A great deal of trouble, Grace bitterly answered her own question as she looked up to the sky, which had coloured beautifully under the sinking sun, before allowing her eyes to settle back on the road.
It had been a sunny Friday morning when her phone had rung, and she had seen her cousin's name on it for the first time in two weeks. She had picked up with a bright smile. But then Hye Na had greeted her in Korean, and at that she knew something was wrong.
Hye Na's father was very big on their Korean heritage, and since Hye Na was very big on opposing her father, she made a point of never speaking Korean, even with her cousin. Except in two cases: when she was feeling particularly angry, which didn't seem to be the case, or when she wanted to make sure that no one else could understand what she was saying. Meaning that right now, the journalist had something to tell her that she didn't want overheard.
- "Hye na! Is everything OK?" she had inquired worriedly in the same language.
- "Jumping to the worst conclusions as usual, coz'… But in this case, it may be just right…" the journalist had answered in a hushed tone, confirming Grace's suspicions.
Hye Na had told her that most people having gone away from the church to undergo some kind of physical training the previous day, the church itself had been empty, an opportunity for her to "visit the amazing premises in peace" (which Grace understood as sneaking around places where she had no business). Apparently she had spotted the reverend, his wife and a big man who worked for them giving a tour of the church to a young couple that she didn't know, "although they hadn't seemed to notice her" (from which Grace inferred that she had hidden somewhere they couldn't see her).
She had just sneaked out of the church when she swore she could hear a noise that sounded very much like a girl yelling somewhere inside, but only for a short moment, and she couldn't tell where exactly. She had gone back inside, but no one was in sight. So she had waited outside the church's exit for them to come out. She had waited a long time. And when they finally had, only the reverend, his wife and the other man were there. Sarah Newlin had been on the verge of tears. When Hye Na had come back in, she had looked everywhere, but no one else was there. The only place she hadn't been able to check was the crypt, where the reverend's father was allegedly buried, since the entrance door was locked. She had tried to figure a way to open it, but had failed, hence her call to her cop of a cousin.
Grace had listened to the story with an increased frown. When Hye Na was done, she hadn't spoken for a while as she processed the information. Then she had asked quietly:
- "Do you think you might have missed them going out? Like, maybe, from another exit?"
- "Maybe…" Hye Na had answered slowly, sounding hesitant. She had remained silent for a second, but when she had spoken again, her voice was firm. "Look, Grace, I know that you believe them to be a bunch of lunatics. But I can assure you , they are dangerous. I've been there for two weeks, and I've seen how they train, with guns, and rifles, and knifes, and heavy silver chains, and stakes… I know you're a cop and you work with evidence, and I don't have any – but my guts tell me that there's something very wrong going on there." She paused, and as Grace didn't answer straight away, she added "And if you don't believe me, I'll find out myself." Resolve was clear in her voice, and Grace sighed.
- "All right. I'll see if I can take the afternoon off – pretend I have a family emergency." She said. That was, after all, rather close to the truth. "You can tell them at the church that you've shared with me how inspiring this whole experience has been for you until now, and that I want to see for myself."
That being agreed, Grace had gone to her supervisor, who had allowed her the afternoon off, before going to Davis to share the actual piece of information with him. After the humiliating confrontation from two weeks ago, she wasn't going to set a foot in there without telling him beforehand. Of course, he wasn't too pleased with the prospect. However, without a shred of evidence indicating a kidnapping - or worse - he couldn't possibly ask for a warrant to search the place. Neither could he stop her from going there, not as a cop, but as a civilian joining her cousin. So he had grudgingly told her to be careful and contact him if anything popped up, no matter what or when.
She had been welcomed by her cousin, introduced to the reverend and his wife, and arrangements had been made so that she could spend the night.
It was now well past bedtime, and since the dorm was in a separated building, the church was empty. As they stepped closer to its entrance, Grace instructed Hye Na to stand watch outside. She then stepped inside, and when she arrived in front of the door that lead to the crypt, she looked up over her shoulder to make sure no one was in sight. Pressing her ear against the door, she closed her eyes, and listened for a moment. She frowned. With her enhanced hearing, she could make out two faint voices. One male, one female, like Hye Na had said.
Grace swallowed before moving away from the door, appraising it. It was made of plain wood, with a security lock that she wouldn't know how to pick. She rested a hand on the door handle and shook it lightly. The lock seemed rather loose, and she figured it would give way easily if she used force.
She slammed her shoulder against the door as gently as she could, not wanting to send it flying off its hinges, for fear the noise might attract attention. The lock broke off, and she pushed the door open to find herself in a dark, empty room. Yet she managed to make out another door in front of her. She could hear the voices much more distinctly now, and she could tell that they were coming from behind that door. After breaking through it, she found herself at the top of a staircase that manifestly spiraled down into the crypt. Now she could actually hear what the voices were discussing.
- "I begged her to turn me." The man was saying. "It's the only way we could be together as equals. See, they don't want us to be equals. No, she's just been using me, same way Bill's using you." Grace frowned. Who was "she"? And who was "Bill"? Use them to what purpose?
- "You don't know Bill!" the woman answered tersely.
- "I know he and his friends are using you to do their dirty work." The man countered "I mean, a telepath has to be a real trophy for a vampire."
Grace gaped. What the hell - a telepath? Did such a thing really exist? And it sounded like vampires were involved, and in some kind of "dirty work" too… Well, shiny, Grace thought bitterly, leaning a shoulder against the wall as she started rubbing a hand over her eyes.
- "SHUT UP." The woman snapped. Looked like the man had struck a nerve there, whatever this conversation was about.
- "All they care about is their own kind. So that's why I joined the Fellowship."
- "So if the Newlins care so much about you, how come you're still in here? Face it Hugo! You're nothing better than a fang-banger traitor to them."
A pause. And then the sound of metal against metal, like wire being shaken.
- "Gabe, Gabe she knows everything. You can let me out now." The man called out, and Grace tensed at that. She looked up over her shoulder, but if a third person was coming in, it wasn't going to be from there.
After a brief moment, the woman spoke again.
- "Yeah, you're so important to them, aren't you?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm. The man didn't answer.
In any case, there was no doubt left that those were being held up.
Grace started chewing on her lower lip. She remembered that Hye Na had described them as a couple, which now seemed unlikely. By the sound of it, they had been trying to infiltrate the Fellowship on vampire's orders, but the man had ratted them out for some reason. However, his plan seemed to have backfired on him.
Bringing her hand to her jacket to take out her gun, Grace slowly started the descent, careful not to make a noise. Finally, the staircase made a turn and she caught sight of them. They were being help up in what looked like a storing room, closed up with thin bars. The woman seemed quite young - around her age, actually. She looked very sweet, with her golden hair and blue sundress. The man was sitting with his back to the wall, not looking too good. He was sweating profusely, and his shirt was drenched. The young woman spotted her first and jumped to her feet.
- "Oh thank God! Did Bill send you?" was the very first thing she said, wrapping her fingers around the bars in her attempt to lean closer to Grace. Grace motioned for them to keep their voices down, and told them that no, she was a police officer and quickly explained how she had heard about them, before asking their names. One look at the lock told her that it was very basic, and that, unlike the ones on the doors she had just passed, it would be easy to pick. She put out her gun and bent over her boots to retrieve the knife she had hidden there. In a minute she was done. She started to leave, but the blonde grabbed her by the hand to hold her back.
- "We can't just go! We need to get Godric first!" She protested firmly, crossing her arms under her chest.
- "Oh for the love of God, let's just leave!" the man disagreed. He looked very annoyed with the whole situation. Something Grace found a bit rich, considering how, from what she had understood, he was responsible for that mess.
- "Who's Godric?" she inquired worriedly. The last thing she needed right now was someone else to rescue.
- "He's a vampire. He's been captured by the Fellowship of the Sun." Bingo. "They want to tie him to the church's altar as the sun rises, and watch him burn." She explained with a disgusted expression that Grace completely understood.
Knowing a vampire's strength, Grace wondered almost curiously how they had managed the feat of capturing him. But the next moment, curiosity vanished as she realized the amount of violence that would have been needed to take him, let alone keep him.
- "How long has he been here? Do you know where he is being held?" she asked, dreading the state of the vampire.
The blonde - Sookie - shook her head.
- "I don't know where he is – not even what he looks like. The only thing we know for sure is that he's somewhere in there. He was taken about two weeks ago."
Oh God. Well, let's hope he's at least been fed, she thought to herself, with both his sake and hers in mind. Although for some reason, she highly doubted that.
But before she worried about the vampire, she had to get those two out of here.
- "Listen, you need to leave now." She told them urgently. "My cousin is standing at the front entrance of the church – go with her and drive as fast and as far away from here as you can. She might refuse to come along with you, in that case you take her by force" she instructed, knowing her cousin.
- "But –"
- "No buts" she hissed. "I'll get the vampire. I'm trained for that kind of situation, and you'd only be slowing me down." Harsh, she thought, but true. And efficient. "I'll give you the number of a detective at the Dallas Police Department. You have to call him as soon as you're in the car, and tell him the whole situation." She said as she picked up a pen from a shelf in the storing room to write down Davis' number on the blonde's forearm.
- "You" she addressed the man, Hugo, with a dark look. "I hope nothing goes wrong because of you. There would be… consequences if something bad were to happen" she added delicately, hinting at danger. He swallowed hard and nodded. It was obvious he wanted nothing more than to be away from here, but better safe than sorry. Grace handed her knife over to the blonde, and watched as they ran up the stairs.
Shiny, she thought to herself for the second time of the night once they had left. She had no idea how to get to the vampire, no idea how she'd free him from his prison if she did manage to get to him, since it would probably be heavily protected, and no idea how she'd be able to withstand him if she did manage to free him.
She looked around her and spotted a small door to her right, and figured this may be a start.
Again, the door gave way easily, this time opening on a long corridor. She knew that this was a very bad idea. But she didn't have a choice. A glance to her wristwatch told her that it was now 2:30 AM, leaving very little time before dawn. And if they were planning to sacrifice him today… Well, very little time indeed.
She ran towards the end of the corridor, and after a hook to the left, found herself facing a massive door that seemed made of very heavy metal. She knew at once that even if she used her full strength, she wouldn't be able to make it budge. She'd need the key.
- "Hands over your head, missy." A male's voice said slowly behind her.
Ah. Well, she thought, that may either complicate things or make them easier.
She did as instructed and turned to see a big, bald man wearing an overlarge dark blue sweater standing a few steps away with a gun pointed to her face.
- "Hello" she said genially. "Big door there, eh? Any chance you might have the key to it?" she inquired pleasantly.
The man didn't bother to answer.
- "That goddam vampire sure has lots of hot puss looking for him" he said instead, looking her up and down with a gleam in his eyes that she didn't quite like.
She let the insult pass, however, hoping he'd get close to her so that she could have a shot at disarming him. But the man started stepping backwards, jerking the gun to indicate she should follow. They walked like that until they reached the room where Sookie and Hugo had been held captive.
Once in there, the man dropped his gun as he allowed a grin to spread over his brutish features.
- "You fang-banging slut. You're going to lie down for me, now." He growled, before he lunged at her.
Seriously, how savage can these people get? Grace wondered in disbelief. She grabbed the fabric of his sweater just as he was about to seize her, using her shoulder as leverage, and, taking advantage of his own speed and weight, she easily threw him onto the ground. The moment his back made contact, she straddled him, pinning his legs and arms to the floor with her own limbs.
- "So who's lying down for who, now?" she asked through gritted teeth. The man was struggling to free himself, but there was precious little he could do against her.
- "You - fucking - vampire bitch!" he spat, giving her a feeling of déjà vu.
- "Really, I don't know what it is that make men call me a vampire whenever I overpower them. Isn't it obvious that if I were one, you'd already be either dead or dying?" She said matter-of-factly.
But to be fair, this time, the reference was justified. Given their respective size and weight, and even with all the physical training in the world, it should have been impossible for her to hold him down. In such situations, Grace was truly grateful for her specificity.
- "Anyways, how do I open that door?" she asked. He didn't answer. She hadn't really expected him to. Hye Na was right: these people were dangerous fanatics, and fanatics would rather die than betray their cause. When they didn't actually choose to die for their cause.
- "You can torture me all you want, slut - I'm not saying anything." He said loudly but a tad bit breathlessly as he fought to escape her clutch.
Grace rolled her eyes. The situation was getting really dramatic.
- "Chillax! Just because you're a rotten little thing doesn't mean we all are. I'm not going to hurt you." She said soothingly.
But he didn't hear her. He was too busy shouting insults at her again, mostly involving graphic details about her alleged sex life with vampires. Well insults – compliments really, given how the descriptions sounded like an ode to her endurance and flexibility. But after a few civilized attempts at making him shut up of his own accord, she decided she'd had enough of his imagination.
Grace jumped on her feet, allowing the man to free himself. In a second he was on his knees, struggling to get to his feet, but Grace clenched her fingers into a tight fist which she hammered down onto his head, knocking him out. Inhaling deeply, she took a moment to enjoy the silence.
Just as she was about to search his pockets to check whether he was carrying the key, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Another presence, she realized, and she jumped to face it, adopting a defensive stance.
To find herself staring at the sheriff.
He, on the other hand, wasn't looking at her. He was looking down at the man on the ground.
On the two occasions when she had met the vampire, she'd scarcely been able to read any expression on his face. However, that hadn't scared her. Made her feel uneasy, sure, but not afraid.
Now, although he had the same blank expression, there was something cold in his eyes that she couldn't quite identify. A shadow that made them distinctly darker. He was standing with his back straight, his arms crossed over his chest, hovering over the body, and she was struck by the power that seemed to radiate from him.
He definitely looked threatening. Her instincts kicked in, and she took a step backwards, muscles bending in anticipation.
But the next moment his gaze switched to her, and the overwhelming aura he was giving off a second before vanished. His eyes were back to their usual clear color - but he looked terrible.
He was extremely pale, even more so than on the two occasions she had met him. His skin had a powdery texture, his eyelids a reddish tinge, and there were dark shadows around his eyes that made him looked like he hadn't rested in days.
- "Oh my God - are you OK?" she inquired as concern washed over her, and she impulsively took a couple of steps in his direction. "How long have you been in there? What have they done to you?" she fired at him.
He didn't answer, nor did he make a move, and she felt the urge to check him out for wounds. Raising a reckless little brother, whose love for dangerous situations had already sent him to the ER too many times for his short life, tended to develop certain automatisms, she reckoned. But the vampire didn't look like the touchy type, and she doubted he'd be content to have her examine him. So she only allowed her eyes to travel over the skin that was showing, and when she didn't see any wounds she felt slightly better - before remembering that as a vampire, he'd probably have recovered by now even if he had been tortured. But vampires' clothes didn't clean themselves up, she thought, and at least, she couldn't see any blood on his.
- "Are you OK"? she repeated her question gently.
- "I am fine." He said, so quietly she barely heard. "But you should not have come here." He added.
Well, that wasn't the reaction she had expected. Not that she knew what reaction she had expected, now that she thought about it.
- "I didn't come for you. I didn't know you were held there, actually, until – "
- "I know" he interrupted "I heard. But you should not have stayed for me. You should have left with the others." He sounded somewhat cold - even accusing, she realized. This reaction, as well as his obvious lack of concern for his own health, annoyed her.
- "Well, maybe you'd be happy to rescue vampires and leave the humans behind to be slaughtered. But I'm afraid I'm not that kind of person." She snapped.
At that, the coldness seemed to wash away from his face, leaving only fatigue behind, and her heart softened again.
- "I only meant that you should not have placed yourself into danger for my sake. I apologize if my words made you feel insulted." He offered, bowing his head slightly, and she nodded in acknowledgement.
- "No, I'm the one who should apologize. You've been captive for two weeks, and I just barge in and jump at you throat like - er …" Grace interrupted herself, wanting to smack herself for saying something so obviously inappropriate.
- "Like a vampire?" he offered graciously, and she was surprised that he didn't sound remotely angry, nor offended. If anything, there was a gleam in his eyes that might just have been humour.
At that, and for the first time since she had arrived at the church, Grace smiled, and her eyes rested over him once more. On their first two encounters, he had been wearing rather loose clothes, and she had had other things in mind than checking him out. Now that she was feeling more relaxed, however, she noticed that his white shirt hung perfectly over his broad shoulders, and that his sleeves were rolled up to reveal nicely muscled arms. She caught sight of the tattoos on his biceps, and then the one peaking from under the collar of his shirt. He hadn't struck her as the "tattoo type", which made her wonder why he had gotten them, and whether they had a specific meaning. They did have a certain mystery to them that intrigued her, unlike other tattoos, which she usually didn't find very attractive - if not downright ridiculous.
But then she was jerked from her thoughts as the sound of an alarm going off erupted loudly in to the room, and throughout the whole church.
Quick update - but the next chapter may take a bit more time since it'll be Godric's POV and he's not that easy to write ;) But I'll try my best to do him justice!
Until then, reviews are very very welcome ^_^