Ok, heres the sitch;
I was going to end this story soon. Was.
But then I had a major brainstorm and now there's a whole lot more coming…..more evil, possibly more characters, maybe even another story after this one….
So, put on your seatbelts, kids. It's gunna be a bumpy ride.
Thank you for reading and reviewing! Reviews are what keep me writing! Now, go forth, and read!
Disclaimer: I own Bryce, Avril, Emmeline, Tristan, Adele, Nick, Daniel, Jamie, Chase, some of the pack, and plot.
Chloe's P.O.V.
I couldn't cry.
Odd as it was, you'd think, of course, I'd be able to shed at least one tear for my beloved Aunt. The woman, when my mother died, who was there for me. Who had listened to concerns…who had taken me out to breakfasts and lunches and dinners….
Who also had worked for the Edison Group….
Who also had betrayed Rae and I, taking us right back to them….
She had thought she was doing the right thing, I reminded myself.
She didn't know what real harm was being done.
She knew they had killed Liz.
But she wouldn't have allowed the same fate to fall onto you….
I stood there. Just stood there. Derek rubbing my back. Tori, holding my hand comfortingly. Adele, the same look of defeat, of loss on her face from when she had realized Nick was dead. She didn't move, like Kit or Bryce, and just stood, taking in the situation as I was.
Derek and Tori tried comforting me. The problem with that?: There wasn't anything to comfort. I was like Kit right now. Silent. A mask of shock painted on my features. Tori and Derek's seemingly comforting words didn't even make it to my ears; they just seemed to bounce around the atmosphere, the shadow of words lingering, but no actual sentences forming, at least, none I could identify.
Kit looked as if he was going to cry now, his face slightly scrunching up, his nose twitching in a strange way.
Kit could cry over MY aunt, but I couldn't?
I slowly turned my gaze from Kit, to Derek, who was staring, concerned, down at me, his green eyes swimming with remorse for Aunt Lauren.
Even though, what seemed like ages ago, she once said he should be put down "like a rabid dog".
Still staring at Derek, I sharply shook my head.
Why was I thinking of her like this? For all the bad, and none of the good? Did I have a grudge? If I did, it wasn't one I'd intentionally chosen to have…
Derek mistook my head shake for one of sorrow; one of disbelief, and he sighed softly under his breath with grief for me, and then pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me close by his warm chest.
I accepted the hug, and, numb as I was, managed to move my hands enough to lay them gently on Derek's chest, burying my face into his sweatshirt gratefully, letting his usual smell of musk and cologne sink into me, engulf me, take me away from this mess-
"Hey! What's the hold up?" A deep, curt voice barked.
I assumed it was a werewolf.
I heard Adele take a shuddering sigh, then, yell back, "Emergency."
I heard the crunching of footsteps on grass, and if possible, buried myself even deeper into Derek. I felt his arms tighten around my waist, a little uncomfortably, but the minor pain was, strangely, a relief.
"What'dya mean?" The voice was female, though the curtness didn't differ from the other voice. I recognized this voice, all though I hadn't heard it in a while.
Jamie.
"Lauren is dead." Bryce spoke up, and the reality of these words cut through me violently.
Lauren is dead.
Still, I didn't cry.
"Lauren?" Jamie asked, confused, though the sharpness of her tone didn't fade.
I focused my thoughts on the noises around me-a distant rustling, feet moving in the wet grass, coming nearer and nearer-
The werewolves and Jamie.
"How?" Jamie called out, less of an echo responding this time, which, combined with the slish, slosh, of feet moving toward us, indicated how close she was now getting.
'How'? she had asked.
How?
How?
I realized this question hadn't been answered.
How did Aunt Lauren die?
Who killed her?
Who?
Was it even a 'who'?
My body went slightly rigid against Derek now-uncomfortable. Uneasy.
I pulled away, wanting to hear the answer to Jamie's question, slowly turning my head and gazing onto Kit, who was still looking as if in shock.
I could see nothing else at the moment but Kit's face. Could hear nothing but the silence coming from his open mouth. I was totally transfixed on the man-How had my Aunt died?
Edison Group?
Most likely.
Kit, after some time, swallowed. "Simon…." he said, his voice creaky, like he had spent forty days and nights in the desert and was absolutely parched.
A little bit of normality formed onto Kit's features again. "Simon didn't say."
Kit said, firmer than before.
Dazed, I turned back to Derek, and leaned my head against his chest. I felt dizzy, my head whirling….spinning….
Everything seemed muffled now. Words. Noises. Sights.
And then….I didn't care if I couldn't hear what Jamie was saying to us. I didn't care that I suddenly felt drowsy….if I closed my lids…..if I could just let my mind….wander…
I closed my eyes on the world. On the conversation. On Derek and Jamie and Tori and Bryce…..Adele and the werewolves….Kit…..
Aunt Lauren.
That was the first thing I saw when my eyes closed against Derek, and my whole body went numb.
Derek screamed something.
Aunt Lauren. Her perky face, smiling at me, in her lab coat…..
Blackness drowned the image out, engulfed Aunt Lauren's face, and dragged her down, down, away from me…..
"Aunt Lauren!" I tried to scream, but I couldn't speak, couldn't talk. Couldn't form words.
And she was gone….
….
Whispers.
That's what I heard in the blackness. Whisps and voices, light as air, all whispering something at the same time.
I wished I could understand. Wished they would all calm down.
Steadily, the whispers became harsher….louder, as if they were mad I couldn't understand.
I tried. I really tried to decipher the words. But I couldn't. Why couldn't I?
The whispers got louder…..and louder…..and louder….
So loud, my ears started to burn….
Then, a scared, almost frightened, fimallar feminine voice broke through all the whispers….whispering, herself….
"It's starting."
And I understood. 9
"Chloe? Chloe? Are you up?" A deep voice murmured in my ear.
Of course I was up. Why wouldn't I be up?
I tried to look at the voice that had called my name, toward where it had come from, but found nothing but blackness.
I struggled, then opened my eyes.
Oh.
"Chloe. Your awake." There was relief in Derek's voice.
Derek.
I blinked a few times to realize I was in the van again, and everyone else was, as well.
It took me a few seconds, but my senses did snap back, and I also realized the van was in motion-quick motion, actually, moving beneath my body, flying down a street speeding toward-
Suddenly my thoughts snapped back.
Kit-
Aunt Lauren-
I bolted up in my seat, not even realizing I had been slouching down.
"Where-Aunt Lauren-Kit-?" I stumbled through my words, wanting to have my questions answered as quickly as possible.
"Chloe, baby, you passed out." Derek said.
I frowned and furrowed my brows. What? Passed out? Me?
I took a few relaxing breaths to calm down my heart rate, which was speeding ahead quickly, one pounding heartbeat combining with the next.
I turned to my right, and stared at Derek. My head felt a little light weight, but I…I hadn't passed out.
"No?" I told him, staring straight at him, meaning the word to come out strong, confident, but it came out rather weak and unsure, like a question.
Derek's green eyes turned into slits as his dark hair fell over his face with a bump of the car.
"Chloe, you passed out. Out cold." Derek said, confused, his suspension growing on his smooth skin, around his pinkish lips.
"You did." I heard Tori's voice uncertainly drift from the back of the jerking van.
I furrowed my brows further. No, I had fallen asleep. We had talked about Aunt Lauren and then I-
…Then, I….
I don't know.
It was blank. Completely blank. A huge, gaping hole in my memory.
But….I didn't pass out…
Couldn't have…
"No." I repeated, slightly stronger, my eyes still locked on Derek. "I didn't pass out."
He cocked his head to the side slightly, shaking it at me.
I stared back at him, wondering why he was staring at me like I was insane…like he was….studying me.
"Chloe…." Derek said worriedly as Kit jerked the car fiercely into the hotel parking lot.
The van curved, and I (not being buckled in) jostled up with a loud scrapping noise from the tiers , and, after a second of catching some serious air, I fumbled back down onto my seat to find my neck feeling itchy, hot, like the chain of my necklace had caught fire and burnt my skin-
With a "humph!" as I hit the seat, my hand flew to my burning neck, and my cool palm slightly soothed the strange itching…
Despite the fiery rash on my neck, the chain of my necklace was cool and cold, and I wondered why it didn't soothe the raging rash…
My necklace. That was a subject I hadn't confronted in a long, long time….
I never took my necklace off. Never. Slept with it on, even showered with it on (whenever we got the chance to shower), and never thought about it. Not lately. Not at all, really.
But…
"Here," Kit said hurriedly, pulling into a parking space quickly, and the van jeered forward then settled back, came to a stand still, and Kit parked.
Why were my thoughts on my neck? A rash, that's all it was. Why wasn't I concerned with Aunt Lauren?
Aunt Lauren. Her body…was here.
I dropped my hand from my cooling neck, and practically flung myself at the car door at the same time Kit slammed his car door, marching off, not waiting for any of us to follow, quickly to the hotel doors-
I made a lunge for the car-door's handle, but Derek blocked my path, continuing to stare at me, study me-
This really wasn't the time.
We heard a quick slam, and I turned to look out the window and realized Bryce was with him, jogging up to the hotel as well-
I made another move for the door, my eyes lingering on Kit and Bryce, and found myself hitting up against Derek, who had continued to strangely stare at me…
"Derek!" I yelled, outraged when he didn't move, didn't give me a window of opportunity to open the door. We were face-to-face, nose to nose, and Derek was staring me down, his back pushed up against the door, refusing to let me get out.
I glanced quickly from him to the door behind him. What was wrong with him? My Aunt's body was in there!
Derek was squinting now at me, his intense gaze lowering down to around my neck…
"Derek, c'mon!" Tori barked at him anxiously, as scared and harried as I to see my Aunt…to find out what the hell had happened.
What was wrong with Derek?
"Your neck…" Derek lowly growled, his fingers slowly reaching toward my surely reddened throat…
"Derek!" I yelled again, aggravated, agitated, my voice hitting an awkward high note and squeaking. I needed to see my Aunt Lauren….I needed to see her myself before…before I could believe it….
"I..I need to see Aunt Lauren…" I said, unintentionally, my thoughts forming on my lips and the words releasing quietly.
Derek's expression changed, like he had realized why we were parked in the hotel parking lot, or why I was so anxious, and his face lightened, and became grim, yet anxious too.
He cast one more confused, suspicious glance at my neck, and it sent an uneasy feeling throughout all of my body…did he see something I didn't? Was it more than a rash? Could it….in some way….effect….my babies?
Derek turned his back to me, unlocked the door, then opened it and filed out, his mind apparently regaining it's normal logic.
I pushed aside thought's of the stupid rash-that could certainly wait. Right now, all I wanted was to see Aunt Lauren.
As I got out of the car, I realized this sense of hope in me. This sense…that….maybe she was alive. Maybe Kit…or Simon…had been lying.
Deep down, I knew Aunt Lauren was dead.
But I kept this hope inside of me, and it's what drove me running to the hotel doors, quicker than Derek.
Like I said-the rash could wait. So I cast it from my mind.
But later on, late at night, I'd find one thing about the car situation haunting…plaguing me….
And that was, that the whole time Derek was blocking me, Adele was silently staring on.
I ran through the lobby, following Kit and Bryce's quick leave out of the entrance and down the wide, right hall, leading to the set of rooms, one of which would be home to my Aunt…
The thought gave me shivers, and I wondered as I jogged down a hallway-
Was Aunt Lauren still….here? Could I see her?
My mind tossed this thought around as I rushed to find my Aunt Lauren, hoping maybe, just maybe her spirit was still around - please let her spirit still be around-
"Chloe." A strong hand touched my arm.
I jumped.
All of the sudden, Avril was directly in front of me, Tristan and Emmeline in either of her arms-
I stopped myself a centimeter from clashing right into her.
"Chloe, there was a-" Avril began to tell me, urgently.
If I had listened to that tone she was using…if I hadn't been blinded by Aunt Lauren's death, then maybe….just maybe I would've stopped.
If I would've stopped to listen, then maybe I would've been better prepared for the events that were about to unfold….maybe.
But bottom line: I didn't stop to listen. What I did do was simply shift over to the right, and keep on barreling through the hall to my destination, my feet not skipping a single beat.
I could see the door now; slightly cracked open….I counted the strides that took me nearer and nearer ton the door….
One…Two….Three-
A rough sensation of hurt burned in my face, the cold sting making me crinkle my nose and, alarmed, take a step back, rubbing my forehead.
I had run right into something.
My eyelids squeezed together tightly, watering slightly from the hurt. But it wasn't severe; Just like something a child would feel bumping heads harshly with another kid.
I opened my eyes.
Avril was once again in front of me, but she didn't flinch like I had. Instead, she still stood up straight, the worry remaining in her facial expression, Tristan and Emmeline now missing from her arms-
This time I stopped to stare at her. What was wrong with her?
"Chloe," Avril said again, sternly, like if I tried to run off again, she'd pin me to the floor to get her point across to me.
I wasn't in the mood.
"Chloe, there was a man, and he was-" Avril started to explain, her voice going serious, as well as her expression.
But my mind was focused on Aunt Lauren.
"Avril," I cut her off, my voice creaky at first (startled by her speed as well as the toughness of her skin and senses), but then, my tone growing as I attempted to match Avril's timbre of aggressiveness.
I had just found out my Aunt…and not just any Aunt….but my Aunt Lauren….was…
A sort of fire ignited within me, and I surged past Avril, not responding or caring when she made another grab for me and called out a desperate "Chloe!"
I didn't give a crap. All I wanted was Aunt Lauren. I wanted my Aunt Lauren…
Longing began to flutter in my chest, and I began running to the door, feeling fragile…almost like a little child, scared and alone, wanting her blanket for comfort.
That's what Aunt Lauren had been for me my whole life; A security blanket.
I felt naked without the blanket now. I didn't like the raw feeling dwelling in my gut.
The door was just strides away…just there, in reach now…a took one step forward, and-
The room was small.
The walls, a plain white. The flooring, a sandy colored carpet. The dull colors were broken up by the navy blue cover on the bed, and on the bed itself-
I couldn't breath.
Couldn't move.
The hope in me crashed and perished, hard, and the longing was gone. Buried with my hope…because…
Because on the bed…itself…lying, sprawled in an awkward position, almost as if her body had…spazzed out, limbs flailing before she…
…How could I know that?
I stared at Aunt Laurens body, shaken, not just by the fact I just had…seen…my Aunt's death…but that…but that it was true.
Her body…was here….and…she was…
I didn't realize I was trembling till Derek softly slid his hand round my own, carefully, as if he could sense how fragile I felt at the moment.
I slid my hand out of his grasp without thinking.
I just didn't want anyone to touch me. Not even Derek.
I didn't need someone trying to comfort me. I didn't want that.
Seeing my Aunt, lifeless, pale, sprawled out over the bed…it seemed to suck the life out of me. I was sick of it.
I was done. So done. So freaking done with this feeling, so done with this loss over and over and I was just so done…
Fire. It felt like fire was surging through me, through my veins, and I felt…
It was all enough. Too much.
My eyes drifted over her body. Anywhere on her body, except her face.
I couldn't bear it. To see the calmness. To see the facial expression so relaxed because…
Because there was nothing left behind it.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I couldn't take it anymore!
In a single bound the fire within me seemed to explode; bursting into every limb, raging
Within me, in my skin, beneath it, boiling in my blood, steaming through my insides and burning, bubbling in me, my face heated, my fists clenched, my neck blazing, an ache residing deep in my joints, a particular rawness around my neck, I surged to the door quickly, angrily, pushing past Derek and Simon and Kit and Bryce. I hadn't noticed anyone's presence but Derek's. I was too fixated by…
By…
I stormed down the hallway, searching for my door, I needed my door, I just wanted to be alone, please just leave me alone…
The rage inside me was inconsolable. Nothing that anyone could say would help.
"Chloe!" Derek yelled down the hall, his voice booming off of each corner, each wall, bombarding me, filling my head, echoing Chloe! Chloe! Chloe! Chloe!
I turned, nothing but pure rage controlling me now. I was gone. I had no control. None. And that scared me.
"I want to be alone, I don't need anyone bothering me right now, especially you!" I screamed, then, without even taking note of the hurt and confusion on his face, I turned, my mind foggy with anger, and stormed around the left corner, not even knowing if it was the right way.
My legs carried me there in a blur. My neck was burning, my whole body shaking. When I got to the door, I didn't even pull out the room key.
I simply ripped the door right open, with brute strength, not even questioning it at the moment.
All I questioned, as I silently laid down on the freshly-made bed, the only noise the creaking of the broken door, was why.
Why did Aunt Lauren have to die?
Bryce's POV.
Kit tenderly touched Lauren's pale, lifeless fingers. Almost playing with them.
I found it strange of him to mess with a dead body. 'Specially Lauren's.
But the look on his face was beyond grief…
It was in some odd place of clam. Some strange realm that was beyond me, that was beyond my comprehension.
I didn't know Lauren well enough to go furiously running out of the room, like Chloe, or to stand there silently gazing down at her in the indescribable way Kit was.
So I stood awkwardly in the tiny room, watching Kit stare at Lauren, and Simon and Adele quietly discuss how Simon had found the body, and Derek slowly and awkwardly come in the room, a sense of defeat following him in as he roughly took a scan of the room.
I watched him as he looked slowly, combing through the room, for anything that could've killed her, or, I guess, any sign of who could've killed her…
Suddenly, Derek's vision paused to something lying under the bed. A corner of something large, rectangular, and black. Derek walked up to the bed, too casually for the circumstances. Kit seemed to regain a sort of consciousness, and with one more look to Lauren's face, bent down under the bed, hands grasping for what Derek had spotted.
Kit slowly slid it out, and it took a moment for me to recognize the object. I stupidly asked, "What is that?"
Derek turned and shot me a death glare. I did my best to return the favor.
Kit didn't answer the question either, but rather opened up the rectangular black thing into a recognizable position, into a recognizable thing: A laptop.
Oh.
God…I'm an idiot.
I sighed and ran my finger through my hair, watching as Adele and Simon slowly gathered around Kit and Derek as they started to boot up the computer. I pushed off the corner I was leaning into, and slowly - well, slow for a bloodsucker - walked over to see what could be so interesting about a laptop.
What exactly where they planning on finding in there? Secret messages? Some code? A clue to who killed Lauren?
I tossed this options around in my mind. The more I went over each, the more possible they became. I bit the inside of my cheek.
The laptop, surprisingly, was on, and I saw interest flick in everyone's eyes, taking the focus away from Lauren's body.
My brows furrowed in confusion when we all realized - in unison - that not only was the laptop on, but it had been left on some program.
Some… private…emailing program.
I realized the 'secret messages' possibility was way more probable than I had considered.
"Why…" Derek muttered, moving his fingers on the touch-pad controlling the white cursor on the lit screen. Kit's eyes narrowed, his brows furrowing.
Adele, who was standing over Kit's shoulder, looking on cautiously, turned and gave Lauren's body a studying gaze, before slowly turning back to the messages.
Simon looked uncomfortable as hell, switching his weight from one foot to the other, straining to pay attention to the screen. His awkward motions bugged me, and I resisted the urge to yell at him to knock it off.
Derek sat back in his seat, a baffled look taking on his features. I stared at the screen, trying to make sense of it.
There were rectangles. Long, blue rectangles, each containing the subject of an email received.
There were a lot.
A lot a lot.
My eyes scrolled down the short subjects of the emails.
Project Genesis failure…
You can always come…
How have they been…
We never meant to…
Lauren we need…
We have…
Were glad to have…
The cursor slowly passed each one, choosing the first one to open. But it didn't seem likely Derek would choose soon, he looked too overwhelmed with…with shock.
Everyone did.
Project Genesis failure…
What was Project Genesis?
Whatever it was, it had to be bad.
And it had to be even worse that Lauren was emailing about this. I could tell from the looks on their faces. This was some big shock to them, though it only puzzled me.
But I didn't break the icy silence. I just didn't know what to say, or what to question first.
So I kept my mouth shut and watched Derek scroll down into more message subjects…
The subjects have…
We are planning on having…
We need information on…
If our calculations are correct the necklace…
No harm will fall to her…
She is essential…
You and your family will…
Project Elesieus…
The cursor stopped on that last one.
"Project Elesieus?" Derek's voice was a whisper of confusion. Kit shook his head, obviously as lost on the subject as the rest of us.
"'The necklace'?" Adele questioned, her voice an odd tone…almost fake in a way. Like she might know something.
I turned to study her face. It was unsure, almost scared…scared….of what?
Derek moved the cursor up to the email with the subject containing the necklace.
The email address was strange; simply a combination of numbers and letters: 2E3D5G7PE132752. Below the address, and subject: If our calculations are correct the necklace…
Then the actual email:
Lauren,
If our calculations are correct, the necklace will start to generate soon, and Her old feelings may start to reappear, very fiercely at first. These feelings will wear off once she learns to control them.
Remain on watch.
Maxwell
Derek was squinting at the screen by the time I had finished reading it myself. Kit looked completely lost. Simon seemed far off in fairy-tale land.
It was basically Latin to me.
"Her," Adele breathed, in such a strange, fearful tone that almost begged us to look toward her.
Her expression was…gone. Fearful. Scared. Almost…in a sort of…awe.
"Adele?" Derek asked, features sharp with curiosity.
Adele looked in our direction, though her eyes weren't focused. They were almost…blank. Dead. They didn't seem to focus on anything.
"Her. They're after…necklace. For Her."
"Her?" I asked, aggravated by this cryptic crap. "Who's her? You? Tori? My sister
? Chloe? English, please." I didn't mean for my tone to have the bitter edge it did, but this her thing was eating at all of us, and if it were up to Adele it seemed as if we'd never get the answer.
"What's going on-"
Tori began to ask, but then stopped. Her pretty features…pretty? Since when did I think Tori was pretty?
Did I ever consciously decide she was pretty?
Looking at her now…yeah…she was pretty. Even with her face scrunched up in the way it was; sadness taking over as she looked at Lauren.
She looked horrified.
Still, she was beautiful.
She stood there, frozen. Just looking. Just staring.
And…at a time like this…was it inappropriate that I was just staring?
Pull it together. This is not time for relationship issues. Hell, your not even in a relationship, Romeo.
I was slowly losing my grip.
"Her," Lauren whispered, and everyone, even Tori turned slightly to listen.
"Elesieus." She murmured quietly.
Chloe's POV.
I was still lying alone silently on the bed when the door slammed.
I jumped up, nerves on end.
The door…seemed to…click?
Yes…that's what it was doing…clicking.
Re-attaching.
Fixing itself.
Fixing itself?
I clutched the covers tightly, my heart hammering.
Calm down, I told myself. It could be Simon. Or Tori.
What the hell was wrong with me today?
Hormones?
Extreme hormones?
I released the blankets. I was being ridiculous.
As soon as I stood up from the bed, the clicking in the door… stopped.
I paused.
Then, summoning my courage, I walked right up to the door… and pulled it open.
I took in a breath.
It was… a man?
A… familiar man…yet…different somehow.
He was handsome, in an older-man way. Charming, almost.
He seemed nice. Friendly.
And it was literally impossible to look away.
But…something about his eyes…
They had almost a poisonous feel to them. He had almost a poisonous feel to him.
My stomach dropped.
I backed away from the door, throwing it shut. Something here was wrong.
Very very wrong.
But the door just slowly and smoothly sailed…right…back…open.
The man was reveled again, smiling, flashing his white teeth.
"Hello, Chloe." He said, his voice seeming to purr almost, as smooth as silk.
It was enticing.
He smiled wider.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact…I'm here in your bestinterest."
I swallowed, my fists clenched once again, tempted to scream for Derek, or Kit, or Aunt Lauren-
Aunt Lauren…
His face dimmed a little, his smile becoming more real.
"So sorry for your loss, Chloe…" He purred, his smile almost disappearing as his eyes pierced me.
I caught my breath. He knew about Aunt Lauren?
"Chloe," He said my name again, slowly, it's tone warm and soothing, almost.
Then he cocked his head.
"It's so nice to finally meet you… May I come in?"
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