Chapter Six

Natalie had to admit that the shower she took was absolutely the best shower she had had in forever. She had stayed in till the water went cold and her aching body had needed it. She tried not to seem annoyed that Vange had come in and interrupted their conversation but who was she kidding, she was quite annoyed not that she should even care but still. The woman was rude and she didn't like her.

The place wasn't half bad if it wasn't for the military style of life and the fact that they were working side by side with monsters. She laughed at the thought of staying there, she was a free spirit and free spirits needed to roam on their own. Thats how she always had it and thats how it would always be.

After getting dressed and convincing herself she would stay one more night, just enough time to get her mind and body back in working order, she had headed back to her bedroom where once again it was empty and quiet.

She took the opportunity to go through her dresser drawers where she saw numerous yoga pants, tank tops and t shirts She quickly pulled her hair into a pony tail and went in search of food, it was nearly lunch time and she was starved..

The hallway was quiet as she walked and glanced into the empty rooms, wondering where everyone had gone. She followed down another corridor where she heard the faint sound of music, she was sure it was some classical piece, maybe Mozart. She couldn't help but continue to walk towards it and see who or what was listening to it.

The sound got louder as she stopped by a door that was cracked open some and what she saw completely surprised her because in the room stood Cris with a large easel and paper on it as he painted. She watched for a few minutes in amazement. He was really good.

"You could get a better view if you came in" Cris said surprisingly as she jumped some and he turned and looked at her. Speckles of paint on his arms and shirt.. He was an attractive man, one she could envision on a GQ magazine, a pretty boy but without the attitude to go with it. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy..

Natalie pushed the door open some as he glanced at her, a paint brush in his hand..It was then that she noticed all the paintings all over the room, the walls were covered with them, all of them a beautiful masterpiece.."wow, did you paint all of these" she asked in awe as she looked at the walls..

"You gotta see beauty somewhere in the world, right" he shrugged his shoulders at her as she walked up to one of the walls and stared at a painting of a lake. There was a big bright moon reflecting on it and stars as well.. In the distance was a small log cabin.."it's a great place to visit, up in Michigan" he smiled as he walked over to her..

"these are amazing, I mean you should sell these" she said as she looked at another picture..

"yeah once upon a time, now I just do it to keep me sane, like an outlet" he said honestly.

"yeah well its one hell of an outlet, I can barely color inside the lines" she shook her head as she looked at another painting..

"its not hard you know, come here let me show you something" he said as he walked back across the room and over to the easel where he removed the painting and put a blank paper up on it..

"you want me to?" she began with a shake of her head..

"Come on, its relaxing" he said as he waved her over..

"yeah I don't see how that would be" she began as he rolled his eyes and walked back over to her..

"you don't know unless you try" he smirked..

"Yeah well I'm not creative" she said quickly..

"Just take the paint brush and see where it takes you" he held out the brush in his hand to her..

"alright but I warn you it wont be pretty and I'm basically sure you will be ruining a good piece of paper" she said with a shake of her head as she grabbed the paint brush and walked over to the blank page and stared at it..

"just go at it, before you know it you will have a master piece of your own" he grinned..

"yeah I doubt that" she said as she drew a quick line onto the paper.."see? Horrible"

"Your not even trying" he rolled his eyes playfully at her.."watch and learn" he said as he came up next to her and put his hand around hers and moved the paint brush across the paper and smiled.."see, now your an artist" he smiled..

John had overheard the voices as he came down the hall and he stopped at the door to Cris's room as he peered inside.. He saw her, Natalie. She was standing there with a paint brush in her hand, she looked happy. Something inside him turned a bit as he watched Cris move intimately close to her and put his hand on hers. He felt something he wasn't expecting, something he hadn't felt in years, was it jealousy?

"nothing like a peeping tom to start off the day right" Steele said as he walked up to John who visibly jumped and spun around..Before he could speak Steele did.."Oh don't deny it man, I saw it clear as day" he smirked proudly..

"You saw nothing" John said as he moved away from the door.."aren't you suppose to be out there recruiting"

"oh don't change the subject man, you should go say Hi to the hot little red head" Steele laughed as the door opened all the way now and Cris stood there looking at them..

"something up guys?" Cris asked..

"No" John said with agitation as he began to walk away..

"apparently not" Steele shrugged his shoulders and then grinned at Natalie who stood across the room with a paint brush in her hand.."How ya doing darling?" he waved at her as she swallowed hard.."You kids have fun" he said as he walked away and Natalie quickly looked at the paper in front of her..

Cris shook his head as he spun from the door and looked at Natalie."you hungry?"

"Oh um.." Natalie suddenly got curious as to what had been going on in the hallway, she hadn't seen John but she was pretty sure she had heard his voice and that Steele guy had a weird smirk on his face, it made her uncomfortable as if she was some butt of a joke that she wasn't aware of..

"come you gotta be, today was one hell of a work out and I can make a mean grilled cheese" he grinned..

"well since you put it that way I am a little hungry" she said as she put the brush down.."by the way what was that all about in the hall"

"I don't know, John and Steele are always a bit strange" he laughed a little..

"yeah no kidding" Natalie said honestly as she walked over to the door and they both headed out..

John got to his room and inhaled deep. He didn't like the feeling he had in his chest, it wasn't normal for him, if anything it freaked him out a bit..

"so?" Steele said as he stood by the door and John exhaled deep..

"anyone every tell you that you can be a real pain in the ass" John said as he walked over to his bed and sat on it..

"and? You say that like its a bad thing" Steele smirked.."so spill, you like the girl"

"Jesus man, you've got a wild imagination" John got up now and walked across the room..

"Oh come on were not five" Steele laughed.."she's hot" he smiled now..

"I wouldn't know ive been too busy trying to train her to not get us all killed" John said sarcastically..

Steele rolled his eyes.."Man you got it bad"

"Hows the recruiting going" John quickly changed the subject as Steele ran his hand through his long hair..

"alright I will play along" he grinned.."recruiting sucks" he said honestly..

"yeah well if you could get more of your brothers and sisters on our side" John said quickly..

"you say that like its easy, you know right now I am the enemy to them" Steele said honestly..

"yeah well we could use them, this shit is getting harder every day" John said quickly..

"you don't need to tell me, those fuckers are getting better all the time, more advanced" Steele added quickly.."we should go on a hunt together, I need something to focus on and by the looks of it so do you".

John was half tempted to interject with some snide remark but he held it back.."You know what we should, after the last hunt I could really blow off some steam"

"Now thats more like it, meet you in 30" Steele said as he left the room and John exhaled deep again. He needed to keep his head in the game and he didn't need distractions and thats exactly what Natalie was, a distraction and a dangerous one.

Cris wasn't kidding when he said he could make a mean grilled cheese. Natalie savored bite after bite of the cheesy goodness.. "this tastes wonderful" she said as she ate his sandwich..

"well what can I say I have a knack for cooking" he smirked..

"and painting, seriously you should think of putting them up on display" she said honestly as she continued to eat..

"nah, I just do it for me, I wouldn't want everyone else looking at them" Cris said honestly..

"well thats a shame because they are great pieces" she said quickly as she finished off her last bite.. Before he could say anything in return John entered the kitchen and quickly looked at them as they sat at the kitchen island and then he went to the fridge and began grabbing out bottles of water..

Natalie immediately felt a weird tension, one she didn't quite understand as John began to put bottles of water into a bag..

"thirsty?" Cris smirked as John looked at him quick. He didn't look to be in a joking mood..

"I'm going on a hunt" he said dryly as Natalie perked up some..

"you are? I'm in" she said quickly as she stood now and Cris looked at her a bit shocked..

"Natalie I don't think" Cris began quickly..

"i want in" she said abruptly as she walked over to John..

"You should listen to your boy, this isn't for rookies" he said coldly and she was taken back by his tone especially after the way they had talked earlier in the day..

"Rookie? Ive been out on the streets for years" she said defensively..

John let out a half laugh as he shook his head..

"whats that for? Why cant I go" she put her hands on her hips..

"Natalie come lets just" Cris continued..

She ignored him as she looked at John.."I'm sorry do I stutter, I said no" John spun from her as she huffed now..

"Just let it be Natalie, you need more time to heal, more time to train" Cris began but Natalie quickly stormed out of the kitchen and after John as he got into the hallway..

"Your not going, end of story" John snapped at her as he spun around and she nearly banged right into him..

"give me one damn good reason, im good out there, better then I am here" she said angrily..John ignored her as he walked over to Steele who was coming down the hallway..

"You ready bro?" Steele called out and John shook his head as he kept walking, not even looking back at her..

"its not worth getting upset about, there are plenty of hunts to go on" Cris said as he came into the hallway..

"I belong out there" Natalie snapped angrily as she stormed down the hall and Cris just watched her..

John and Steele made it to the large SUV as Steele got into the drivers seat.."Everything ok back there?" he asked..

John kept his face stoic.."yeah, lets go" he said as he bit his tongue and Steele revved the engine and then took off..

Natalie watched by the window as they took off. She was fuming pissed..

"Oh hey there you are sis" Rex said as he came over to her and then immediately saw the look on her face.."whats wrong?" he asked with concern..

"I cant stay cooped up in this place another day" she snapped as she spun around..

"we've only been here two days, not even really" Rex said with a shake of his head..

"yeah well it feels like an eternity" Natalie stormed past him..

"Nat, wait...hold up" Rex said as he went after her..

"No...don't Rex, ok...this place has me on edge, I need to be out there, I need to be doing something" she said with a huff as she stormed up the stairs and to her room..

"your sister is like a switch, hot and then cold" Cris said as he came over scratching his head as Rex sighed heavily..

"yeah try living with her for years on the road" Rex said as he walked past Cris and down the hall..

Natalie stormed all the way to her bedroom and was instantly annoyed when she heard laughter coming from it. She just wanted to be alone but that wasn't about to happen..

"Oh hey Nat, you totally kicked ass today" Ariana said with a grin..

"it was super cool, where did you learn all of those moves" Kelly smiled..

Apparently Marcy was the only one to see that she wasn't in the mood as she walked over to her bed.."hey you ok?" Marcy asked..

"No im not" Natalie sat on the bed and inhaled deep.."don't you get tired of being stuck in this place, don't you guys want to be out there" she said as she looked at them..

"I'm actually quite fine with being here, its nice" Marcy said with a shrug of her shoulders..

"yeah well I want to be out there, I want to make a difference" Natalie said with a heavy sigh..

"I hear ya, I get antsy too but you know the rules, everything has to go through Bo" Ariana sighed as well..

"Kind of unfair though huh, how the guys get to always just come and go whenever they please" Kelly added..

"and why is that? I mean were just as smart and we can all kick some major ass" Natalie said as she stood now..

"well because its dangerous out there" Marcy said quietly as they all looked at her.."what? It is"

"I just cant do it, I will go crazy" Natalie said as she walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer and pulled out her knife and looked at it..

"Natalie, what are you thinking" Marcy said with concern..

"im thinking its about time things change around here" Natalie said as she walked to the door..

"Your not really thinking of going out there alone, are you" Marcy said as Natalie turned and looked at them..

"well damn it, im in" Ariana said as she quickly went under her pillow and pulled out a 9mm gun..

"guys this is not good, Bo will be pissed" Marcy tried to be the voice of reason..

"thats only if we get caught, im in" Kelly said quickly as she too grabbed a gun from her bed..

"You wanna come" Natalie said to Marcy..

"I don't think any of us should go, we'd be caught on site, Bo has this place on lock down" Marcy said with worry..

"I know a exit in the back" Ariana smiled..

Now Natalie smiled some.."lead the way"

"come on you guys this isn't cool" Marcy continued but the girls were leaving as she stood there completely conflicted as to what to do..