A/N: Alright gang, let's get into the conclusion! Enjoy!
Hunter took off first, sprinting into the house as fast as he could go. The boys hurried after him but Jordan grabbed Eleanor's arm when she went to follow.
"Dad, you have to get everyone out of here, then find the water supply" Jordan instructed. Recognition sparked in his eyes and he hurried off, yelling at them to be careful. "Eleanor, Natalie, you're with me." Eleanor nodded, thankful for her leadership. She follows close behind, stake at the ready.
"Those are my friends in there," Natalie said softly, so quietly that Eleanor didn't think she meant anyone to hear here.
Jordan stopped abruptly and looked Natalie in the eye.
"Those girls in there are dead," Jordan said. "Everything human about them is gone. We can't afford to hesitate."
I ducked my head, heart racing. While I didn't know those girls, I was still their classmate. It's heartbreaking, but they couldn't think about that now.
"I…" Natalie struggled for a minute, but before she could continue, there was a scream, and all three girls were on alert.
"Come on," Jordan commanded, and the girls followed, racing into the house. Eleanor stopped short when she got into the living room, gagging on the smell of blood. There was a boy on the floor, mangled beyond belief. There are three cheerleaders in the room, each pinning their friends.
Hunter was forced to kneel in the middle of the floor, thrashing hard against his captor.
"Jordan!" he gasped. "The vial!"
"What vial?" Someone stepped out of the shadows and Eleanor gasped. It was the vampire they'd capture, the one she's staked so clumsily. "What do you have, puppy?"
"Puppy… you!" Natalie gasped. "You killed David! You killed my boyfriend!"
"Oh yeah," the vampire laughed. "I'd almost forgotten. My bad."
Natalie snarled, but Eleanor held her fast. Vampire's were stronger, faster, and the only way to best them was to outsmart them.
Jordan made her way carefully through the living room, towards the vampire.
"We want to talk to Paulina," she said. Rob shook his head, squirming against one of the cheerleader's hold.
"We already tried that!" he said.
"Shut him up," the main vampire said. "Or better yet, just kill him." At those words, all hell broke loose and Hunter roared, deep and decidedly inhuman. It seemed to scare the vampire's so much, they broke their hold on the boys, who darted for the door.
Before the vampires could get them, Eleanor realized the plan and threw her stake up at the sprinklers.
"Nice, Eleanor!" Jordan yelled, grabbing the girls and hauling them out. Water burst from the sprinklers and the vampires screamed, burning. Rob and Rich blasted out of the house, collapsing on the front yard.
Finally, Hunter burst out, dragging one of the cheerleaders out. He threw her roughly down, settling his weight over her to keep her still.
"Traitor," the vampire snarled, looking up at Natalie.
"Look who's talking," Natalie snarled back.
"Tell us where the nest is," Hunter told her sharply. "Talk and we'll make this quick."
Fear flickered in her eyes, and Eleanor couldn't help feel sorry for the girl. She couldn't have possibly know what she was getting into.
"It's this house," she said reluctantly. "Like ten minutes from here. They brought us there to turn us, and they kept saying they'd give us their blood if we helped bring the wolf in."
"Who?" Rich asked, pulling up a picture of the map they'd marked out. "Paulina?"
"No," the girl gasped. "The others. There are five of them."
"So, she turned five vampires when she got here," Rob mumbled, pulling out his own phone to make notes. The screaming subsided. "Well, four now, I guess."
"You're going to take us to the nest," Hunter commanded. "And we'll figure out what do with you do then."
Mr. Sands came barreling back their way, gasping for breath. Jordan hurried to support her father's weight, waiting for him to catch his breath.
"Oh… thank god… you guys… are okay," he gasped. "What happened? Did it work?"
"Holy water in the water main?" Eleanor asked, impressed. Mr. Sands nodded, grinning.
"I know a guy in plumbing."
"Dad, I need some rope," Hunter said. "Dipped in garlic juice."
"Ew," Natalie mumbled, stepping back from the cheerleader. "I need a minute." Natalie walked off and before Eleanor could go after, Rich wordlessly got up to follow her. He sat with her on the hood of the car, talking soothingly. Eleanor was deeply surprised.
Mr. Sands handed over the rope and Jordan helped Hunter tie the thrashing girl up. It seemed that only one of the fledglings were turned, Daria, but the others were just the same half-vampire's they'd been before.
They loaded the girl into the car, and for a minute it looked like her vampire loyalty might win out, but the garlic did it's job and she squirmed, spilling everything to ease the burn. It seemed Hunter had been right, that Paulina did live in his neighborhood.
They waited outside the house, parked with the headlights off, trying to decide what to do. Eleanor, Natalie, and the boys stayed silent at the Sands family argue it out. Mr. Sands wants just the three of them to go in, while Jordan wants Hunter to be he distraction while Jordan takes the humans to take down the nest. Hunter just wants to barrel in there, teeth bared.
"David Sands! What a pleasure to see you again!" A decidedly feminine voice rang out through the area. Eleanor shivered at the chill in the words, the promise of pain.
"Paulina," Mr. Sands said softly, stepping out of the car. "I really didn't expect you here."
"Sure you did, snookums," Eleanor craned her neck, but she can't see anyone. "You brought a whole welcome party just for me."
"Let's talk this out," Mr. Sands called, hands raised. "Like rational adults."
"Oh sweetheart," Paulina said. Suddenly, there was a horrible metallic screeching as the car door was wrenched open and the vampire fledgling was yanked out. Everyone screamed, scrambling to get away.
Hunter was closest to Eleanor so he grabbed her, hauling her out of the car. They sprinted away, finding cover behind a large tree. Hunter pressed her against it, keeping her there with the warm, hard press of his chest. Eleanor's breath caught and she was suddenly distracted.
"Okay," Hunter said, voice low and breath warm against her ear. "Okay, you stay here and wait for me. I'll get the others to safety and then I transform. I think we have to go with Jordan's plan."
"Yeah," Eleanor said, trying to get a hold of herself. "I don't think they'd really expect a bunch of teenagers to try and take them out while there's a giant wolf around."
"Fuck," Hunter groaned softly, eyes slipping closed. That really shattered Eleanor's concentration and she gasped, flushing brightly. That seemed to tip Hunter off, and he hastily backed away from her.
"Neighbors," he mumbled. "We can't have the neighbors, I mean, Jackie doesn't even know, so—"
"Yeah," Eleanor said, still breathless. Hunter looked at her for a long moment, eyes flickering down to her mouth.
"Guys!" Someone hissed, jarring both of them. They looked around to find Jordan and Rob, peeking out from behind another tree. A few yards out, Rich and Natalie clung to another tree, closer to the woods that surrounded the neighborhood. Mr. Sands was nowhere to be seen.
"Kids!" Mr. Sands voice rang out, terrified and far. The gang hurried to group together near Hunter and Eleanor, trying to plan.
"First, we get dad," Jordan said, worried. "And then, we transform you. All of us are just going to have face them altogether."
"They're in the woods," Hunter says. "We can still outsmart them. They don't know about me."
"Okay," Jordan agreed, getting the vial out of her bag.
"Are you sure about this?" Eleanor asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Hunter nodded, but he looked unsure. Rob and Rich exchanged a look.
"Dude," Rob said. "We got your back, no matter what."
"Yeah," Rich echoed. "The strength of the wolf is the pack, bro."
There was a chance this could all go sideways, that anyone of them could be hurt, that Eleanor might not see them ever again.
"I love you guys," she said, voice wobbly. The boys snorted at the sentimentality, but they couldn't hide their smiles. Natalie nodded, eyes shiny. Jordan smiled softly, head high with her chin up.
"We're going to be okay," Jordan said. It sounded like a promise and Eleanor silently held her to that.
They moved to give Hunter space to get ready, turning around so he could strip. He cleared his throat and the ganged faced him. Eleanor catalogued the red flush on his cheeks, the way it extended down his neck and spilled onto his chest. He had a blanket tied around his waist. Eleanor stepped forward, steadying herself with a hand on his shoulder.
"For luck," she whispered. She felt brave, desperate to get everything out there. She rocked up on her tip toes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Someone whistled and suddenly, Eleanor wished she could take it back. Hunter was frozen, unresponsive, looking at her with wide eyes. "Uh, yeah for luck—"
Suddenly, Hunter swept her up into his arms, holding her tight and pressing a hard kiss to her lips. Eleanor couldn't help but gasp, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, effectively short circuiting her brain.
"Guys."
The kiss went on and on, and heat blazed through Eleanor like a forest fire, raging and all-encompassing.
"Guys!" They broke apart suddenly, both a little surprised at what happened.
"Okay, thank god that finally happened, but we need to focus right now," Jordan said, grinning wide. "Vampire's to kill?"
"Right!" Eleanor said, trying to back up. She was still caught by Hunter's grip on her waist, but h quickly let go, smiling sheepishly at her.
"Hot," Natalie deadpanned. "Can we get started?" Jordan nodded, prepping the vial. Hunter crouched low to the ground and Jordan plunged the needle into his arm.
A/N: Okay, so I'm definitely making the ending a two-parter, so watch for part two next Wednesday. Let me know what you thought.