"Is everyone here?" Alaric asked Dorian, his eyes fixed on the group in front of him and not on his friend.
At this moment, standing in the school's backyard were at least a few dozen individuals–werewolves, to be more exact.
They stood there, waiting for the next order, with some of them chatting amongst themselves. Some for the reason they didn't have anything else to do, others just to pass time and forget the implications of why they were here. And then, there were the quiet ones, those who didn't have in them the will to do anything now but patiently wait for the event of tonight.
Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven… Looking over the crowd, mentally counting them, Dorian gave a curt nod to the headmaster. "All thirty-seven werewolves of our school are here."
"That's good." Alaric briefly acknowledged that fact, satisfied that everyone gathered quickly. "We can go now."
Dorian side-glanced Alaric. "Shouldn't we wait for Hope? Even more now that Jeremy isn't here." He said, expressing his worries.
"No need, I've already talked to her." Alaric said, taking out a phone from his pocket. A different one from the one he handed to John. "She is finishing a few things in her room and will meet our group half-way."
"Well, if you say so." Dorian said, stepping forward. This single action got the attention of everyone present. "Everyone, we have roughly a little more than one and half hours before the full moon. So, let's get going to prepare for the night."
From his back pocket, Dorian took out a flashlight. He turned around and switched it on, the light pushing away the darkness. "Follow me, please. Don't get far from the group." He said, walking in the opposite direction of the school.
After his words, everyone started to follow the librarian's steps, walking behind him towards the forest.
…
Crack.
The sound of branches breaking and gravel stepped on echoed across the cold forest bathed by the moonlight. Flashlights cut through the trees and bushes, illuminating the path ahead as dozens of students walked in group.
They walked slowly, some of them already experiencing the fear of where they were walking into, said fear deterring their movements despite their minds telling them what they were going to do was the right thing; they knew they must do it for the safety of everyone around them and their own.
As they continued to walk, amongst the group of humans and werewolves, one of them stopped in her tracks, right under the moonlight.
She was a young girl, she couldn't have been more than twelve years old.
Slowly, she elevated her eyes at the full moon, the celestial body hanging amidst the clouds entering her sight as its image reflected on her eyes–watery eyes, eyes full of fear.
The mere stare into the moon briefly reminded her of that pain, long enough for it to work as a sparkle that ignited her whole memories of that day one month ago, making her body shudder in fear of the unforgettable pain.
Her lips trembled, making her words stutter. "I-I don't want it…" She muttered, her voice barely a whisper.
However, in this forest, where no creature dared to announce their presence during the night of today, her words echoed to every corner of the woods.
Quietly and abruptly, the werewolves around her stopped in their tracks too, staring at their youngest.
"Can't we do a-anything? Please…" She looked around, the tears reaching the corner of her eyes. "I-I don't want it again. There must be som-something we can do." She sobbed between words, the salty taste of tears reaching her mouth as the water descended her cheeks.
In response to her words, the werewolves around looked between each other, not knowing what they should do despite having experienced exactly what the little girl is going through right now.
They didn't know how to tell her that it would be better with time, for they didn't believe in those words either when they were told the same. Even more now, when she would experience the moon known as the worst of all for all werewolves.
After all, the second full moon every werewolf goes through is the first one they know what to truly expect, what kind of pain they will have to bear, for no explanation was enough to explain it before they suffered their first transformation.
No matter how many times others say it, the second full moon will be the most feared night for every werewolf. Others can tell them the pain will lessen, that your transformation process won't last as long as the first time–it will be up to nothing.
As most of the werewolves didn't know what to say to the young girl, one of the older ones approached, a young woman nearing adulthood.
"Alice…" She tried to get the girl's attention, calling her name as she cut through the group.
The young woman, when seeing the girl turn her head her way, thought of what she could possibly say. She searched for words to appease those crying eyes, to even remotely lower her fear for the night; or until they reached the bunkers.
But as her lips parted, and she tried to force any words out of her mouth, someone interrupted her.
"What are you all doing?! Come on!" Someone–a man by the voice–shouted from the front line of the group. "We don't have the entire night!" He said, not giving anyone time to respond as he turned around, walking away from the small stagnated group.
When the young man's words reached everyone, the werewolves moved without protest. They didn't look at the young girl anymore, only giving her looks and sighs of pity before resuming their path. Despite his words not being the most friendly, they knew he was right regarding one thing–they didn't have the entire night to enjoy.
Tsk… Dammit, Jed. The young woman–a girl going by the name of Pamela–sighed inwardly, snorting as she approached the youngest of their group. "Come with me, Alice." She rested a hand over the girl's shoulder, guiding her through the way. "You don't need to be afraid. Everything will be alright, I promise you that." She softly said, attempting to comfort the girl.
"B-but the pain… I am afraid."
Pamela smiled gently. "I am as well." She rubbed the girl's shoulder with her thumb, thinking of ways to distract the girl from her fearful thoughts. "But I will have to ask you to endure it, to be courageous. If you can do it, the school will reward us all. Did you know about that?"
"No…" Alice shook her head, looking up at the older werewolf. "What will we get?" Despite her fear for the night, her interest was piqued.
Seeing that her words bore some result, some relief made way to Pamela's eyes. "Well, you see. We will…" As the young woman talked with the younger one, they disappeared into the nightly forest, following the path the other werewolves had taken. In the end, only a single person was left behind.
For some time, said person stayed on that small part of the forest alone, staring blankly into the space where the young girl used to stand–where some of her tears fell on the dirt ground.
Only when the illuminated forest was covered in darkness did this young woman break out of her gaze.
She lifted up her eyes to the sky, and Hope observed as the moon was now hidden beneath dark clouds that consumed the night, impeding almost any light from above from reaching the forest, letting it sink in silence and partial darkness.
Unfortunately, that doesn't help with anything. Hope diverted her eyes from the dark clouds. "If hiding the moon was a solution, then things wouldn't be too troublesome." She muttered to herself, stepping ahead and disappearing among the woods.
Despite the darkness and dense vegetation, Hope easily navigated through it. She had taken this path too many times by now to memorize it and know where she should go without seeing it.
And in no time, she reached her destination. She could see a small light hanging atop the structure of concrete–the entrance to the bunker–illuminating the clearing around the small building.
Right now, there was almost no one left around it, with only one person remaining at the entrance, patiently waiting for her arrival.
"It took you longer than I expected." Alaric said, his figure blocking some of the light coming from behind him.
"I was contemplating a few things." Hope approached the structure, standing before her headmaster. "Is everything going well?"
"Dorian is helping everyone with the chains." Alaric said, stepping down from the elevated concrete floor to the dirt ground. "What were you thinking about?" He asked, raising his hands to blow some breath in them, trying to heat himself up.
"The help I could provide to them." Now without the headmaster blocking the path, Hope could see the stairway leading to the underground bunker. From up there, she could see faint shadows moving in the lit room below. "I keep thinking if it would be worth giving them the option…"
Alaric snorted, knowing what his student meant with those words. "You know the problem of that solution." He warned, his tone of voice lowering in fear of anyone overhearing the conversation.
"I know." Hope gave a curt nod, exhaling profusely in mild reluctance. "But it would at least give them an option. And we know it is possible to break their bond. Others did it before with my father." Her voice also dropped a tone.
"Yes, they did. By transforming out of free will hundreds of times." Alaric gave Hope a side-glance. "So, to break out of their sire bond with you, they would need to do what they ran away from."
"Considering the amount of times they will have to transform over their lives, it seems like a good deal."
"It does." Alaric didn't deny that. "However, we would have to deal with another problem then."
"Which is?" Hope turned her eyes at him.
"The fact that the supernatural community would welcome dozens of new hybrids." Alaric stated, crossing his arms. "You realize the amount of trouble that would bring, right?" He said in a lower tone of voice, not wishing for anyone to overhear him.
"Unfortunately, I do." Hope said, passing a hand over her hair. "I usually wish to be just ignorant."
"The cons of having too much power." Alaric pursed his lips. "You generally must be wiser than others to manage it well."
"Urgh…" Hope just groaned at that, sitting down on the steps in front of the entrance. "I wouldn't bet so much on the wise part." She said, her voice taking on a sad tone.
Listening to her words, Alaric was momentarily silent. He knew what she meant by those words, by how her mother's death was the result of not so wise decisions from her part.
I thought she had put that thought aside by now. Alaric thought, furrowing his brows. Better change the topic of the conversation before she puts too much of her mind into it. "What were you doing before coming here?" He asked, uncaring of how abrupt his shift in the conversation was.
Hope noticed how sudden the topic was brought up, but ignored it and responded to the question anyways. "I am finishing a new project of mine."
"A painting, I presume?"
"Yes." Hope nodded. "I didn't want to leave without finishing a certain part of it, that's why I took a while to join you all."
"No problem with that. We had time anyway." Alaric dismissed it.
Bringing her legs closer to her, Hope leaned on her thighs. "I also… was looking for John. Trying to find him to know if he wanted to spend some time." She added. "Knocked on his door, searched for him in the hall and library, even the kitchen. I didn't find him."
"Oh, right…" Alaric blurted. "I guess I forgot to tell you this." He scratched the back of his head.
"What?" Hope lifted her eyes at him, noticing a slight awkwardness in his movements. "What did you not tell me, Dr. Saltzman?" She straightened herself, her posture shifting from casual to serene, but her tone remained neutral.
"You remember Jeremy left this morning, right?"
"Yes." She lightly nodded.
"So, Jeremy faced some problems in Columbia." Alaric said, trying to avert her eyes. "And since we didn't have anyone else available to help him, we sent John." He paused. "With his permission and with him totally aware of the circumstances." The headmaster quickly added.
"Dr. Saltzman," Hope slowly raised to her feet. "what kind of problem are we talking about?" Her tone was a tad more serious.
"Some vampires on his trail…" Alaric's voice was restrained, his words escaping his mouth through murmurs.
The answer of her question made Hope go still, her mind properly processing what she just listened to.
"Dr. Saltzman, are you saying that you sent a newcomer to the supernatural-" She took one step further his way. Amidst her expression, there wasn't much anger albeit some could think that was what she would be feeling. In reality, Hope showed just a level of irritation, but nothing deep. "to help an experienced vampire hunter to deal with vampires because said hunter faced problems dealing with these vampires?" Her words were dipped in disbelief, even a little bit of incredulity.
And when she said those words, Alaric himself furrowed his brow when listening to them. When she says it like that…
"I know it sounds stupid, but it was the only option we had available." Alaric said, trying to defend himself a little. "Jeremy has a young werewolf with him, and vampires are hunting it. If we didn't send any help, Jeremy would be forced to choose two options." Alaric crossed his arms, dropping his gaze at the ground. "Trying to fight the vampires carrying such weight and risk their lives at the same time a full moon is approaching, or run away and leave behind a werewolf. The fate of this wolf, we both know."
Hope nodded, knowingly. "Vampires would find it and kill it. Or not, and it would turn in the middle of a city, ready to rip apart anything that moves." A sigh escaped the girl's lips, with her holding the bridge of her nose. "I would say Mr. Gilbert could find somewhere in the city to hide both of them for the night, but I guess that's not an option, right?"
"If it was, he would have mentioned it and wouldn't have asked for help." Alaric said. "Not to mention, I hardly think any unprepared place in a city could hold the howls and odor of a werewolf from any vampire."
"Right, there is that." Hope said, crossing her arms over her chest. "…You could have asked for my help."
"In that situation, you couldn't help, Hope. You couldn't get to Columbia in time nor help in any other meaningful way."
"Then we could've thought of something else." Hope said back.
"Dorian and I thought of our available options." Alaric emphasized who he referred to, for him to remind Hope who is responsible for thinking about these things. "And when I proposed the idea, we knew that was the only one we had. The only thing we needed was John's guarantee and agreement he could accomplish it and do it. And when he did so, we prepared him to go. We relayed to him what he had to do and that his priority was his safety." He lifted his eyes, looking fully at the girl. "That was our only option."
And following his words, the environment around them fell into silence. Hope didn't say anything back and only the howl of the wind responded briefly.
Hope held a blank stare, the headmaster into her sight but her focus wasn't exactly on him. She went utterly quiet, to the point her breathing couldn't be heard.
As the situation relayed to her by her headmaster was recounted in her mind, Hope slightly tightened her jaw and clenched her fists under her arms. And covertly, she bit on her inner lower lip in an unconscious reaction out of fear.
It's okay, it'll be okay… The words echoed in her mind, trying to soothe her own worry. In the worst case, he can just fly away. He is also immortal, right? That's what he kept saying. Nothing will go wrong with him. She kept repeating these words, attempting to find reasons why the young man couldn't be harmed by vampires. He probably won't even face any danger in the first place.
From an outside point of view, Alaric observed his student's behavior. It didn't take long for him to see the patterns of her worried state, of how she behaved when anxious. He had seen it too many times along the years, since her childhood to now. She was still the same in this regard.
"You worried about him?" He asked, trying to restart the conversation.
The question made Hope focus her eyes on him. "I am."
"Well, despite me being the one who sent him there, I am too." Alaric said, taking a few steps closer to the girl. "He will be fine, you need not to worry too much. You saw what he is capable of."
"I know, but I can't do much about it." Hope said, sighing in resignation. It has been some time since she has felt this way, and it was for this reason her emotions were resurfacing.
"So let's occupy our minds." Alaric put a hand on Hope's shoulder, turning her to face the bunker's entrance. "What about we go down there and make sure nothing goes wrong for the night?"
Alaric's attempt to distract Hope from thinking further into the matter was obvious for anyone to see. His words after the brief silence had this intention all along.
But Hope, despite knowing it, didn't care and just nodded. "I guess there isn't much else to do." She said.
"Hmph." Alaric humorously harrumped. "Relax, everything will be alright. We should soon be receiving news from them."
…
Whoosh!
Up in the dark sky, cutting through the night was a small figure compared to the clouds. And from how dark it was, it was impossible for anyone on the ground to see what it was–or who it was.
There it is. John, having to narrow his eyes slightly due to the strong winds hitting his face, looked up ahead and knew he was approaching his destination. The many lights and tall buildings make the landscape recognizable for him. Columbia. He thought, the city entered his sight despite still being quite far from it, but the boy's enhanced sight allowed him to study it.
The city was relatively big compared to most cities and towns, but small compared to the main cities across America. Comparing it to Charlotte, one of the cities the boy passed by when traveling this past hour, the Capital of the Palmetto State covered less ground.
But as he approached the city, John gave it more importance than any other capital in the world as his objective was right in front of him.
I have to lose some altitude. John thought, his figure slowly descending from the sky and getting closer to the ground.
While approaching the city, the boy reached his hand into his pocket and took out a phone from it. And as he did so, John took a look at his close surroundings, his eyes falling over the invisible veil surrounding him.
I guess I have to drop it now to see Jeremy's location. He thought, the veil that covered his figure and only him could see it dispersing. I really hope I am being cautious and not paranoid by constantly hijacking the EM waves around me so no one would spot my presence. John said inwardly, bringing the phone to his front as he tapped on the screen twice.
Quickly, he put the password and navigated through the device, finding what he needed to find the hunter currently trapped into the city.
He is not far from me. John noticed when seeing the two dots on the map displayed on the screen. Despite him not being in the city already, the boy could see Jeremy was on the outer border of it, apparently in the middle of a neighborhood.
That's good. John put the phone away, his arms sticking to his body. Let's speed up a little. I have less than forty-five minutes until the full moon. Thinking like that, the boy prepared to speed through the air. "Sonum siste."
Following the boy's words, magic spread out around him, drawing a line in the space around. And within the space this line was drawn, no sound escaped.
Observing the magic accompanying his movements as he slowly flew forward, John nodded approvingly as he weakly moved his fingers, the action resulting in the EM waves around him not behaving normally.
Truly useful. John thought, the air around him overlapping as he cut through the air, but no sound of the phenomenon echoed throughout.
As he accelerated into the city and John noticed the land beneath him change from woods to houses and neighborhoods, the young man made sure to stay alert to anything that could spot him. Despite his efforts to make his presence silent and unnoticed by electrical devices, if someone looked up to the sky, they could still see him amidst the darkness, though it would require some effort.
It should be here. John thought, finding the location that matched where Jeremy's dot was laying on.
In a careful and slow manner, John descended on the location. A small alley that wasn't distinguishable from any other alley. It was dark, narrow and had trash thrown everywhere.
If anything, the only difference it would have from other alleys would be the very weak odor of blood and sweat mixed with the smell of trash and moisture.
When landing on the ground, John dispersed the magic around him with a flick of his will, the same happening with his constant interference to the EM fields around him.
And as he was about to reach into his pocket to confirm if the location was correct, the young man halted in his actions when he observed something with interest.
Almost imperceivable even to his eyes, John could see very faint bursts of EM waves surging from the waste container ahead. It passed through the metallic lid and rose to the skies, disappearing very quickly from the boy's sight.
I can't fault him, that's a good location to hide from vampires. John thought, approaching the dumpster.
When just a few meters separated the boy and the waste container, John started to hear very weak breaths from it–two, to be more exact. Confirming to him he was in the right place.
Everything must've really fucked up for him to hide in a dumpster. John had one hand holding his nose shut while the other reached for the lid, carelessly opening it up.
However, when the boy had just lifted the dumpster's lid a few centimeters, he was taken by surprise when the hair on his neck stood up, signaling him of a possible danger.
Instinctively, John bent his body back, welcoming the sight of the sky and a knife slowly crossing through it, cutting the area where his head was just now.
And when he threw his back even more, the boy watched from upside down as the knife sunk deep in the brick wall behind him, stopping from going further deep into due to its hilt.
What the fuck?! "Holy shit, Mr. Gilbert! It's me, John!" He announced, straightening his legs and eyeing the dumpster.
"Boy?" A deep voice came from the dumpster, its lid slowly opening as a pair of eyes watched from inside it, recognition flashing through them as they fell over the young man. "Ah, so Ric sent you. That's good." Jeremy weakly said, fully opening the waste container and revealing his figure, or at least his arms and upper body.
And when John saw the poor physical state displayed by Jeremy, he couldn't help but widened his eyes in surprise and a bit of worry. "Dammit, are you okay?" He asked, approaching the hunter.
From just a glance, the young man spotted many deep injuries in Jeremy's body. Some leaking blood and where trash contaminated it. Others were so deep he could see the bones from where he stood. There were even some that resembled bite marks by how the flesh was torn apart.
"I've been worse." Jeremy said, resisting the urge to close his eyes and rest. "Did you know I had my neck broken and died before?"
"No." John lied through his teeth.
"Yeah, well, it was quick but surely the pain that time was worse." He said, permitting himself a long deep breath. "Help me here. We have to find a place for this girl to go through her full moon." Jeremy went back into the dumpster, coming back carrying a girl in his arms. "Thankfully you brought some chains."
"Dorian's idea." John said, helping him as he took the girl and scooped her out of the dumpster, carrying her in his arms.
"He was always the smart one." Jeremy said, bringing his body out of the trash. He was so weak he almost fell on the floor when getting out of the container. "I will just retrieve my knife and we can go."
Before Jeremy could give another step, John reached his hand towards the knife and with a thought the object went flying in their direction, the boy carefully taking hold of it.
It's enchanted. John thought when his fingers grasped the knife's hilt. I guess that's why I sensed it could hurt me. "Here."
"You are full of surprises, aren't you?" Jeremy said, picking his knife and putting it away.
"A few." John smirked, sliding his hand over the man's back, holding him. "I suggest you hold onto me so we can get out of here."
"Sorry for the trouble." Jeremy said, using his not-so-bad in shape arm to hold onto the boy. "So, how will we-"
Whoosh!
The hunter couldn't finish his words before the young man sped through the air, their figures disappearing into the night.
"Shit, boy! Tell me beforehand you can fly!" Jeremy said through his teeth, his legs erratically move in the air due to the high speed.
"Ok." John casually replied, his eyes scanning the outer skirts of the city since it was where he was flying towards. "Do you think that is a good place to chain her?"
Following the direction the boy was looking at, Jeremy spotted the location. "It would be preferable to be more into the woods. We can't risk anyone listening to her howls."
John casually nodded. But through that, he blinked a few times as he realized something. "If anyone heard us, they would think we are up to nothing good."
"Hahahah…" Jeremy laughed heartily, but not for long as blood flowed out of his mouth. "Ouch… I think a rib pierced one of my lungs."
…
Whoosh!
Back in the alley where John and company was just a few minutes ago, presences that resembled blurs when moving appeared.
In the first moment, it was only a couple. But as the seconds passed, more and more appeared. From two to three, then five, eight… and by the end fourteen figures occupied the dark alley, turning over every brick of the place.
"They are already gone." One of them slammed the dumpster shut, the lid bending by the strength behind the impact.
"But they can't have gone far, the smell is still lingering here." Another said, sniffing the air. He moved around as he followed the odor. "There was someone else here besides the hunter and werewolf. A… human?" He sniffed the air again. "That or one of ours… It's hard to distinguish."
"Yeah, but where did they go?"
Not immediately responding, the one who was tracking the smell stopped in the middle of the alley, near the dumpster. "Strange…" He muttered, looking upwards. "Their smells start to go upwards."
"What are you saying?" Another joined the conversation. "Are you saying that they flew away?"
"I didn't say that, only that their smell leads up. You can get to the same conclusion if you did anything diligently."
"What did you say?!" The other shouted, veins popping up around his eyes. Eyes that turned into a bloody red, their irises' color enhancing in intensity.
Faced with the aggression of his companion, the other vampire remained calm. "Just saying. Who the fuck was responsible for getting into a fight with a fucking hunter from the brotherhood?"
"How the fuck should I know?! Aren't they supposed to be dead by now?!"
"Calm down, both of you!" Another interrupted the conversation, his tone strong but contained. "We don't want to get more attention."
"Hmph!"
The one who interrupted breathed deeply, trying to act rationally. "Continue searching. Look over every street and abandoned building in the city, we must find the hunter, the werewolf takes less priority now. Spread his features and let everyone know to walk in groups of five. We already lost too many to him." He ordered, his words carrying a tone of authority as everyone obeyed him.
Whoosh!
As the other vampires disappeared, the apparent leader was the only one who remained behind. He looked over the area where one of his subordinates said that the hunter's odor went to, and he could smell it.
Maybe another creature helped him? He narrowed his eyes in deep thought, turning around as his figure turned into a blur, disappearing from the alley.
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