Slowly Kate awoke, pain radiating through her body. She lifted her head and glanced across the room. She was surprised that they had chained her against the wall instead of locking her in the circle dark room that had been her prison cell these last 6 months.

Then she saw a little head pop up in the small window for the room and realized that she was keeping her separated from whoever that was in there.

She started to look down again when her eye that wasn't swollen widened in surprise. She looked back up at that small face and felt fear fill her as she recognized that face.

The young boy at the hotel, the one she thought had been Dracula's son, his grandson. She recognized that curly red hair and bright blue eyes.

Her heart pounded as she looked across the room at him. What was he doing here? They must have caught him somehow. If so, then why did they keep asking her where Dracula was?

They must have seen him do something that clued them in that he was a vampire. He must have been caught far from the hotel and they may not realize his relation to Dracula. They still needed her to get to Dracula directly.

She had to get him out of here before they realized his signficance.

She started to wiggle, trying to get out of the chains. Her whole body ached and she was sure that there wasn't a single area of her not covered in blood. Still she struggled.

She felt her wounds on her wrists split open again and the blood start to leak back out, but she didn't stop.

She had to get that kid out of here. Based on the way her aunt treated her, her own family and a fellow Van Helsing, she knew that the boy wouldn't survive long. She couldn't allow that happen.

Not another monster would die by a Van Helsing's hands if she could help it.

After what felt like forever she finally felt it. Her hands were slipping through the metal cuff. Despite the pain she kept struggling.

She almost cried out in relief when she felt her left hand slip through the cuff. She didn't, but instead focused on her right hand. After a few more minutes she felt that hand slip free too.

She took a moment to stretch her shoulders before started to stand. It had been months since she had been standing, but she used the wall to help her unsteady legs become a bit more steady before she started slowly across the room.

Her head was swimming and she knew that the blood loss she had endured over these last 6 months would be affecting her, but she had a mission and she wasn't going to stop. Dracula would not lose another family member, even if she had to die in the process.

When she finally reached the room the boy was in, she started unlocking all the locks that had been attached to the door. She moved as quickly as she could despite the pain.

A pair of blue eyes peaked out from the small window, but she didn't glance up. She had to get these locks opened before her aunt returned.

When the last lock finally clicked and released, Kate grabbed the door and pulled with all her strength. The door weighed a ton, or at least felt that way. Despite the weakness in her limbs, Kate forced herself to keep pulling.

When the door swung open enough, the boy rushed out and Kate released the door, falling to the dirty floor with a thump. Her back screamed in pain and she felt more of her wounds open and begin to the bleed anew. She wanted to scream, but only allowed a low moan to escape.

"Hello?"

She turned and looked at the red-headed boy. His blue eyes reminded her so much of Dracula. She pushed that thought aside, there would be time for that later. She forced herself to sit up.

"I'm Kate," she said softly. "I'm gonna help you get out of here."

"I'm Dennis," he said, hope shining out from his eyes. She could see the fear in his posture, but she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the Van Helsing warning system screaming at her to attack him. She would not give into that feeling, not ever. "You'll be home soon. I swear it to you."

He nodded his understanding and she nodded back before forcing her body to stand. She lead him to the only way out of the basement of her aunt's cottage. She prayed that everyone was out like they normally were during the day. She prayed that her time spent down here hadn't disrupted her concept of day and night. She opened the door and they walked out slowly.

It was silent and she had never loved silence so much. She gestured to Dennis to follow and the two walked out of the basement.

They started towards the back door of the house to avoid anyone coming in from the front, every second still in the house was another second they could be caught. The hallway was nothing but glass cabinets, filled with the trophies of monsters defeated and outdated monster hunting weapons. Kate had always thought it was creepy, but now she looked at these walls and was filled with disgust.

Dennis moved closer to her as he looked at the walls, obviously scared. She reached back and placed a hand on his head gently. She gave him a small smile before turning and walking farther down the hallway.

At the end she stopped and glanced around the corner into the kitchen, praying it was empty. It was, relief filled her briefly.

As she turned back to Dennis a flash of something caught her eyes from the cabinet across from her.

She blinked and looked at the cabinet carefully.

Inside, nestled between an old crossbow and a golden cross, was a small golden ring. She narrowed her eyes. This ring was familiar to her.

"Kate?"

She turned to Dennis who was looking up at her with confusion. As she looked at Dennis' blue eyes, she thought of Dracula. She turned back to the ring with wide eyes.

That ring...it was a carbon copy of the one Dracula wore. That could only mean that this was his wife's ring. Now that she knew the story was true, she felt hatred for her family fill her. This ring shouldn't be kept here as a trophy of a defeat, it should be returned to the owner.

She moved and opened the cabinet, grabbing the ring. She turned back to Dennis and knew that he would need to take this ring back to his grandfather. She reached at her waist and pulled the string out of her sweat pants. It was covered in blood, but it would have to do. She looped the ring on the string and wrapped it around Dennis' neck.

"Take this to your grandfather," she said quickly. "Please don't lose it. It's important."

Dennis nodded his understanding with wide eyes and Kate nodded back before taking his hand and moving towards the back door.

She looked out at the sunlight and then back at Dennis. He would burn if they went out without coverage. She glanced around before seeing her cousin, Jacob's large hoodie on the back of a chair.

She grabbed it and threw it over Dennis, pulling the hood over his head. "It's sunny, keep the hood up until we reach the tree line."

She turned back and swung open the door before grabbing Dennis' hand and running out into the sunlight.

Every step was painful, her body wanted to quit, to stop and fall, ignoring the danger. Kate wouldn't let it. She forced herself to keep running, the hand in her own the one thing reminding her just what was at stake if they stopped.

Dennis ran behind her across the back yard and through the short fence she had there. They ran across the large field, their focus on the trees on the other side. She ran faster than she thought she could as injured as she was. Dennis kept up with her as they kept running.

When they broke the treeline, both moved back farther into the forest before she stopped him and took several breaths. Dennis looked back the way they had run before uncovering his head in the safety of the shade.

"We made it," he said softly before turning to Kate. "Thank you."

"It's nothing," she said before standing straight and looking up at the sky. "Now to get you home."

She located the sun through the leaves and let out a breath. "Okay," she said, turning back to Dennis. She pointed in the direction opposite of the setting sun. "That direction," she said. "Go in the direction of the rising sun. Don't look back and don't stop until you are walking back into the hotel. Take that ring to Dracula."

"What about you? Aren't you coming with me?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to go in the opposite direction. If they start looking for us, I need to give them a trail to follow away from you." Dennis opened his mouth to say something but she shook her head again. "If they find me nothing will change. If they find you...they will find your family. You have to continue home alone. Can you do it?"

Dennis took a deep breath before nodding, his face filled with worry and fear. She smiled. "Good boy. Now go."

"Good-bye Kate.," he said before flipping the hood back over his head and taking off in the direction she had pointed, following her directions and not looking back.

Kate watched the boy run from her and let out a sigh. She watched until she could no longer see him before she turned and started running in the opposite direction, making sure to leave a trail in case they discovered the two escaped.

Let them find her, but not Dennis, not Dracula.

Pain radiated out from her body and her blood loss was starting to get to her, but she couldn't stop until she was sure that Dennis was far enough away to be safe, until she was sure he had made it back to his family.

That determination pushed her forward, away from Aunt Caroline's cottage of torture, away from the Van Helsings and away from Dracula.