I know, two updates in two days, it's a weird thing to happen, but i had too. Leaving it as it was last night was killing me as much as it was killing you guys!

I don't know how you're going to feel about me/this story at the end of this chapter, but i'd love to know. I appreciate all your reviews, they encourage me to keep on writing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Morganville Vampire related.


Shane pummelled his fists against the now solid wall where the portal had been, screaming for Claire. His last image of her falling, terrified, to the floor with that thing attached to her arm. His fathers laugh echoing through the closing, flickering portal. He had no idea what was happening and no way to get to her in time to be helpful.

'Shane!' Eve shouted at him, tears running down her face in thin lines. 'Shane, stop. You're hurting yourself!' Michael moved from beside Eve to put an hand on Shane's shoulder, causing him to swivel around to face them, his own hot tears making streams down his cheeks.

'Amelie was still around somewhere, Shane. Maybe she got there to help. Even if she didn't, Claire's smart enough and brave enough to save herself. You know that.' Michael's words sounded confident, but his face betrayed him, he looked worried and heart-broken at the same time. He was so distracted, that he didn't even realise the blood flowing in lines down the side of Shane's hands from the skin splitting whilst he'd beat the wall. The three of them just stared at each other for a while, letting Michael's words wash over them. Deep down, none of them held much hope, but they had to try.

'We need to get to her.' Shane managed to choke out, shaking Michael's hand off his arm and starting to pace. 'None of us can use the portal but Michael, you can get over there quick, me and Eve can be right behind you.' Panic and desperation shook his voice but he looked determined as he paced back and forth in front of the wall.

'Michael can't go outside right now, Shane. It's still light.' Eve whispered. Everything froze for a moment as they realised that there best hope was gone now.

'Damn it!' Shane roared, kicking the wall beside him.' She might be dying and we can not do a fucking thing to..' He trailed off, falling to his knees. Angry, harsh sobs racked his body, he buried his face into his hands and let out a scream of pain and desperation. Eve dropped to her knees beside him, wrapping her arms around him and rocking them as they both sobbed. Michael was frozen, tears now working their way down his own face as he watched Shane and Eve breaking down on the floor. There was nothing any of them could do to get there in time to help. They were going to lose Claire.


Amelie had managed to work her way past the remaining two monsters in the lab as the humans were making their escape. The underground tunnels were dark and eerily empty as she made her way quickly and silently through them, working her way towards the opening of the cave that held Frank's machine. Screams echoed lightly down the tunnel, but she couldn't turn back now, not for anything. A second later and Franks evil laugh burst its way through the above ground speakers. Amelie picked up the speed towards the cave until she tripped over a body on the floor.

'Amelie..' A weak voice called out, the body she had tripped over was Myrnin, bloody and weak on the ground. He lay in a sprawled heap just a few feet from the opening of the cave.

'Myrnin, how did this happen?' Amelie exclaimed, worry and anger battling for position on her face. She knelt down beside him and looked him over for life threatening injuries.

'The control panel, he has it.. Guarded. No access right now. They managed to- over power me.' Myrnin gave out a dry, painful laugh, 'imagine that, yet another of my creations gone wrong. We must get out of here Amelie, if you'd just help me up.'

'Of course, although we'll have to take the tunnels to Common Grounds, then use a portal to the Glass House.'

'Why the house?' Myrnin asked once Amelie had wrapped a thin, strong arm around his waist and they had begun making their way through the empty, safer parts of the tunnels.

'Claire opened the portal back, the others are there.' Amelie replied, Myrnin just murmured some kind of reply. They continued on in silence, both now angry and worried.


Everyone had stayed where they were, Eve on her knee's beside Shane, her arms wrapped around him as they both sobbed. Michael still stood frozen above them, his own faint tears dropping into lines along his face and chest. It had only been about 8 or 9 minutes since the portal had flickered closed, but their hope was dwindling. They had nothing to say as their shared grief flowed through them, even the house was cold and dark, as if it were feeling her loss too.

There was a squeak of the front door opening, two sets of foot steps made their way towards them. Michael whirled to face the direction they were coming from, Eve got to her feet beside Shane and furiously wiped at her eyes. They were both ready for another fight. Shane stayed on the floor, his sobs still trembling through his body. He had no more fight, very little hope. There was no point in it anymore.

Amelie and Myrnin rounded the corner. The ice-princess, now looking quite bloody and dishevelled, had an arm wrapped around the waist of a very injured Myrnin. Shane looked up at this, hope flowing quickly through him like a warm breeze, hope that maybe they had Claire with them. He didn't see her anywhere, but he had to ask.

'Is-' Shane swallowed as sobs threatened to over take him again, 'Is Claire with you?' Shane just about managed to choke out in a whisper. The looks on both Myrnin and Amelie's face told him all he needed to know. She wasn't. She's been left alone with a monster gnawing on her arm and sucking away her life.

'Why would she be, she opened the portal and came back with you three?' Amelie asked, a strange emotion clouding her voice as she lowered Myrnin down to the couch. He watched them all, noting their expressions. Heartbreak soon took over his own facial expressions. It was Eve that finally managed to reply.

'She opened the portal, Shane pushed Michael and me through and then he stepped through. 'Eve took in a deep breath, fresh tears welling in her eyes. 'Claire was just about to come through when one of the two monsters left bit her, started spilling her blood everywhere. She let go of Shane's hand… I think he managed to get a kill shot with the cross bow through to the other thing, but then Claire just dropped the floor screaming and Frank was laughing. Then the portal snapped shut.'

Myrnin shut his eyes tight as the tears welled traitorously in his eyes. Amelie's face shut down as she took in everything that they had just been told. Shane started rocking back and forth on the floor, his arms wrapping around himself, he was whispering things too quiet for anyone else to hear. Suddenly he looked up, straight at Myrnin.

'You.' He paused, choking back his screams. 'You can open the portal back to the lab. Open it. Open it now. We might have time.' Shane was on his feet now, glaring at the two vampires across the room. Myrnin shook his head.

'I'm too weak.'

'BULL-FUCKING-SHIT. Open it.' Shane roared. Myrnin just shook his head again, but Amelie stood and walked slowly towards them.

'I'll open it. But prepare for the worst Shane. They are blood thirsty and mindless creatures. Claire's just a mere human.' This time it was Shane's turn to just nod. Amelie walked towards the place where the portal had snapped shut and focused for a moment. Shane, Michael and Eve watched nervously from behind her as the frequencies flickered and changed. Finally, what felt like a lifetime later, the lab flickered into view.

There was nothing. Well, not nothing, but no one visibly moving. There was no noise, very little light. The creatures bodies that they had managed to kill lay in haphazard piles and rows across the ground, the lab itself was trashed, but they couldn't make out the shapes of the individual things on the ground. For all they knew, one of those could be Claire. Amelie stepped through first, Shane was very close behind her. She stepped through a few steps and then froze. Shane ran into the back of her, Michael and Eve stopped just behind Shane. Myrnin had not followed them through, like he knew what they would find. Shane tried to step out beside Amelie, but she flung an arm out to prevent him.

'You do not want to see this, Shane.' Fear flowed through him, pure terror. Eve let out a little whimper and Shane knew that the movement behind them was Michael wrapping his arms around her, but none of that mattered. He pushed away Amelie's arm harshly, she just looked at him with pure sadness in her eyes for a moment before sighing, lowering her head and then stepping a little out of his way. Slowly, he took up the space she had just occupied and looked down when the toes of his shoes brushed a sold body on the floor. He didn't want to look down, for fear that it would be what he thought it would be, but he had to. He had to know if it was her.

'No.' Shane whispered, he dropped heavily to his knees, blood soaking through his jeans. ' No.'

'Shane..' Amelie tried to call to him.

'NO!' Shane screamed, her fell on top of the body in front of him, gathering it into his arms and pulling her into his lap. Her eyes were wide open, but her entire body had a horrid slackness that only the true dead possess. Her arm was torn, the bone broken and pointing out through the wound. Blood flowed out of the wounds that covered her body.

'No, Claire!' He laid her lightly down on the floor and tilted her head back, putting his fingers over her nose, lowering his mouth to hers. He blew a lungful of air into her. His hands formed a bloody paddle above her still heart as he pounded out, counting out the beats in his head.

'Come on, Claire, baby. Breath for me. Live. Please god, Claire.' He blew another lungful of air into her still chest.' CLAIRE!' Shane screamed again, pounding down onto her chest now, trying to get her heart to beat, trying to get her to live for him. Michael unwound Eve from his arms and she fell to the floor, burying her head in her hands and screaming. He reached out and grabbed Shane's arm just before he beat down on Claire's still chest again.

'She's gone, Shane.' Michael whispered out. Shane looked up at him with the worst expression he'd ever seen on his face. The raw pain was worse even that when Lyss had died. There was nothing about Shane left in there, just the pain of losing the one thing that he really, truly loved.

'No.' Shane whispered out, hot tears welling in his eyes and spilling over. 'No.' He whispered again. Shane turned away from Michael, who kept his hand on Shane's arm. Suddenly, he gathered Claire's body back into his arms, spilling her across his lap and burying his face in her blood-matted hair. He kissed harshly across the crown of her head, along her forehead and her cheekbones, along her jaw. He laid one kiss against her mouth that seemed like he was trying to push his own life into her, but he got no reply. Shane did it one more time, pushing his mouth hard against her cooling one. He waited there for a moment, but nothing happened. He waited for what felt like a lifetime before the screams of pain and loss started again and he folded over her dead body.

Claire was gone.