Night World © L.J Smith


"Well, I can't imagine what's keeping her from attending the gang meeting."

"Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe she's late."

"I don't think so."

"C'mon, she's the gang leader, why wouldn't she be here! Maybe she did it on purpose."

"You mean pulling a prank on us?"

"Sure, we did it before."

"Has anyone seen her after the hunt last Thursday?" Morgead said calmly yet demanding after listening to the rest of the gang's quarrelsome.

"Well." Val scratched his head, "Don't think so."

"No, I haven't seen her." Raven said with equal calmness as the demander of the question.

"How," Thistle complained, "are we suppose to have a meeting without the gang leader?"

"That's what we'll find out, then." Pierce said.

The gang fell into silence—even Val. Evening sunlight spilled through the only window in Morgead's room as the sun set. Little dust particles floated in the beams of orange sunlight, which lowered slowly minute by minute as day slipped away and night effulged the land. Morgead had his arms crossed against his chest; his back leaned against the wall. He hasn't seen Jez in five days. He figured she was up to something, planning another weird hunt or something. He didn't expect her to bail on the gang meeting—she never did that before. And she wouldn't do that right after she became gang leader, he knew. He scowled as he caught site of Jez's snake wood fighting stick leaning against the pale green wall she left at his room a few weeks back then.

"I don't think she would bail on us." Raven said, breaking the silence.

"You mean she might be hurt?" Thistle asked worriedly.

"Why would she just—disappear?"

"I don't know." Thistle said quietly, biting her lips. "But this is Jez. Jez wouldn't get hurt."

Morgead snorted at Thistle's remark.

"Naw, that girl's the leader; she's just probably doing some joke on us, and get you guys worried." Val laughed loudly, waving his hand dismissively, "Right?"

The rest of the gang stared at Val.

"Possibly." Pierce shrugged. "In that case, we should just have the meeting without her."

"No, we can't have the meeting without a gang leader." Thistle raised her girly voice.

"We have our second." Raven said. Her midnight blue eyes were calm, and she gestured Morgead.

Morgead, who was quiet all the while, while the gang was arguing, had a lot going through his mind. Confusion, mostly. He and Jez founded this gang together, she wouldn't leave it. She shouldn't. But this was so unusual of her—she was always punctual for gang meetings. And nobody's seen her after the hunt, which she called off abruptly after planning it for so long. Deep in his guts he knew something was wrong. He saw the expression on her face when they were in the woods. Yet, another part of him was telling himself over and over that—maybe Val was right, maybe she did all this on purpose to get them all worried, then laugh in their face for ever falling for it. You never know.

"I think we all have a point." He said, pacing back and forth. "Thistle's right we can't have the meeting without the leader; Raven and Val has their points. I'm going to call off the meeting, and we're going to start looking for her." He finished, looking at the rest of the gang. "If we do find her, she's going to face the consequences of disappearing on the gang meeting." He added.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan. Let's go!" Val yelled, holding the door open within a second and gesturing for everybody to leave.

Morgead rolled his eyes, then immediately realize that there was no red-hair, silver-blue eyes to exchange glances and eye-rolling about Val.

She's so going to be dead when we find her.


"Jez—Jez come on—we know you're out there!"

"Jez—"

"Jez—"

"You afraid we're gonna beat you when we find you? Come on!"

"She wants a game, we're playing it with her."

"Try searching for her Power signal. Can't miss that."

Morgead and the gang ran wild around the streets, searching for Jez. Val was shouting with impatience, and the rest of the gang was laughing it off. It must be a joke she's pulling on them. And if she thinks it's working, they're gonna prove it wrong. If this was some new trick she's pulling off, she's damn good at it—hours passed by as the gang tried to find her.

"Ok, Jez, this isn't funny." Thistle mumbled.

"Yeah Jez, this isn't funny." Val repeated with impatience, only he said it in a voice loud enough for the whole city to hear.

"Still no signs of her Power signatures?" Raven asked.

"No—either she's hiding something to cover it, or she's not in this area anymore." Morgead answered, his stomach sinking. He's got a bad feeling about this.

"What, she's going international?" Val shouted. "Come on! We've been searching for hours."

"Did you search Muir Woods?" Raven asked.

"I did—no signs of her." Pierce said calmly.

"I can't believe this!" Thistle complained loudly. The five vampire teens were standing in a dark valley in the streets of San Francisco after searching for their gang leasers all night. Morgead was leaning against a wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, his expression stoic. Thistle stood next to him. Val picked up a stone later and threw it against the wall, leaving a sizable dent in the wall. Pierce, quiet as always, regarded the scene with calm eyes, yet he scowled at Val's behaviour. Raven's midnight-blue eye that wasn't covered with her hair for the first time, was filled with genuine worry.

A man in black walked through the valley with quick steps. He turned his head when he caught sight of the gang. Frowning, he turned his head and stared at the little blond girl standing with a bunch of strange gang-like teenagers, confused. The little girl smiled at him blandly, showing her unnaturally sharp teeth. The man shuddered, assuring himself it must be a product of his brain's hallucination. He tugged at his coat nervously and walked on.

"Can we go get him?" Thistle asked a while after the man walked away. "Won't hurt would it? I like that guy."

"No, forget about the man; I think this is serious." Raven said, "We've been searching for her all night."

Silence.

"We can search more?"

"And I've been so confused what we've been doing all night." Morgead rolled his eyes.

"The sun's coming out soon. We still have school." Raven reminded.

"Tonight, then." Morgead said, "Same place."

"This isn't good." Pierce said, "We should figure out what happened with her first."

"Well," Thistle said hesitantly, "so maybe it's…not a game?"

"Okay, what's happening here?" Val said for the first time not using a shouting voice.

"Jez is missing; that's what's happening." Morgead answered briskly for him. "She disappeared without leaving a note days ago. We've been looking for her all night."

"This isn't going anywhere good."

"Jez wouldn't leave the gang."

"She wouldn't." said Morgead firmly. Memories floated his head of how he and Jez found the gang, then running in the streets wild finding gang members, setting gang rules, fighting for leadership…several times. She wouldn't.

But all was in his head was a fight he had with Jez long time ago, when they were little.

Him and Jez, wrestling on the floor with their fighting sticks, fighting for the leadership of the newly formed gang,

"Morgead—give! I'm going to win and we both know it!" Jez shouted inflammatorily.

"No—I'll never give the leadership to you." He retorted back, dodging Jez's attack.

"Yes, you will." She said breathlessly, her red hair was a mess.

"You'll never be the leader of this gang."

Jez threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, believe me, I'll be a much better leader than you are!"

"In another galaxy. Galaxy crazy-you-wish." He said, glaring at her.

"I swear I will never leave the gang unless I'm dead. You can travel to all the galaxies you want, and the leadership will still be mine." She snarled. "And that will never, ever change."

Jez wouldn't leave the gang. She wouldn't. It was against the gang rules.

"The gang needs rules." He said.

"Definitely." She agreed.

"We should set it up right now."

"Fine," She said, "Rule number one: Never listen to Morgead because he's a dumb head."

He glared at her, "I mean seriously."

"—who hates ice cream." She continued.

"Number two: I hate you Jezebel."

"No, that's not a rule." Jez said smugly, "That's your personal remark, which is so not true; See Rule Number One."

"And that's exactly the kind of leader we need!" He said sarcastically.

"Never leave without noticing or betray the gang." She said , "That's a rule. Now you happy?"

"You better not break that rule." He said instead.

"Never. Uncle Bracken's calling; I better go."

He was then appalled at himself for getting distracted by those long-ago memories. He shook his head furiously.

"Go to school first." He announced to the gang, "We'll meet at the same place. I think I know a place where we can find out about her."

"You mean like you have her diary?" Val joked.

"No. I mean her uncle's house."


So that's Morgead and the gang. And, nooo, it's not over, this is just Phase one of the whole getting-over-Jez thing for Morgead. Stick around for the next chapter! Which might be posted...around next year... So don't forget to leave a review! Acts as a catalyst for posting new chapters :p

Oh, and Merry Christmas everybody :D :D