I tried to make the narration a little more "in the moment". I hope it's not too weird...

Start Chapter Thirteen: Hell's After-Party (Part One)

"Um, guys?" Mac squeaked. "Sarah's bleeding." Lucas and I jump, running over to him, effectively knocking our heads together. We hardly notice.

"Shit!"

"Fuck!" I unzip my jacket and tear it off as quickly as I can. "Where?"

"Her head," he answers weakly, lifting her towards us. Sure enough, the red, sticky substance was matting her chestnut hair, turning it crimson. Dale makes a gagging sound and mutters something about being sick. I try to find the source by wiping away as much of the blood as I can.

"Stop playin' with it an' just tie it 'round her head, for fuck's sake!" Dale orders from the other side of the room.

"Shut the fuck up, faggot!"

I smack Mac on the arm because he's closest. "Both of you shut it!" I whisper-shout. "The cops are still up there, and unless you fuckers want to spend the night in a jail cell, I suggest you keep it the fuck down!"

"Jennive. Language, please," Lucas insists, stealing the jacket from my hold.

"Fuck you." I want to be angrier with him, chances are he's the one telling people the two of us are an item. But right now, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little scared. At first, it was just going to be us against the police and me trying to lead these guys, mostly Lucas, away from the Sackville-Baggs. Now that blood's been added to the mix, I'm not really sure how to handle the situation anymore.

"This is really bad," Lucas mumbles glancing over at me. Any other night in this cemetery, he would have been my surefire enemy. But at this moment, I wasn't sure which side to be on. How well could Gregory fight his own instincts? Or any of the others for that matter?

"How bad?" Mac asks looking between the two of us. I pale turning to him. Somehow, we had to work together with half the group not knowing what was actually at stake.

"You have no idea," Lucas says, standing quickly. "Can you carry her?"

"Is she gonna die!?" Mac leaps up with Sarah in his arms. Holding her like a small child would their favorite toy.

"Shut up! Be careful!" I hiss, but was ignored.

"Is she gonna die, Lucas!?" Without thinking, I sock Mac in the arm and he nearly drops Sarah. I throw my hand over his mouth before he can yelp.

"Damn it, Mac, we're in a lot of trouble here. Sarah's hurt, the cops are looking for us, and I'm not entirely sure there's even a way to get out of this tomb alive. But you shouting like your goddamn ass is on fire isn't. Helping. Anyone. So lets just try to stay calm, and if any one of you starts screaming again," I let go of Mac, glaring at each of them. "So help me, I'm gonna beat the holy Hell out of all three of you."

Dale open his mouth, but after a quick glance at Lucas immediately shuts it. It bothers me that my threat wasn't enough. There isn't anything I can do about it though, so I just crouch down next to Mac and Sarah. We are quiet for some time, all of us watching Sarah's chest slowly rise and fall. She was depending on us and that was probably the only thing keeping us from killing each other. I watch McCashton gingerly tie my jacket around her head.

"It's the best I can do with what I have," he mumbles.

"That's what she said."

"Dale, I am literally going to murder you."

"Can we just focus on getting out of here?" Mac whines. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Right, an' how're we gonna be doin' that? Fly through the damn hole?"

I roll my eyes. "No, genius. There's gotta be a way to walk out."

"An' what makes you so sure 'bout that?"

"Well, they didn't magically end up here." Mac nods at the decaying bodies behind Dale's head. "Someone had to carry 'em."

Dale turns around and catapults a few feet into the air. "Jesus!" He cries.

I shush him before standing. "All we have to do is figure out which way." Glancing around, I realize there are three paths leading in different directions. "Um."

"Should we split up?" Mac asks Lucas.

"No way!" Dale answers for him. " 'aven't you ever seen a horror film?!"

"You're an idiot."

"Mac, believe me when I say that I hate to agree with him, but Dale's right. We don't have any idea what's down here," I lie. "Or how sturdy the walls are... or if we're breathing in poisonous gas... or if there's homicidal maniacs waiting to kill us, or rabid man-eating groundhogs, or—"

"Okay, okay!" Mac roars, snapping me out of the beginnings of a panic attack. "No splitting up, I get it! But how do we know which way to go?" The minions look to their master for answers. Lucas considers the both of them, then studies each of the corridors before turning to me.

"Any ideas, Jenny?"

"One: Stop calling me that."

He rolls his eyes. "Any others?"

The only thing I can think of is to follow my nose, like a wise old wizard once said, but the whole place reeks of dirt, dust, and death. I walk over to one of the possible exits and inhale. It isn't too bad, but it smells horribly stale and musty. Pulling out my phone, I turn on the flashlight app. Shining it into the hall, I try to keep the light as close to the ground as possible. Further down, large, crumbled pieces of rock are practically blocking the path. So probably not that way. I go to the next, take a sniff, and get a nose full of dust and rotted flesh. Not pleasant. This corridor didn't seem to have anything blocking it, but it was so dark that I could hardly see anything, even with the light. I pray it isn't this way. Moving towards the last of the three, I glance over at the boys. Lucas is watching me attentively, Dale is pacing back and forth mumbling, and Mac keeps looking down at the girl in his arms. Finally, I turn to the last entryway. Taking a deep whiff, I am surprised to find my nostrils filled with cool, fresh air.

"It's this way," I tell them before heading off. I hear their shoes scuffing against the floor trying to catch up.

"What makes you so sure this is the way out?" Dale asks.

"No one said you had to follow me."

"Can... can we walk a little slower?" Mac asks quietly. "I'm carryin' deadweight here."

"Just drop 'er, fer cryin' out loud!" I smack Dale hard on the side of his head and he cries out. Lucas hushes him.

"Be quiet. We're staying together until we're topside." Dale doesn't like this plan, but says nothing. I don't like it either, but there's no way I'm leaving Sarah behind and the other three are part of that deal.

To be honest, if Sarah were ablebodied, or totally out of the picture, I think I'd still stay with them. Not because I care, but because I don't think I could handle any more blood on my conscience. A picture of my mother sprauld out on the road flashes through my mind. I shiver before Dale grabs my hand, the one with the light, and swings it around wildly.

"What was that?!" He squeals, in full control of my arm. "I saw somethin' movin'! I swear, I did!"

I smack him again, pulling my hand away. "Shut up!" I stage-whisper. "The cops are still up there, you know!"

"B-But—"

"No buts! It was probably just a bat or something, anyway," I lie. "Let's keep moving."

"Try and keep your freak outs to a minimum, mate."

"Shut up, Mac."

"Quiet, both of you," Lucas demands. They dutifly obey. I roll my eyes, still keeping the phone light low. We go through several rooms and hallways, surrounded by the echoing of our own breath and footsteps. There are a few sounds that do not come from us. If I didn't know any better, I would think it was only rats scurrying around. The eyes in my mind only watch and judge, but I feel like I'm being studied. It's a small difference, but enough of one for me to confirm that we are not alone.

Surprisingly, it doesn't take us long to find a way out. Though it's not the kind of exit that would show up in a design plan, it'll do. A simple, unintended gap near the ceiling has a large pile of dirt, rubble, and even roots spilling from it. Through it, the wind gives a low howl and moonlight streams in gracefully, as do the police lights and radio chatter. I put away my phone and slowly begin to climb atop the debris to examine our exit. The hole is small, it will be a tight fit for all of us, and there is nothing to hide us from the cops once we crawl through. I tell them this and the boys look to Lucas, who is already thinking. He nods.

"Dale, you go first."

"Wha— ME!?" We all shush him. "Why me? Why not her?"

Lucas doesn't even flinch. "First and foremost, we need to get Sarah out of here. She's a liability to us all." No kidding. Mac is sitting with her in his lap, breathing heavily. I study the poor girl from upon the heap. The bleeding seems to have stopped, but has already stained my once blue jacket. I let my eyes travel around the room, searching for any sign of the vampires but find none. I am both grateful and displeased, because I can still feel them, at least one of them, observing us.

"Once you're out," Lucas continues, "we'll feed her through the hole and you'll pull her the rest of the way."

"And if they see me?"

"Then run," I answer. "They'll find her if she's half sticking out a hole." Dale complains a bit more, but Lucas and Mac bully him up the fallen debris. He eventually clambers out and the three of us carefully send Sarah after him. He pulls her all the way out, drops her, then runs off. We pause, wondering if he'd been seen. None of the cops look disterbed and I decide that on top of being a douche, Dale is also a selfish coward. Mac goes next. He has some trouble getting a grip, but Lucas and I help push him through. Quickly, he picks up Sarah and moves for the coverage of trees to our right. I duck just as a cop glances our way. I count to fifty in my head before letting myself peek out. The man is on his radio now. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Is it safe?" Lucas asks.

I shrug. "Guess we'll find out." I turn to him. "You first."

He stares at me. "Ladies first."

"Bite me. Move your ass." I can't help but scowl as he gives me a curious look, not moving.

"Why? Are you hiding something?"

I cross my arms. "It's no secret I don't trust you, asshole."

He glares at me and begins climbing. "Personally," he says passing me, "I think your trust is in the wrong place."

"I could say the same to you," I grumble, crawling out after him. "But I stay outta other people's business." He offers his hand to help me up. I ignore it, standing on my own.

He shakes his head. "You Americans are too stubborn. You get yourselves killed that way."

"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, telling us what we can and cannot do, usually ends up with us throwin' shit in your face and doing what we want anyway."

"Oh, well that's a bloody brilliant way to live!" Lucas takes a large step towards me. "Let's just break all the damn rules and do as we please! I'm sure nothing bad will come of it!"

"Fuck you! It's better than blindly following a bunch of dumb, stupid rules, without ever knowing—"

"HEY!" Both our heads snap to the new voice. The cop, the one who'd been on the radio, was rushing towards us. "You two! Stay where you are!"

But I'm already running blind through the trees. Their branches scratching and scrapping against my skin wherever they could manage. The adrenaline pours through my veins at an alarming rate, narrowing my sights and making it nearly impossible to hear anything outside myself. My shoes thunder against the earth, and just over the sound of my panicked breathing and heart beating, I can hear others around me. I cannot tell the difference between friend and foe by the sound of their feet, so I run from them all. It is impossible to see where I'm going in this darkness. My eyes are stinging and blurred, only making it worse. I'm so scared. I'm terrified, and I don't know why. My mind is spinning with thoughts of nothing and everything at frightening speed. I feel myself being strangled, but when I touch my neck there is nothing there. Still, I feel it clear as day. The same feeling is grabbing at my limbs, trying to pull me down. Trees slap me, their branches and twigs just as real.

All at once, my body falls forward. The Earth, I fear, has disappeared from under me. I scream, toppling head first down a hillside, before hitting cold, rushing water. My body is pierced with hundreds upon hundreds of knives and needles. My throat tightens and I feel my veins turn to ice. Through this, the water thrusts me along. I have no choice but to turn and tumble with the unrelenting tide. My lungs are burning and I force myself above the current. As I break the surface, my body automatically sucks for air, swallowing an unforeseen amount of water in the process. I choke and cough as I'm pulled back under. Kicking fiercely, I am torn between fighting the current and moving with it. Somehow, I'm on my back and able to breathe. The water is still cold, but I manage to wade closer to land. I grab at everything, rocks, gravel, roots. Eventually, I am pushed into a large rock. The current tries to pull me back but I am already halfway out. Once all of me is free, my body collapses upon the grass.

End Chapter Thirteen

Gonna be totally honest. I wrote, like, 3/4ths of this within 24 hours. Hope you liked it!