by Dylan Keefer
But Maine, that was a different story. She had connections there, someone that she protected and who protected her back. And it was one of the last places her guardian was seen at. Before he popped up and slaughtered so many vampires that hunters didn’t know whether to hunt him or protect him. And then he vanished.
Clayton didn’t go to Maine specifically to see if Prue had awakened, he went there to fix a mistake. He sat there waiting for an opening and then the hunter attacked Prue. Clayton would remember the speed at which Charlotte ran out of the building and bludgeoned the hunter forever. When a vampire made a human friend that fast, without using a hypnotic trick, that vampire was interesting to Clayton. Hell, Charlotte was interesting. She’d make a great hunter with instincts like that.
He found what he was looking for, a phone call from Maine to Prue and Milo, just before they packed and left. Clayton dropped the file back on the desk and got up. And he had better leave before the cop got back and he got roped into the hunter life again. One mistake was enough. If you made it twice, then you didn’t learn anything the first time, and that meant you were an idiot.
Hunters always annoyed him, ever since his mentor exasperatedly showed him there were two different types of hunters. The one that looked for monsters and the ones that saw monsters everywhere, like the one Clayton had had to stop in Maine. Those hunters killed anyone that wasn't human, and even humans by mistake at times, and didn't care, because ‘they did enough good anyway.'
In order to find out what type a hunter was, you needed to get invested in their hunting and help them. That meant that you were complicit in anything they did because you couldn’t change a hunter. And Clayton had no time to invest. His pride was still hurt that Charlotte Davenport fixed the last mistake for him. That is why he felt like he needed to pay it back and make sure that the humans around Prudence Davenport didn’t die. Hanging around two beautiful women that intrigued him was a bonus. Speaking of that, he should remember to pick up his crossbow again. Last time it did him well.
The last time he left Maine it was just as the ambulance took away Milo, and saw Prudence setting fire to the vampire body. He was glad she knew to do that, he didn’t want to have to exit the bushes, in order to slay a vampire again, and then struggle to find gasoline. He took one look at the mess and realized he needed to stay away until they healed, they didn’t need his presence attracting weird things.
And then instead of staying in one place, barricading themselves in a house until they were better, Prudence took Milo and left. It infuriated him. Then he had to track her. Clayton was reminded as to how annoying it was to track non-magical people. He had to do actual detective work to find Philip’s contacts. He couldn’t use his old hunter tricks. But at least the difficulty made him remember everything far more than he usually would. Hence, he knew the address he thought Charlotte was most likely at. And that was the only reason they would come back to Maine. Clayton hoped that Charlotte was okay, but he knew it was most likely something happened. Maybe he should have stayed in Maine.
Clayton got on his bike and put his helmet on. His first stop was the dingy motel where he packed up all of his things in a backpack. His change of clothes took up a small portion of the pack, swamped over by what he called his vampire hunting kit. Just in case Prudence wasn’t what he thought she was, or if someone else had interfered. The first time his mentor mentioned this type of kit, Clayton almost fell off his chair laughing. Oh, if his mentor could see him now.
Clayton changed his clothes. He always wore practical things that were not loose. He didn’t want people to grab onto his clothes. It would be a stupid way to die. His leather jacket was short and tight as well. He shaved and allowed himself to return to his natural expression, which had been described as startlingly alert.
Clayton got on his motorbike and got ready for the long ride. Soon Maine was in front of him. Maine was calm and bleak as always, with the sea air everywhere around him. Clayton decided to stay at the same hotel he did before. It was in such a location that he could go anywhere in town. The bored motel owner didn’t remember him. Clayton was glad about that. He would go to Philip’s house in a few hours. He needed to shower and rest a bit.
CHAPTER FIVE
Charlotte was in the living room talking to people. She was her old cheery self again, but it was just a mask. In reality, Charlotte didn’t know how to make peace with the fact she would live on while everyone else died. That was the only thing she focused on when Prue and Charlotte were in the bathroom.
Prue was in the bedroom, sitting on the bed, running the words ‘I can't believe I am scared of myself now.' Over and over in her head. That was the last thing Charlotte said before leaving for the living room. Prue felt guilty. She also realized that everyone around her now was human, and as such, they would die. The only one that would live on was the dark-haired man, and one of her parents, if they weren't dead already. She needed to find them. She didn't want to be alone.
She couldn’t make herself go into the living room and sit amongst the people. When Milo came in to tell Charlotte that everyone was waiting on her in the living room, he couldn’t even look at Prue. Prue compared that with how he looked at her in New York. He was never scared of her there even after she came home covered in blood. All she wanted was for him to look at her like that again. And now she realized that his life was a drop in the ocean of her life. Maybe he’d never forgive her and die.
John was still nice to her, but he was definitely distant. Prue thought it was because of Milo. She could see that John looked at Milo with a wince of sympathy. It was like he knew they had been involved. Rick just doted on everyone apart from her, but Prue didn’t think that was something bad because Rick didn’t dote on her even before that. Maybe he didn’t think she needed to be doted on.
Prue sat on the bed, trying to make her fangs appear. She lied to Charlotte, saying that the reason she wanted to stay in the room was that she wanted to remember more about the vision she had, and see if her fangs showed up. She did plan on eventually trying to have a vision, she even took a preemptive pain pill, hoping she’d stay conscious this time. But she couldn’t make herself do it now. Her mind was preoccupied with her friends’ looks.
She shook her head, clearing her mind. She needed to focus on her vague past, instead of the crushing weight of the people she loved not liking her anymore. Maybe there was someone that could explain this to them or something that could teach her not to be a monster anymore.
She fell back on the bed after she couldn’t get her fangs to work again.
She focused on the previous vision. It was hard to remember, unlike all other visions she had had. She assumed it was because of the fact she turned Charlotte. She knew that the dark-haired man was turning someone. But, nothing happened.
She just wanted to see someone that cared about her. The dark-haired man cared, he always looked at her as if his whole world was in front of him. Prue curled up in a fetal position on the bed.
And then she felt a pressure in her head, and when she closed her eyes, she was plunged deep into a vision.
She was back at the forest she was in the previous vision. There was no boy around, but Prue could feel a wound on her arm.
“Why do you want to help him, he tried to kill you,” the dark-haired man said. He hugged Prue, who put her head on his chest. She could smell blood on him.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone Serg. I want to be different than the people hunting us. They think of vampires as the lowest of the low.” Prue heard her own voice. Her voice was so full of confidence, and yet so gentle.
Serg smiled and kissed her forehead. "Alright, we'll find him. Just for you. But we need to take care of that wound first. And I can't take you with me; it would be too dangerous."
The vision would have continued if Prue didn’t feel such an intense pain, that she got rocketed back into reality.
Prue opened her eyes and realized that not only had her fangs grown and pierced her lip,
but her claws had grown too, and she had sliced her palms open.
Prue got up and staunched the bleeding. She couldn’t stop thinking about the name she heard. Serg. It must have been a nickname. Maybe his name was Sergio? Prue bound her hands and used a band-aid on her lip, repeating the name over and over in her head. She hugged herself and sat down in the corner. She wanted to keep that memory in her head. He looked at her with such care that she almost cried. She now wanted so badly for him to be alive.
CHAPTER SIX
The day passed without incident. John, Rick, and Philip cleaned up all of the blood because it bothered both Charlotte and Prue. In the end, all evidence of the fight had been erased. Philip gave Prue the room next to Charlotte. He wanted to sleep in the same room as Charlotte, but she convinced him not to. It surprised Prue. She realized that she would have preferred to stay with someone that could comfort her. But this time she already thought it was a bad idea since Charlotte was not used to her bloodlust. Prue was glad she didn’t have to convince both Charlotte and Philip because one was too stubborn and the other one already disliked her. In the end, Philip was convinced by the fact Charlotte needed to get used to not being able to sleep at night.
Prue darkened all the windows with either heavy curtains or a film that Philip gave her. That way Charlotte didn’t have to hide under the covers. Milo spent all of his time on the computer in the kitchen. Prue made an effort to not go inside. They only saw each other once, and that was when Prue was getting her things from his car. He didn’t speak to her, he just opened his backpack and handed over her stuff.
Prue decided that she wasn’t going to deal with Milo until she made sure Charlotte was alright. After all, if Milo realized that Charlotte was fine, maybe he would stop thinking of Prue as a monster.
Rick and John were Prue’s relief. They bridged any awkward gap left between the others, and John did a lot of things to make Prue laugh.
In the end, Charlotte was in her room with her blood, Prue was in her room with hers, and all the others fell asleep soundly as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Prue heard their heartbeats slow down. She curled up on the bed with a book and listened to Charlotte’s heartbeat. Charlotte said that she would go over the notes Prue had collected about vampires. Prue was curious how much of it was correct; so far she’d only had herself to observe, and she assumed her need to sleep was because of her human side.
Other than the heartbeats, Prue could hear the noise outside, and the ticking of the clocks in the house. It was like a lullaby. Tick tock, a car passes, tick tock. Prue's eyes became heavy, and the last thing Prue remembered before she drifted off to sleep was the dark-haired man smiling at her, and his name floated into Prue's head.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Prue dreamed of running through a maze as if hunting. She had almost dropped down on all fours, and a growl constantly escaped her throat. The surroundings looked like an ancient Egyptian tomb, but the halls were empty, and there were no hieroglyphs on the walls. Serg was in front of her, just at the next corner but as soon as she reached it, he was gone. Something was chasing her; the only sounds were scratching that became louder and louder with every passing moment.
A crash shook her, and Prue realized she wasn't dreaming anymore. Someone was screaming. She bolted up and ran outside. She had just recognized the smell of blood when she saw Rick on the floor, holding his hand. Philip ran over with a first aid kit. Milo was in the corner, and now he stared straight at Prue. He was angry.
“What happened?” Prue verbalized her thoughts, but as soon as she released her fangs out of nervousness, her vision blurred. For a moment she thought she was going to remember something, but no pain came. She could hear a heart beating in her ears. Not her own. And that string attached to her diaphragm tightened.
“Charlotte ran away?” Prue asked Philip. At this point, she was leaning on the wall.
“Yes, she doesn’t recognize us. This is all your fault.” Philip would have gotten up if he wasn’t keeping the pressure on Rick’s wound.
"She did stop when I spoke to her, Philip," Rick said. "But she shook her head, and the next thing I know John had to hit her with a rock salt blast."
“Rock salt?” Prue asked.
“Shotgun filled with it. Hurts a lot, though apparently not enough for her to stop.” John showed up, with the shotgun.
“I’ll go find her," Prue said.
“Don't you think you’ve done enough?” Milo asked, and everyone froze.
Prue stopped. For a second there she wanted to apologize, but as soon as she opened her mouth, other words came out. “I don’t know what is going on, but I can track her, and I have the strength to get her back here. When we are sure she is not going to hurt anyone else, then we can talk about how I failed you by trying to save her life.” She was surprised at the severity of it, but her instincts were satisfied.
The words definitely hurt Milo. His eyes grew for a moment, and he shook. Then his face turned to stone.
“You need help?” John asked.
"I'm faster on my own, and I don't know if I can drag you with me without breaking you. Better stay here but watch out for us and help me if I'm in trouble." Feeling that she needed to say something and not leave it at that with Milo, Prue turned around. "We will figure out what happened. If there was a mistake, we can fix it."
“You need something to knock her out with," John added. “You have something Philip? Non-lethal in big doses? Hell, lethal to humans in big doses.”
Philip rummaged through the bag and tossed Prue a syringe.
“Go.” Rick cut off Philip, who undoubtedly wanted to add something snide, probably about Prue using a syringe, and looked at Milo, who didn’t stop staring at the kitchen instead of at Prue.
Prue put on her lightest clothes and put her hair up. She walked out through the back door and through the fence where Charlotte had busted through. The heartbeat started up louder, the string pulling tight. Prue closed her eyes and let herself run, everything around her turning into a blur. Turning around accidentally, she saw John and Milo staring at her. She focused on Charlotte.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The first thing Clayton knew he needed to do after he got in town was to check on Prue. She left New York so suddenly that he knew something must be wrong. He cleaned up, putting his old leather jacket on, and picking up his hunting supplies, just in case. While he was no longer a hunter, and according to him he never was, he still had the instincts. He strapped his crossbow and wooden arrows on his back. With Prue, something wrong always meant monsters so far.
He debated as to whether to take the bike and drive over there right away or if he wanted to be stealthier. The decision was made for him when he left the hotel and saw something was off.
Clayton had always had a knack for knowing when he needed to be somewhere. He didn’t know if that was his experience or his supernatural side. Now he turned around and ran down the street. There was a scratch on a door that he must have noticed out of the corner of his eyes, but it didn’t register until now. The scratch was not supernatural. It had not been made by claws but by human fingernails. Clayton could see the blood traces on it. There was a broken fingernail piece stuck in there. It had ripped off the nail bed. Clayton cringed.
He followed the tracks down the street and caught the sight of blood. It smelled, so it had been dry for a while. Clayton might have been a bit stronger than a human, but it didn’t transfer to his nose, a fact he was happy about on numerous occasions. The human was heavy, probably male judging from the muscle mass and gate, and he had been trying to escape whatever was dragging him. Whatever it was, it was far stronger than him and very vicious, but maybe smaller in stature, according to where it had grabbed the man. It was time to cover up. Clayton started wiping the traces down as he followed them. He didn’t want anyone to find the creature. It would lead to a lot of death and mayhem, and then a lot of hunters and vampires covering it up and killing each other. He preferred to keep the supernat
ural forces at bay. Police would try and find a missing person and then they would be assumed dead. The man probably was.
Clayton didn’t see bigger blood traces until he had left town. Whatever it was it was intelligent, it hid. Creatures that didn’t have a concept of secrecy usually attacked in public, and they didn’t live long as a result. Hence why they were rare. He walked into the patch of trees with one of his hands on his silver dagger and the other on the holy water.
Clayton had never been the type to cringe at violence. So when he saw the pile of half-chewed bones and viscera, he didn’t have to look away. The man had never stood a chance, whatever it was had ripped his neck open like a walnut, ate some of the insides and drank the blood. It must have happened just a few hours before. Clayton knew what type of creature was both this vicious and yet intelligent enough to drag the victim away. An abomination. But that was a very broad term.
Someone cracked a branch. Clayton wheeled around with his dagger in hand, ready to be thrown.
“Who are you?” He recognized that voice. Clayton lowered his dagger. And Prue walked out of the trees, filled with trepidation.
Her hair was swept back, and her fangs were out, but she didn't look vicious. She wore a short, light dress that had been torn in a few places, probably because she had been running. She was the only vampire he had seen look positively tame. Some, like the ones she took out in New York, looked like mindless beasts or horny teenagers, and some like intelligent snakes that make chills run down your spine. He studied Prue's face. She didn't seem to think he did this, so that was a relief. She was smart, as well as beautiful.
