A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. Work, school, and other stuff have been keeping me on my toes more than I'd like to admit. But I thank you for your patience and support. I must say, this story is winding down. Soon, there will only be a few chapters left, and then, only the two bonus chapters until the entire story is said and done. There will be another Hell High after this one, but I'm unsure when it'll be posted. R&R. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dinner was an absolute nightmare. It was as though time was purposefully taunting me. Dave probably didn't have much time left, and even though my gut wasn't telling me he was dead, it was saying that he was in grave danger. So many doubts raced through my mind. What if I wasn't able to pick up any trace of Dave? If I did find a trace, or him, what could I do? I knew that I was going to do something, even if that meant that I'd have to kill something or someone to save him. There was no fucking way I'd leave Dave stranded to die a horrible, grizzly death.

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing wait, Justin, Evan, and I finished eating dinner. We got up, placed our trays in the bin, and left. Heath, Zeke, and Beth all gave us thumbs up for support. Knowing that they knew everything and that they were silently cheering us on made me feel a little bit better, but the doubts didn't go away. As we made our way outside, Justin grabbed my hand and held it in his, squeezing it for a second to reassure me. I looked over at him and studied him as we neared the iron school gates.

Justin really was hot. And cute. And completely gorgeous. Aside from that though, he was smart, funny, sweet, and affectionate. If anything happened, I was going to do my best to make sure that he wasn't harmed or anything. Yes, I realize that I was probably expecting a lot of myself; I mean, how the hell could I save Dave and protect Justin and Evan at the same time? The answer was simple: I couldn't. Or rather, I didn't think I could.

We arrived at the gates and Evan pushed them open gently, trying to make as little noise as possible. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he slipped through and walked a few feet away, disappearing into the darkness. It was Justin's turn next. Before he slipped through the gates, he turned to me and stared at me, his soft, brown eyes full of warmth and affection.

"John, I know that all we're doing is looking for a trace or a scent or something that will lead us to where Dave may be. There are a lot of possibilities that could become realities tonight, but there's something I want you to know." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Even before I was Selected, I felt out of place; like I didn't belong. But whenever I'm with you, I feel like I've finally found a place where I belong; it's like I've finally found a home. You're my home, John, and no matter what happens tonight, I will never stop caring for you. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you and Dave both return home safe." Justin leaned in and kissed me, hard and passionate with a lot of intensity and heat. Moaning, I kissed him back, welcoming the small gesture of comfort and support. After a few seconds, he broke away and kissed my cheek.

"I'll see you in the Dark Side." I rolled my eyes mockingly at him and laughed.

"Okay, Darth Vader. It's a date." Justin grinned and slipped into the darkness beyond the gates. Just as I was about to follow suit, my cell phone went off. Taking it out of my pocket, I unlocked the keypad and read the text message that Punk had sent me.

Stay focused. Keep your eyes, ears, and nose alert. I'll text or call you if Christian and I find something out. Good luck. Be safe.

A smile graced my lips as I read his text message. Exiting out of the text message, I returned my phone to my pocket and squeezed through the gates. Closing them gently, so that little noise was made, I turned around and stepped a few feet into the dark of the woods. I waited for my eyes to adjust and when they did, I looked around for Justin and Evan. They were standing close to the wall a few feet on my left and I walked over to them.

"Are you guys ready?" Justin and Evan nodded.

"Evan, do you know what you'll be doing?" The Selected warlock teen nodded and he smiled nervously.

"Yep! We separate here and I scout the woods using my fire power, and if I find anything, I text you." I smiled and ruffled his hair, which made him pout and shake his head.

"Good. Be careful, okay?" Evan nodded.

"You two do the same." Evan walked off and was soon swallowed by darkness.

"I hope he'll be okay," I said softly, though I knew that Justin had heard me.

"He will be. Trust me when I say that he's tougher than he looks." A small laugh escaped me.

"You're right about that. Alright, let's get going. Ready, Justin?" Justin flashed me the same bad boy grin he usually gave me whenever he was ready to do something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Seeing it boosted my confidence a bit more.

"I've been ready, John." Justin took a deep breath and dark fur began to grow over his skin and clothes. In mere seconds, a large wolf stood where Justin once had, its familiar soft, brown eyes gazing up at me. His ears were alert and he was ready to go. Nodding down at him, I turned towards the woods and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's get going."

Justin woofed at me softly and we began walking. The direction in which we were walking was the same one that Christian had taken us. We figured that maybe, because I'd gotten my feeling at Julie's crime scene, that there might be a trace of Dave there or something that we could use to find him. It wasn't the greatest plan, but it was all I could come up with. I'd rather have a starting point than to just search blindly.

Just like the last time, the walk took about twenty minutes, give or take. The woods surrounding us were unusually quiet and I shared a knowing look with Justin. Something was up; why else would there be a lack of noise? We kept walking though, Justin on constant alert with his superior senses while I kept my eyes and ears open. Perhaps it was because I was so anxious, but it seemed like we had arrived at the still taped off crime scene in no time. Passing under the tape, I wandered around the scene, sniffing, feeling, while Justin sniffed around, staying close by. It was when I approached the body outline that I smelled it. Faint at first, but as I drew closer, the smell intensified until I knew for sure that what I smelled was legit.

It was Dave's smell.

"Justin. I've got Dave's scent."

Immediately, Justin was by my side, sniffing, inhaling, and committing Dave's scent to his memory. I continued to sniff as well and I followed my nose. With Justin by my side, I walked away from the white chalk outline and ducked underneath the crime scene tape. Following the scent, we continued left, stopping every so often to listen, watch, and smell. Dave's scent was still strong, and it was growing stronger the further we walked. Although we were surrounded by trees and nature, the scent was strong and almost overwhelming. Peering into the darkness ahead of me, looking all around the trees and scrubs, I searched for something, anything, that may give us a clue as to where Dave was.

That's when I saw it.

Hanging from a tree branch a few feet above my head, out of my reach, was Dave's varsity football jacket. And it had a blood stain on it.

Crying out loud, I jogged over to the tree with Justin on my heels. When I arrived at the tree holding Dave's jacket hostage, I tried reaching it without jumping. However, my arms were a few inches too short. So I jumped up; once, twice, a third time, and then I grabbed it. The branch that held it cut into the material and tore into one of the sleeves, but I didn't care. All I cared about was that we had found something of Dave's, which meant that we were on the right track. From beside me, Justin's fur receded and he changed back to his normal, human form.

"It's his varsity football jacket." Justin and I studied the jacket, sniffing it and studying it, as if it held other clues.

"John, there's blood on it." I nodded and sucked in a sharp breath.

"But it's not a large amount, so whatever wound he has that made him bleed…it didn't kill him…right?" Justin nodded.

"There's not that much blood on it, so I doubt that the wound was fatal. He probably cut his arm or something like that. That would explain the blood." I put my nose right up against the fabric of the jacket and inhaled deeply. Dave's scent was all over the jacket, but there was something else. Something that smelled vaguely familiar, but was hard to trace. I handed the jacket to Justin.

"Sniff that. Do you smell something else besides Dave's scent?" Justin took the jacket from me and sniffed it. Pulling back, he frowned and sniffed it again before nodding.

"His scent is all over it, but there's something else. Another scent. One that I recognize, but I can't place it right now. Fuckin' weird…"

"Shall we continue to follow the scent trail?"

"Yeah. It might lead us to Dave." Justin turned back into his wolf form and we started walking again, leaving the jacket behind.

We walked for almost twenty minutes hearing no sound except for our own breathing and footsteps. Then, from the left of us, a twig snapped. A chill ran down my spine and I shivered. Just like that day I went for a walk outside of the school gates, I felt someone, or something, watching me. It was a creepy ass feeling and I was getting sick and tired of it. If there was someone or something out there watching me, I was going to punch it. End of discussion.

Justin growled and crouched down, listening, watching, and waiting. And then, he took off in the direction of the sound, leaving me alone.

"Justin! Justin!" I knew that it was no use trying to get him to come back. Justin would come back when he had determined that it was safe. Besides, it wasn't as if he was miles and miles away. He could still hear me and smell me, so what was there to get too worked up over?

Okay, I realize that I was probably fooling myself, but it gave me a little bit of courage which, along with my anger, allowed me to continue following Dave's scent. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me and it just pissed me off even more. Seriously, I was going to punch something or someone. Shaking my head, I stopped for a moment and calmed myself. What I really needed to do was focus, and after a few deep breaths, I found myself able to ignore the creepy feeling and was able to focus solely on Dave and his scent trail. Sniffing the air, I followed Dave's scent and walked on, passing trees and bushes and whatnot.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. At least, it felt as though ten minutes had passed. I wasn't entirely sure. All I knew was the Dave's scent was getting stronger, like it had when Justin and I were approaching the jacket. There was the sound of rustling leaves and bushes from about twenty feet away, but the sound only lasted for a few seconds, so I shrugged it off. It was probably Justin, just scoping the area before coming back. Dave's scent grew stronger and stronger, until I could barely make out a large mound that had his scent all over it about thirty feet ahead of me.

The scent grew stronger as I continued making my way towards the mound. As I approached the weird form, I realized that it wasn't a mound or a boulder or anything like that. I could make out the wrinkles in the clothing and I realized that what I was staring at was probably Dave. I started running towards him, dodging branches and roots, not wanting to get cut up too badly. He moaned softly when I knelt down beside him, gently turning him over to make sure he was in one piece. Dave looked okay; he had a few cuts that had been bleeding as well as a few bruises, but other than that, he looked fine.

"Dave? Dave? Are you awake? Can you hear me?" He groaned and his eyes opened for a second before he shut them tight again. Then, he blinked a couple of times before he shook his head.

"John…?" I smiled, relief flooding my entire being. Dave was alive and well. I had found him; he was going to be okay. That was what I thought prior to hearing a twig snap somewhere behind me. The creepy feeling hit me in my gut and I felt that same creepy ass gaze focused on my back. Dave tried to sit up and I tried to stop him.

"Don't move, Dave!" I hissed at him. "You're still in danger." But Dave's eyes weren't focused on me; they were focused on whoever or whatever was behind me.

"John…I'm not the only one who's in danger here…" Closing my eyes for a moment, I released an annoyed breath and turned around to finally confront the creepy thing that had been stalking me.