A/N: Hey gang, we're getting close to the finale! There's about two or three more chapters left, including an epilogue. Things just depend on my ability to write coherent actions scenes. Anyways, enjoy!
For a moment, all Eleanor could do was stare at her. Jordan came rushing up, ushering Natalie inside and onto the couch. That jarred Eleanor into action, so she sprinted to her mother's bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit. She and Mr. Sands carefully began to patch her up, but no one could say anything, save for asking if she was alright.
"What happened?" Eleanor asked, pressing a bandage to the bite marks on her neck. She already knew, however, before Natalie could respond. Mr. Sands helped clean up the mess, pulling Jordan aside for a hushed conversation.
"I don't know," she whispered miserably. "I was at this party at Carlie Synder's house. Some guy tried talking to me, and when I told him no, he dragged me to this room and bit my neck! It was insane. I shoved him away and ran like hell."
"What kind of guy?" Eleanor asked, sharing a panicked look with the boys.
"I don't know!" Natalie said, dropping her face into her hands. Surprisingly, Rich came over to comfort her. He patted her back gently, assuring her quietly that she was safe. He asked the question again.
"European maybe? Dressed in black?"
"He was drunk," Natalie volunteered. "And he pulled me like I didn't weigh anything."
Hunter ran a nervous hand through his hair, breathing a little raggedly. He paced about the living room, looping around the table where Rob sat, pinning Carlie Synder's address on the map. Rob hissed at him to sit down.
"Okay guys, here's what's going to happen," Mr. Sands said, emerging from the side room with Jordan, who looked particularly sour. "Jordan and I are going to take Natalie home and call her parents. This was probably an animal attack—"
"No! It was a guy and I'm pretty sure you guys know what's going on," Natalie said resolutely. Jordan's expression perked up. "I want answers."
"See dad! You're underestimating them!" Jordan told him. Mr. Sands frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"When did I become den mother for the supernatural scouts," he muttered to himself. "No Jordan, I'm not going to put another child in danger tonight."
"All due respect Mr. Sands, I have a right to know what's going on," Natalie said. "I'm the one who got attacked." At that, Mr. Sands threw up his hands, collapsing in the armchair. Jordan perched on the arm of it, patting her father's head.
"We can't underestimate them," she reminded him. "She could help, and we'll keep each other safe."
"Okay!" Mr. Sands exclaimed. He muttered softly to himself before straightening back up. "Hunter, Jordan, I trust you guys. Your call."
Hunter stared at Natalie for a minute, and she held his stare without flinching. A slow smile broke out across his face. Eleanor took a seat on Natalie's other side, slipping her hand into hers, squeezing once.
"Okay," Hunter said. "I'm going to lay it out straight, and we'll just see how well you can handle this."
"Fine," Natalie said. "Tell me."
"You got attacked by a vampire," he started, an eager gleam in his eyes. "One of many around here. They're all being sired by this head vamp, Paulina. I'm a werewolf. It's my job to take care of the pest problem."
There was a moment where no one said anything, and in the silence, Mr. Sands hopped up, hurrying over to the kitchen. He rooted around the cabinets and Eleanor let him. Jordan stuck her thumbnail in her mouth, gnawing on it.
"Well," Natalie said finally, blinking rapidly. "That's a little twilight, no?"
"I promise you, there's nothing romantic about vampires," Jordan told her. "I'm Hunter's sister, Jordan."
"I know you," Natalie's face lit up in recognition. "You were this tragic nerd who pulled it together your senior year."
Eleanor gaped at her, then up at Jordan, who kept her face impassive.
"Yeah, that's me." Natalie, to her credit, looked sheepish.
"Sorry, my sister, Ash, used to talk—"
"I remember Ash!" Jordan laughed. "What's she up to now a day's?"
"Okay, we don't have time for you guys to play catch up," Hunter interjected. "Listen, we have to take these vamps out. I need to know exactly where you were."
"I told you, Carlie's," she said. "A bunch of my cheer friends made me go out."
"They made you?" Eleanor asked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I was sitting at home, just… you know, thinking," she said, ducking her head to let her hair curtain her face. "My mom let them in. They said they wanted me to come out, that I should sit around moping. They were so annoying that I just gave in."
"Was it weird?" Eleanor asked, an idea cropping up. "Were they insistent that you had to go to this specific party?"
"What are you thinking, E?" Hunter asked. Rich stood suddenly, his face sharp in recognition. Rob pulled his phone roughly from his pocket, scrolling aggressively.
"You're a fucking genius!" he crowed.
"Language," Mr. Sands said weakly, fishing out a box of cookies from the pantry. He stuffed two in his mouth and ate them quickly. "Can we please plan out loud? So I can understand just how much danger you kids are going to be in?"
"We follow the fledglings," Hunter said slowly. "That's what you mean."
"Fledglings," Rich said.
"Fledglings," Rob said, satisfied.
"What are fledglings?" Natalie asked, tone decidedly annoyed. Eleanor privately agreed. Sometimes, the boys forgot to share what they knew.
"Fledglings are people who've ingested vampire blood," Hunter explained in a rush. "To becomes a vampire, you have to drink vampire blood and die with it in your system. Until you die, your sire can control you."
"What's a sire?" Natalie asked. "For those who aren't so nerd-inclined."
"A sire is the vampire who's blood a fledgling drinks," Rich explains. "The progenitor of the blood-line, if you will."
"And that's this Paulina person?" Natalie asked.
"Okay, let's take a breather," Mr. Sands says. "Jordan and Hunter can take point on this, now that they know, but I want the rest of you kids to stay here with me."
Rob and Rich immediately burst into protests, begging to go along with Hunter. Hunter argued for his friends, insisting they were stronger as a team. Jordan argued that she could protect the humans, but Mr. Sands wouldn't hear it. Eleanor and Natalie shared a look, gripping each other's hands tight.
"With all due respect," Eleanor started. "I want to help. I'm going to help my friends."
"We won't leave Hunter," Rich said defensively. Rob nodded along, looping an arm around his soon-to-be brother.
"Dad, last time, it was two wolves against an entire nest of vampires," Jordan explains. "Now, it's just Hunter. He needs all the help he can get."
"I mean," Hunter said, spots of red cropping up on his cheeks. "I'm pretty strong—"
"Don't be such a boy," Natalie snapped. "How do we help?"
"Okay, at least Natalie, you have to stay back," Mr. Sands negotiated. "For my rapidly deteriorating sanity."
"Dad," Jordan said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think that's up to you."
"There's something you should know," Eleanor said softly, looking at Natalie. "About David."
Understanding darkened Natalie's eyes, and her jaw trembled. She gasped softly, collapsing in on herself. Eleanor wrapped her arms around her tight and held her close. Surprisingly, Rich patted her shoulder.
"You can help take the vamps out that did that to your boyfriend," he said simply. "It won't make you feel better, but it'll make sure it doesn't happen again."
"I want to help," she said, voice thick with unshed tears. "I want to do whatever I can."
With that decided, Jordan explained the plan, showed Natalie the weapons they amassed. Every human picked out their weapons. Rob and Rich armed themselves with the tanning bed light-sabers, while Natalie grabbed a water gun of holy water and—after a moment of hesitation—a stake. Eleanor grabbed a few stakes, shoving them in pockets and the legs of her tall boots. Hunter shot her a smile when she grabbed a water gun as well.
It was a little uncomfortable, but she felt ready as she could be. With that, the gang loaded themselves into Mr. Sands' truck. Eleanor watched him, thinking about her own parents. There was a chance that she might never see hers again.
They decided they would capture a vampire at the party, and force it lead them back to the nest. There, Hunter would turn, kill the vampire, and together they would storm the house, take out the vamps along the way, and really make sure Paulina was dead. Apparently, they thought they succeeded before.
The drive was quick, and near silent. It seemed like everyone in the car was holding their breath. Natalie reached for Eleanor's hand, shaking slightly.
"Are we going to be okay?" she whispered so quietly Eleanor had to strain to hear her.
"I hope so," Eleanor whispered back. They pulled up to the house, and right away, Eleanor knew something was wrong.
A split second later, an army of teenagers rushed out of the house, leaping over each other to get out. The gang all looked at each other, rushing out of the car. Eleanor grabbed someone's arm, stopping them in their tracks.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"She just killed that guy!" the teenager cried, trying to wrench free. Hunter grabbed him, forcing himself to stay.
"Who?" he asked.
"Daria! She killed some lacrosse guy from another school!" he nearly sobbed. "She just ripped his throat open with her teeth!"
"Daria Williams?" Natalie demanded, gripping her water gun tight. The boy nodded, and Hunter let him go. He ran off, sprinting as fast as he could.
"Okay," Hunter said, voice a little weak. "The fledglings are full vamps now."
A/N: Alrighty, folks, let me know what you thought!