A/N: Just quickly like to say, thankyou to all my lovely reviewers! You guys give me motivation!!! In case anybody was wondering, whenever Mick talks to the kidnapper, their voice is always distorted (by one of those electronical distortion devices) Oh and please feel free to take a guess in your review as to who the mystery kidnapper is...it could be anyone. Please enjoy!

Part VIII

Mick and Josef stood on a small hill, overlooking the magnificent landscape. People were everywhere, on sailing boats, fishing, swimming, having a picnic, there was even the occasional tourist taking photos of the river.

"Brings back memories doesn't it?" Josef asked as he looked towards a group of six women, three were sunbaking, one was on the phone and two were swimming

Mick noticed this and replied "You mean your memories", shaking his head.

"You always spoiled my fun" answered Josef in fake sadness. His eyes were still scanning the women by the shores of the snake like river.

"Where to now? This is the river…" Josef trailed off as one of the women unfastened her bikini and lay down on her orange towel.

"We should split up and search the area, keep a sharp eye out, he's already murdered three women-"

At the word "women" Josef mumbled something incoherently along the lines of "Filthy…bastard, killing three innocent women, some people can only be referred to as the scum of the earth, or rather the bacteria the scum feeds off at the bottom of some abandoned pond"

"That's enough Josef, as I was saying he's already murdered three people, so just watch out for anything you might find suspicious" Mick finished.

Mick walked through the neighbouring woods while Josef searched the other side of the river. Mick scanned the trees for anything strange or out of the ordinary, the blinding sunlight shone through the gaps amongst the trees and caused Mick to instinctively flinch whenever it shone upon him. He was wearing his long black knee-length coat, his navy cap and his favorite black- tinted sunglasses. Mick's eyes scanned the surroundings, trees, trees, bushes and more trees. He closed his eyes and let his vamp senses take over. Mick began to walk, guided only by his senses, he stepped over fallen branches, roots and boulders with ease, it was as though his surroundings had been photgraphed and were now playing in his mind. After a few minutes, Mick came to a halt infront of something hard and rough, he lifted his hand to the strange surface and let his fingers glide over it, feeling the texture. Mick opened his eyes and realised what he was standing in front of.

Mick stepped back, the large egg- shaped boulder was huge, moss of every shade of green covered the surface, only small areas of the rock remained uncovered in which the true dark grey colour of the rock became visible. Another similar shaped rock stood a few metres away, covered in moss the same shade of green. Balancing on top of the two boulders, was a large, thick piece of slate. Vines hung from the flat rock, which acted as a roof. Wild flowers grew on the outside surface of the rock, almost making it invisible. Mick took a step forward and entered the cave.

This must have formed decades ago, the thick piece of slate must have slid on top of those boulders during one of the numerous landslides in this area.

The inside of the cave was cold, wet and damp, Mick removed his cap and sunglasses and shoved them in his coat pocket. The cave only lead one direction, and Mick followed the trail. Mick inhaled through his nose, and instantly picked up the scent of a human being, the human was here just a few hours ago. Mick continued forward deep into the cave, and ten minutes later he found himself at a dead end. Carved into the stone on one of the walls was a message, Mick's eyes turned ice blue, he crouched down and read the message:

Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack jump over
the candlestick

Mick sensed danger and whipped around, a sharp blade had swung down from somewhere overhead, Mick crouched down as low as he could and evaded the deadly blade. The ground below Micks feet cracked in two and two circular blades made themselves visible. The blades rotated, and threatened to tear Mick to shreds. He looked up and noticed a thick piece of vine, which had attactched itself to the roof of the cave and jumped up to grab it. Mick moved along the vine, and every inch he moved forward, new blades emerged from their hiding positions. Beads of sweat formed on Mick's forehead as he moved carefully across the vine.

The entire passage that Mick had used to enter the cave was now covered in rotating blades.

This whole place must be booby-trapped; he was the human scent I detected here a few hours ago. The scent though, it seems strangely familiar, like I definitely know this person, as though I have seen them.

Mick could see the opening to the cave now, however the vine finished and he was forced to drop back to the ground. Mick carefully advanced forward, with each step he scanned his surroundings, making sure there was no more danger to avoid. Mick had almost reached the end of the cave, the bright light shining into his eyes, he pulled out his cap and sunglasses and put them back on. He wrapped his coat tighter around himself when he stepped on something strange. Something fastened itself tightly around Mick's ankle and forced him to hang upside down from the ceiling. His cap fell from his head and hit the ground with a soft thud.

Mick struggled upside down, twisting and turning his body in a desperate attempt to break free, whatever was tied around his ankle was so tight, it had cut off all circulation to that part of his body. Running out of ideas and time, Mick swung back and forth, until he managed to become level with his ankle, Mick leaned forward, his fangs extended and he managed to bite the thick strap around his ankle. The strap cut neatly in two and Mick landed on his feet. Mick then turned on his heel and picked up his cap and walked forward, the golden light stinging his eyes, his pupils constricted, his iris' turned their normal shade or cerulean blue and his fangs contracted.

What a waste of precious time.

Mick emerged from the dark cave and headed back to where he and Josef agreed to meet back at. As he walked Mick felt the urge to turn around and take one last glance at the rock on the side of the cave entrance. Annoyed, Mick turned on his heel and briefly glanced over at the boulder, he noticed something glitter in the sunlight. Mick walked back to the large rock and examined the shimmering substance, he brought up an index finger and touched the substance. He then brought it up to his nose.

Blood. Fresh blood. Just a few hours old, it's probbably his, but wait, there's oestrogen in the blood, meaning it's blood from a female…Beth!

Mick looked around, searching for anything else the kidnapper may have left behind, but found nothing. Mick turned on his heel and headed back the the river when he heard the distinct sound of bells chime. Mick turned on the spot, looking around for the source of the sound. Towering over the surrounding buildings was a high tower. The tall, thin tower looked antique, it's four walls were covered in sculptures of angels, and scenes from the bible. The high tower seemed to touch the sky, one of the walls of the heavenly building, the wall that overlook the serpentine river had a large clock, it's face was decorated in an elaborate design, it's numbers were written in roman numerals. From afar, and no doubt up close, the clock tower was truly stunning. Mick glanced down at his watch.

We're not due to meet up for another hour, it's strange, it's like an invisible thread is pulling me towards it, like it's calling to me.