Reaper pushed the students into locker rooms and instructed them to lock the doors and to open them for no one except Reaper or Mitchel. Fremont lingered at the back of our group, watching as Mitchel moved around the gym.
"You should go with the kids." I told him. "You can protect them if something happens."
"She's right, Greg. You and the novice guys can go into one locker room and the novice girls can go in the other."
"I need to be here." Fremont said.
"They come first." Mitchel reminded him.
Fremont watched Mitchel for a long time before he nodded. He squeezed my shoulder and headed for the locker rooms, the novices falling in line with him.
"Mason," Mitchel called to him.
"Yes, Sir?" He asked.
"Stay with us. I'd feel better knowing you're out here with us." Mitchel handed both of us a stake.
Emmet smiled. "Thank you."
Mitchel's walkie crackled on his hip. "We have a code four! Vampires in the hallway pushing towards the gym!"
I didn't recognize the voice.
Mitchel's eyes met mine as he spoke into the walkie. "We're ready and waiting. Holding the gym. Watch for traitors amongst us."
"Selena let them in on a fake shift change."
He nodded. "Get ready." Mitchel told everyone as loud snarls carried through the hallway. "We're at war."
A sea of vampires surged into the gym. This was bigger than any attack we'd experienced so far. This was huge. They collided with members of The Chosen at a rapid pace. Punches were exchanged that sounded like bricks being smacked together. We moved towards the threat, Mitchel swinging first, his fist connecting with a vampire's jaw. The vamp took the impact, his head snapping back and falling to the mat. Mitchel carefully and precisely slid a stake through its chest before moving onto another. I moved into the crowd throwing punches and babying my leg when I could. Emmet was fighting alongside me. This was the future we were fighting for. This was Emmet and I being able to join Dragon Tribe... together. This was a future where Nightlocks were back in hiding. A future where we fought vampires without the worry of Nightlock blood. Without the worry of my blood...
We were holding our own, the vampire numbers decreasing slightly against our much smaller group. We fought endlessly. I thrust a stake through a vampire's chest and lifted my eyes to the catwalk above. The white-haired vampire was there, staring down at me, a sick smile on his lips. Jimmy was beside him. His eyes were on me as well, a sad look on his face. I'd been made.
Mitchel grabbed me and pulled me back as The Chosen went to work.
"They know." I said to him.
He slid his eyes to me. "What?"
I glanced up at the catwalk and his eyes followed. "They're staring at me like I'm meat ready for slaughter."
"Well, if Abrodon wants you, he'll have to get through me." Mitchel said as he sent a punch into a vampire. "There's a bigger mole. Someone who knew the whole plan. Someone who knew you were a Nightlock. There's no other way they could have known."
Jimmy moved down the catwalk, jogging down the steps and rounding the structure.
"Jimmy's coming towards us." I said.
Mitchel speared his vampire and straightened up.
"Listen, Mitch," Jimmy said as he started across the mats, "I didn't want to do this."
Mitchel stepped in front of me. "We're friends."
"I know." Jimmy said sadly. "And I'm messed up about it."
"Then why would you do this?"
"They have my son." Jimmy said. "He's a Nightlock. I thought I could protect him and I was wrong. They took him. If I don't find a replacement for him, they're going to drain him for his blood. If I give them a female I'm fine. Anthony's fine."
"What do they want with a female?" Mitchel asked.
"A queen." I said. "That's what the vamp that attacked me on the second floor told me."
Jimmy nodded. "They have a male. They need a female. They need a strong female." He glanced at me. "They need Wren."
"Well that's not happening and you know that." Mitchel said.
"Do you know how hard it was to figure it out?" Jimmy smiled at him. "You did a good job keeping her quiet. Then I watched your private training sessions with her and I thought, 'Man, he's really gearing her up for battle here'. I thought, 'what if Chief Grayson fathered a Nightlock and asked you to keep it safe?' Not so far-fetched." He said. "Then I started thinking about him leaving Dragon Tribe. I started wondering about the whole Jade Mackenzie debacle. They were hot and heavy their whole lives. She disappears for a while and comes back just to retire a few years later? Did she maybe birth a Nightlock? Had to run off to have her little Nightlock baby in a secluded area sans human doctors? Sounds plausible. That's what I had to do with my wife. She was the Nightlock and she never even knew. We found out when weird things happened during her pregnancy. She carried the gene and passed it to my son. We had the baby in a barn. No blood testing, no poking and prodding. No one could know.
'They would have had my wife, but they didn't think she was strong enough. They needed someone young and fresh. They needed someone who could lead. So they used her..." He choked on some tears. "They used my wife as a feeder bag and they went out and raided homes for a Nightlock. If there was a rumor about your family, they were there investigating it. Someone told them that Chief Grayson had a Nightlock for a daughter. They said Chief Grayson was a Nightlock. They wanted to turn him. They wanted to make him like them to conform to what they needed. If they lost the blood, they at least had a warrior who could convince his strong Nightlock daughter to come with them. Then you showed up and demolished that plan. They had no proof that Jeff was a Nightlock though. They did the same to every house they raided. The same thing. Turn the parents. Check the children. Then you hid her in Briarwood. Faked her records so they couldn't find her. It was truly genius." Jimmy said. "But, too many people knew."
"The wrong people knew. People I trusted."
Jimmy nodded. "I feel bad about that." He said. "These people you surround yourself with to protect you are turning on you. The sad part is if you would have just given them the Nightlock, no one would have gone against you. Everyone loves you as Chief. But I had to do what was best for Anthony. I have to protect my son."
"They're going to kill him, Jimmy. Whether you present them with the Nightlock or not. They're going to kill him. Might already be dead."
"We had a deal. I help them and they return him to me unharmed."
"Regardless of needing a female, he's a Nightlock. They're like junkies, if you put it in front of them they're going to take it. He's as good as dead and you just helped them do it. If you would have come to me and told me, I could have helped you get him back."
He shook his head. "No, you couldn't have. This was the only way."
"And the mind control?" I asked.
"What about it?" Jimmy asked. "It was a tactic. Tried to get some novices to tell us where the Nightlock was. David was the first one. I convinced him to trust the Nightlock and he did. The Nightlock injected his blood into David and the mind control started. David couldn't handle it. Somewhere in the middle of our intel, he started getting cold feet. He killed himself. That was the only way to rid himself of the control. Then I tried again with Norris. Mitch has had him on lockdown ever since he went crazy in the gym and I haven't been able to get to him since. He's under heavy surveillance as you wished, Mitch. We couldn't get either of them to get us the information that we needed. We weren't certain it was you until the attack in the hallway. We had theories. We also thought Mason could have been one. We didn't know until someone told us it was you. We had to use every resource we had. That was a job well done, Mitch."
"Let's go!" The vampire at the top of the stairs screamed. "Get the girl and move!"
"And you're working with Abrodon, of all vampires." Mitchel shook his head. "I think that's the most disappointing part of all of this."
"It's his operation." He said. "He took Anthony."
Mitchel shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Mitch. I'm fucked up about this too."
The two men stared at one another for a long time before Jimmy lunged first.
"Get out of here, Wren!" Mitchel yelled. "Now! Find somewhere to hide!"
I took off, not being able to run as fast as normal with my injured leg still an obstacle. I moved through the gym, avoiding vampires and hunters in my wake. I was halfway down the back hallway towards the fitness center when I saw Dr. Harden.
"Wren!" She hissed. "Come on! Quick!"
I glanced over my shoulder and moved towards her. No one was following... not yet. I dipped around her into the fitness center as she shut the door. It took me a minute to adjust to the dark room, but when I did it was the body on the floor that confused me. I dropped down to my knees and rolled the body over. It was Hamilton. I jumped as a needle pierced the side of my neck and the room spun.
"I have the Nightlock. I'm in the fitness center. Move quickly, but be discreet. She's sedated." I heard Dr. Harden say as I collapsed onto the floor beside Hamilton.
~*~
The sound of water dripping brought me through the dark. A smell of rust filled my nose. My head was groggy and my eyes were still shut, but I was alive. I thought back to the war at the resort. To Hamilton's body on the ground in the fitness center. I didn't know if he was alive or dead. I didn't know if Mitchel was alive or dead. I didn't know if Mason was. Or Reaper. Or Raven. Or Grace. Or Fremont. All of them were big question marks in my head, but an even more alarming one than the unknown fate of my friends and loved ones- I had no idea where I was or what they were going to do to me.
"She should be waking up any minute." Dr. Harden's voice carried over to me. "I didn't give her too much."
I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes to a dark room. It looked like an old jail cell made from a cave.
"There she is." An unfamiliar male voice said.
I glanced around the ratty mattress under me and swallowed the bad taste in my mouth.
"She's strong." Dr. Harden said. "She'll make the perfect queen for you."
"Stop, you're making me blush." I muttered.
"Except that mouth."
"Her wit will make her likable to the vampires." The male said as I slowly sat up, dropping my feet to the ground, but staying seated as the room spun in my head.
"There's water there for you, Wren. It'll help."
"Oh, that was thoughtful of you. Traitor." I said as I reached for the water and drank the glass.
"We all have to do things we don't like to survive."
"You got a poor me story just like Jimmy?" I asked as I lifted my eyes to hers before I slid them to her friend standing beside her.
"We all have our reasons." She said quietly.
The man beside her was tall and lean. He had eyes the color of emeralds that seemed to shine when the poor lighting swung his way. He had dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a very full bun at the back of his head. A black V-neck hugged his lean frame and fell to dark jeans. He was the type of man who lived in his parent's basement and played video games until he was like forty-three. What was he doing here looking at me like I was his meal ticket out?
"I'm assuming you're the Nightlock?" I asked.
His lips twitched.
"I have to say, I'm severely disappointed. I thought you'd be more like Thor or something."
He let the twitch win, a smile lining his lips.
"You're more like Kermit the Frog."
"I'm not very good at impressions." He said as his smile fell. "But where I lack in humor, I make up for in power."
"Mmm. Alluring." I stretched. "Dr. Harden, how does it feel?"
"What, Wren?"
I smirked up at her from the mattress. "To know that Chief Mitchel's coming for you."
Her expression turned cold.
"Yeah," I sighed, "I'd be scared too."
"If he's alive." She whispered.
"You think Jimmy got the best of him?" I asked. "Really?"
"Jimmy did not." Jimmy said, talking about himself as he made his way into the room.
"Oh, Jimmy, you're here too? Good. I was worried we wouldn't have a room full of shitty people to bring down morale."
"Good to see your sense of humor is still intact even in the worst of situations, Wren."
"Well," I sighed, "I've never really taken anything serious in my life thus far, so why start now?"
Dr. Harden glanced back at him. "You look like hell." She frowned.
"Yeah well, I just took a round or two from Mitchel. He treated me worse than a training bag."
I laughed. "You guys are so fucked."
"Where is he?" Dr. Harden asked.
"I don't know, Mira, he put me on my ass and took off looking for Wren." Jimmy said. "We pulled back and got out of there when you said you had her."
"Were you followed?" She asked.
"No." Jimmy eyed the Nightlock. "The cover you created worked."
"Cover." I whispered. "I hope that continues to work for you guys. I give it a week max."
"You're underestimating me." The Nightlock said.
"Mmm. I'm just not amused by you. You didn't introduce yourself either."
He smiled at me.
"Please tell me your name is something great and mysterious like... Atlas the All Great and Powerful."
"My name is Nathan."
I deflated, rolling my eyes and sighing loudly. "This is a bust, I'd like to leave now. Zero Google stars. Hard credit check. Ten out of ten would not recommend."
"Wren, do you think that sarcasm and witty banter will get you anywhere in life? It's not cute." Dr. Harden snipped.
"It's working quite well for me so far, Traitor. Thanks for caring though." I said in a singsong voice.
"She'll be perfect." Nathan said. "They'll follow her."
"They don't have a choice." Jimmy said. "I have no other hits on a Nightlock and since I just risked my life for this one, they'll have to follow her."
Dr. Harden rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, Jimmy, your life is the only important one at risk here."
"Is Hamilton dead?" I asked. "I'm sure that felt good after everything that happened between you guys."
"No. He's alive." She said quietly.
"OH, good. I liked him." I said. "So what's the plan, Nate the Great?"
He smiled at me.
"The last vampire promised I could be a queen."
"You will be. You'll be my queen."
"Hmmm. What does that entail?"
"We have to procreate a child."
"I'm sorry, we what?"
"We need to restart the race. Bring the Nightlocks up from the ground. Once the child is old enough, we'll turn it and ourselves. We'll be a new Nightlock/vampire hybrid. We'll be unstoppable." He beamed at Dr. Harden. Very proud of this plan.
I glanced around the room. "That's the big do all end all? You get in my pants?" I turned to Jimmy. "Your friend's a slimeball, Jimmy. We just met and he's already trying to sleep with me."
"You're pretty used to it by now I'm sure," Jimmy said.
I stood, groaning as I put a little weight on my injured leg. "I hate to tell you this, Nate, but you're not getting anywhere near my lady parts."
"There's always mind control. I'd hate to go that route, but we must have a child."
"Mind control to get in a woman's pants? You're the worst."
He glanced down at my leg. "I could speed that healing up for you."
"All good, I don't know if they've brought you up to speed, but," I raised a hand to half cover my mouth and whispered, "I have my own Nightlock blood and it works at its own pace when it wants to." I leaned against the bars and sighed. "Plus, you and I both know that your voodoo won't work on me."
He didn't respond.
"You can't mind control me into doing anything." I said. "And if you come near me I can take you out so, it looks like we're at a stalemate, Nathan."
"Then we'll torture you until you do."
"Wow," I breathed, "you know how to show a lady a good time."
"You're no lady." Jimmy said.
I cut my eyes to him. "Well, that was hurtful."
"I'm sorry your stay is less than pleasant, Wren. I want you to be comfortable, we will be spending an eternity together after all. What can I do to help you?"
I pretended to think about it. "Let me go."
"Not happening. Try again."
I slid my eyes to sad-looking Jimmy. "Let Jimmy go." I whispered. "Give him his son back and let him go."
Jimmy was taken aback at my request.
Nathan watched me. "That's not my call, unfortunately."
"I thought you were so powerful? I'm pretty sure they'd do whatever you wanted." I said. "Give Jimmy back his son and let them go. You do that and I'll feel a little more comfortable."
I lifted my eyes to Jimmy and our gazes held.
"I'll see what I can do."
I needed Jimmy out. I needed to hope that he would do the right thing this time and go to Mitchel.
"If we let Jimmy go, will you be cooperative?"
"No, but I'll think about it."
"Then what do we get out of letting Jimmy go?"
I watched Nathan. "The location of another Nightlock."
Nathan paused. "Another Nightlock? You know another Nightlock?" No.
I was lying through my teeth. "I do." I said. "If you let them go, I'll get you another Nightlock to replace Anthony."
"Why would you do that?" Nathan asked.
"Well, you can't procreate a race with the same bloodline? That's disgusting. You'll need more than one and Anthony's too young. This one is older and he's powerful."
Nathan glanced at Dr. Harden. "We're more worried about getting you to cooperate."
"You and I both know what will happen here." I whispered. "You're going to take it no matter what. So I want something out of the lifetime of misery ahead of me. I want Jimmy's son to be safe. I want him to be with his Dad."
"We'll consider your request and we'll be in touch." He said.
"You're leaving?" I asked. "You're leaving me down here? There's rats down here."
"You'll be fine." He said as they headed up the stairs. "Let's go, Jimmy."
Jimmy hesitated a moment longer, his eyes watching me, before he nodded once, pushed away from the bars, and followed the group upstairs.
I leaned against the bars and sighed. As if on cue, a rat scurried by, stopped, and looked at me. "What are you in for?" I asked him.
The rat squeaked.
"Yeah me too." I sighed as I pushed away from the bars and the rat ran off.