravado. He could hear his heart start to stammer her words, could feel the smile and the slow rumble that was building in his chest.

  “Good god, you are one beautiful ass creature aren’t ya? FUCK!...”

  His fingers came up, capturing his chin so that his elbow now rested on his thigh, his tongue dragged out, pulling against his bottom lip as he watched her. It was a moment of pure energy wracking him as he did, her eyes on him driving something home in his chest. Something clicked and just made that rumble bubble and there was no controlling it as he moved, his hands clapping together as he stood, spinning on his heels as his finger clasped behind his head.

  “You really are a marvel. You know that right, Princess? Dear lord I can not wait to break what fight you have in you…. But you know what, I’m a good sport. I will make a bet with you. But its gonna be a little different than you so eloquently put it.”

  There was a pause in his words as he pushed his back against the bricks on the side of the building. His eyes shifting now to the remainder of the squad surrounding them.

  “Hell, why not make it a open bet. We will all join. We win, we not only get you, we get the little pass code to your friends houses. You win, you get to live to see the next sun rise.”

  His arms crossed over his chest as he watched her features change at his words. Dell Bates was not a dumb boy, there was no way any of them were dying tonight. No way that any of these boys would allow harm come to any of their girls, however… they didn’t know that.

 And why did they need to know? What was the purpose behind them knowing what fates laid out for them? Nothing. And with it laying in Dell’s hands what did it matter what he did with his princess, with his girl.

  She was his to do with what he pleased.

  And she would know that by the end of the night exactly what that meant.

 --------

 “Who knows, I might surprise you. Maybe you’ll be the one screaming… I guess we will find out… Get off me.”

  Her hand slung out pushing the talon from her flesh, and she refused to let the emotions that were building up in her to show on her expression. Instead trying to keep her expression as hard a possible, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips down turned in a clear display of disgust.

“If your only threat is death, I’ll pass. Find a more inventive way of threatening somebody, both of you.”

  Her eyes moved from the two monsters talking, her eyes lingering on the one that still stood in front of her. There was things so remarkably terrifying about being surrounded by things that could kill you with a flick of their wrist that it seemed some of her emotions were seeping away. Trying their damnedest to prevent any emotional or mental damage. Cause she could feel the cock of her eye brow as she looked past the one in front of her, the one that was to close for her comfort, and straight to the main shit talker.

  “It’s funny how you want us to give you the one thing that not a single person here is willing to give up. Better luck on the next group you find I guess, huh? Now, if your not gonna kill us, you obviously don’t have too much planned out for us, why don’t we just be on our way.”

  Her finger’s locked in between Capser’s pulling her back to Azalea. Her motions quick as she pressed into Casper’s side, forcing her to walk beside her as she turned her eyes back to the other few girls that were still there with them. The ones who were not able to get away from the monsters who had cornered them.

 -------------------

 And this… this is why he found her so interesting.

 Ashten paused for a moment as she snapped his hand away, eyes flickering slightly in surprise as his gaze moved, shifted to the hand that now hovered in the air, fingers moving, clenching and extending with the subtle tang of pain licking at his skin, nothing harsh, nothing he usually would have noticed, but the pain was a reminded, a subtle change that meant that her flesh had once been on his, that her hand had brushed against his, even if the intention behind it had been violent. The grin along his lips only widened, fangs glittering in the moonlight as he finally felt the laughter that had been bubbling in his chest spill over, filling the empty space between them with a low rumble, a dark ripple along the night.

 Oh, he would have fun making her his Queen. The Shadow King would get what he wanted…. One way or another.

 “Nothing Scares you does it?” Ashten cooed, moving to straighten himself back up as he waved his hand, bringing it back to his side to press the palm against his thigh, his body trembling with the prospect of having her against him. The question he asked her was rhetorical, of course, as he knew plenty of things that could terrify the petite girl…

 However, he wanted more than her fear, more the absolute horror when she looked upon him, but he knew that every plan had to start somewhere, and his started with a good old dose of healthy terror.

 “Not afraid of Liberatio, not afraid of monsters… hell, not even afraid to die…. You really are something, aren’t you?” The words were soft, praising coos as he stepped back again. His head tilted, and however much he adored her, however much he adored that fighting, defiant spirit, He needed to reign this back in before it got out of control.

 “There are worse things than Death, Kahleen. Are you so willing to subject your friends to that? After all, you know that statistically…. Not all of you will make it away from us, and I can promise you, the one you will be forced to leave behind will have it all the worse as the price for your freedom.”

 He shrugged, allowing himself to lean against the wall as he watched her.

 Ashten was in no hurry. He had all night with his Queen, and if she refused to give…. Well, he had a little time to play with her before the sun rose, and he would be sure that by the end of tonight, even if she didn’t want him…. No one else was going to want her.

 --------------------

 Casper froze at their words, her breath hitching in her throat.

 That hadn’t gone as plan… in fact that had gotten way, way worse.

 Her mismatched gaze traveled to the girls who were with them, her heart hammering, roaring it’s screams in her ears with the drumming of her blood in her veins, thunderous applause as the curtain of her life was drawing it’s close. Her body shook as he felt her mind race, trying and failing to find a way out, a way to escape. It was so predictable she would fail in this as well.

 “You don’t know the passcodes?”

 She felt herself talking, heard the words but her mind had no conscious command to say them. At this point, Casper was drawing at straws, clutching for anything, something to protect them from the villainous and dangerous temper of the demons who had found them cornered. She sucked in a breath, turning to look at the demon who seemed to be showing too much interest in her for her to ever be comfortable with the situation.

 “You need them, don’t you? Fine, I’ll play your game, but I don’t care what they do, but For however many of my friends die, that’s another passcode you will not be getting from me. You can hurt me, kill me, torture me but in the end your left with a quick meal and no way to get more. Deal?”

She would stay strong, down to the very last moment if need be.

  That’s how she was. How she always was going to be. And Abram knew beyond any doubt that he wouldn’t change a single thing about her. He adored it more than he would have ever thought he would. Even from the moment he had seen her he knew, knew who she belonged to, where she belonged. That in the end she would end up by his side. His queen. And now that had been so many years ago.

  And, how his queen treated her king, it was heart breaking really. Her glances sparse, her words even fewer. Ashlin Baxter had little to no time for her king, and at every interval she seemed to have a uncanny ability of showing him so. If it was in the form of complete ignorance or quick retorts to his words, it was always the same disinterested tone that drove a spike through his heart every time.

  But that was the point of the night right? It was to win their women, to show them the error of their ways. At least it was why he was here. He could not account for the rest of the squad that was alongside of them.  But he knew his reasoning for being here, and he knew it was to win her over rather than terrify her, but if that’s what it took to get to her,… well then, there was not much saving her from it.

  “Just get the job done Carson… The faster we get in the quicker this can all begin. And we only have twenty one hours left.”

  “The boy just blew up on Lochlan, maybe you should be looking after yourself too Abram.”

  Blue eyes flicked to the white haired Mendoza that was shrugging off the situation at hand easily, any doubt that he might have looking to slip right off of his shoulders as they rolled. Quinton flicked a hand out, the motion quick as his foot followed to stomp out the burning end of the cigarette.  There was not much to go off of on his expression; the same lazy smile that always graced his lips still remained perfectly in its place. The only difference was the small movements, the shifting of his feet, his fingers fishing to fidget with something before receding into his pants pockets. They were almost so small that an outsider looking in would not have noticed, but Quinton was bothered, the rush filling him just as much as it was everybody else.

  Not that many of them were hiding much very well at this point.

  A mix of emotions was spreading through the group fast. More negative then there were positive. And that was something that needed to be adverted. Abram only moved his attention back to Carson, eyes meeting his.

  “Point being, Vi-vi and Ri-ri are waiting on us. We need to get moving anyhow.”

  His heart was in his throat as he spoke, he could feel and hear his voice quiver, if only slightly.

 ----------------------

 It was difficult, to ignore something that was happening right in front of you. He could see the tensions raising in his friends, seeing it in the way they shuffled and tense as more words filled the spaces between them. Every breath, every letter, every word…. They laced through the air, dangerous fingers along skin and Carson took in a breath, attempting to sooth himself when all he could taste was the electric movements of tensing spines.

 Even if he had been blind, He wouldn’t have been able to ignore it, the slight difference in the air that tasted of spice and steel, one small spark of heat away from a complete and total inferno that would spare not a single one of the forty one members of the squad. He knew that he had a large part to play in the stiff postures of his friends, knew that a lot of the blame as to why they tempers were spiking and they were impatiently shuffling from foot to foot, rested heavily on his shoulders.

 It was hard… hard for Carson to admit that anything was outside of his reach. He was a King, born for battle and blood and power, and yet, here he was, snapping like an uncontrolled mutt at anyone who grated his nerves even the slightest bit. He knew it was because of the day, the plan they had in place, and over all just how close he was to actually obtaining the girl who haunted his dreams, who was in his thought every waking hour. He knew his words were coming out far harsher then he intended; that he was quicker to snap then he usually would be… His anger, left unchecked, was a dangerous, dangerous thing, and more so then that his own impatience was now threading a wave of discomfort and irritation through the people who he had never wanted to hurt.

 It was difficult for Carson to admit anything was outside of his reach, but for a moment he had allowed his own control to slip past his fingers, and that was unacceptable.

 ‘Fuck…’

 Carson felt the rumble in his chest before the sound made it past his lips. He sucked in a breath, closing his eyes for a moment as one of his hands found the back of his neck, claws lightly tracing over his skin before he stilled, straightening his back with a little movement from his hands to trail over the cloth of his suit jacket.

   Rather than snap on Quinton, like he wanted to, Carson turned toward the door before his, a blaze to his honey brown and dark brown eyes as he flexed his fingers. He was reaching out as he spoke, his body moving almost on its own, shivers running along his skin as his hands clutched at the metal door once more, this time slow, aching cries of twisted metal sounding out as he curled his claws into the offending obstacle.

 “Then stand back…. Because I’m not waiting for you all to file in in a nice friendly order…”

 The scoff that followed his words played over his skin, a light crack filling the air as Ebbe moved just within his field of vision. Carson couldn’t see him fully, and in the dark the only parts of him truly visible was the red of his hair and the glint of hinted fang as the smile crept over his lips. The sight of it was just enough to allow a matching one to trail over his own features.

 “Since when have we ever been Friendly, Tovak?”

 A quirk of his lips was the only sign that Carson even heard him for a moment. His whole body stilled, not quite tense but prepared, before the sound of grinding metal on metal screamed out, harsh and shrill and unforgiving in its suddency as Carson knew himself to be…

 “… Since they came into our lives…” He started, pausing for a moment.

 In all his life, and while it had yet to be as long as his father’s, his brother’s, Carson had never seen the reasoning behind the fake smiles and pleasantries that humans had so willingly given to each other. Oh he had played his part, and played it well. He was well liked, even though his heritage was also well known, he was kind when he needed to be, had learned to read people like worn books to know what every situation called for…. But for the life of him, he could never figure out why…

 He was not kind, he was nice…. He was hardly someone you could call friendly. He reveled in blood, he sighed at fear and desired tears falling down cheeks as his prey realized he would take what he wanted, no matter the cost or what they did. He was a monster, in its truest sense. He had thought that was something that would never change….

 Until he met her.

 … But…” He mused, grunting the words as he pulled against the hard door, the hinges unwilling to give, like they were forged from the desires of the girls that sought safety beyond it.

 “Human niceties has gotten us nowhere, gotten us nothing but scorn…. So I think it’s about time they learn what a real monster is like.”

 And the door finally gave.

 --------------------------

 The only thing she could really hear was her heart hammering in her chest, a steady beat in the void of silence she had found herself in. Every breath was a cry in the dark of the room she had found herself in, the light from the flash light she held in her hands doing little to strive off the fear that was starting to build in her throat, the bitter tang of bile burning her tongue. Every step down into the frigid basement was another shiver of fear along her skin, the ice in the air running soft traces over her spine, mingling together to make the breath in her lungs freeze and catch with every little movement her body made. It felt… oppressive, she mused as she made her way into the basement, watching her own breath puff in front of her before it dissolved into nothing, nothing but her heartbeat ringing in her ears.

 She was scared, god she was terrified… How did she think this was a good idea? Had she not learned? Did she not know anything? Did she not remember anything?

 ‘Just check the Fuse box… get the lights on or an explanation…’

 The thought was mantra in her mind, even as she took that final step into the dark expanse of the too dark basement before her. Her fingers tailed over the last of the wood banister like a lifeline, her fingers searching for the cool wood even after she had long past its reach, and she let out a shaking breath as she stood at the foot of the stairs with the icy flashlight burning into the flesh of her palm.

 “Just get in and get out…. Won’t do to have a monster find you where you can’t escape…”

 Briggs had already had a taste of what that was like, of what lowering her guard and allowing herself to be trapped by a demon was like and she wasn’t too keen on repeating the experience now that she was older. The thought of it gave her pause, her hand moving along her body to trace over the scar that crossed over her features. The scar itself was old, mostly faded away by this point, but it was difficult to forget the pain that had given it to her, and even harder to forget the lesson she had been taught through it.

 Briggs shook her head, allowing the dusky pink strands to fall over her face. She moved, her palm brushing over her cheek as she huffed a little at her own fear, willing herself to take that step forward into the darkness. The basement itself wasn’t creepy. Unlike other people, The DeAngelis family didn’t use the space under their house as a storage unit. Rather than filled with boxes and old furniture like hers was, it was set up much like another living room, with dark oak doors that Briggs was sure would lead to some sort of lavishly decorated room, be it some sort of entertainment room or another bedroom  in the sprawling mansion they owned. What made this place creepy, despite it’s pretty art and furniture, was the dark shifting shadows that clung to every corner, pulsed with a beat that almost mimicked breath.

 ‘creak’

 The sound of something just behind her made her heart jump, twisting on heel to turn widened eyes to the stairs she had just come from, her pulse in her throat and her teeth gritting, biting down on her tongue to stop the scream from pulling from her chest. She could feel it, white hot and racing through her blood, the fear that seemed to dance along her skin and make its home in her ever moving heart, matched only by the sting behind her eyes and nose that made her sniffle as she drew in another breath, heel of her palm coming up to rub over her cheek just one more time.

 ‘Just the house settling… It’s fine… you’re fine…. Everything’s fine….’

 The lie rang false, even in the confines of her mind.

 It felt like there was someone here. She could feel eyes on her, watching her, trailing over her as she moved again, taking those small slow steps through the basement. It felt like there was someone here, just beyond her sight, beyond her vision. The shadows that touched her seemed to brush along her bare legs, along her arms as she finally made her way to the utility part of the basement. If it wasn’t for the absolute fear, for her life and all of the others that had taken refuge in this house tonight, she might have found it comforting.

 The light touch was almost soothing, a memory of a soft brush from strong hands that she found herself longing for. The feeling of it brought to mind flashes of blond hair and brown eyes, eyes blazing with an emotion she didn’t want to connect to her just yet, one that matched the burn just under her heart. Keyser …. There weren’t enough words in her vocabulary to accurately describe what she thought of the boy. He was arrogant, pushy, confident, clearly the kind of guy who was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it and didn’t accept no as part of his reality, let alone his vocabulary. He was intimidating, almost to a fault, all fierceness and strength and power, and it didn’t help that he was known to hang out with the Arch demons that would one day rule, despite being a human himself.

 But… when he wanted to be, there could be a warmth to him that she couldn’t help melting into. There was a kindness that showed in his expression when he looked at her, when he brushed his hand across her cheek to tangle his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer or when he was tracing over the scar that ran across her face. His fingers had followed that familiar trail since she had gotten the scar, and she was sure that if it hadn’t been for his touch she might have come to resent the scar. He was able to calm her with a simple touch and now? She was sort of wishing she had taken Lottie’s initiative.

 But, For a moment, she allowed the vision, leaned slightly into the illusionary hand to draw from it a strength she needed to push herself forward.

 To turn the flash light to the fuse box that lay in ruins before her.

 She shivered, closing her eyes as she felt the wall of despair hit her. This was more than just a sign of darkness. More than a realization that any and all protection they had would turn against them without the electricity to power it.  It was over…. It was all over. They were going to die here, in this house, at the hands of far too many demons for her to even want to count. She wouldn’t even get to say good bye.

 Briggs could feel it as she stumbled, tripping over her own legs and falling to the floor as she drew in a shaking sob, eyes dry but starting to fill with unshed tears.

 They were already inside…

 It was already over.

------

Requiem would be one of the first to deny the small squeal that seemed to rip past her lips the second the lights flickered out. There was no way she was going to bring the deep rooted fear that was crawling through her veins to anybody’s attention. No instead, she turned, her eyes lifting to the girls who were speaking amongst each other; she took note of Lottie who even in this moment seemed inconsolable over the loss of her Lochlan, then there was Ashlin and Abernathy, who looked completely unamused, rather lost in deep thought over other matters than anything and Requiem could only swallow thickly. And it was loud, too loud if you asked her. She felt like the whole room could hear it, though she knew better.

  “Someone needs to tell th-“

  “What the actual hell Requiem? Your “Fortress” is going to have a black out on the one night we can’t do shit about it? That is hardly what I would call top notch. What kind of cruel princess treats her god this way?”

   Grey eyes moved, to follow the long length of Dulce’s legs, her fingers catching her eyes as she quoted the word. The blonde flipped a pig tail over her shoulder, trying her hardest to exaggerate the movement with an shoulder roll, though it was the eye roll that ended with those green flecked irises landing on her that showed the hint of true inconvenience. And Requiem could only shift in her place as she looked up the stairs; it took a second for her to find her voice. To find any sort of remedy to the despair curling in her guts. That wasn’t to say her voice didn’t crack as she spoke.

  “Dulce… There’s demons. And a lot of them, at my front door right now. I need you to go tell the others to hide or find weapons whatever they want, just be prepared.”

  The look that fell over the blonde was nothing short of pure confusion, painted clearly. That was until the first grate of metal shrieked through the foyer. Everybody jumped, everybody shuffled to get further away from the door. And the second those claws came into view She cried out, her hands coming over her lips to keep it to herself. Then the alarm set in, the room going from pitch black to a brilliant flash of red every few seconds. Shuffeling played through the room and it took Requiem a second to realize it was the girls moving, running out of the room, Cypher was pulling on Lottie helping the distraught girl to some sort of safety. Menzy swung in to the room once more with a renewed vigor, her hair swinging as she tossed a Crowbar to Ankou, her smile vicious as she stared down the door, her own crow bar thrown over her shoulder casually.

   “You better not bend her Ankou.”

  Ankou’s response was to tap the gifted crowbar on the floor, and then pitch it over her shoulder.

  “Ar- are they… Bending the door? There’s no way that like 8 inches thick…”

  “You’re a fucking retard if you think for a single second that 8 inches of fucking metal is going to keep forty something demons out. That’s like crushing aluminum can to them. Get outta here already, go make sure the rest of the girls are ready, go hide, do something, I ain’t dying on the account your nothingness.”