Hello one and all. We hope you are doing well today. Here's the next chapter for you to sink your teeth into.

Enjoy


Chapter One: The Search

One week later...

In the early hours of the morning when most were asleep, one particular person was fighting against the pull towards the world of dreams. Chloe Price didn't have time to sleep, not now when so much was at stake. She had already wasted so much time on useless leads and the trail had almost run cold.

She was sat at her desk, reviewing the few details she had managed to piece together from her investigations into the disappearance of her childhood best friend, Max Caulfield. If she stared at the information long enough, something would suddenly fall into place… or at least she hoped it would. The moment Max's parents had called her in a blind panic, telling her that she had disappeared without a trace about a week ago, Chloe had made it her personal mission to find her. There was no way she could accept that Max had just disappeared off the face of the earth. It just wasn't possible.

There were a few leads she had yet to check up on, but they were the more dubious and weaker ones. Things weren't looking good, but she couldn't give up now. She slumped back in the uncomfortable wooden chair, rubbing her tired eyes with her hand. She had been getting a couple of hours of sleep at most each night this entire week and it was starting to take its toll on her. She had to keep reminding herself that there would be time to sleep once Max was found safe and sound, or…

She shook her head, not wanting to even consider that something untoward had happened to Max. She pushed the thought out of her mind and went back to reviewing her most likely lead. It wasn't much to go on, the more solid leads having sent her to a dead end, but without it she had no hope of finding out what had happened to Max. Thanks to her position, she had access to certain information that wasn't common knowledge.

Chloe slid the gun resting on her desk into her thigh holster, pausing to grab the pendant hanging off the back of the chair and let it come to rest on her chest. She pulled her coat on and stashed the potions in the inside pocket. She had to be prepared at all times for every possible scenario.

Knock, knock

Chloe spun, leveling the gun and her hand automatically drifted towards the pockets in her coat. She relaxed as she saw the familiar long blond hair and hazel eyes, "Rach," she greeted tiredly, sliding the gun back into its holster, "Come on in, Joyce and David are asleep."

"Unless you want me to smash through, which I am more than happy to do I should add, I might need some help," Rachel grinned wryly.

Chloe got up from the desk, "It wouldn't be the first time," she shook her head as she opened up the window, "You always have to make an entrance, huh?"

Rachel slipped in through with ease, the cold night air seeping in through the open window behind her, "If I'm going to do something, I may as well do in style."

"Is that what you call it," Chloe chuckled lightly as she returned to her desk, "What brings you here anyway? You don't usually swing by unless you want something."

Rachel put on an expression of mock hurt as she perched herself on the desk, "Can't I come see you without an ulterior motive?"

Chloe raised one of her strawberry blonde eyebrows skeptically, "You can't."

"Is that anyway to greet someone you haven't talked to properly in over a week?" Rachel smirked amusedly, "I'm offended."

"Seriously though, why are you here?" Chloe asked, bringing the conversation back on track. Normally she might entertain Rachel's playful teasing, but she had too much on her mind right now.

Rachel idly took one of the many scraps of paper off of the desk, regarding it with mild curiosity before glancing back up at Chloe, "Well, I have some good news… and some bad news."

"Oh, this should be good," Chloe remarked, "Hit me with it."

Rachel went uncharacteristically quiet then, her eyes fixed on the piece of paper in her hand, "I might have dug up something to help with your investigation…"

Chloe's head snapped up, her expression steely, "You'd better not be messing around with me, Rach."

She offered Chloe an almost pitying smile, "I'm not. I promise."

Chloe ran her fingers through her faded blue hair, "Are you certain this lead is good? I can't waste any more time on hearsay and speculations."

Rachel sighed, placing the paper in her hand back on the desk, "It's more solid than anything you have right now, that much I know."

Chloe opened her mouth to protest then shut it, knowing that Rachel was probably right. She basically had nothing right now and Rachel was pretty good at this kind of thing.

"Ok," she breathed, trying to compose herself, "Tell me."

If it had been any other situation, Rachel would have teased Chloe for a while, withholding the information to make her squirm, but this wasn't a game.

"I may have been able to pinpoint a location of sorts. It's not definite by any means, but I'm about 70% sure," Rachel explained, twirling her long blonde hair around her finger.

70% was a much better odd than anything Chloe had right now. She knew Rachel wouldn't overestimate something like this considering how important it was.

"What's the bad news?" she tentatively asked.

Rachel's face crumpled at the question and she looked out of the window at the night sky, "It might be easier to show you. We only have a limited window, so we really should get moving as soon as possible. With each second that passes, the probability of my lead being accurate decreases."

The second she finished explaining, Chloe was on her feet ready to leave, "What are we waiting for then?"

Before Chloe had the chance to race off, Rachel grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, "Chloe, look you really have to prepare yourself for this, ok? I mean it. It's going to be hard to find out, if my information is correct."

"So long as I get to see her again, I don't care," Chloe muttered as Rachel let her go.

She had to find Max… no matter what.


Arcadia Bay Forest

"Are we nearly there yet?" Chloe whined, feeling really vulnerable right now. Even with all the abilities and protective measures she had, there was still a chance something… or someone could get the jump on them, especially in the dark. In fact, this time of night was the most dangerous.

Rachel glanced back over her shoulder, "Relax, Chloe. We're nearly there."

"Good," Chloe mumbled under her breath, each quiet rustle and small movement causing her body to tense up. She plucked a bottle from her pocket and downed the potion easily, smirking as the colors brightened and her vision cleared to easily that of the vampiress walking beside her. The acidic burn that flashed up in her system was also confirmation she'd mixed the potion correctly.

Rachel slowed her pace, gently nudging Chloe's shoulder, "I won't let anything get you."

Chloe rolled her eyes playfully at her vampiric companion, "Oh, that makes me feel so much better."

"You should," Rachel chuckled, "I'm a pretty mean fighter."

"Don't I know it," Chloe sighed, glancing over to her right at the sound of a twig snapping. A small doe darted out of sight and she relaxed a bit.

"Aren't we jumpy tonight?" Rachel lightly teased.

"It doesn't hurt to be cautious," Chloe retorted, "You should try it sometime."

"In my experience, too much caution holds you back," Rachel replied as they continued on through the eerily silent forest.

The tall trees swished in the chilly breeze, casting long shadows over the area in the dim moonlight. Rachel suddenly stopped in her tracks, her expression becoming more serious as she listened intently. Chloe knew well enough that Vampires had heightened senses.

The pendant on her chest began to vibrate rapidly, at a much higher frequency than when it'd just been Rachel. The witcheress' hand drifted to the gun on her thigh, "It looks like we aren't alone," she whispered.

"What makes you say that?" Rachel wryly replied in a hushed tone.

Chloe shook her head at her friend's insistence on sarcasm, "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

She quickly reached for the other two potions in her pocket and downed them, wincing as the burning intensified and the blackened veins appeared in sharp relief. She felt her body loosen in anticipation, and her heartbeat sped up to something considered unsafe in humans. This however, would give her an unprecedented healing factor and superhuman reflexes.

"Just out of curiosity," Rachel began as they pressed on with cautious steps, "What does that stuff taste like?"

"Depends on the potion actually," Chloe answered, her eyes flickering uneasily over the forestline, "This is Bowers territory, isn't it?" the local werebeast was a decent enough guy, but he was usually very agitated this time of the month.

"Great," Rachel muttered to herself, "Let's try not to bump into him if possible."

"Agreed," Chloe nodded as she stepped lightly on the fallen leaves covering the forest floor, trying her best not to make a sound. It was best to avoid any unwanted attention this deep in the forest.

"Ok, we should be getting close now," Rachel breathed, "Be extra careful now."

Chloe's hand inched closer to her gun as they proceeded in complete silence towards a small clearing just up ahead. Adrenaline began to pump its way through Chloe's veins as they approached it.

There was a chilling stillness falling over the forest now. This wasn't the type of silence of a forest at night. This was unnatural, and it wove deep into the fabric of human psyche that said something was wrong.

Thankfully, Chloe couldn't be considered fully human anymore, "Bowers is stalking us now," she said quietly.

"Don't show fear," Rachel hissed lowly, her fangs extending and her eyes morphing into a demonic red, "He'll rip you apart if you do."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Chloe mentioned. She had seen first-hand what Frank was capable of and had no desire to end up on the receiving end of his wrath. Even with Rachel here, it would be a struggle to beat him. She certainly wouldn't place bets on the winner of that particular fight.

The bushes beside them rustled as Frank finally made an appearance. He was certainly impressive, standing over seven feet tall. He prowled up to them, his yellowing teeth bared as he snarled, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Pleasant as always I see," Chloe muttered to herself before drawing herself to her fullest height, "We're just here to investigate, Frank."

A slight hint of curiosity entered his eyes, "Oh yeah? What?"

He glanced over at Rachel, who seemed ready to pounce on him at any given moment. He figured he could easily take her on if needed.

"A missing person case," Chloe clarified.

Frank's brow furrowed, "Doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd be looking into."

Chloe sighed, "This is… a special case."

Frank seemed to be thinking over his options, then he took on a slightly less hostile pose, "Who went missing?"

Chloe considered not telling him for a moment, but then voted against it. Frank might know something and she couldn't risk not finding out if he did, "My… friend. Her name's Max Caulfield."

"What's she look like?" Frank asked.

"Around 5,5, mid length brown hair, kind of on the thin side, pale freckled skin, blue eyes," as Chloe was describing Max, her face came into view with that stupid dorky grin she almost always had.

Frank stroked the straggly matted fur at his chin, deep in thought, "Hmm… sounds like a familiar description."

Chloe's heart rose in her chest at the possible lead. To think that Frank of all people would lead her to Max was almost comical.

He leaned casually against a nearby tree, "A couple of days ago we found someone wandering around our territory. A girl. She looked kind of dazed, not really aware of things by the looks of it. Something was… off with her. If I remember right, she was stumbling around like a new-born lamb or something," he idly scratched at the tree with his claws, leaving deep marks in the trunk, "Anyway, we chased her off, can't be too careful nowadays. She sounds like the one you're looking for."

"Which way did she go?" Rachel questioned, wondering if he was being straight with them. She didn't see much of a reason for him to lie and it's not like they could afford to pass up checking his information out.

Frank pointed deeper into the forest with a clawed hand, "When she left our part of the forest, she was headed North West, but in the state she was in who knows where she's gone. She darted off pretty quickly once we showed up and we lost sight of her soon enough. So long as she wasn't hanging around here anymore, that's all we cared about."

Chloe wasn't sure how to take this news. It meant that Max was actually still out there, but by the sounds of it she wasn't in a good shape.

"A werewolf lost sight of her?" Rachel asked incredulously, "A teenage human."

"Wait, you're telling me that she was… human?" he questioned, seeming as confused as Rachel. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat awkwardly and continued, his voice low and gruff, "Well, I'm not sure that applies anymore."

"Don't even fucking joke about that," Chloe hissed through gritted teeth. There was no way, no way, that Max was… that she...

Frank's body tensed up at the sudden show of hostility, "I'm only saying what I saw. Take it how you want. Now if you'll excuse me…" he turned his back on them and disappeared back into the denser part of the forest.

On his departure, a heavy silence filled the air, only broken by the gentle rustling of leaves and the occasional animal darting out from the undergrowth. Chloe stood there, feeling as if she'd been punched in the gut. She couldn't even consider what Frank was suggesting an option… could she?

Her thought was broken when Rachel tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, "Come on, we should get moving. It's not a good idea to linger here too long."

Chloe let Rachel grab her by the arm and pull her along deeper into the forest. She just felt… numb. She couldn't accept the possibility that Max wasn't human.

Chloe felt her hand twist into a fist and a guttural snarl tore from deep in her chest, she turned and punched the nearest tree as hard as she could… which resulted in her fist going clean through the trunk, "Fucking damnit all."

Rachel looked on sympathetically as Chloe's rage bubbled over. She'd never seen her act like this before. Sure, Chloe had been mad, but this was something beyond that. She decided it was best to just let her do what she needed to do, to get rid of the unadulterated rage. After a few moments, Chloe slumped against one of the trees she had obliterated, drawing her knees close to her chest and burying her head in her hands.

Rachel tentatively sat down next to her and waited for a while. When it seemed like Chloe had finally calmed down, she spoke up, "Whatever has happened, Max needs you now. She's out there all alone, with no clue what's going on. It must be pretty scary."

"Yeah," was all Chloe could manage, her throat sore from earlier.

Rachel stood up and offered her a hand to help her up, one she took. Chloe hoped that this was all just some bad dream, a cruel fabrication of her sleep deprived mind and that she'd wake up with her head resting on her desk with the various papers strewn over the floor.

"We'll find her, Chloe," Rachel assured as they headed on in their search for Max Caulfield.


Deeper in the Forest…

A girl stumbled through the undergrowth, narrowly avoiding bashing into the gnarled tree trunk surrounding her. She had no idea where she was or what she was doing, only that everything hurt. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life before.

She slumped against a tree, clutching onto the bark for dear life to keep herself steady. She looked around her, able to see way more than she was used to. It was pitch black and yet she could easily map out the area around her. It wasn't right.

As her grip on the tree tightened, she felt her fingers go through the trunk. That certainly wasn't normal by any definition of the word. She pulled her hand back, seeing the finger shaped holes left in the tree, her eyes widening in shock. She looked down at her shaking hand, then clenched her fist and ran.

Another thing she'd noticed was that everything seemed to be moving much faster as she ran, the forest becoming a blur. She had only ever seen this happen while riding in a car before. This knowledge only spurred her on. She darted in and out of the trees with an inhuman speed. As she sprinted, so many scents assaulted her nose that she couldn't differentiate between and her ears rang with sounds she shouldn't even be able to identify right now.

This was all so confusing and terrifying for her. Probably the scariest thing was that she couldn't even feel her own heartbeat anymore. As far as she could tell, she didn't even need to breathe. This unsettling thought only fuelled her desire to run… run away from it all until something started to make sense to her. The problem was, she was starting to get extremely tired now and not just the normal tired she felt when pulling an all-nighter to get an assignment done, this was something completely different. Her limbs were starting to feel heavy and something almost seemed to be tugging at her insides, ripping her apart from the inside. On top of this, her throat was so dry. She couldn't keep going like this for much longer, but what else was she supposed to do?

She kept feeling something sharp grazing the inside of her lip. When she'd checked earlier, her canines had seemed to extend, yet another worrying discovery to add to the ever growing list. It was safe to say that her situation was dire to say the least. Even that word didn't do it justice.

All she could do now was run… that was the only thing that made sense.


Have a great day and see you next time.