She wasn't exactly sure what she expected would happen when she went home but this sure as hell wasn't it. The house is empty, white sheets over the furniture left behind. Dust has built up and she draws a finger through it.
Her family are gone, she realises.
Why there gone, where they're gone; questions she can't answer swim around her head and she thinks it selfish of her to expect them to wait. Who would want to wait for their screw-up of a daughter to come home?
But that isn't true though. She's seen the nationwide appeals for her whereabouts, her mother's tears, how her father couldn't even talk during the speeches. Hell, she had seen flyers with her picture on it labelled 'missing' in capital, red, underlined words even in New York.
An uneasy feeling settles in her gut.
Her mother was the best defense attorney this side of California, her brother, Sam, was starting high school next year. No way would they move so suddenly.
But it hasn't been sudden; she's been gone for an entire year. She's been gone for an entire year and not once did she think "I wonder how my family are?"
She hasn't even talked to them once. She knows that it's partly Jean's fault; but it's mostly her's. Laying her duffle bag on the floor, she dials her mother's number. When that doesn't work, she dial's her brother's. No answer.
Based on the stack of bills in front of the front door, they've been gone awhile, which means that Jean or his cronies have no involvement in their disappearance.
Or have they?
She runs over all the conversations she overheard in the last six months, usually Jean preferred to deal with business before he got down to "business."
That business obviously involving them feeding on each other and having fantastic sex afterwards. Despite all his faults, he did know his way around a bedroom. Well, what would a 600+ year old vampire do in his spare time?
She's so hungry, has been since the plane from New York had landed in Boston. During her time in New York she's been spoilt. Hasn't had to hunt for food, she's been able to indulge all she's liked without the fear of spilling innocent blood, an all you can eat buffet.
And now she's back to the hunt.
She's not going to hunt tonight, she decides as she steps out of her childhood home. She has three days left before she starts to go feral.
She doesn't want to go feral again.
The car ride to the police department is short; it isn't like Beacon Hills is a sprawling metropolitan area
And she's just about to get out of her car when she overhears on her (illegal) police scanner that there's been a body found in the woods, and not just a dead body but half of a dead body. She only been in town two days and already there's a dead body in the woods.
This isn't coincidence, life living amongst, hell, being a supernatural, has taught her that. No, whatever has happened out in the woods somehow has to do with her.
It has to, considering the fact that she's the only supernatural being currently in town. This coinciding with her family's disappearance means only one thing; Jean, or someone involved with him, has found her and is sending a message.
Her hands shake as she turns the ignition, it can't be her family. They've been gone too long, but her dad? Her dad, to her knowledge, has been in Beacon Hills in this whole time.
She's seen the remains of his victims, has seen how brutal and excessive their wounds were, how much they must've suffered. Her dad's nearly fifty years old and is definitely in no condition to fight, hell, the last time she saw him he was barely able to do gardening without getting out of breath.
She parks at the edge of the woods, far away from the neon lights and blaring sirens. She pulls her leather jacket closer to herself, shielding her body from the cool August window
The leaves crunch underneath her combat boots, leaving a satisfying crunching noise
Stepping over a fallen log, she takes a deep breath in. It's funny how you can be reminded of your entire childhood in one breath.
Her mother had been on good terms with Talia Hale, both of them being deeply involved in the town affairs, and so she got the pleasure of being the play date of Derek Hale.
Putting it out there, Derek Hale was a grumpy child. Being six years older than his supposed "play date", it was understandable. Being an over glorified babysitter with no pay would make anyone grumpy.
Still, she always managed to somehow coax a smile out of him. Or, if she didn't, Laura would.
A noise startles her out of her reminiscing; the snap of a twig underfoot. She glances around her but to no avail; the creature who made the noise was nowhere to be seen. An uneasy lead like feeling settles in the pit of her stomach, her mind screams at her to be on high alert, that whatever, whomever, was out there a threat to her.
Predators know how to stalk prey, how to clean up afterwards so their scent isn't followed. This is no different, only this time she's the prey, as cliché as it sounds.
She crouches behind a tree, scanning the horizon. Cricket chirps echo into the otherwise silent night when she sees it; something in the distance moves, too fast for human eyes to even comprehend.
Her flight or fight instinct kick in, and she bolts into the night, her feet thudding heavily against the forest floor. Leaves whip up around her as she zig zags through the maze of trees. The thing following her is in hot pursuit, giving up any pretence at remaining incognito.
She's running so fast she doesn't notice the guy in front of her until she slams full body into him. Deer race overhead as she lies against his chest, face to face. Were this any other occasion she would crack a joke but she doesn't think her potential murderer would appreciate it.
"Stay. Down." She hisses at him, any sense of decorum sailing right out the door.
"What?" He stutters out. Red Hoodie, as she's taken to calling him, is very attractive and was she not in a life threatening situation she definitely would've hit on him.
"Tell me if you see it." She orders as she begins scanning the horizon. She can fucking sense this mother fucker, how is he still remaining invisible.
"What is-" Red Hoodie doesn't even get to finish his sentence before he scream. She moves to scramble off of him but a pair of jaws clamp around her legs.
Pain bursts throughout her leg and she creams as she's dragged through the leaves. Red Hoodie has gotten up and see knows that look in his eyes; will I help, it says, or will I go?
"Help me!" She screeches as she kicks at the thing's head with her other foot. It snarls and tosses her aside like a piece of meat.
It's not long before she can hear Red Hoodie's screams echoing out through the night. She's a bad person; she's fully aware of the fact, thank you.
She's a bad person and she runs. She abandons the kid to whatever plan the monster has in store for him so she can get a head start to her car.
This life is about kill or be killed and, while she does feel regret for her actions, she's not going to lay herself on a sacrificial altar.
She nearly cries when she feels the smooth metal of her shitty pickup truck beneath her palm. When she pukes she pretends that it's solely from the pain from having her leg munched on.
(It's not.)