It's eight o'clock when a dark car parks outside of Logan's house.
Logan doesn't trust it immediately, because he definitely doesn't remember Kendall ever driving a nice car like that but Carlos pulls him out of the house as soon as they park.
"But they could be anyone," Logan protests.
"Trust me, it's them," Carlos answers and Logan sends him a look before the passenger window rolls down and Kendall pops his head out.
He smiles and says, "Get in, come on."
They hurry into the car and Logan is ashamed to admit that he jumps when he sees who is driving. He has never seen this man before but he's tall, big and ultimately terrifying, even with the small smile on his face.
"Logan, this is James," Kendall introduces, and the guy waves his fingers at him. Logan nods in his direction with a tight smile, still sort of weirded out. He has no idea where they're headed and why James has to be brought along. He looks over to Carlos and is surprised to see that the boy is calm and relaxed next to him, looking out the window as the car begins to move.
"James was nice enough to offer us a quiet place where we can talk," Kendall explains, looking at the man. James glances over at Kendall as he begins to drive, an amused but sweet look in his eyes and Logan can clearly see Kendall's cheeks flare up in a blush.
He's still confused, but at least now he understands why James is driving two random teenagers around in his car. He's completely whipped.
"Awesome," Carlos replies, smiling, and James smiles back at him. Logan doesn't understand how they know each other.
The rest of the car ride is silent, and it's comfortable but Logan is still on edge. He's grateful for the quiet place they'll have to talk, but he's not sure what it is they want to talk about so desperately.
When James begins to drive through the woods, Logan starts to become concerned.
"Where are we headed, exactly?"
James looks at him through the rear view mirror. Smiling, he answers, "My house."
Logan blinks and James asks, "Is that okay?"
He nods his head but isn't able to actually respond because the car comes to a sudden halt. Him and Carlos fly forward until their seat belts bring them back.
"What -"
He can't say anything else, can't even breathe because everyone in the car is suddenly dead silent, not moving.
He looks straight ahead and sees what everyone is looking at. There's someone standing in front of their car, a girl with blonde, messy hair, on the dirt path by herself.
Logan begins to get nervous tremors because there's no way that this could be normal. The girl takes a step forward, closer to James' headlights and he suddenly recognizes her - Jo.
"Holy -"
Kendall watches her for a few seconds, then turns around in his seat, urgently locking eyes with Logan. "Logan, I need you to listen to me."
Logan can barely look at him, his gaze too intense. He can see that James is fuming, his shoulders rising with each breath he takes.
Kendall's voice is whispered but rushed as he says, "When I tell you to, you are going to grab Carlos, get out of this car and run, do you hear me?"
Carlos is nodding immediately, already unbuckling his seat belt. Kendall doesn't even blink, his voice urgent and hushed as he repeats, "Do you hear me?"
Then James says quietly, "Kendall."
They all look forward slowly and watch the girl, the suspense rising, and within seconds Jo is jumping on the hood of the car on all fours, denting the metal. Her face is primal and she snarls at them, her eyes a piercing gold color. Logan has never seen something so terrifying, and that's when he realizes - she's not human.
"Run!" Kendall shouts and Logan hasn't reached the door handle yet when something lands on top of the car, denting the roof so its nearly touching their heads.
"Fucking go!"
Logan freezes in shock and Carlos unbuckles his seat belt for him. He swings open the car door and is pulling Logan out of the car before he can even try to catch his breath.
Logan is trembling when Carlos finally lets him go, and he starts to run because he doesn't know what else to do. Carlos yells, "Don't look back!" But he can't not and -
All he can hear is growling; loud, feral growls as James pulls the man off the top of his car and throws him onto the ground with an incredibly loud noise, grabbing him by the throat. Kendall slams Jo against a tree, holds her down as she tries to fight back and the growl he releases makes Logan's hair stand on end. He watches as Kendall's green eyes turn into a glowing gold under the moonlight, his fangs glistening as he hisses.
James looks up at Logan, can sense him watching, and his face is completely different. There is fur lining his features, his jaw and forehead covered in it. He's trying to hold the man down but is clearly struggling with it, and Logan can see James' fangs when he growls, "Go!"
And Logan turns and starts to run, fast enough that he loses sight of himself. All he can see is Carlos running ahead of him, the trees whipping past them and he can feel the branches snap against his arms. He can't breathe, running so fast with nowhere to go and he tries to stop his thoughts so he doesn't end up heaving.
Logan doesn't know how far they have gone when his legs begin to feel weak. He trips on the ground they're running on easily and lands on all fours, his hands digging into the dirt as he tries to catch his breath.
He can hear Carlos stop moving ahead of him and within seconds he's running back, kneeling in front of Logan.
"Come on, we have to keep going," Carlos pants, grabbing at his arms and trying to lift him up.
Logan shrugs him off, saying, "Where are we running to?"
Carlos licks his lips and stares at him. "I don't know," he answers, "But we have to -"
"How long have you known about all of this?" Logan asks, still panting, and suddenly he's furious, glaring at the boy. Carlos flinches.
"Logan -"
"Did you think I wasn't going to find out? Are you in some weird, secret pact with Kendall now? Did -"
"Logan, please," Carlos begs, pulling at his arms, "I'll explain everything to you, we all will, just -"
"No, I want to know -"
They hear a growl coming from behind them, not too far away, and Carlos stands immediately, hoisting Logan up from the ground like he weighs nothing and yells, "Get up, we have to move!"
Logan trips over himself but he starts to run again, surprised because he's never seen Carlos be this intense about anything before. He's angry and feels betrayed, but he gets butterflies when he thinks about how fast Carlos moves when it comes to saving him.
Carlos says, "Don't stray, okay?" And he links their fingers together for a second, connecting them as they run.
Logan squeezes his hand in a silent apology because he has no idea what could be after them or what they could want, but he just wants Carlos to know that he's not angry, he's hurt. And that is something they can fix. Carlos lets go, hesitating, but he continues to run and Logan is at his heels.
He can't hear the growling anymore but they don't stop, they can't, Logan's heart feeling like it's going to burst out of his chest in any minute. He can taste blood in the back of his throat, his legs throbbing.
Then they hear a loud, "Hey!"
They both look towards the voice, stopping in their tracks and Logan's legs buckle under him when he sees that it's James' car ahead of them on the dirt road, Kendall's head popping out of the window again.
"Fuck," Logan whispers, closing his eyes. He breathes so hard that his vision blurs, wiping the dirt off his face with the back of his hand. Carlos wraps an arm around his waist to lift him up again and says, "It's okay, I've got you," against his ear, before helping him to the car, Logan clinging to his shirt.
A/N: You're all lovely humans. Thank you! Reviews make me want to update faster. :)
