Chapter Twenty Four

Being in a den full of vamps was definitely not what she expected and the hospitality that was shown to her from these so called monsters was a bit alarming to say the least. Benjamin was very courteous to her and even offered to give her an insight in the life they live, it really did blow her mind..

"and so we dont actually live off of human blood, atleast our clan doesnt, its strickly animals and donations from the red cross" he smiled some at her..

"I just never knew that vegans exsisted in this lifestyle" she said still somewhat in shock..

"well im assuming you never asked" Benjamin said honestly and it was true, she never did stop to ask anything, especially not the monsters she was hunting..

Victor finally came back into the room after being gone for quite sometime, he looked stressed and aggravated.."whats wrong" natalie said with worry, she didnt like to see him looking like that, it made her nervous, especially considering where they were staying..

"Its nothing" he said with annoyance but then natalie saw the same girl from earlier, the one who was pissed and stormed off, well she came back in the room, still glaring at natalie and now Victor as well..

"who is that" Natalie asked him quietly..

"alexandria" he said as he looked at the brown haired girl who just rolled her eyes and then sat on the couch..

"she looks angry, she doesnt want me here" natalie said quickly..

"yeah well she will get over it" he said as he went to walk past her and towards the door..

"wait wait, where are you going" she walked after him..

"I have some things to take care of, you'll be fine here, Benjamin will look after you" he said as he disappeared and she suddenly felt insecure as she stood there, staring at the door..

"hey slayer do you play xbox" one of the young vamps named Thomas called out to her as she looked at him..

"she has a name Thomas and we will use it" Benjamin said as he came into the room once more..

Thomas rolled his eyes at benjamin and then looked at natalie.."so do you play Natalie"

"of course she doesnt, she spends her day killing our kind" alexandria said bitterly as she looked at natalie..

Natalie didnt know what to say, alexandria was basically right.."now thats enough alexandria, if you cant play nice" Benjamin warned..

"oh what ever, when all of this back fires on us" she huffed as she got up and stormed out of the room..

"she just needs some time" Benjamin said to natalie who forced a nervous smile, she would have to watch her back and or throat around that girl..

"ah dont let her get to you, she is always bitchy" Thomas laughed.."come on i'll show you how to play" he said with a smile as he patted on the couch next to him and she slowly walked over.."come on, I dont bite, literally" he grinned some, this kid had a sense of humor, albiet odd, well she sort of liked him.. He reminded her of Rex, they looked about the same age, both with the shaggy blonde hair. She wondered what rex would think if he knew how she was spending her day..

Natalie spent the better part of two hours playing a game called Halo with Thomas, she was surprisingly good at it too considering it was mainly a shootem game..."Man you are like a pro" Thomas said with an nod..

"I guess ive had practice" Natalie said quickly..

"Im sure you have, rematch" he grinned and then started a new game..

Into the fourth game natalie had really begun to worry where Victor had taken off to but just as she was about to go talk to Benjamin about it, he came back, he looked like shit and blood covered his shirt as she jumped up, fear racing through her.."what happened" she said as she neared him. The small cuts he had on him had begun to disappear slowly..

"those fucking demons" he huffed as he walked past her and into the kitchen as she followed him, he opened the fridge and grabbed out a bag of blood that was inside..

"where did you go?" she asked as he bit off the cap of the bag and began to guzzle it, she had to fight the urge to hurl, watching him drink that blood was very surreal..

"back to the club, I was trying to get some information but she has those damn demons everywhere" he huffed as he wiped the blood from his mouth and she just stared at him and that bag.."it may be disgusting to you but its life for us"

"i just never saw anyone" her voice trailed as he tossed the now empty bag in the garbage..

"well anyway I got rid of about four of them and one I injured pretty bad" he said proudly..

"did you find out anything" she asked as he leaned against the counter..

"well I managed to find out that John and the she-bitch headed to Milan" he began..

"Milan?" she said with wide eyes as her mind began to go there, to that time they had spent there. God how far away that seemed now..

"yeah which means the house is empty or somewhat anyways" he said quickly..

"so we can go, we can check out the house and get the book" she said with a racing heart..

"woo settle down there, your not going anywhere" he said quickly..

"what? Why the hell not" she said in shock, she was ready to get that damn book, she was ready to figure out how they could end this..

"its too dangerous for you" he said quickly..

"Like hell it is, im not some weak little girl" she began to get angry..

"yeah well your not just looking out for yourself either" he said with a raised eyebrow and she immediately thought of Victoria, he knew about her daughter, she had almost forgotten that fact..

"listen just because" she began once more..

"natalie look at me, you cant just be running around like a mad woman, especially when you have someone waiting at home for you" he said seriously..

"i know what I am doing" she said defensively..

"I dont really think you do" he said honestly.."you have a child"

"and you werent suppose to know that" she said seriously..

"yeah well I do and now things are different" he went to walk past her..

"wait" she called out as he stopped..

"I lost everything Natalie, I watched my family, my children get murdered and if I could go back and change things" he said with a shake of his head.."Your staying put and that is that" he said as he left the room and she stood there for a minute more, it was odd for her to see Victor as a father. Honestly she never looked past the task at hand when she was hunting monsters, she never once stopped to ask herself how they became such things, and if they had families or had they been through their own personal nightmares. It had never mattered to her, to her they were all monsters plain and simple but now, now she just wasnt so sure..

She walked into the livingroom where Victor stood watching Thomas play that video game.."you have the oppourtunity to do things right, dont throw that away for him because he isnt worth it" he said as if he knew she was standing there and then he looked at her.."You should just go home, let me finish this"

"Im not leaving, im doing this for her ok" she said quickly.."You cannot take this away from me, you just cant" she said with emotion pouring from her voice..

Victor seemed to ponder it for a moment and then he sighed.."Fine but we have to do this smart ok, no running in there with guns blazing" he said quickly and she couldnt help but laugh, she had heard that before.."this isnt funny"

"I know, its just someone said that to me before" she said honestly.."but I get it ok, we do this right but where do we start"

"well they are going to Milan today so we can start now" he said as she swallowed hard, they were really going to do this..."im sure the place is loaded with security so im gonna see if I can get Thomas to hack into the system and shut it down for a few, that will give us enough time to quickly look around"

"But what about getting inside" she began as he smirked now..

"trust me I have ways of getting in and out of places without being detected" he said honestly..

"Oh yeah, that super speed thing" she said with a nod of her head..

"well let me see how much time he can buy us" he said as he walked past her and she stood and thought about this, if they could get inside undetected and she could look for the book, well then they may just have a shot here, a really good shot..

Victor was right about Thomas, he was like a hacking genius, she thought even Rex may be jealous of the kids skills. Natalie began to wonder if maybe one day they could all work together, if the guys back at home would even buy it, maybe? She decided to take up the oppourtunity to call Bo, she knew by now he would be absolutely out of his mind, plus she wanted to warn him about what Michael had been up to..

She dialed the phone and waited, he answered on the second ring.."i swear to god Natalie" Bo began to yell..

"Listen Bo I dont have much time and I really dont want to get yelled at, not now" she said quickly as she cut him off..

"why, what happened, are you ok? Did victor do something" he began quickly, his voice overwhelmed with worry..

"Im fine and no he didnt do anything" she began as she sighed.."how is Victoria"

"your daughter misses her mom, tell me your coming home now" Bo said quickly..

"Bo I cant, not yet, im so close" she began quickly..

"so then its true, he is alive" Bo said quickly as she swallowed hard..

"Yes but I thought you already knew that, didnt Michael come see you" she asked with confusion, she was sure that the next place Michael would of went to was Bo's..

"Michael? The angel? No why, you saw him?" he said quickly..Natalie began to wonder why Michael didnt go there, was he worried about the fall out, was he planning something else..

"Listen I dont want him anywhere near Victoria ok" she said seriously..

"Natalie? Hello, are you still there?" Bo began as she huffed..

"yes im here, can you hear me, Bo? I dont want him anywhere near Victoria, do you hear me?" she said once more..

"nat your breaking up, I cant...Nat, hello, hello" he said and then the line went dead as she huffed and then immediately dialed him back but it just rang and rang..

"Ok so thomas is in, we got to go now" Victor said as he came back over.."everything ok?"

"yeah, just a bad connection, thats all" she said quickly as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, she would talk to Bo later, and hopefully by then she would have the book, she needed that damn book..

"alright well you remember like last time, you need to hold on" he said quickly and she nodded as she sucked in a deep breath and then he was taking hold of her as they whipped through space and time..

Bo looked at his phone as he hit it with his hand.."damn thing dont work half the time" he huffed, the feeling of a gust of wind made him look up.."Michael" he said somewhat in shock..

"Bo, how are you" Michael began as he looked at the man before him..

"good, I would ask you the same but I know youve probably been busy" Bo began..

"always" Michael said with a smile..

"I just got off the phone with natalie, she said she ran into you" Bo began..

"Oh, how is she" Michael said calmly..

"Good I mean our connection got cut off, how was she when you saw her, was she ok, she said John is alive" Bo began as Michael smiled some..

"she was fine and yes John apparently made it afterall, she was going to see him after" he smiled some..

"wow and to think we thought he was dead" Bo shook his head.."how exactlly did he make it"

"were still trying to work out the details, how is Victoria?" Michael said with a smile..

"good, growing bigger every day" Bo smiled..

"i would love to see her" Michael said with a grin..

"Oh of course" Bo got up from his desk.."she's probably still sleeping" he said as he walked to the door.."does John know about her" Bo asked as he opened the door..

"yeah he was excited, everything really worked out" Michael smiled..

"well thank god for that, Natalie was completely distraught, you'll have to fill me in on the details" Bo smiled at him..

"of course" Michael said as he followed Bo out of the room..

Natalie held back a scream as she landed on solid ground, she didnt know if she would ever get use to the feeling of being whipped through air..Victor held onto her arm as she steadied herself, it wasnt until then that she realized that they were inside a house, a large one at that..Victor moved his finger to his lips and made a 'shhh" sound as they leaned against the wall, the sound of foot steps could be heard coming down the hall. Natalie felt her heart race, they were already at Johns place, and they werent alone..

The sound of a walkie talkie going off right on the other side of the wall made her jump as Victor pushed her back against the wall.."hey uh George can you look at something for me up here, my surveilance is all screwy, I think its the weather" a voice was heard saying on the small device..

"shit, yeah im coming" the man that was literally inches from turning the corner and catching them said as he spun back around and began heading towards the stairs..

"that was close" Natalie whispered..

"yeah well now we have to haul ass, you take the first floor and i'll take the second, we meet up in exactly 5 min" Victor said and then he was gone as she stood there, she sucked in a deep breath and than quickly moved to her first room..

Michael looked at Victoria as she slept in her crib.."she is beautiful"

"I know but I like to say she got all of her good looks from her mom" Bo grinned proudly, the sound of Rex and Cris arguing made Bo grumble.."can you give me a moment, I swear sometimes I feel like the damn referee here" he began as he left the room and Michael leaned down to Victoria and scooped her up in his arms as she began to wake and fuss as he looked at her..

"im taking you home sweet girl" he said and then he disappeared..

Natalie ran to her third room, so far it was a complete bust and she was beginning to lose hope but that was until she got to his bedroom and she stepped inside. It looked drastically different than the room she remembered, this one was all dark colors even the curtains were dark, it gave the room a creepy feel but she tried not to dwell on it too much, she quickly went to dresser and began looking past clothes, nothing still. Her eyes landed on the large closet off to the side and she walked over, opening it to reveal a large walk in closet, she quickly went inside..

Bo sighed as he walked back to the room.." you know boys never really do grow up to be men, atleast with Victoria" he began as he got in and he looked around quick.."Michael?" he said and then his eyes darted to the empty crib.."Victoria" he called out as he spun around the room and then quickly stepped out.."Michael?" he said once more assuming that Michael had stepped out of the room with the baby but no one was there.."Michael!" he yelled now a bit louder as Rex and Cris came into the hall and looked at him.."did you see Michael and Victoria?" Bo was damn near panicking now as they looked at him confused.."MICHAEL!" he yelled once more as he took off running down the hall and the guys chased after him..

Natalie looked through racks and racks of clothes but still nothing as she sighed heavily, she had almost given up but she saw something odd on the far right wall and she walked over to it. The wall looked misplaced and she put her hand on it as it opened almost immediately and she jumped in shock, it lead to a dark hallway as she looked in and then quickly made her way down it..

"Bo whats going on" Rex said as Bo ran through the house frantically yelling for Michael and Victoria.."Michael was here?"

"you havent seen him or Victoria?" Bo was all out panicking now as he got to the stairs..

"what do you mean Victoria, she was sleeping, isnt she sleeping Bo" Rex said and then him and Cris ran to the baby's room and then quickly back over to Bo..

"why would he take her? Why?" Bo said in absolute shock..

"take her? Who? Michael, as in the angel?" Rex said with wide eyes..

"Bo what the hell, what is going on" Cris said with utter confusion..

"Victoria,...she's ...she's gone...Michael took her" Bo said in absolute shock..

Natalie made her way down the hall and a door was at the end, she swallowed hard as she opened it but it wasnt just any room, it was filled with cages, so many cages and the sound of moans that filled the room made her gasp as she backed up..

"Help me" one voice called out..

"Please help" another one said as her back hit the wall and then a light went on and she stared in shock at faces that looked back at her, the cages were filled with the things she hunted and some were bleeding, some looked dead, she gasped as she backed up to the door..What the hell was this place? Their cries got louder and then her back hit something hard and she immediately knew that it was someone and as she turned she saw John standing there, a very unpleased look on his face..

"Now what do we have here" he said with a raised eyebrow and she couldnt even form words, she went to run but he was too fast, he grabbed her.."Not so fast" he said as he held onto her and she tried to fight him but it was useless, he was just too strong, within seconds Victor appeared as his eyes got wide as he took in the sight of the room, he quickly looked at natalie and the fear in her face..He went to run up to her but instead was flown back against the wall, something invisible holding him there..

"Please" natalie called out as she struggled against John, this seemed like dejavu..

"Please? You break into my house and all you can say is please?" he snapped at her as he spun her around and looked at her, Victor was yelling and fighting against the invisible restraints but to no avail..

"Ok im sorry... I am" she began to say quickly..

"Oh I seriously doubt you are, now tell me who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here!" he yelled at her..Her eyes got wide and she looked to Vincent who was yelling.. John looked at him too and then as he raised his hand, black smoke seem to pour out of it and shoot directly at Victor, who instantly went still as she cried out..

"No...NO!" she yelled as fear raced through her..

"Now thats much better" John grinned as she gasped, tears streaming down her face..

"Please, dont do this" she began to cry as he looked at her..

"stop your crying or I will kill him" he snapped at her and she immediately shut up, she had assumed Victor was dead and not only was she shocked that that very thought upset her but John looked absolutely enraged.."im going to ask you once more, who are you!" he snapped at her as he shook her slightly..

"Ok I will tell you whatever you want" she said quickly.."My name is Natalie" she said quickly, her heart racing as she kept looking over at Victor who was completely still..

"i knew you were lying" John snapped her out of her staring..

"Ok I lied, I did" she said with a trembling voice..

"what are you doing here Natalie or better yet what were you doing at my club" he said in a deadly serious voice..

Natalie tried to think quick, she had to say something and it definitely wouldnt be the truth..."Im...im a reporter" she blurted out as he looked at her..

"LIAR!" he yelled as he spun her until her back hit the wall, along with her head as she winced in pain..

The movement jarred something in him, almost like a memory of sorts.. He saw her back up against the wall but he wasnt hurting her, he was, well he was kissing her, he shook his head quick as she looked at him with wide eyes..He ignored the passing vision as he looked at her.." tell me or I swear this wont be pretty" he said to her through gritted teeth..

"Ok ok..." she said quickly as she looked at him..

The image of the kiss came back to his head once more and this time he quickly shut his eyes tight, his hands loosening on her arms, it was just enough for her to make a move as she kneed him hard in the groin and he hunched over in pain, she went to run but he grabbed her again, surprisingly as she yelled out...

"we can do this the hard way" he snapped at her angrily as he held her from behind, his hand going over her mouth but another image came into his head, it was one of her bent over a desk and he was fucking her, he quickly grabbed onto his head that throbbed as he let go of her and he yelled out.. She went to run but the sight of him made her stop. He was grabbing at his head and yelling to make it stop, the sight shocked her.."what the hell are you doing, are you a witch" he yelled at her as he grabbed his head..

Natalie blinked in shock as she stood there watching this happen, the next thing she heard was Victor yelling out to her as he tried to get himself off the ground, she ran over to him.."we have to go" he said quickly and before she could respond they were whipping through the air as she screamed out..

The landing wasnt easy like before as they fell onto the hard ground, she could hear the crunching of her cell phone as it made contact with her.. She groaned in pain and she wasnt the only one as Victor rolled onto his side and groaned..

"holy shit that was.." he groaned in pain..Natalie tried to get to her feet but she was completely winded.."are you ok?" he looked over at her as he laid on the ground..

"what the hell happened" she said as she finally got to a sitting position..

"i shouldnt of attempted the leap" he shook his head as he began to sit up some as he grabbed his head.."whatever that dark magic was, it was strong as hell" he said damn near breathless..

"something happened back there" she began as she tried to stand now..

"No shit, ive never been subdued like that before" he said as he began to stand up as well..

"No...i mean with John,...something happened to him" she said as she tried to regain her breathing..

"He's strong as hell" Victor said as he got to his feet..

"No, not that, something else...He looked like he was in pain" she said quickly, she couldnt get that image out of her head..

"Yeah I seriously doubt that, how did you break free anyway" Victor continued..

"I dunno, he just started yelling out and grabbing his head, I dont get it" she said as they stood there and she looked around, they were in some abandoned field.."where are we"

"Your guess is as good as mine" he said as he looked around..

"we have to go back" she said quickly, she just had to go back and see what was happening to him..

"absolutely not" Victor said with a shake of his head as he continued to look around..

"what? no... I told you something happened" she said almost frantic..

"Listen not only am I not capable of leaping anywhere at the moment but im also not going anywhere near him, he almost killed me" he said quickly as she sighed heavily..

"im telling you something happened, I dont know what it was" she began as she shook her head.."where the hell are we"

"I dont know but im not gonna just stand around here, were walking" he said as he began to walk..

"what? To where, we dont even know where we are" she said in shock..

"yeah well its gonna be dark soon and I really dont want to be sitting ducks" he said as he continued to walk and she followed him..

"How long are you going to need to recover" she said quickly..

"i dont know, I never had anyone do that to me before" he said sarcastically as he walked..

Natalie huffed as she walked.."this is just great and my phone is broken"

"well im very sorry that your phone got broke but it was either that or die, I pick the broken phone" he rolled his eyes with annoyance..

"well give me your phone then" she huffed..

"do I look like I carry a phone?" he said with a roll of his eyes once more..

"great, so we are in the middle of gods no where and without a phone to boot" she huffed..

"You know you mortals always took that cell phone crap way too seriously, in my day we use to talk to one another face to face" he said sarcastically..

"Yeah well times have changed" she sighed..

"yeah apparently for the worse" he said as they continued to walk..

Everyone gathered in Bo's office, he was absolutely frantic not to mention completely and utterly confused as to why Michael would of taken Victoria, it didnt make sense..

"Maybe he just took her for a walk" Rex began as they all looked at him.."Im just saying"

"no something else is going on, I feel it" Bo said seriously..He tried to dial Natalie's phone once more and yet again it went to voice mail as he huffed.."Damn it natalie answer your phone!"

"Listen you said that Michael said he ran into natalie and that John was alive" Steele began as Bo looked at him..

"yeah that doesnt really help us right now" Bo snapped..

"well maybe Michael took Victoria to Natalie, so that John could meet his daughter" Steele continued..

Bo seemed to ponder that for a moment but Rex spoke.."but then why the hell not tell us what he was doing, something isnt right here"

"anyone know how to get in contact with an angel?" Bo said quickly as he looked at all of them but no one spoke.."SHIT!" Bo barked out as he slammed his hands on the table, this wasnt good, not good at all..