Aww, angle9507 your reviews make me smile :) Agent Dacian most definitely has a hidden agender. It's for sure a brain-scratcher coming up with the mysteries, but still fun none-the-less, I'm glad you're enjoying them

The interview process was awful, I didn't do fieldwork and I knew part of the reason was that I got too emotionally invested, I looked at the remains of the people who had been subjected to highly concentrated amounts of Hydrogen Peroxide and I nearly cried. There was a 20-year-old woman blind for the rest of her life because some of it had gotten into her eyes, two men had been foaming at the mouth and vomiting, whilst nurses struggled to insert equipment allowing them to breath, and that was only the stuff I could see.

I knew there was a lot more damage, permanently scarring these people, which I wasn't privy to, I wasn't allowed to know the medical ailments in full because they had all forbidden it from being given to us. It was frustrating, on one hand, I understood the reluctance if what they had been doing was illegal, then anything they provided might go against them in the case, even if it was to find the sicko who did this to them. I couldn't reverse their injuries but I could land them jail time, really these people had suffered enough in my opinion.

Yet, I still needed to find the guy, I don't believe for a second this was an accident on the victims part, and they agreed, all willing to say it had been a malicious attack, but not why. I needed to know so it wouldn't happen again to others, but even my guilt-tripping did nothing. "Can't we do a plea deal or something?" I desperately asked Alli.

She shook her head "They wouldn't go for it, it would mean betraying all their friends, or more than friends." She muttered the last part with a look to the beds that had been pushed together so three of the victims could grip each other's hands in comfort.

More than friends? Something was on the tip of my tongue, actually, lots of things were, nothing about this situation felt right, it was horrifying to even be in the hospital, I couldn't think. "Hey Alli, do you need a ride back to the station?"

"No, I'm going to see if I can find anything here, are you leaving?"

I nodded "For now, I just need some air."I made it outside, into the parking lot and to the edge of a bush before I vomited. I sucked in a panicked breath. I didn't understand what was happening, ever since leaving the Kings I felt a stab in my heart, just like every time I had tried to bring up my past with them, and Dacian something was off about him. Turning to slump against the outer brick of the building, hidden enough from view I sucked in-breaths and tried to organise my thoughts.

Problem: Hydrogen Peroxide attack

Motive: Unknown

Location of attack: Unknown

Victims: 56 individuals, not appearing to have any relation, most from the age range early 20s to late 30s.

I paused my mind locking onto an unknown, Location of attack. I didn't know that because I didn't know the motive, but it worked both ways If I could figure out where all these people had come from then I could figure out the motive which would lead to the attacker. So 56 people all went to the hospital two nights ago. The same Hospital, did they walk or drive? I stood up and began to walk around the car park looking for a mass of vehicles before realising a better way and dashing inside the hospital again.

I rang the secretary's bell and a moment later a cheerful young man appeared. "Hello, how can I help?"

I held up my badge "Detective Adams, I would like to see the Hospital parking security footage from Saturday night if you please."

"Just give me a moment to bring it up." I nodded and drummed my fingers against my thigh while I waited. A second later he ushered me behind the desk and left me to watch the video while attending to another.

Pulling out the documents from my satchel, I found when the cops had been called and set the secretary feed a few minutes before. It was blank for a moment then people practically dragging each other down the sidewalk came into frame, in an understandable hurry they didn't stay long in the picture before they disappeared into the building.

Having enough to give me a lead I pulled out my USB and after asking the secretary I copied the minutes across. The video was for my report, not court, it wouldn't hold up unless it was the original feed. I left after telling the secretary to lock the feed in the hospital safe and let no one into it unless they were of proper authority.

Walking out the doors again I began to head in the direction I had seen the victims trail from, they hadn't used any cars, so it was safe to assume they were close, a group of that size looking like zombies passing through the street on a Saturday night, someone was bound to have noticed.

Obviously the Hospital was accessed near the main street so I couldn't very well ask a passing car, but after the park which was more a grassy parking lot, was the beginning of the city. I headed that way and let my feet take me in a straight line from where I'd seen the trail of broken bodies. I must have walked for a good 40 minutes, finding myself deeply immersed under the tall buildings and back alley corner shops.

It was still morning so the fluorescent neon lights from cities I usually recognised were absent, set with more mundane white lights and vibrant yellow M's. After walking around for a while, I saw a few suspicious-looking doors, but more in a general law-breaking sense, rather than what I was looking for. I didn't find any more inspiration in the city. My lead falling flat. I returned to the hospital to retrieve my bike and head to the apartment Rău had apparently organised for me to stay in while I worked.

I knew it was irrational to think I would solve it in a day, but the lack of any information at all was eating at me. I flinched at the image my brain supplied to those words and rapidly dismissed them. I just needed to think clearer. Flopping onto the bed of my apartment I immediately sat up again, I knew what I had to do! Pulling out my phone I pulled up one of the numbers that had been programmed in before I left Italy.

"Are you alright Dearest?" I relaxed at Marcus's voice, it was strange the things they made me feel.

"Yes thanks, I'm fine. Although I am stumped and needed something to calm me down so I figured you'd be a good bet."

"Are you stressed, Darling?" I fell back onto my bed and cleared my mind of anything but my mate's words and my answers.

"Sometimes I hate humans."

"That doesn't sound good." I liked that he hadn't jumped to conclusions and was letting me vent at my own pace, It's why I had chosen him to call, Caius was too worried right now and Aro would have too many of his own theories which would just overwhelm me, I needed someone to listen.

"Someone has attacked a bunch of people and caused them lasting harm, yet those people won't tell me anything I can use to find the guy, because it could get them in trouble."

"So you dislike these people, keeping the truth from you?" He said trying to understand.

"No, no, I definitely understand their perspective, it's the attacker I hate, to be so malicious and cruel to innocents-"

"-Are they innocent? You said they feared trouble for their own actions?"

I huffed "I don't know what they've done against the law, but unless it was a crime worse than the torture they have endured, they don't deserve it."

He seemed to hum over the phone "You believe the punishment should fit the crime?"

"I don't think Human laws are of the same importance to uphold as yours are. You guys only have a few which are imperative for your survival, we have thousands that are not always clear cut and can vary from place to place, whatever they have done that was illegal, could very well be legal in a different place, but doing something with the intent to harm another is, it's wrong. Yes, I believe the punishment should fit the crime."

"What motives have you considered?"

"Well the main one, being someone disliked whatever illegal activity was occurring and took matters into their own hands." I stared at mine as I said it.

There was a pause before he spoke again "You are aware Amore, that we do very much the same thing. We collect those we deem guilty and we feed on them, playing god much like this person you are hunting."

I frowned, that was different, "No the punishment of the guilty doesn't bother me, it's that I don't believe these 56 people were doing anything to harm anyone else, which in my books makes them innocent. With Aro's gift you are able to tell if someone is guilty, point blank, no lying or deception, no false accusations. It's completely different."

"I am glad you think so, I to do not believe in malevolent behaviour towards one who is not deserving of it, you will find even in our trials, to ensure our laws are upheld, Aro myself and Caius will ensure that the guilty are most definitely guilty if there is a shred of doubt we will ensure it is pressed until the verdict is clear."

That was reassuring to know actually, I had felt a little fearful since the King's ex-wives had put the image of having to witness someone being tortured in the courtroom, it had never been the torture that bothered me but the fact they were guilty of no sin, or at least in my head. Thankfully now that worry was washed away.

"Thank you, Marcus, I feel much better now."

"Any time Darling, I shall give your best to our mates?"

"Please do."

I hung up and rolled off the bed flopping on the floor with a groan, before moving to my satchel and pulling out the piles of paper and photos. Shoving the photos in a corner, for now, I focused on organising the papers, not much except reports from the first officers who responded to the hospital calls. I went to pick up another piece and my gaze fell on a darker edge of paper within the pile. I pulled it until I held it in front of me. My eyes widened as I recognised it as one of the ancient documents I'd borrowed from the Seattle library.

Ignoring my dead-ended research, for now, I stood and brought the paper back into the light over the kitchen bench. It was the original Latin text, not my translated version. One word stood out to me: Dacia, it was a Latin word I hadn't translated assuming it was a place or name. Senior Secret Agent Dacian. I wasn't sure how he fit into this if he did at all, I was probably drawing lines where there was nothing, still, I considered it, he was definitely not Italian or of Latin roots.

Grabbing my computer and setting it up beside the paper I pulled up google translate and typed in Dacia under Latin translating to English, a translation popped up; Nomad, strange, stranger still was the little grey text underneath my typed 'Latin' which suggested I try the word in the Romanian translator, I did.

I pulled back stumped once I'd switched it to Romanian the translation on the English side where it was supposed to tell me what it meant only had the exact same word spelt back at me. Curious I typed in Dacian under the Romanian side nothing but the same word spelt back. I was about to give up when I clicked on the arrow switching the two sides out of curiosity. My interest spiked back up when I saw a difference in the two boxes. On the right under the Romanina heading translated from an English Dacian to Dacic. It didn't mean anything to me so I typed it into my browser.

The first thing that came up was a politician of Serbia, not very insightful as he wasn't even born at the time the document had been created. Doing the same thing to the original words, I typed in Dacia and waited for the results it led to a car company founded in what is present-day Romania, that was a little too coincidental that the word could translate from Romanian and a company was found in the country, along with Serbia being bang up against the border. Somehow it was all connected.

On a whim I typed in the Agents last name, Dacian, the very first words caught my eye.

Dacia

Country

Well how about that, my previous search hadn't said that only citing the car company. Intrigued, I read on. In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians. The Greeks referred to them as the Getae and the Romans called them Daci.

Surely that would be around the time of my source. I clicked on the first link and scanned the page.

Dacian is an extinct language, generally believed to be Indo-European, that was spoken in the Carpathian region in antiquity. In the 1st century, it was probably the predominant language of the ancient regions of Dacia and Moesia and possibly of some surrounding regions.

I paused re-reading one of the sentences.

Spoken in the Carpathian region in antiquity.

I plugged the sentence into my search bar unsure when and where it was referring to.

Carpathian Mountains may derive from the Sanskrit root "kar" 'cut' that would give the meaning of 'rugged mountains' Dacia, in antiquity, an area of central Europe bounded by the Carpathian Mountains and covering much of the historical region of Transylvania (modern north-central and western Romania).

Transylvania. Like Dracula? Was Dracula real, had he been the one to kidnap and murder Didyme? If so, why had the Volturi never suspected, after all, he was rather Famous as a Vampire. I wasn't even sure if you were allowed to be a famous Vampire, I doubted it.

I closed the browser and drummed my fingers in thought. Before picking up my phone and dilling Olly.

"Hey, Bunkin!" I relaxed hearing his voice

"Hey Olly, are you busy?"

"Nope, I'm just exploring."

"Could you do me a favour kid?"

I heard him stop walking and pay closer attention, "What?"

I was rapidly figuring out that I didn't know enough about the History of the Volturi or any Vampire covens, I knew Humans had wars, and I knew Caius had sort-of led a war against werewolves, but nothing else. "I need you to go to the library and find a book on Vampire History for me please."

"Okay." He started to bound down the stairs and I grabbed a loose bit of paper and a pen to write down some notes.

If anyone could find something in that giant place it would be Olly. I scribbled down the words 'Dracula', 'Dacian', 'Dacic', 'Dacia', 'Transylvania', 'Carpathian', 'Mountains', 'Romania', 'War', 'Battle', and thinking again added three more 'Rugged', 'Cut', and 'Vlad'. After all Vlad, the III was the person I had been taught Dracula was based off, if Dracula turned out to be a dead-end, Vlad might not be.

I snapped a picture of my notes and sent it to Olly. Bring the phone back to my ear I explained, "If you can, try to find something with some of these words referenced, I think their might have been a coven of Vampires or one influential one that lived in Romania around 1000 BC, don't bother pulling any History's that start after then."

"Sir yes, sir."

I laughed picturing him giving the solute. "Thanks, Olly, you're a lifesaver."

"Bye Bookie, I'll find your old words don't worry." He hung up at that leaving me to shake my head in mock annoyance.

A look at the time showed it was now night, another day gone. I crawled into bed hoping the time spent with my mates making the process easier would carry over to America. It did not. The feeling of being watched prickled all over my skin and I tossed all night, before resigning myself to sitting in a familiar position against the kitchen counter facing the door and away from the windows. I stayed until the sun had risen again.

-IMMORTAL-

I got a call around 7:00 when I was just about finished stuffing my face with a sandwich. I answered the unknown caller because I apparently had very little self-preservation.

It was fine because I immediately recognised Alli's voice. "I've filed with the judge to get the warrant for the medical records to be released to us."

I groaned "How'd you get my number?"

"I got it from your file."

"Oh right. What did you say about the medical records?"

Her voice lit up "I filed for the judge to get us a warrant, it should only take a few days because well, the suspects aren't cooperating with police procedure, I know it's still a while, but at least it's some headway right?"

I nodded forgetting she couldn't see, "Yes. No definitely, good job I'd forgotten to do that…"

She noticed me trailing off and attempted to reassure me, "Don't worry about it, you have a lot going on right now, especially after seeing the news this morning-"

"The news?" I interrupted, I still didn't keep up with the Media since the Wonka business… wait.

She sounded nervous now, "You haven't heard?"

"No heard what?" I frantically opened my laptop and refreshed my emails to find… nothing. Nothing from Derek or Depika, surely they'd tell me if something had gone either good or bad with the case, I was just jumping to conclusions.

"The Media found out that the Washington serial killer originated in the Lincoln Hospital, but the police can't get the records because of the confidentiality problem. A bunch of people are trying to storm the place, some even brought actual flamethrowers, something about being burned."

"Holy Shit."

"Yeah, it's pretty fucked up."

It was worse than fucked up, now because of the Media outcry there was absolutely no way of the killer not knowing, he'll go into hiding out of fear, possibly change his face in the black market and we could lose our one chance of Identifying him. I couldn't think about that now. The case was someone else's problem, but it seemed like my case was about to be solved soon anyway, in just a few days we'd be able to see the extent of injuries and from there suss out what the target was, whether the attack was random or located.

"Hey look, Alli, are you planning on going in today?"

"I have to check in with the boss. But you should check in with your's, there's not much more we can do until the judge pulls through."

"Okay, I'll call you back if I find anything."

"Yep me too."

I hung up and felt a different worry hit me. If there was a mob in front of the Lincoln hospital, I had put it there, I needed to deal with it. It was a 5-hour drive from where I was, so I'd get there around midday. I wasn't sure what I planned to do but I knew I needed to see what was happening to understand and take appropriate action. Derek was going to get an earful for not letting me know about it.

-IMMORTAL-

By the time I did arrive the police had already taken care of the mob and really I hadn't needed to come, it was stupid and impulsive, but I didn't really have a different mode so instead of calling the trip a waste of time, I showed my badge to the officers and walked in.

I'd used the drive to reacquaintance myself with my Bike and let it clear my head. I had needed the time alone and away from everything, within the last year stretching two years my entire life had been flipped around, specifically in the last month, everything had been going so fast I appreciated the breather.

I allowed myself the 5 hours of freedom before I reigned it in, now at the hospital and wandering the halls. I found myself standing in the burns ward entrance, it was empty at the moment. I tried to imagine the killer lying down in the pristine while sheets covered in equally well-kept bandages and asking for a story to be read to him.

It was almost heartbreaking till I remembered the children he'd killed, I wasn't even still sure he was mentally afflicted, he had asked for the story to be repeated to him, not had it done to him like a broken record, which was sure to drive anyone mad. I considered that maybe he was getting inspiration for the kills he was planning. Did he always intend for it to turn out the same way, children displayed like trophies, metaphors only the killer could understand?

I was startled from my thoughts by a loud voice, "Are you here to scream at us too?"

I was startled by the accusation in the nurse's voice but realised it probably looked bad standing in the burn ward, the place the mob had been trying to get to. "No, I'm Detective Adams ma'am I-"

She cut me off with a gasp "Oh Detective Adams, I'm Sylvia, the nurse you spoke too."

I took her hand, surprised she wasn't yelling at me for bringing the hate party to her doorstep, I sheepishly tried to apologize "I'm so sorry for the mob, truly I despise the media's interference with active cases."

She laughed brushing me off "Nonsense dear, not your fault I had a kind man on the phone tell me what happened, he said an incompetent feddy leaked the information 'just as he'd thought they would'" She chortled apparently finding the Captain's dislike of the FBI's interference very amusing.

She was an elder woman and had clearly been in the hospital for some time, you'd never tell through her voice, as it was as lively as a 20-year-old. I was taken into one of the lounges and given a cup of tea and for the next few hours I sat and chatted, figuring it was the least she deserved for all the trouble I had rained on them, the mob may have dispersed but it was unlikely the media would let it die until the killer was caught, needing someone to blame for the 'lack of action'.

Her hand landed on my wrist with a tight grip causing me to pause in taking a sip of my tea and give her a questioning look. She became very serious, "I don't mean to bother you dear but I feel you are a good person with a kind heart. I can tell you will help me."

I nodded "Of course, what do you need?"

She pulled me up instead of answering me and took me into an unfamiliar part of the hospital, she pushed open a door and I felt the sick feeling from yesterday's return. In Front of me was a teenage girl, or what was left of her. Barely skin and bone she sat clearly sedated and in a wheelchair strapped upright. I had to dash out of the room and sink against the hallway.

My mind brought up image after image of myself in a similar position, tied to a chair sometimes with a similar-looking IV stuck into my arm. I drew in a panicked breath and felt tears flood my check unable to tell I was hyperventilating.

A calm voice pierced the all-encompassing silence I had drawn in to protect myself. "Breath on my squeeze, come on dear." I slowly registered the feeling of my hand being grabbed and the sight of Sylvia filled my vision, she squeezed my hand and I sucked in air, she squeezed it again and I released. We continued until I could breathe normally and the tears had stopped.

"I am so sorry my dear, I did not think to warn you what you would see. I'm so sorry." She continued to apologize as she pulled me into her and rubbed my back in a soothing motion. I held onto her a moment longer before pulling myself together and standing up, using the wall for support.

She seemed to regard me for a moment before standing herself. "Who is that?" I croaked out.

"I don't know." The heartbroken way she said it along with the realisation of the actual words were enough for me to shove my own problems deep down again. I was fine, I was fine, I was always fine.

Ignoring her protest I walked back into the room and stood opposite the wheelchair, I kept my breathing steadily. A strong smell of fish came from the girl and I noticed that the girl in the chair was the only thing in the room, otherwise, it was completely bare.

Noticing me looking, Sylvia explained "No one knows what to do with her so they put her in this spare operating room, no one will help her. She's only a child," She finished brokenly

I sucked in another breath, asking for the facts "Why won't they help her, isn't that a doctor's job? She's clearly malnourished-"

"-But she's not."

I paused giving her an odd look.

"She has all the nutrients she needs through that IV."

"So she was already on the IV when she what? Came here? Someone found her like this?" I gestured to her slumped and restrained form.

"She was found in the nearby fish factory by one of the workers, he drove her here but didn't want to release her in case he hurt her. Which was probably the wisest course of action, I fear that moving her would cause her body to go into shock and her heart would fail. She has been in that position for far too long."

I struggle to keep the tears from falling again. I felt sick. Someone had done this, they had kept this girl alive for reasons unknown whilst she wasted away. "Is she asleep?"

"I don't know, she could be. The drip has some form of paralytic agent, keeps her out of it but still aware, she could be sleeping right now or hearing every word unable to open her eyes or speak."

"My God. Have you informed the police? They need to begin looking into this."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," She looked close to tears now "No one will help, the police cannot identify her and won't call it a case, they are pushing it under the rug, I am doing what I can but none of the other nurses will come into the room, they are horrified and afraid, they don't want to think about it."

That was a stupid reason to refuse to treat someone, but I knew Sylvia knew that so I got a bit closer to the girl and knelt in front of her taking her hand gently and nearly gasped at how cold they were. "Sylvia, why is she so skinny, if not malnourished then what's wrong?"

"She is severely lacking in blood and from what I can see, blood has been taken out of her, too much too often, for several years at least."

"Years," I echoed back in disbelief. At the mention of blood, my mind immediately went to Vampires was this a practice I hadn't heard of? Do Vampires kidnap humans and keep them alive for years as an infinite supply of blood until they die of old age. Was this a solution to Volturi's rule of not killing conspicuously?... Did the Kings allow it?

I abruptly drew back from the girl and turned to Sylvia, blinking furiously. "Whoever did this is a monster." Human or otherwise, "I'll find them, Sylvia. I promise you."

She pulled me into a hug that warmed me from the inside but did nothing to hinder the hate I felt at the sight before me. "Thank you. I knew you were a good one."

I had a day before I had to return to Kennewick and continue the job I was being paid for, and I knew I wasn't sanctioned to be a private detective, I needed permission for my little crusade, so my first call would be getting that.

I turned back to the girl, she looked barely 16 and if she had gone for years then she was only a child when she was taken, it was a sickening thought and I couldn't continue to refer to her without a name. I gently touched her forehead which was strapped to the highback of the wheelchair. "Daniella, survivor of the night."

I took Sylvia's number before leaving, I would need all the information I could get and asked her to write down anything unusual or that came to mind about Daniella. Then I walked a few blocks away and called the Captain.

"Derek."

"I'm guessing you found out about the media slip then? Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you but-"

I cut him off "-As much as I'd love to yell at you for keeping part of my case from me, I know you did it so I could focus on my 'actual' case. Besides I have a bigger problem."

"What's that?"

I explained it to him and took a little satisfaction in the colourful language he used, cursing up and down, he managed to spit out "Yes, Blue Jesus, find that fucker, if you get harangued by the feds send 'em my way, they already have a competent Agent on their case, I'm assigning you this one, I'll have the papers done by the hour."

"Thank you, Captain."

"-Be that as it is, don't forget you have back up here in Seattle, if you need some agents to check out the field, don't go arresting some psycho with a blood fetish by yourself, got it?"

"Loud and clear captain, call for backup."

We hung up and I sighed in relief. I wasn't going to call for backup, I had already guessed the 'psycho' was a Vampire, of course, it was, draining blood from a girl. I wasn't about to get several officers killed by a supernatural being designed in every way to be our perfect predator, there was nothing a few people could do against a Vampire, I wasn't going to be the reason more innocent lives were lost.

Although it did raise the question of how Daniella had managed to escape in her paralysed state, not to mention from a vampire who could move faster than a train and could smell…

The fish. It was entirely possible she had disguised her scent with the smell of the fish and before the Vampire could track her the worker had taken her to the hospital. It was flimsy but a lead, so I walked back to my bike and headed off to the farm Sylvia had described.

I had considered calling the elite guard, they were Vampires and could definitely take one on, but I couldn't help the fear that they may not see the problem with constantly draining a human, to them, it could be normal.

-IMMORTAL-

The worker who had found Daniella wasn't there when I arrived but a friend of his helpfully showed me where she was found and then went back to his job. I stared at the normal patch of ground before looking into the forest that boarded the farm. I could see roots, twigs and other obstacles littering the floor and I knew without a doubt in my mind the girl had not escaped in a wheelchair on her own. Someone had helped her.

But then why abandon her at the last stretch, why here and why at all? It didn't make sense. Realising the only way I would find answers I headed into the forest. It was darker and blocked out more light than the one back in Forks, I found myself feeling cold and… scared.

Trying to physically shake off the feelings and get my head back into it, I pushed on. I would be no use to anyone dead, and while I had reservations about telling my mates or any other Vampire about this I needed to be smart if I was going to outwit and survive a Vampire.

I took off my shoes so I was left walking in the forest with socks which muffled my sound more. I made sure to pace myself and go slowly, I had no idea whether I was anywhere close to where Daniella had escaped from but I needed to be quiet and careful.

Ring Ring

Ring Ri-

I hastily wiped out my phone and hung it up. Whoever it was I could speak to them later.

Ring-

Annoyed I answered "What!" I hissed angrily

"Blue, you need to come back?"

"I- Agent Dacian?"

"Yes- I got a call from Captain Derek and I'm afraid that won't be possible, we have requested your help on this case. You need to return immediately-"

I hung up.

Rude I know, and I was definitely getting reprimanded from the higher-ups later, but even they disliked the feds so I figured I was alright, Derek had said he would handle it. If I solved this case I would go back and help the Feds, not that they needed me, but I was morbidly curious about the mysterious chemical burns, for now, I could do nothing more for them and as such, I was putting my talents to use.

I made sure to turn my phone off fully before moving forward again. It was a little odd that Dacian kept insisting I was working with him, almost like he wanted me where he could keep an eye on me. I brushed it off, everything about that guy was weird.

I walked in a straight line for a while, before realising that if I was running from a Vampire I would want to put my scent on every tree in different directions. I spun in a circle and began to head randomly making turns with the intention of getting myself lost.

How do you find somewhere you don't know? Go somewhere you've never been.

It began to significantly drop in temperature and despite the lack of light originally it became even harder to see the trees outline, signalling night had fallen. The walk from then on became more difficult, I stumbled into a few trees my mortal eyesight hadn't warned me about and I was just about to give up and turn on google maps to get out of there when I walked straight smack into a stone wall. Well, that was one way to find it.

I stood still for a few seconds listening intently to see if I had been noticed, when nothing else happened I worked on slowing my heartbeat and keeping light breaths. I stretched out and slid my hand across the stone, my eye adjusting now I was closer to let me see that the wall went the width of a room. It looked sort of like a bunker and I seriously doubted it belonged to the fishing company.

I trailed my hand along it as I walked around the edge, a shape stuck out around my shoulder height and I touched it to find a wooden frame. Window.

I stayed out of view of the window and edged closer to it only to find it had been painted over. Further along, I found a heavy iron door, there was absolutely no way I could open it without making a sound. I brushed over the handle and stopped, my hand felt a chain and, bending down to squint, I saw that the lock which held the chain together was undone. Whoever's place this was, they were home.

Holding my breath in fear I edged back. There was another structure, sort of like stables, which held creates and tools of various kinds. Walking in I found a corner behind some stacked up boxes and willed myself to calm down. If this was a vampire they would hear my heartbeat and I prayed they simply thought it was an animal.

I settled down and waited, I needed to ensure the Vampire had left before I could look into the bunker, it may hold some clues about what had happened. I tried not to picture finding a fridge filled with bags of Daniella's blood.

I didn't sleep but stayed crouched for the rest of the night. It wasn't until birds had already started singing that anything changed. A loud bang nearly caused me to jump but I managed to contain it. No doubt someone had just opened and shut the iron door. A stick snapped and I heard someone enter the structure I was in. I was greeted with another terrifying thought, what if he smelled me? I held my breath hoping it would do something to mask my scent.

Nothing happened, no one moved. Every moment that passed went by as though it were a decade. I should have told my mates, I should have told them. Then the sound of footsteps retreating echoed through the room. Oh, thank god. I knew Vampires could run at impossible speeds and they were likely gone already but I waited a good few minutes before risking moving.

Now the problem I had was I had no way to tell when they would be back. I dropped the fear of making noise and ran to the door, it was easier to see in the daylight but the trees still cast a shadow over the area. I pulled out the lock pick I kept on the inside of my watch and got to work on the door. A click sounded and I just managed to resist cheering and I yanked the door towards me fully expecting the weight behind it.

The same loud clang sounded, I stepped through and now I had a choice to make. Shut the door so it looked normal from a distance and trap myself in, or keep it open? I left it open, the lock was undone regardless and I would not be able to outrun a Vampire.

I made my way down the narrow stone passage and reaching the end came to a sharp 90-degree turn which opened into another room. This one had the same clinical air to it as the entire building, spares but with a dirty looking sheet in a corner, and various furniture in places, as though having been thrown in a tantrum. And then there was the blood, not much of it most would have probably missed the sight, but the dried red around the armrest of a wooden chair told me that someone had been restrained there.

Another few drops were on the floor underneath the same chair, I pulled out my phone and took a few pictures of the room, I may not be able to bring in a Vampire but with the proof, I could definitely get the force to admit foul play had occurred. I sent the images off to Derek immediately so he could add them to his argument if Dacian harassed him.

I held my phone up to take another shot just as I pushed open the door leading from the main room and dropped it in shock. My hand flew to my mouth and I desperately tried to muffle my scream. I knew my hands were shaking but my brain could only process the image in front of me.

Ten or so boys and girls of various ages were strapped to wheelchairs exactly like Daniella and in a perfect line against the barren wall, they were hooked up to IVs on one side and another bag on the other which could only be draining their blood.

I stumbled into the room and reached out for the first girl only to hear a strange gurgling sound. Turning around abruptly I saw what I had been unable to from the doorway. A boy probably 14 was hung on the wall by chains and his back was dripping blood to a horrifying extent. He'd been whipped.

Hurrying over to him and I placed my shaking hands over one of the wounds stupidly thinking it would do something. The boy flinched and I was left looking at my bloodied hands and the bleeding child. Snapping myself out of it I pulled off my shirt and ripped in down one of the seams then into strips.

I stood up and pulling out my lock pick unlocking his hands. He fell limp into me, which I had expected and I carefully set him on the ground and got to work trying to prevent any more blood loss. During my tying of one of the strips of material, a hand weakly latched onto my wrist. I paused and gave the boy what I hoped was a gentle smile, "I know it hurts, I'm so sorry kid, but I have to make them tight."

His eyes shone with pain but to my surprise, he only whispered: "I know."

Trying to keep the kid distracted I started up a conversation, "What's your name buddy?"

Unfortunately, that seemed to make him upset, "I don't want to be called Andy- he- he calls me Andy.."

"That's alright," I comforted, "I get it, trust me, kid. I made my own name, why don't you chose a name you like, yea?" He sobbed as I tied the last one, "That was the last one, I promise."

"I don't know. You chose a name, not Andy."

I fished out my phone and switched it on, preparing to call the elite guard, I needed them here now that people's lives were one the line, regardless if this was the work of another Vampire. "How about you tell me about you, and I'll give you a name yeah?" I flicked open the call app and swore. No service.

Hoping I could get some outside the bunker I had to make a quick decision. "Hey kid, I'm going to lift you okay, and I'm going to take you to the hospital."

He looked distraught "But the others?"

I swallowed hard, I knew that if I took the kid, it was unlikely the Vampire would feel safe keeping his operation and would likely kill them. But if I didn't do something now we would all die.

"I'm coming back for them I promise."

He looked a little better after I agreed to come back, and wrapped his arms around my neck as I picked him up. I ditched my satchel knowing it would only slow me down and gripping him tightly, hurrying for the exit. We left the bunker with no problems, and once outside I tried again to call, nothing. Mind made up, I began to run. Along the way, the kid spoke, which I half-listened to, trying to keep him from being jolted too much, and trying to go as fast as I could.

"He's going to find us. Found me last time."

"You've escaped before?" I questioned.

"I helped my sister. I pushed her out of the forest, I was going to get the others too but I could only take one wheelchair at a time."

He was silent for a while and I pondered the new information, the kid had escaped the bunker and saved his sister, then had taken her out of the forest and gone back for others. No doubt then he was found out and had been punished. "How did you get out of your wheelchair to save your sister, weren't you drugged?"

"I was very tied down, but I think last week he didn't put the needle into my arm properly. I was able to move after a few days, but I had to only move little bits at a time."

I gave him a smile "You're a really brave kid, thanks to you all those other people are going to be safe now. Your parents will be so proud of you."

He fell silent for a while at that, then casually mentioned: "We don't have any parents."

A feeling of realisation came over me, of course, they didn't, that's how they were never made a fuss over for being missing, just like Olly had been brushed under the rug, without parents to push media attention and subsequently the investigation along, rarely were their follow-ups for people no one would miss.

I huffed "Well I'm proud of you kid, you're a hero to me." I consider him for a moment "Misham, what about Misham?" I suggested a name.

"What's it mean?" he mumbled back.

"It means 'their Saviour', it's a biblical name like the one I chose for your sister."

"What's my sister's name?

"Daniella, it means survivor of the night."

He nuzzled into me "I like it."

I smiled down at him, before picking up the pace again, I needed to get the kid safe and I needed to get all the other children that were being drained like personal feeding tanks. I needed to hurry. I broke through the treeline after around an hour of running, panting and with a painful stitch, which I ignored, I tried to take in my surroundings. Using one hand to support Olly I pulled out my phone and immediately called Felix.

"My Queen?"

"Felix, are you guys done with whatever problem you have?"

I didn't really have time for pleasantries. I would apologize to him later. I walked while I talked, still trying to put distance between Misham and the bunker.

"We have assessed the situation and have not decided to step in yet. We are free if you need us."

"Yes. I need you, please. Look I think I might have gotten caught up in a Vampire problem and I don't know how good regular Vampires are tracking by scent but-"

I was cut off by Demetri apparently Felix had put the conversation on speaker. Or maybe just super hearing. "-You are being tracked?"

"I-I no, not yet, but I've found a kid bunch of kids being drained for blood, and I'm taking one to the hospital now, I'll be going back for the rest-"

"No!" Alec's yell nearly startled me into dropping the phone, which already had a crack from me dropping it previously, "You must not go back."

"You don't understand!" I cried, all the stress getting to me, "They're going to die!"

Surprisingly it was Jane who tried to calm me. "My Queen, you are also in danger of dying if you return, let us handle it, we will leave now."

"Okay. Yes leave now, please- Oh I'm in Lincoln, the forest by the fish farm, not far from the hospital. I'm taking the kid to the hospital now."

Jane spoke again "Stay in the hospital, the Vampire would not attack you surrounded by humans if he has any sense of self-preservation, no matter what you have taken from him." I bristled at the insinuation Misham belonged to the Vampire.

I said nothing else and she hung, up obviously unable to continue talking while they ran. I saw the edge of the fish farm, coming up and thanked the stars, I'd come out of the forest somewhere familiar. Dialling Sylvia, I finally made it just outside the familiar building.

"Detective Adams?"

"Slyvia, I have another kid, I found the place they are being kept, there's more but I need you to come to the fish farm and pick us up now, he's not in good condition."

"I'll be there soon."

My bike was still parked where I had left it, but I wasn't about to take the now unconscious boy, who was a bit bigger than Olly and still losing blood at worrying amounts. Sylvia definitely broke speed limits to reach us, upon the back of the ambulance opening I realised it had been an actual drive, she was sitting in the back and immediately got to work on him. She went to pull the doors closed, looking at me with a question in her eyes.

I hesitated, I was told to go to the hospital, but I knew it was a 24-hour drive from Seattle to Lincoln, I didn't know how fast Vampires ran, but I knew the one who'd taken Misham was closer. My mind remembered Jane's words 'what you have taken from him', What if Vampires didn't see it as a crime, what if they did arrive in time but decided the other Vampire got to keep the children. No. If that was the life I was getting into, I didn't want it.

"Go, I need to get the police to Corden this area off."

"They won't listen remember-"

I snapped "Then I'll make them listen."

She nodded and pulled the doors shut. I didn't wait for the ambulance to leave my sight before rushing back to my bike and kicking off the gravel.

-IMMORTAL-

It was actually incredibly easy to get the police on board, apparently, Derek had called them immediately after receiving my photos and forwarded them over, they were in the middle of gearing up when I arrived and apparently were expecting me. "Detective Blue, what do you need from us?"

The cops paused to listen and I felt a little intimidated by their clear deference to my leadership, I'd specialised into being a detective as soon as I had been able to, meaning I had very limited field experience and rarely commanded others. Shoving aside my small insecurity at the response I straightened up and began to debrief them. "Alright, the woods behind the fish farm, about an hour in, holds a stone bunker, some maniac, as you've probably seen the images, has been keeping humans. Kids, alive off IV nutrients and has been draining them of blood-"

I noticed a few offices' eyes shine with the same horror I felt at the information, and figured not all of them had seen the images. I pushed on, "He left around 6 this morning and I found a boy bleeding severely from several lacerations and just handed him over to the police. It's now 9 and I have no idea when this Psyco will be back but we need a perimeter surrounding the bunker as 11 people are still in danger and held within it."

There were several sharp nods and a deputy stood up to take the lead, "Thank you, Detective. The Alright Alpha team takes the squad cars around to the farm and head in that way. Detective, which direction was the bunker from the farm?"

"The corner of the farm closest to the gravel road heads in a diagonal line directly from that point into the forest."

"Alright, you heard her. Delta team go in from the south, Red team East. let's go!"

Everyone began filling out until I was left alone in the lobby. I could go back with them, I was worried that they would be attacked by the Vampire, but I also thought on Jane's words, it was a death wish to kill conspicuously, any Vampire who knew about the Volturi wouldn't dare take on an entire police force, and with the seat up I had seen the Vampire use I guessed he had been around long enough to know of the Volturi.

Decision made, I headed to the hospital to check on Misham and Daniella.