It's another filler chapter! :( But at least you get to see what happened to Claire from Michael's point of view.
Michael's POV-
I ran over to where Eve was helping Shane up from the ground. I quickly checked him over. He looked hurt, but I suspected that it was more emotional than physical. What the hell happened? The last thing I saw was Shane and Claire talking and then all of a sudden, Shane was on the ground and the table was broken.
"It's not a free show," Eve screamed at the masses of people crowding around, trying to figure out what had just happened, "Shoo!"
A couple mutters and groans came from the crowd, but they all started heading back to their respective tables without any major drama. I looked over at Shane, who still looked shell shocked. Most people were gone now and I took in the surroundings. Things were getting back to normal now. Amelie and Myrnin were staring right at us now. I looked up at them curiously and Amelie broke her stare. She turned to Myrnin and whispered something in his ear that my vampire senses couldn't even pick up. The vampire scientist looked terrified for some reason, he turned back to Amelie and they started whispering feriously. One part of me wanted to edge closer and listen to what they were saying. But the other part - the one that wanted to look out for my friends and avoid Amelie's wrath - won, I stayed put.
"You okay man?" I asked, slapping Shane's shoulder. Eve rolled her eyes at the lack of empathy between us.
"Yeah, but it's just..." He trailed off, shaking his head with sunken eyes.
"What?" I asked loudly, surprising myself with the anger and desperateness in my voice. Claire leaving the Glass House had hit us all hard. She'd left before, of course, when she lived with her parents, as well as her brief stint in Boston. This felt different though, she hadn't just left physically, she had cut all ties with us; emotional ones included. Shane had been hit worse. For the first few days he wandered round like a lost puppy, then he became a mix of anger and sadness. He rang Amelie every day asking to see her but got the same reply every time: 'She's busy right now, I'll pass on a message instead'.
I hadn't thought much about to be honest. Sure, I'd sat and listened to Eve rant and I reassured Shane that she'd be back once she'd had a little time to think. But it was only now, when I truly thought about the situation that I really how un-Claire it was. Claire wouldn't blow us all off like that, especially Shane. Not unless there was a really good reason. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for my little sister/youngest friend. Something bad had obviously happened with her and we had all left her on her own to sort it out, instead of truly fighting for her. The question was, however: what was up with Claire?
"Michael, I require your assistance," I heard Amelie say from behind me, she turned on her heels and stalked away. I followed her as she pushed her way through a set of double doors and into a locked room that was freakishly like the secret room at home. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was Myrnin sitting on a desk, twiddling a plain wooden stake like a majorette. He still had the fearful look in his eyes, and I felt myself becoming scared. If something was bad enough to scare Amelie and Myrnin, then surely I should be worried myself, right?
I positioned myself opposite Myrnin and Amelie threw herself down on to the chair exhaustedly. She didn't look like herself right now. She looked worn down and young. That was scarier than anything else.
"Yes?" I prompted, trying not to sound rude.
"We lost Claire!" Myrnin blurted out and I almost laughed. They lost Claire. I mean yes, it's the night but she has protection and all the vampires are here. Besides, she's a big girl, surely she can take care of herself. That didn't stop the niggling feeling in my stomach that something was wrong however, in fact, it only fuelled it more.
Amelie sat up straight and addressed me, "Claire is-"
She was cut off my Myrnin's growl, "Respect her wishes, Amelie!"
Amelie sighed, "Just find her... Please," She added the please on as a second thought, clearly she needed to find Claire, and she needed to find her now. If I had one, my heart would be pounding in my chest. Something was wrong, really wrong. I started to wonder what Amelie was about to tell me, but I shook the thought away and concentrating on what was important: finding Claire.
I nodded at Amelie and raced back out towards the seats where Eve and Shane were waiting for me. They both looked up at me quizzingly and I shook my head.
"I know you're angry at her right now, but we need to find Claire," Their eyes softened a little bit, but I still saw anger in them, "Her life is in danger," I didn't know if that was true, but Amelie was clearly desperate to get Claire back, and she wouldn't care that much us it was a life or death situation. Shane stood up with a burst immediately, Eve followed a few seconds later. I nodded for them to follow me and we ran to the entrance to the hall.
"She went outside," Shane told me manner of factly, "I watched her go,"
"You sure?" I asked him, "Her life is at stake here..."
He looked offended that I thought he would risk Claire's life and I felt a tiny pang of guilt in my chest as he said, "Dude! I just said that I watched her leave,"
"Great!" I say sarcastically, putting my hands to my head, "She could be anywhere in Morganville, or out of Morganville by now,"
That's when I heard a sucking sound. It was faint, and I realised that Shane and Eve probably couldn't hear it. I held one finger up to them, shushing them both. They started listening out for whatever I could hear, giving each other confused glances. I started heading towards the direction that the sound was coming from, Eve and Shane following close behind. I led us into a dark alley. It was nearly pitch black, but I could see a moving figure in the distance. That's when I moved, and the motion sensor lights came on, illuminating the horror in front of me.
Turns out Claire wasn't far away. In fact, she was right in front of us, draining the life out of a young girl.