Burning Souls (F.T Sequel)

Thirty

(A/N at the end of this chapter. Enjoy =) )

The sleek, black vehicle's roaring motor decrescendos to a mere purr as the hill trees leave our sides and give way to sparse houses. Burning lights grow brighter and brighter as the car approaches the town that Caleb and Fernando found for us to scope out. Hunter slows down as we get onto the main road, lined by brick houses, closed tattoo parlours and dormant cafes. We've chosen nighttime to be the best period to get our hands on an unworthy human. It's probably best that everything's silent and locked up, seeing as we'll be abducting and Turning one of their fellow citizens. We suddenly take a sharp turn that flings my unbuckled body to the side and makes me crash into the left passenger door. "I told you to wear a seatbelt honey," Dominic comments from the front passenger seat. I glare at the back of his head and keep up that same glum expression as Hunter parks the car in a hidden, dark alley before killing the engine. He exits the car stiffly and Dominic follows suit. I mutter multiple curse words under my breath as I rub my hit side, slamming the door behind me loudly as I straighten up outside. I let my vampire side instincts flow from me as I take in the faint sounds of snoring from the windows of the English houses and scan the blackness that swallows us up. It's only chased away by a few streetlights that can be seen from the gap of the alley that opens up onto the street. That's when I catch a slight sound of boots scraping against concrete. It's gone as quickly as it came.

"Really?" I turn to Dominic who shakes his head at me disapprovingly, the aftermath of my loud door-slamming. "Are you planning on waking up the whole town before we've even found this human?" 

"Are you planning on running an all-night commentary?" I retort, and his lips twitch up with unconcealed amusement. Hunter sends me a look.

"Stop it, both of you. I just want to get in and get out." 

"Fine," Dominic replies calmly, keeping his eyes trained on me, "But don't whine if we attract unwanted attention." 

"I think I heard something, just before," I say quickly. Hunter's head tilts towards me and his dark eyes scan my face. He nods and spins around, letting his much stronger vampire genes scope out the entire area in a precise radius. Dominic crosses his arms and lets out an irritated breath.

"Are you done?" He asks stiffly, beginning to make his way down the alley. "We've got work to do." 

"Wait." Hunter's voice cuts through, cool and clear, and I freeze. "I've got something." This time, Dominic doesn't even try to conceal his annoyance as he grunts from the other end. 

"Great, well, when you're done playing hide and seek with your invisible friend, feel free to join me."

"Dominic," I chastise, making him stop in his tracks. "Someone's following us."

"It's nothing that you two should be concerned about." 

Silence. Hunter spins around and quickly marches over to stand right in front of his Maker, staring at him directly in the eye. The latter doesn't waver; he doesn't even flinch. "Do we have a problem, or are we going to get this done?" Dominic asks icily. I can see Hunter's jaw clench in the darkness, but then the unimaginable happens: he simply steps away with a stiff nod.

"What?" I exclaim, "Are you seriously okay with him not telling us what the hell is going on? This could be a trap for all we know!" 

"I've told you everything that you need to know," Dominic cuts in, "And I've got no reason to trap you. We're on the same side, remember?"

"Who did you say this inside source of yours is?"

"I didn't." 

"Great," I mutter, throwing up my hands with exasperation as I stalk past them. "If we get ambushed, I'm sacrificing you first." I point an accusing finger at Hunter, whose lips are set in a grim line. He glares at me and I smile sweetly, tight-lipped. Then, I begin waltzing away, humming at a high-note, just to piss them off. I hear Hunter mutter a curse, and then the heavy sounds of their boots on the concrete follow my own lighter ones. As we spill out onto the road from the alley, the silence seems even more deafening. Everything is soundless and asleep. Not even an owl from the neighbouring forest reaches my ears. As I look up at the sky, I notice that the moon is barely visible from behind the thick curtain of dark clouds that sway by it. There are no stars to be seen, and the whole place would seem dead were it not for the evidence of the sounds of beating hearts and breathing inside of the street's houses. "Remind me what kind of person we need again?" 

A sudden gunshot cuts through the silence, followed by a shrilled scream, making me stop in my tracks.

We all raise our heads and concentrate on the sound that floats around us like a dying cry, filling the night. "Was that answer enough?" Dominic asks, the anticipation being clear by his agitated tone. I shoot him a look but nod tightly. 

"It came from the next street over," Hunter remarks darkly, before setting off. We follow him closely behind, scanning the area as we go. I still have the acute feeling of a pair of eyes on me, but every time I look up, behind or to the sides, there's no one to be seen. We bend around a corner and follow the street until we get to another bend that's slightly concealed by two, tightly-crammed houses. Pained groans and soft cries flow out from the old, brick-walled alley, and a tangent smell of urine and waste follows. I frown and press into the darkness, Hunter still in the lead and Dominic closely behind. Hunter suddenly stops and I crash into his hard back. Dominic comes around me to stand beside Hunter, and I do the same. My mouth falls open. This is so not what I had expected. We're concealed by the shadows but in the soft glow of the sliver of the moon passing down through the gap of the alley, a middle-aged woman brandishes a gun. It's directed towards the wall, where a young girl that looks a lot like her is whimpering, fear etched into her pretty features. By her side lies a young boy, already drowning in his own pool of blood. 

"I told you to stay away from him," the woman - whom I presume to be the girl's mother - hisses. The girl cowers under her crazed eyes and falls to her knees, lifting her hands in a silent plea. 

"Please, mama, please-" 

A second gunshot cuts her off. But the girl is still standing, shaking with fear. Hunter is holding the mother's arm and has lifted the gun into the air. The bullet has soared into the sky, out of sight. I'm standing by the screaming girl in a second, covering her mouth with my hand. She battles against my hold but can in no way overpower my strength, although limited, so I begin dragging her away from her mother who's staring at Hunter with wide, terrified eyes. As I lead her away, onto the street, Dominic joins Hunter, and both corner the woman. Just before I round the corner, Dominic raises a syringe that's filled with a dark liquid, plunging the needle into the woman's arm. I come out onto the street, trying my best to calm the shaking girl down. I let her go slightly and turn her around so that she's facing me. Agonised eyes stare at me from a pretty face. She can't have been more than sixteen, and she whimpers as I smile at her. "Don't worry," I begin, "You're safe now."

"Wh-where," she cries softly, "Where are you taking m-my mum?" I open my mouth to answer, but no sound comes out. How do you tell a young girl that you're going to take her mother away to be sacrificed because she killed your boyfriend and was going to murder you too?

Exactly. You can't. Not without risking another scream or a case of severe fainting anyway. 

Suddenly, her eyes roll back and she falls forwards, and I barely have time to catch her before she's dragging me down. I gently place her onto the ground with a frown, but when I stand back up, I take an immediate step back. My mouth falls open as I stare at the man in front of me. His chocolate eyes remain impassive as he lowers the syringe, one identical to Dominic's. I continue to stare at him with wide eyes, no sound being able to pass my throat, as Dominic and Hunter both walk out of the alley. Immediately, Hunter freezes as well and his Maker gives out a bright smile. He spreads his arms wide in welcome. 

"Ahh," he grins, "I'm pleased to see that you've finally decided to join us, Jay." 

...°...

A/N: Dun dun duuuuuunnnn!

Ayyyyy, look where we're at! CHAPTER THIRTY! Whoop whoop! Thank you so so so so much for supporting this story like you do; it means the world to me.

-xoxo, Sophia