Chapter Four:

Hide and Seek

Lana tossed and turned, her mind racing and her body tensed. She was being pulled further and further down into a nightmare she couldn't escape. They were all around her, closing in. She screamed, the sound of her own fear jolting her from her troubled sleep.

The room was at first unfamiliar to her, but recognization dawned as she recalled the night's events. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, discovering that she had only been asleep for little more than two hours. She rolled off the side of the bed, her skull throbbing in agony.

The cool night air made her shiver, and she hugged herself to keep warm. All was silent as she walked slowly down the deserted halls. She figured either no one was home or no one else was awake. "No time like the present to figure out where the hell Helsing jr. carried me off to" she whispered to herself as she descended the stairs, pondering her location. Was she even still in L.A?

She froze as her name was whispered from behind her, making her hair stand up on end. She whirled on the spot, her eyes scanning the shadows that surrounded her. No one appeared. She was completely aware of every beat of her frantic heart, her pulse throbbing in her ears as she strained to hear the voice again. The door across the room slammed shut, sending a gust of wind through the front lobby.

Quickening her pace, she half-jogged back up the stairs, too aware that she was trapped in a maze, completely unaware of the place's layout. Something large and dark was standing at the top, appearing out of nowhere. She gasped, nearly falling backward as she rushed back down. The figure was following her, slow and calm. Her foot caught on the edge of a rug, sending her sprawling on the floor. She quickly recovered, pushing herself back up, only to realize that the shadow, whatever it was, was no longer there.

Her breathing studied and her heartbeat slowed as she regained herself. She backed towards the wall, her back leaning against it as she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She was too on edge. With everything that had happened in the past few hours, everything she had been told, her mind felt as if it were literally unraveling. She knew that nothing was more dangerous than being in danger with her power, because the more unstable her mental and emotional state, the weaker her ability became… and a weak ability was of no use to her when she was being tormented by some unknown someone in the dead of night.

Cold, smooth lips pressed against hers as she opened her eyes. Someone was right in front of her, pressing her further against the wall. A man, dressed in all black with smooth, long dark hair. His features remained hidden in shadow, but his strength became evident as his hands gripped her arms with excessive force.

She shook off the fear and tried to clear her mind, and for a split second, she was able to. It was all she needed. In that half a second, he was flung ten feet away from her, giving her the chance to bolt back to the hallway she had been in before.

She jerked open the first door she came to, only to witness Connor flinging a towel over his lower half with lightning speed. Dripping wet, he had obviously just stepped out of the shower. He self-consciously glanced down, making sure that he was covered. His eyes locked on her scared rabbit appearance, aware that something had scared the daylights out of her.

"What happened?" he asked in the most soothing tone he could manage. She opened her mouth to explain, but no sound came out. "Yeah?" he pressed, one eyebrow cocked.

"Something's downstairs. It was following me, and it called my name, and then it appeared out of nowhere, and just when I thought it left, it kissed me, and then it just vanished, and none of this makes sense at all." The words came out in a trembling rush, matching her confused and near-paranoid thoughts.

"Huh. Did you breathe at all in between all those words?" he asked, tone light.

"What?" she asked, amazed at how relaxed he was. He disappeared for two seconds, returning fully clothed, a sharpened piece of wood in his left hand. She stared at it, a look of utter confusion on her face. "Vampires. Sharp wood make dust, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Vampires. I really wasn't dreaming that, then." She followed him down the stairs, half expecting that thing to jump out at her any second. She noticed how his entire body seemed tense, ready to spring. "I don't see anything" he stated, coming to a halt. "Besides, what were you doing wondering around a dark hotel in the middle of the night, anyway?" he asked, sounding both suspicious and genuinely curious.

"You first. Late night showers a normal thing for you?" She all of a sudden dropped her shoulders, rolling her eyes. The lights flickered on, brightening the entire room, revealing no vampires crouched in the corner. Connor turned to her, realizing that she had down it. "You didn't think of that while the mystery man was trying to suck off your face?"

"Well, excuse me, I was a little panicked." She spun on her heal and stalked back towards her room. He kept pace with her, taking notice of the way her lip pouted out when she was angry.

"Okay, sorry. Completely understandable." She whirled around, glancing up at his face, which looked as if he were trying very hard to arrange into a puppy dog look. She took a calming breath, "No, it's fine. There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just a little, well a lot, creeped out right now."

He nodded his head, still caught up on her bottom lip, wishing he actually were

caught on her bottom lip. She turned back to the door, stepping into her room. He followed her, intent on making sure that she would be the only occupant. She cocked her head, raising her eyebrows in question. "Oh, I just wanna make sure no one else is here. I'm going to just sit out side of your door to make sure no one tries to get in."

"Sounds like a good night's sleep" she said, sarcastically. He smirked, "I've had worst nights." He proceeded to walk out of the room and she stopped him with a small hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you for everything, Connor." He gazed into her dark eyes, mystified by her sincerity. It wasn't a human trait he had come across often.

"Anytime. Goodnight." He shut the door gently, and the only sounds were him pulling up a chair outside of the room. Lana could not recall ever feeling so in danger, or so safe.