Sorry again for the delay. Just read the new chapter from The Reckoning, and let's give a huge thanks to Kelley A. for the early book release! :D YAY!

Anyway, hope you like this chapter! Enjoy and don't forget to review! You guys inspire me so much! A big hug to all my readers! I heart you guys!

~ Sarah H.

Will was steady now, but Derek was getting light-headed from all the bleeding; I could tell. Well, anyone could; he kept steering away from the road, his bright eyes drooping slowly. I begged him to stop and rest, but he kept brushing it off, saying that he would heal quick, "It's nothing, Chloe." he would say, "Plus we need to get far enough so that they won't be able to trace us." I eventually sighed and gave up. It was mostly a waste of anyone's time to argue with Derek. He almost always had his way.

I didn't turn away from Derek though; I kept my eye on him, just in case. I couldn't help but feel electrified, delightfully, when he looked back at me and smiled. And, if I looked close enough, I could see the slightest hint of a blush on his face. At those times, I would just forget everything around me, and see him, only him, as if he was the only one who my eyes wanted to see.

This is ridiculous, you've only known him for a month, give or take.

It doesn't matter, I replied back.

Did you forget about Simon? What would he do if he found out that you fell for his brother?

He won't care... much.

Plus Derek probably only thinks of you as a good friend.

I couldn't argue with that. He never said he loved me. Maybe I was just taking this too far. Maybe being stuck in this mess just made me want to be loved. Maybe. And yet...

I pushed that thought aside for later. Other things mattered more now than my non-existent love life.

I sighed and tried to think of something useful to do. Well, it was probably a good time to get caught up with Will.

"Will, this might be a good time to, uh,"

"Explain?" he said, rising his brow.

"Yeah,"

Derek straightened, "You brought this guy without knowing anything about him?" he said harshly.

"Derek.." I growled. Now wasn't the time the judge. And I trusted Will. Right?

Do you? my inner voice said.

Yes, I said to myself, surer of my answer, I did.

"That's right, Derek, play nice. You can trust me." Will teased.

"Yeah well, uh, William, right?"

He shuddered,"Will, Willy, Werido Vamp guy, whatever. Just. Not. William. Too grossly formal." he said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Uh, right. Whatever. So, why should we trust you? Out of my better sense, I should just kick you to the curb this instance."

"Well, wolf boy," Derek growled at the name, "I just helped saved your sorry ass. And frankly, if I'm not mistaken, I don't think mistrusted people do that kinda thing."

Derek shrugged, "Better safe than sorry." he said simply, slowing the van down.

"Derek, stop being an ass. Will was a human, but captured by Ed Group and made into a vampire."

His eyes widened, and he looked at Will, "Tell us what you know." he said.

"Not with that attitude, no,"

Derek stopped the car, "Tell us what you know." he snarled.

"Fine, sheesh, can't a guy joke?" he paused, "Okay, long story? Or short and sweet?" he asked.

"Long." Derek and I said at the same time. The more details the better. I maneuvered into a more comfortable position, bracing myself for the long story.

"So I was just pickin' up my little sister from daycare on some weekend," Will started, "when this dude comes up and starts messing with me, asks us if want a ride. Yeah right, I'm not that dumb. So I pick a fight, and he stabs us with some needle. I passed out. Woke up a day later. I look around and I'm suddenly in some lab thing, tied down to a bed with chains. But I didn't feel right. I felt thirsty. Really thirsty." he paused again, and Derek and I didn't say anything.

He continued not so long after, "It was horrible. Like my whole body was dried up. I guess someone realized by then that I had waken up, 'cause a guy in a lab coat came running in. It only made the thirst worse. I needed his blood. I never wanted anything so much in my life. I found myself breaking the chains that tied me down and... I...," he hesitated for a second, "I killed him." he sighed and looked out the window. I turned my head to face Derek, who looked like he was about to say something. I elbowed him, signaling to for him to shut up and let Will continue. He nodded the slightest.

It was awkward in the silence, but, then again, it was brief.

"Yeah, so after that mess was cleaned up, and I calmed down, they told us of about project of their's; they called it Project Xavier. We were apparently the test subjects, all innocent humans, minding their own business, when their lives suddenly change when some creeps come out from nowhere and kidnap us. My sister was scared out of her mind. And after a month of staying at the facility, she went crazy. Mad. They locked her up. And thats when me and the other members decided to break out.

We all did our part, eight of us in all, not including my sister. We snuck into the computers, searched for files and eavesdropped on the scientists' conversations. And, man, let me tell you, what we found was some interesting shit."

"The Red-eyes?" Derek asked.

"Huh?" I said. What were the red eyes?

Derek looked at me, "My dad told me the story; the history of vampires."

"You know the story?" Will asked.

"Hell yeah."

"Edison Group found the venom."

"No way! How? Where?"

" In Northern Canada,"

I cut in before they got too deep into the conversation."Uh, does anyone mind explaining?"

Derek and Will suddenly started at the same time. I scrunched up my face in confusion. They both sighed.

"You go," Derek said, "You probably know more about it than me,"

"Well, I dunno, but I'll say what I found," he took a deep breath, "Well, no one knows when exactly, but a long time ago, a vampire emerged from the ground. No one knows where he came from, but when he, Xavier, found out how weak the other species, humans, could be, he took advantage. He became a Ruler. Everyone in the area feared him. They called him a Red-eye, for well, the reason is obvious. So, he tortured and killed humans for pleasure. People got sick of it, so they turned against Xavier, the Red-eye, and fought him.

They didn't win, of course, but rather, Xavier discovered the power of his venom. From the venom of one vampire, another could be born. Again, he took that as another advantage. He created armies, of thousands of vampires, and together, they took over. "

And that's were the werewolves came in. They were the only supernatural race that were strong enough to take them down. It was said that other races helped as well, but the werewolves were the main fighters. The Packs in the area united and fought Xavier and his Red-eyes, and after three years of war and turmoil, the Red-eyes were destroyed, forever.

But Xavier left something behind, just incase. He warned the people that his race would return. He left his venom, and hid it in a secret place. Edison Group found that venom, strengthened it, and injected it into humans for study. I was the strongest of the subjects, so they picked me to break out and get help. So here I am."

"But that still doesn't explain how you knew about the Genesis Project." I said.

"We got information on some other projects too. Edison Group is trying to get a handle on the Genesis experiment, so it had the most talk, "

I sat back into my seat, trying to take in everything Will said. We had a much, much bigger problem. And I didn't know how we could fix it.

"We need to break the rest of them out." I said. "We need to break everyone out; all of Ed Group's subjects."

Derek nodded, "Yeah, but now we know that's there are branches, possibly all over the country. How are we gonna stop all of them?"

"Easy," Will said, "We break the subjects out, going from one facility to the next, and declare war. We're much stronger than them, so we'll win, and bam! The supernaturals all live happily ever after!"

Derek and I glared at him. "This is not a fairytale, Will." Derek said bleakly.

"But it's still a good a idea, so to speak." I added.

Derek looked at me," Are you forgetting that most of the scientists are supernaturals too, who actually have experience? And are all full grown?"

"Do you see a better plan?" Will and I said at the same time.

Derek sighed, "Let's just focus on phase one, okay? We'll get Simon, Tori and Rae, and take it from there. Agreed?"

Well, he had a point. Again. "Agreed." I said. "Will?"

"Yeah, whatever. Agreed."

"Good," Derek said, "Chloe, you still got that map?"

"Yeah, it's my ba-" Wait, where was my bag? I spun and looked around the van. Oh crap, I left it in the Pack's cave.

"Dammit! I left it in the cave! Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I punched the door with each curse. I had money and the map in there. And food.

Derek sighed, "I still have some left over cash in my pocket. We can get a map and some food. But as far as gas goes..."

"No need for a map. I've got one hardwired in my brain."

Derek starred at him for a while, "Huh?"

"Let's just say vampires are good with directions." I said. I spun and looked at Will ,"Can you take us to Rochester?"

"Yup." Will said as he started to get out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked in annoyance. He apparently didn't like this guy.

"Driver's seat. Get out of there wolf boy."

"Excuse me? I'm dr-"

"Derek," I growled. Derek turn back to look at me and sighed deeply.

"Fine, but if you take us anywhere that's not the grocery store or Rochester, I'll beat the living crap-"

"Yeah yeah, sure." Will said, brushing it off. But I heard the hurt in his voice. Derek jumped out of the car and into the back seat. Will slid into Derek's place and winked at me. I snorted, and he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Derek asked disgruntled.

"Nothing," Will said, hiding a smile, as he started the engine.

It was when we barely reached two miles when I gasped suddenly and fell back into my seat.

"Chloe!" Derek yelled from the back. Will accidentally sped up in surprise and turned to the side of the highway, braking just before we hit a tree.

I was breathing hard, but I didn't know why. There was plenty air. My heart beat fast and my head spun. What was happening?

"Chloe? Chloe! Are you okay? What happened?"

"I- I ca- can't brea-" I sputtered.

Derek jumped out of the car. "Get her into the back seat!" Derek shouted over to Will.

Will got out of the car and yanked open my door, almost breaking it off. He grabbed me and slid me into the back seat. I yelled in pain. Derek slid in next to me and put my head in his lap. I gasped and fought for breath. Derek held me closer.

"C-Chloe, I think you might be Changing-"

"Wha-!"

"Shh. It's going to be okay," He said softly. But his soft words weren't calming me down. I could hear the fear in his voice.

I started to cough up blood. Crimson splattered on my shirt and on Derek's jeans, staining them with it's ominous color. Red tears streaked down my cheeks and yelled in pain. Derek stroked my hair continuously, murmuring things I couldn't understand. I felt him shaking underneath me.

"Will, we need to get her help! Something's not right! It's not right!" I heard him yell distantly. My body started to feel numb. Derek squeezed my hand tightly.

"It's okay." He whispered, but I knew it wasn't. Something wasn't right. " I'm gonna be here like you were for me. I promise."

Finally, Derek couldn't take it anymore. He took off his jacket, draped it over me, and swept me into his arms. He got out of the car, me clinging to him tightly not that that was necessary; he was already holding me close. The cold wind stung my face. White powder was falling from the sky. Snow?

"Will! We need help!"

"I know! But even if I could, the chances of help being a supernatural is pretty much hopeless!" Will yelled in frustration.

"I don't care!" Derek retorted. "Get help!"

"I can't!"

My body felt like it was fading. Like... it was disappearing. I took a deep breath, but I felt no air rush into my lungs.

"Wait!" Will said, "Look at Chloe!"

A blurred image of Derek flashed before my eyes. "Chloe?" he said, his voice fading rapidly.

I saw his face turn to Will. "Where's Chloe?!"