Raven wanted to say no, but if there was any way she could stop the vampires from hurting her friends… She looked down as Speed held his hand out for her. She frowned and took his hand, being led out of the room by the younger boy. She walked with the coven as Sally and Elaise's screams echoed around the building. She looked around at the vampires that stood close to her, looking like they wanted to take a bite out of her. She was kind of glad she wasn't on the menu for them just yet.
They all relocated through the building and Raven turned to Evan. "What's going to happen to my friends?" She knew it was stupid to ask, but she couldn't stop herself.
Evan glanced at her with a sick smile. "It's feeding time for some of our coven before we sleep. Though only one of them needs to die tonight."
"Which one?" Raven dared to ask, feeling guilty when she silently hoped it wasn't Elaise.
"I say kill the chanting one," Snake scowled and Raven remembered that vampires couldn't speak God's name.
"If she chants we can't touch her," Evan pointed out.
"Boulder can…" Raven couldn't help but say.
"Yes, but Boulder is a messy killer," Evan sighed with a shake of his head. "Another reason we want Jason back; he could make a clean kill. Your chanting friend isn't the first we've had troubles with."
Raven knew which one was going to die then. She felt tears stinging her eyes and they moved into another room where she saw her two friends struggling in the hands of their tormentors. Sally and Elaise were thrown to the ground and Raven had no time to look around as Speed's hand was pulled away and she was shoved forward, tripping and landing beside her friends with a thump. She groaned in pain as she hit something sharp and she rolled onto her back, seeing the frown on Speed's face before he glared up at another vampire. She put her hand on the ground to shift her body but her blood suddenly froze as her hand closed around something squishy and hairy.
"Rich, don't look!" Elaise yelped.
Too late.
Raven looked down at what her hand held and she slowly picked it up. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she stared at the decapitated head, its hair tangled around her fingers. She recognized the pretty face among the slowly decaying skin and she screamed, throwing Stephanie's severed head away from her. Chills ran up her spine when the stench of the room reached her nose.
Between her struggled breaths, she looked around the room and bit back a cry of horror when she realized she couldn't see the floor. It was covered by a carpet of rotting flesh, skeletons and severed human bodies. Her stomach churned and she felt as though she was going to throw up but Sally's scream dragged her attention away. Her head snapped up as Sally was held by the hair by the vampire that had pushed Raven.
"This one already smells like blood," the vampire said with a vicious grin. "Is this the one?"
"Yes," Evan nodded. "We can't kill the other one because of her annoying chanting."
"Please, don't kill her!" Raven begged, unable to stop herself from glancing over at Stephanie's head and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please!"
"Sorry, my dear," Evan shook his head. "But vampires have to eat and right now, your friend is on the menu."
Raven looked over to Sally and saw terror reflecting in her eyes. The ginger girl was crying and Raven wished Jason would show up to save the day, just like superheroes did.
"Bullet," Evan smiled. "It's about time these girls had a front row seat to the life of our kind. Kill her!"
Bullet grinned at Raven and Elaise, his fangs looking ready to tear into flesh. Raven held onto her teddy tightly as Bullet's head snapped down and he bit down onto Sally's neck. The girl let out a piercing scream and Raven released Rover to cover her ears. Elaise covered her eyes as Bullet removed his fangs from Sally's neck and the ginger girl screamed her pain out to the world. Even with her ears covered, Raven still heard it echoing all around the room, bouncing off the walls. When she failed to stop herself from glancing up, it all got so much worse.
Raven's body quivered with fear when she saw Bullet's grin, his teeth stained with blood as he held a chunk of Sally's neck in his mouth. She looked down at Sally and saw her crumple to the floor, blood gushing from the wound, trickling down her arm with splotches of it stained on her face. Raven felt herself hyperventilating and she couldn't help but watch as her ginger friend tried to crawl away from Bullet, using one arm to drag her body weight. She reached out a bloody hand for Elaise and Raven, her lips trying to move to ask for help…
Raven saw the small light reflecting off the sticky crimson liquid that gurgled from Sally's neck. She forced herself to breathe and Elaise turned her head to exchange the same horrified look that Raven felt. She pictured it again; the blood all around her, sucking at her body to try and pull her down into it. She was trying to climb out but her hands clawed at nothing but smooth stone. She was going to drown in it. The blood was going to kill her!
Bullet walked over to Raven and dropped the chunk of Sally's neck in front of her. Panic hit her and she couldn't stay where she was. She screamed and jumped to her feet, trying to run. She was quickly spun around and slammed up against the wall. She screamed again when she saw Bullet pinning her, his face so close that she could smell the blood in his mouth. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and she tried to look away but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Her heart wanted to burst out of her chest and she felt light-headed as her hyperventilating continued.
"You should watch as I finish your friend," he whispered with a grin.
"No!" Raven screamed and tried to free herself, to run and get away from these people! Her eyes stung from the tears and Bullet laughed. "Get away from me!"
"Bullet!" Evan snarled and grabbed the vampire, throwing him over to Sally. "Finish the job!"
Sally didn't even have the energy to scream as Bullet snorted and grabbed her, pulling her back towards him. Raven looked up, trying to remember how to breathe, and she saw Sally's gaze resting on her right before Bullet hit into her neck again and snapped it, killing her.
"Hurry up and feed," the leader of the coven said and some of the chosen vampires jumped forward to take a bite out of Sally, starting to drain her of her blood. Evan turned to Raven with a frown. "Come, my dear. Let us return you and your friend to the other room."
He reached a hand out to her but she screamed. "No! Don't touch me!" she sunk to the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs and hiding her face as she sobbed, her body going numb with fear. She wanted Jason to find her! She didn't want to be around these vampires anymore. She wanted him to save her and take her back to White Grass. She wanted to go home!
She yelped as a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. She looked up at Boulder and he began dragging her out of the room. Elaise went obediently, her face pale. Raven shrieked and tried to pull her arm free as she was dragged away with Elaise, followed by the vampires. She felt like a mental patient being dragged away, kicking and screaming, claiming they weren't insane. She tried to picture herself as one of them but the only images that came to her mind were blood and death.
"Stop squirming!" Boulder snarled at her as he dragged her up the stairs. "Or I'll rip your arms off!"
"Don't you dare hurt her!" came a new voice and everyone turned their heads to see two boys run into the huge room, stopping a few feet from the stairs. Raven's heart felt like bursting completely when she recognized Jason and Der, both of them shirtless.
"Ah, my little brother," Boulder chuckled and wrapped his arm around Raven's neck.
"Let her go!" Jason snarled, his muscles tense.
"Or what?" Boulder challenged. "Make one move, little brother, and your girlfriend dies."
"Boulder!" Evan hissed, stepping to his side. "Release her, please! We are here to make a proposal, not aggravate him."
Boulder reluctantly let her go. In that instant she tried to run over to Jason, but Evan grabbed her by the back of the neck and she suddenly was unable to move. He had hit the pressure point in her neck, temporarily
paralyzing her until he let her go. She heard Elaise squirming somewhere behind her. She quickly quoted something from the Bible and a vampire hissed. No one made a move as the brunette raced down the stairs and fell into Der' arms.
"Let her go, Evan!" Jason growled.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that," Evan chuckled. "You see, Raven and I have a special deal going on."
The green-eyed boy narrowed his eyes. "What kind of deal?"
"She walks free with guaranteed safety for the rest of her life," the leader of the coven said clearly, "if you come back to us."
Jason's entire body flinched and he locked eyes with Raven. "Okay-"
"Don't!" Raven yelled and Jason's face turned pale. "Don't do it, Jason! Please, don't do it."
"Raven, you can go free," Jason bit his lip. "It's okay."
"No, she wanted to shake her head but she couldn't. She saw the pain in his eyes as she pleaded with him. "I don't want you to."
"Brave," Evan muttered.
"More like stupid," Boulder snorted. "It up to the pup. If he wants her to live then he'll come back."
"He left for a reason!" Raven felt a fresh tear roll down her cheek. "He didn't want to kill anymore. I won't be the reason why he's forced to come back here. Jason, run!" she hated to say it. She didn't want him to run away and leave her to die. "Take Elaise and go!"
"I'm not leaving you here!" Elaise broke away from Der. "Raven, don't be stupid."
"Even your friend agrees," Boulder scoffed.
"Shut up, furball!" Raven snapped and Jason's brother went to attack him but Evan struck him across the face and pushed him back.
"Jason!" Speed ran down the steps and the green-eyed boy suddenly looked scared as the young vampire rushed to greet him, quickly jumping up to pet him. Jason growled as Speed brushed his hand over the older boy's head carelessly with a smile. "I missed you!"
Raven saw Evan make a hand motion to his fellow vampires and soon enough, Jason, Der and Elaise were surrounded by the coven. Jason glared around at them with a loud snarl to warn them back.
Raven breathed as she was able to move again. She glanced back at Evan and he bowed his head to her. She was confused and very slowly took a step away. No one stopped her. She took another step, watching Evan closely. She walked down the staircase cautiously, glancing around at each of the vampires in case they made a move to attack her. As soon as she reached the bottom, Jason gently pushed Speed out of his way and ran to Raven, snatching her up in his arms and instantly covering her face with kisses.
"Are you okay?" he breathed and he hugged her tightly.
"They killed Sally," Raven whispered, her body shaking and more tears escaped her eyes.
"I know, I can smell it," he muttered. "But did they hurt you?"
"No," she shook her head. "Jason, you can't come back here."
"They'll kill you if I refuse," she looked up into his scared emerald gaze and knew it was tearing him apart. "Rich, I can't fight off all of these vampires. If I stay here then you'll get to live… I'm willing to come back for your sake."
"I don't want you to," she insisted. "I'm not letting you come back here because of me. I want you to leave."
"No," he growled sternly. "I won't leave you here."
"And I'm not letting you come back," she pointed out. "I know the truth now, but your heart is still pure."
"Your safety is important!" he tried to make his voice superior so she couldn't argue with him. But of course, she could.
"So if yours! So be a good puppy and do as you're told!" she growled.
"I take it that we've reached the agreement that Jason isn't coming back," Boulder scoffed and Raven looked over her shoulder to see him slowly walking down the steps. "If that's the case, then you can both die where you stand."
"You won't harm Raven," Jason snarled.
"Oh, yes I will," the older brother grinned and suddenly burst out of his skin, once again becoming the seven foot beast that Raven had only seen in story books.
"Over my dead body," Jason spat and let Raven go. She turned to face him but he was no longer there. She spun back around and screamed when she saw two huge werewolves lunging for each other's throats.
Panic
20. Panic
Loud snarls echoed around the room and Raven was forced to watch as Jason and Boulder, both in werewolf form, bit and clawed for each other's throats. She wasn't sure which one was her werewolf and she saw all of the vampires getting ready to pounce. She felt a hand grab her arm and she spun around to lock eyes with Der. Trying to calm her racing heart, she took in Elaise's scared expression. What was going to happen now?
"Stay with me," Der said and bared his teeth at a vampire that took a step closer to them.
"No arguments there," Raven nodded and saw Speed standing close to Elaise, not sure what to do. Raven knew he didn't want to hurt them, but he couldn't betray the coven…
"Which one is Jason?" Elaise asked.
"The smaller one," Der answered. "He's still a pup so Boulder has the advantage of size."
Raven took another look up as a snarl rippled through the room. She finally recognized who was who and Boulder pinned Jason to the floor, lunging for his throat. Raven yelped but silenced herself, seeing Jason snap and viciously bite down on Boulder's nose. The bigger werewolf howled and tried to shake his brother off, but Jason held on until Boulder got off of him. Jason found his footing and the two of them rose up on their back legs, glaring defiance at each other with angry golden eyes. They both swiped at each other, claws out and Raven glanced to the top of the staircase where Evan stood, clapping and laughing like a child.
The blonde girl was still trying to wrap it around her brain as she looked at Jason, who she had once thought was just a temperamental boy with a soft spot for her. To actually see for herself that everything she had ever known was completely wrong was more than what she was sure she could take. Jason truly was a werewolf; Elaise had been right.
She bit back a scream as Boulder bit down on Jason's back leg and spun his body, using all his strength to fling his little brother through the air. Raven almost felt the pain as Jason barreled through the railings on the next floor beside the staircase and slammed into the wall. Der had to hold Raven so she didn't go racing up the stairs to check if he was okay.
Jason changed back to human form and he slowly picked himself up off the floor, shaking pieces of the railings from his shoulders. Evan turned to him. "You're not as strong as you once were, Jason," he observed. "Is it because of that school? Oh, I see" -he added as Jason looked up at him, seeing something that Raven couldn't- "You haven't eaten. I thought that was what you did on the full moon nights when you couldn't be in the school; feed the beast within."
"It is," Jason spat. Raven saw a gash up the side of his arm and she held her breath when she saw the blood. "But I was busy tearing shreds off another furball that touched my property."
"You mean your pet human?" Evan scoffed and Jason snarled at him, sounding like an angry lion that just had its tail stepped on.
"If Raven is harmed, you all die," the green-eyed boy threatened.
"And if you don't return to us, she dies," Evan shrugged. "Not a very difficult decision if you ask me."
Jason glanced over at Raven and she shook her head at him. He glared at her for a second and the gash on his arm rapidly healed on its own. "I left for a reason," he grumbled to Evan. "I'll protect Raven until the day I die."
"Very well," Evan sighed and turned to the vampires. "Kill them all."
Raven felt her heart skip a beat as the vampires advanced. Some of them dashed up to attack Jason and he changed into a werewolf again, swiping at them and throwing them away like toothpicks. The blonde turned her head slightly and Der burst out of his skin, turning into a seven foot furball. Elaise jumped away and screamed as a vampire struck towards her. A giant furry arm swung over the brunette's head and with a loud growl, the vampire was thrown away. Elaise glanced up at Der and smiled, cupping her h
ands together and quickly quoting the Bible. Der howled as vampires jumped on him, smothering him and he clawed them off of him, swiping at them dangerously.
Raven slowly backed away fro it as Speed shrank to the edge of the room, his eyes wide as the fighting broke out. The blonde girl watched as Der attacked the vampires with all the strength he could muster, his pearly white teeth ready to tear them all to shreds.
"Raven, watch out!" she heard Jason's voice and she turned, seeing him in human form again, held to the ground by the vampires pinning him. That was all she saw before a wall of fur moved in front of her. She barely had time to scream as jaws snapped at her and teeth met her stomach. A burning pain erupted in her body and her heart skipped several beats when she looked into the sinister golden gaze of Boulder. Elaise screamed out her friends name and tried to run over to her but Der stopped her, nudging her back with his nose. Raven could do nothing but stare at Boulder as the pain seared through her, adding to the pain from her ribs. He let out a rippling growl and his lips drew back to form a smile before he slowly released her.
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