Moon Stalkers

Chapter 13: Snow

Here's another update! Hope you guys enjoy this and your Thanksgiving!

I sighed softly as I walked around the house once more, my eyes lingering over the white walls and sot champagne carpet. My eyes shut softly and I lean against the wall in Alfred and I's room, breathing softly. We were all ready to leave, but I was walking through the house again. It had been my home for the past few weeks, and it was where, I could without doubt, say I fell in love with Alfred.

Sure, the boy was a dolt… but he was sweet and at the same time, quirky. He was trying to make me forgive him, love him. He seemed to understand that I needed time and he gave it to me. Hell, he was willing to let his whole country go to hell for me. He understood and cared for me.

Suddenly, my mind went to when the group returned from checking the perimeter. They had all returned, thankfully, in one piece, although some of them were a bit torn up and bloody. I frowned as I thought about it, one of them was so shaken up about the whole situation, and he almost passed out… which one was it? I sighed and shook my head, letting it go. He stayed in his room most of the time so I never got to know his name.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I opened my eyes and saw dark brown ones watching me from down the hall, it was the guy I was trying to remember. I stared for a moment and then offered a small and nervous smile. "Are we leaving?" I asked.

The other nodded, eyes staring before he took a soft sigh. "Yes, we are Arthur." He then turned and before he went down the stairs he muttered, "Kao Wang, by the way."

I blushed and then stared after him curiously, wondering how he knew I was wondering what his name was. However, a moment later I was walking down the stairs to meet with the others. I nearly flinched at how empty the living area was. They were all waiting on me I guess.

I then saw one of the stones from the fireplace was out, most of them gone. I frowned and was curious as to why they were gone, but before I could even consider asking Alfred, I heard shouting from Lovino to hurry up. My thick eyebrows furrowed and I grabbed the multi-facet stone on the floor, shoving it into the pair of brown slacks I was wearing before running out.

I shivered in the cold and was grateful for the light green sweater I was wearing on top of a white dress shirt and cream sweater vest. I then saw Alfred there by the truck, waiting on me while the others were waiting in the back of the truck.

See the truck was a moving truck and all, so the front only held two people, three of somebody was particularly small. Since the side metal was very thin, the others simply ripped small holes and squares into the side, and it looked odd. I quirked an eye, but figured there was a reason.

I then jogged over to where Alfred was. He was wearing a pair of heavy duty jeans, a plain white T-shirt and some boots. He glanced at me and flashed me a brief smile and then looked back at Antonio. "Remember, this is all we have so use them only when needed. Be careful." He said. Antonio nodded and looked at Kao who looked very attentive and then returned the look.

Alfred then turned around and grabbed my arm, firmly but gently, and we were walking to the front of the truck. I blink as Alfred walked us to the front and he stared at me for a moment before pressing his forehead to mine. He sighed softly and close his eyes. "We are going to be okay… We are going to be okay Arthur." He muttered, obviously distressed.

I closed my eyes and reached up, gently cupping his face and kissing him. He nearly started in surprise, but I wasn't having none of it, so I held him to me. A few moments later I let him go and look at him, my green eyes calm. "Alfred." I said while he stared at me, eyes filled with distress and turmoil. "Calm down, okay? We are going to be fine, and he isn't going to get me." I told him.

He exhaled softly, and closed his eyes, kissing my forehead. "Yeah, sorry." He said and then pulled back. "Just… I'm worried." I laughed a bit and nodded, stepping back and then to the truck.

"I noticed… but we have to go Alfred." I said. In return, Alfred rolled his eyes and slid in the truck after me.

"I know." He said and then started the truck. The others jumped in the back and in front of the holes.

In moments we were driving away from the house and on the road. I was worried about the roads being so frozen it would be hard to drive, but as the snow came up it began to melt and I was reminded about Antonio's ability.

We drove for hours, the road got dark and I found it hard to see, but the headlights and comfort that Alfred could see despite the dark was comforting. The city we were going to was still a long ways off, about another 6 hours.

Suddenly, I heard a scream from my right and I saw clothes on fire. I was startled, so I watched the fiery being as the flames spread and built into an inferno before dying as the being turned to ash. In seconds, two red hot orbs were flying through the dark and connected with another object nearly 50 feet away. It was then I realized what was happening. Antonio was setting them on fire through a stone… but who was throwing the stones?

"Kao had the ability to move things with his mind as well as read other peoples mind." Alfred said as he focused on driving. I frowned and realized that's how he knew what I was thinking about. I flinched hearing the sizzle of skin and more screams of the burning.

"So that's what the holes were for?" I asked.

Alfred smirked a bit and nodded. "Among other things…" He replied. I furrowed my brow as I heard snow shifting. I turned to see a wall of snow mounting before us, but not blocking the road, more like creating a barrier between the road and the plains before us.

"Lovino can move water and use it. Snow and ice is a bit more difficult, but not much." Alfred said. "Elizabeta can help with illusions, making people see something other than what is there. Mogens is able to manipulate the temperature around a person, or even as much where he can freeze and boil blood, and Sadiq's is my favorite." He said just as a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and shocked a person.

I blinked and chuckled a bit, amused as well. "I can see why. And can you do all of this?" I asked. Alfred merely laughed but didn't say much else.

They came in waves, and Antonio seemed to be reusing the stones to make sure there was enough in case something happened.

We were about four hours out from the city when the truck began to rock. Alfred's eyes narrowed and he shouted at Kao to straighten us out.

Almost instantly we leveled out, but then it rocked more violently. Alfred growled and sighed, seeming to realize who was doing this. We leveled out a bit, but never enough to be out of danger. I held onto the side of the door, bracing to have the truck turned over.

Suddenly Alfred shouted as I heard a rush of air from below. My eyes widened as Alfred muttered about a tire. I sighed and closed my eyes. "Alfred. Can Lovino patch it with ice?" I ask. In response, Alfred muttered about that and he fixed it. I breathed softly and closed my eyes.

"I will protect you Arthur." He said softly. I blinked softly and rubbed his thumb briefly.

"I know."

I must have fallen asleep, because when I came to conscience again, the truck was stopped and I was alone in the truck. My mind went from zero to sixty in only a minute, and I bolted up, eyes blinking quickly as I looked around. I then saw a large ring of ice around us all, nearly 15 feet high and covered us like a dome.

I then looked down and saw the others sitting in a circle, talking. Something had happened while I was sleeping.

I quietly stepped outside the truck and made my way to the group. I stood just on the edge, hesitated, and then sat in among the group. I needed to know what was happening and what we were going to do.

Antonio was speaking when I sat in and he didn't pause or bat an eye as I joined. "Alfred, we are stuck several miles from the city, at least an hour. We can't call for help and in the morning we will not be able to hold them off." He said.

Alfred had been sitting and looking at the boundary before he took off his glasses. "I know Toni." He started. Antonio looked unimpressed and was going to continue, but Alfred spoke before he even could. "What I suggest doing is sending our fastest to the city. It will be a hard run, but if you make it there fast enough, then we can have reinforcements." Alfred said, looking around the group.

Nobody moved but everybody stared at each other. Finally, Elizabeta stood up. "I'll do it. I'm one of the fastest and I can make it seem like I wasn't even there." She said. My eyes met hers and I gave her a look that was grateful and surprised, but respectful. She hummed lowly as Alfred spoke once more.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She said, reaching to her side and pulling out a blade. "And should something happen, I have this."

Alfred sighed and nodded. You could tell from his stance sending anybody out there was painful to him. He had known all of these people a very long time, and they were all like family. Without another moment wasted, she left and Lovino fixed the wall quickly.

It was silent for a minute. "Antonio, how many of the stones do you have left?" Alfred asked. Antonio gripped his pants, feeling.

"I have about 20 left." He answered swiftly. Alfred nodded and then closed his eyes, placing his glasses back on.

"Alright… Did any of you happen to bring blood?" Nobody stirred and Alfred sighed. "This is becoming an increasingly problematic situation."

"Problematic? There are almost 50 others out there Alfred." Mogens replied, not heated but merely stating.

"We conquered the world. We can deal with this." He said. Lovino snorted in response.

"We also had weapons and numbers. Now they are the ones with weapons, with numbers." Antonio added.

Alfred blinked and then sighed heavily before standing. "We can wait this out. Trust me." He said. Not another word was said as we sat there.

About thirty minutes later, we heard loud shouting from outside the wall of ice and then pounding. I glanced up at Alfred who was standing up. "It can't be helped. We have to fight then." He said. He removed his glasses and threw them on the floor. "Arthur. I need you to get in the truck and no matter what, don't come out."

I went to speak but his eyes flashed a dark bloody red. "I mean it." All protests died in my throat and I sighed.

"Fine. None of you… None of you die." I said, standing up strait. Before turning around, I heard more pounding and I ran to the truck. I got into the back with the holed, but found they had be filled with ice for protection. I shut the door and sat in the darkness, making sure to be in the center of the room in case something sharp came at any wall.

It wasn't long before a loud crash, supposedly Lovino had let the wall go and it hopefully crushed some people. I blinked in the darkness and lied down, listening to the sounds of fighting. There was not a lot of noise, no screaming or shouting. Just small shrieks and gasps every so often and the loud crashes of thunder, from Sadiq or the clashing I couldn't tell. Suddenly, all the noise stopped for almost a minute.

I blinked, estimating it hadn't been more than forty minutes since they all started fighting. I wanted to look out, see what was happening… but still. I sighed softly and waited. Suddenly, my hair stood on end as a loud and familiar scream filled the air. I nearly jumped in surprise as it dropped off and then started again.

"Alfred…" I whispered, standing up. I then heard snarling and flailing as the other tried to get to him, but they were put down and silence came again.

I put my hands to me ears and shut my eyes as he screamed again in pain. As it dropped off, a sickeningly sweet voice hit my ears from outside the truck, but at least fifty or more feet away. "You know Arthur, this is all your fault, right?"

I ground my teeth together and glared in the darkness. However, I didn't answer. "I know where you are Arthur. It's not that easy to trick me." Ivan spoke again, his voice sounding closer. I shivered softly, but he continued. "You see, I gave your boy here, Alfred, a choice. Do you know what the options were?"

I stayed silent, listening. "He had the option to change you, or kill you." A pause. "As far as I can tell, you haven't changed. You are still human. This means you must die now, but he hasn't done that either." A loud scream of rage filled the air and I shuddered. "See, you made Alfred soft. He is no longer fit to be king if he cannot even kill a puny little human, or even change them."

My fists shook in rage at the words. "He used to be great, powerful. I will give him that, a good king. Now…" Alfred screamed again. "He is almost useless as a leader. All because of you." He paused and could hear Alfred's ragged breathing. As another scream filled the air, Ivan spoke from just outside the van. "So, are you going to sit there like a coward and listen to him scream, even die, Arthur Kirkland?" I paused and bit my lips. "Like your family, who died because you didn't want to change? Like Alfred and your friends? Are you such a coward you can't come forth and die?" He taunted.

I wasn't going to move but Alfred screamed again, saying "Don't come out Arthur!" His voice was raw and hurt. I nibbled my lips and gave a shudder as he screamed again. I had to. Our- Alfred's friends had died for me… Alfred was going to if I didn't leave.

I shut my eyes. "Forgive me Alfred." I whispered and I pulled a rope to open the back of the truck.

Ivan was standing there, purple eyes gleaming in triumph. I didn't look at him for long and I looked past, seeing Alfred being held back by about 4 other people, staring at me in sadness and horror. "Arthur…" he whispered, no louder than a breeze before he started to struggle. "Arthur! Get back in the truck!" he shouted. I smiled at him sadly, before looking back at Ivan.

"You have to let him live Ivan." I said, my voice steady. The others violet pools glimmered, but there was a dark edge to it.

"If I don't?"

I smirked softly. "Well, we are expecting back up fairly soon, much sooner than it would take you all to leave. You will all be killed and hunted down for killing him." I reply. I yelped as a firm hand settled around my wrist, the hand cold as ice.

Time seemed to slow and I could see the snow fall, touching and being stained by red pools of blood on top of the snow. My eyes flitted back to see Alfred one last time, ignoring the blood that caked half of his face, the bruises on his cheeks and jaws, the swelling of his lips and jaw, and the blood that seemed to meld with his shirt. I just stared into his blue eyes, smiling. As I turned to Ivan, I heard Alfred shouting and cursing while Ivan leaned in. "Fine. I will leave him alive, but you must come peacefully." He said.

The world was still so slow, everything was in slow motion. I shut my eyes and breathed out. "Fine." I said.

Suddenly the world snapped back to its pace and went fast. There were hands at the back of my neck, squeezing softly and I snapped my eyes open, seeing only violet. "Good." The hands then quickly squeezed and I passed out, the last things I heard was Alfred screaming and the soft noise of thunder in the distance.

Alfred's Point of View

I screamed as knives and blades dipped in silver and holy water touched my skin, carving in and pressuring nerves in my eyes and face. I tried to keep it in at first, but it was repetitive.

My eyes snapped open as I heard Ivan talking to Arthur, trying to guilt him out. I grit my teeth and my eyes flashed a deep red. I was too weak at the moment to get away, but I pulled, strained, squirmed and kicked, all to get away and help Arthur as I screamed at him to stay where he is.

I fell limp as I heard the door open and saw him standing there, looking proud and firm. "Arthur…" I whispered, sound weak. My eyes flashed from blue to red then blue. "Arthur! Get back in the truck!" I shouted, hissing and snapping at the ones holding me.

I then saw Arthur stop to smile at me and speak to Ivan. My eyes went wide and I shouted, pulling and managing to move a bit, but then was pulled back by my hair. I hissed and watched helplessly. My eyes were now a deep blue as I watched them speak. "Arthur!" I shouted, willing him to run or something. I had to protect him. I had to.

As Ivan grabbed him, my nostrils flared in anger and I screamed, them cutting me again to stop moving. I didn't give pause in my efforts until Arthur stared at me, his smile soft and sad. My whole body froze, that was the same look.

My eyes shut and memories of Kiku's death filled me. They reopened red. I would not lose another one I loved. With a violent move, I pushed the one holding my right arm away and then punched the guy holding my left arm, smirking as I felt the bones in his face crack and break under my fist.

I then sunk my teeth into one of their faces, and scratched the others eyes. When they pulled away I stood up and turned to hit the one who had been holding my right arm, only getting his ribs and cracking them, but they healed quickly.

I spun around and held my fists up to throw a blow at another while I used my left to redirect another assailant into another before spin kicking another into the snow. My eyes flashed at Ivan who now had Arthur over his shoulder. My eyes went wide as I heard a chopper overhead.

I snarled angrily and ran towards him, disposing of any who got in my way. I wasn't going to lose Arthur. I wouldn't lose anybody else. I was the hero, and I would save him. I was jerked back by one of the newborns and I hissed, ripping their head off and running. It was taking too long, I wasn't going to make it.

I hissed and then shouted as one sank their fangs into my back. I turned and ripped them off, not killing them and ran to the chopper. I missed it by a hair and nearly sobbed as the helicopter left, purple eyes staring at me with smug triumph.

It was then I noticed the other vampires had left, they were there to buy time and now wouldn't stay around. I fell to my knees and saw my glasses out of the corner of my eyes. I sighed softly, my eyes turning blue, before standing up and grabbing my glasses. I placed them on and saw all my friends.

I couldn't stand losing anybody else, but I walked over to Antonio and touched his head with my fingers. I was surprised to see he was still alive… I glanced over and looked at Lovino, doing the same. After I checked all of them, I was surprised and grateful. They all were alive, just battered. I sighed and leaned against the van as I heard the sound of tires against the snow approach. They were only minutes too late.

Almost immediately I was surrounded by people, them all checking me. I waved them away with my hand, closing my eyes. "Get the others help and blood, I'll live but they need it or they won't." I told them.

Begrudgingly, they left and attended to the others while Elizabeta, who had returned with them, placed a hand on my shoulder. I stood still and looked at the sky. "Liz." I finally said on the ride home. "Ivan took Arthur…"

She hummed, watching me. "What do you think he is going to do?" She asked.

My fists clenched. "I wish I knew… I still think Ivan will kill him… but torture him first." I told her.

"Seems like Ivan…" She said. I held back a noise a breathed deeply.

"I'm going to find him… and I'm going to save him."

She touched behind my ear and pressed hard. "I know. But now, you have to worry about the rest of us for a minute, because you cannot get him alone. You need us all." She said, look disapproving. I blinked and rolled my eyes, chuckling softly.

"Right." I said. She shook her head and handed me a small bag of blood we kept around for emergencies.

"Now drink this you idiot and when we get back we start planning and finding him, got it?"

I nodded and did as she asked, looking out the window into the snowy sky. I was going to save Arthur. I would not fail, not again.

Happy Turkey Day everybody, and I might update tomorrow or Friday because I am so excited to see what you guys think of the next chapter. I love it. So if you see grammar errors, so sorry, really tried to self edit this time. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!