Chapter 34: Get Out of Town

Normal POV

"Babe, are your grandparents home yet?" Amanda asked curiously as she walked out onto the top of the front steps, her eyes landing squarely on the Viper as he stood on the bottom step below her.

"Nope . . . and it's already past midnight. . ." mumbled the steely eyed man as he continued to look out toward the long driveway. "That meeting shouldn't be taking so long . . . They should have been back by now."

"Your grandparents are grown adults babe . . ." said 'Manda as she began to descend the staircase. "They can take care of themselves. . . I bet the meeting is just taking so long because they just have a lot to discuss concerning those hunters."

"Or maybe they were overrun by the hunters . . . It's possible, if you ask me."

Randy and Amanda slowly turned around to see that the familiar voice was coming from Nate, who was poking his head out from behind the front door with a curious look etched across his face as he stared at the two older vampires.

"You did not just say that . . ." mumbled Randy as he narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. "Please tell me I did not hear you right . . . Please tell me you did not just suggest that the meeting got overrun by the hunters."

"Uh . . . forget I ever mentioned it . . . Better yet, forget I even interrupted your conversation. Good night. . . I'll be in the kitchen." Nate told them quickly as he scurried back inside like a frantic bug that was trying not to get squashed.

"You're not going to take Nate's suggestion seriously are you?" asked Amanda as she resumed her small trek down the steps, stopping her movements when she reached Randy down on the last one. When she noticed that Randy's familiar thoughtful expression was once again there on his face, and that his thoughts were suddenly turning dark, Amanda instantly brought him back down to reality by slapping him in the back of his shaven head. ". . . Don't you dare think like that Randal Keith Orton! You should know better than that."

"Sorry . . . couldn't help myself . . ." mumbled Randy as he brought a hand to the spot where Amanda slapped him. ". . . I guess the idea was too tempting to me."

"Uh huh . . . come on . . . Let's go to bed," said Amanda as she made her way back up the stairs. "Some sleep should do you some good."

"I hope it will . . ." mumbled the Viper as he followed her back inside the house. " . . . I don't know. I guess I'm just a little antsy about the fact that my grandparents have been gone for so long."

"Like I've said before Randy: You're grandparents are grown adults. They can take care of themselves . . ." said Amanda as the two walked into the kitchen, where they found Nate leaning against the fridge while digging into a tub of chocolate ice cream. ". . . Unlike Nate here, who I think still needs parental supervision from time to time. . ."

"HEY!" exclaimed Nate as he looked up with his spoon still in his mouth. "I resent that statement 'Manda. I don't need my parents supervising me in everything I do. I may act like I need supervision, but I don't actually need supervision. . . Let's get that clear okay?"

"Uh huh . . . says the guy eating out of a tub of ice cream like a six year old," grumbled Randy as he quickly snatched away the container in question while his brother wasn't looking. "I thought you hated chocolate."

"I hate strawberry . . ." Nate told him bluntly as he snatched the ice cream back for himself. "It's Becky that hates chocolate . . . Which is so stupid in my opinion. Who in the world can hate chocolate?"

"Believe it or not Nate, some people, like Becky, don't like chocolate. Not everyone is going to like the same flavors you like . . ." said Amanda with a roll of her eyes. " . . . Just don't make a mess in here while you eat okay. We don't want Bob and Rita to come home to a dirty kitchen now, do you?"

"No . . . especially not Grandma," said Nate as he shook his head. ". . . Especially not her. . . ."

"Good . . . We'll see you in the morning Nate," said Amanda as she walked out the room, Randy following close behind her. "Uh . . . Is Rita really that scary if you dirty up her kitchen?"

"Oh you have no idea . . ." was all Randy said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as the two made their way to their room. ". . . My grandmother has a tendency to get a little annoyed if she ever finds a mess in her kitchen that wasn't caused by her. "

"I see . . . Have you ever dirtied up her kitchen before?" asked the Anaconda as they stopped at the door that led into Alanna's room. From where they were they were standing, they could easily spot the little girl sleeping soundly on her bed, her bed sheets only covering her feet.

"Yeah . . . I tried to make a batch of cookies on my own when I was 12 because I thought I could make them exactly how Grandma would . . ." answered Randy as he let go of 'Manda's shoulders to walk over to his little girl's bedside. ". . . That will probably go down as one of the biggest mistakes in my culinary life."

"Hmm . . . what did you do?" asked Amanda with a chuckle as she watched as the doting dad fixed the covers over his sleeping daughter.

"Not only did I mess up my grandma's kitchen counter because I couldn't use the mixer correctly, I almost destroyed the microwave because I thought it would be a quicker way to bake the cookies instead of just using the oven," Randy answered her guiltily as he snuck one last look at Alanna to make sure he didn't wake her up. ". . . How was I supposed to know that metallic items and microwaves didn't mix? I was only 12!"

"Uh huh . . ." said Amanda with a small chuckle as she shook her head. "Did you ever get punished for it?"

"Hell yes I did . . ." said Randy as they resumed their small trek to their room. "I ended up getting grounded for two weeks, not because I messed up the counter, but because I almost blew up the microwave and thus almost made the house go up in flames."

"Huh . . . I guess I'm never going to leave you alone to make cookies in my kitchen anytime soon . . ." said Amanda with a shake of her head. "You may destroy my microwave . . ."

"Okay, I get it . . . It was a stupid mistake," said Randy as they reached their room. "But don't worry . . . I've learned my lesson and I will never do it again. I swear it."

"Uh huh . . ." said Amanda with a pleased look, just as the sound of an engine running passed through their ears. "Huh . . . it sounds like your grandparents are home. . . . Now you don't have to worry about them anymore."

"Yay for me . . ." was all Randy said as he made his way back through the house to get to the garage, Amanda quickly following after him. Once they got to the garage door, they were shocked to see Nate helping Rita take out a wounded Bob from the back of the car, a large gash stretched right across his bloody chest. "What . . . what the hell happened?"

"Hunters . . . the meeting went well until they decided to show up," said Rita as Randy helped her and Nate get Bob out of the car. "The hunters . . . they ambushed us . . . We tried to fight them off, but they're two skilled, too powerful for us to overcome . . . So we were forced to retreat. Some of the neighbors are serving as decoys so the rest of us can escape, including us."

"How long do you think the others will hold out?" asked Amanda as Randy and Nate looped their grandfather's arms around their necks and helped him toward the living room. Once they reached it, the two brothers brought their grandfather over to the living room couch, where he managed to stretch himself out across the cushions with a groan here and there.

"Not long, so we have to move fast . . ." said Rita as she shook her head. "Nate, get Hal and tell him to get the bus ready. We have to leave, quickly!"

"Yes ma'am!" cried Nate before quickly making his way out the door, and out the house.

"I'll get Alanna ready . . ." said Amanda as she quickly made her way down the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Randy watched her leave before turning back toward his grandfather, who was looking down at his bloody wound.

"How'd you get that?" asked the Viper as he eyed the wound warily, just as Rita quickly left the room.

"I tried to take on a hunter that was wielding a sword," answered Bob as he winced in pain. "In a battle between fists and blade, the blade won, unfortunately."

"Serves you right . . ." mumbled Rita as she walked back into the room with a wet rag in one hand and a blood bag in the other. ". . . You acted brash, and look where it got you. You could have died you idiot!"

"But I didn't did I?" argued Bob as he looked up at his wife. "I'm still here aren't I?"

"Yes . . . but barely," Rita replied rather reluctantly as she handed her husband the blood bag before going right to work on the blood that covered his chest. ". . . Just don't scare me like that again okay?"

"I'll try dear, but I can't make any promises . . ." said Bob before he bit into the blood bag. Randy couldn't help but look at his grandparents in silence, thinking to himself that him and 'Manda were in his grandparents' position, they would have argued the exact same way.

"Alright . . . Hal will be here any minute with the bus, so let's get moving shall we!" called Nate as he suddenly bypassed them all to get to his room, his voice successfully breaking Randy out of his thoughts.

"Randy . . . You better get all your stuff in order," said Bob as he turned to his grandson, his lips now smeared with blood. "We have to get out of here real soon if we're going to avoid those hunters."

"Oh . . . right," said Randy as he quickly got out of his seat. He left the older couple in the living room and went into the hallway, stopping when he saw Amanda packing away Alanna's stuff in her room, the little girl lightly dozing off in a chair nearby. "How's the packing going in here?"

"I'm just about done . . ." answered Amanda as she folded one last piece of clothing before putting it into the luggage and zipped it shut. "Alanna's all ready to go."

"Good . . ." said Randy as Amanda walked out the room. "I'll move her stuff out of here while you pack our clothes away."

Amanda only nodded her head in response before making her way to their room. Randy watched her leave before walking over to Alanna's luggage. He picked it up with ease and transported it to the outdoor porch before walking inside, bypassing Nate, who was all ready to go with his duffle bag in hand. He walked into his room to see Amanda already changing her clothes; their suitcases lying open at her feet as she threw her nightgown into her stack of clothes.

"You packed up everything already?" Randy asked her curiously as he picked out a pair of shorts from his suitcase.

"Yeah . . . for the most part," answered Amanda as she picked out a bra and put it on over her chest. "I still haven't got our stuff from the bathroom yet."

"We'll leave it . . . We can replace it later," said the Viper as he quickly changed pants, just as his brother walked in the room. "What do you want now Nate?"

"I just came to say that Grandma and Grandpa are all packed and ready to go," answered the younger Orton as he looked around the room, his eyes finally settling on Amanda. " . . . So that's how you look when you're just in a lace bra and a pair of pants . . . I'm impressed."

Randy looked up to see Nate blatantly looking his mate up and down while Amanda only watched him in disbelief. Once she finally got over her initial shock, Amanda used her power to lift Nate from the ground and threw him out into the hallway, the younger Orton hitting the ground with a loud thud, his head barely grazing the wall.

"That'll teach ya . . ." grumbled the Anaconda as she quickly put on a shirt before Nate had a chance to look again. "Do you like the fact that you're related to a pervert Ran?"

"Nope . . . not at all . . ." answered the Viper as he quickly zipped up the suitcases. He took one in each hand and walked out the room with Amanda following right behind him, both of them passing Nate along the way. While he went straight for the front porch, Amanda made a stop in Alanna's room to grab the sleeping girl from her chair.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Amanda as she walked out into the cool night air with Alanna sleeping soundly on her shoulder, her eyes trained on the Viper, who was just emerging from the bus that was parked a few feet away from the steps.

"Yep . . ." said Randy as he walked over to her and took his daughter from her arms. "Where's Nate?"

"Right here . . ." grumbled Nate as he walked out the now darkened house while clutching the side of his head. "Did you have to throw me out of your room so roughly?'

"That depends . . ." mumbled Amanda as she crossed her arms at him. "Did you have to look at me like I was a piece of meat?"

"I wasn't looking at you like you were a piece of meat," argued Nate as he shook his head. "I was just . . . just . . . yeah I got nothing."

"If it wasn't for the fact that I'm holding my daughter in my arms, I would so be punching you in the face right now." grumbled Randy as he narrowed his eyes at his younger sibling.

"Uh huh . . . like you could ever hit me." taunted Nate as he made his way over to the bus.

"Babe . . . do you mind taking Alanna back for a minute . . ." started Randy as he slowly inched Alanna back into Amanda's arms, but stopped himself when he spotted the garage door roll up and his grandmother walking out from inside. ". . . Are you guys ready to go now?"

"Yep . . . your grandfather and I will follow the rest of you in our car." answered Rita, just as Bob drove out the car. Amanda and the Orton boys shook their heads in response before quickly getting on the bus. Once everyone got seated, Hal drove them off the property, the Orton grandparents following close behind them.

Amanda's POV

"Since this little vacation of ours here in Montana has officially been cut short, do you guys have any idea where we should go now then?" calls Hal as he finally drives us off the driveway and turns south onto the paved road.

"Head back to St. Louis . . . We can spend the rest of our vacation there." grumbles Randy as he takes out a beer from the mini fridge, to drown his disappointment most likely.

"Well . . . this sucks," mumbles Nate as he takes a sits next to me at the table. " . . . And we didn't even spend a good two days up here!"

"All good things come to an end I guess," I say with a small shrug as Randy slides into the seat on the other side of me. "Some just end more . . . abruptly than others."

"Dang . . . I hope the guys that are stalling those hunters will be alright . . ." mumbles Nate as he shakes his head. "I got to admit . . . Its' pretty noble of them to stay behind to stall while the rest of us escaped with our lives."

"I just wonder how your grandparents must be feeling about this . . ." I say thoughtfully as I rested my head on Randy's shoulder. "Those guys stalling for the rest of us are their neighbors . . . Yeah, it's a noble thing for them to stay behind to serve as a distraction, but when it comes to those hunters . . . well . . ."

"They'll end up losing their lives?" Randy suggests as he looks down at me. "Was that what you're trying to suggest babe?"

"Yeah . . . basically," I say reluctantly as I let out a small breath. "C'mon . . . I bet you both were thinking about it too . . . Don't deny it."

"Well . . . the thought has crossed my mind . . ." Nate admits as he crosses his arms.

"Yeah . . . I was thinking about it for a while too," Randy answers soon after him as he takes a swig of his beer. "They're sacrificing their lives in order for the rest of the neighborhood to escape . . . I don't know if I could ever bring myself to actually do that kind of thing, to tell you the truth."

"Of course you couldn't," says Nate as he looks at his brother with a small knowing smirk on his face. "You have too much to live for already. . . Not only do you work a high profile job, you have a growing family to look after. . . Even if you did decide to sacrifice yourself, I would knock you out and drag you back into the house, drug you with vervain, and tie you down to stop you from doing something so crazy, yet brave."

"You would go that far to stop me?" asks Randy as he raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"What . . . are you saying I wouldn't?" asks Nate as his voice took on a challenging tone. "You may be a professional wrestler Randy, but I am a professional mixed martial arts fighter . . . I have way too many moves in my arsenal that I could use to take you down. . . Don't test me bro. I will kick your ass if I have to."

"We'll see about that . . ." says Randy as a smirk comes across his face. "You know what? Let's make it official . . . Once we get back to St. Louis, I'm kicking your ass."

"And where exactly do you plan to kick my ass in St. Louis dear brother?" asks Nate as he raises an eyebrow. "Do you happen to have a wresting ring available somewhere?"

"Actually, I do . . . well . . . technically, 'Manda does . . ." Randy tells him with a grimace as he turns to me. "Babe . . . you don't mind if Nate and I use your wrestling ring once we get back to the loft do you?"

"You can use it, as long as Becky is allowed to watch too," I say with a shake of my head. Once I felt a creepy stare being turned on me, I turned to see that Nate was practically eyeballing me in shock. "What? Becky told me that if you two ever decided to finally duke it out in an actual wrestling ring, she wanted to be there to see the action for herself."

"Now why would she want to see us kick the crap out of each other . . ." asks Nate as he weaved his fingers together. "Well . . . besides the obvious reasons. . . "

"She always wondered what would happen if a wrestler faced off against an MMA fighter in the ring, and with you two planning to do that once we get back home, this is her chance to see the results for herself." I tell him with a small shrug.

"Okay then . . . on to my next question," says Nate as he shakes his head. "When in the world did you get your very own wrestling ring?"

"A good while ago . . ." I say with a superior smirk on my face. "When you're wrestler, getting a private wrestling ring for yourself is very much a smart purchase."

"Now that is such an intelligent statement . . ." says Nate as he gets out of his seat. ". . . Well . . . it's too intelligent of a statement for my brother at least."

"Hey! I wanted to get my own wrestling ring, but I always procrastinated when it came to buying one," says Randy as he gets a tad defensive. "And besides . . . When I was still married to Sam, she always turned me down when I suggested we buy one."

"She allowed you a home gym, but not a wrestling ring?" Nate asks him confusedly as he raises an eyebrow.

"Yep . . . she told me that she allowed the home gym because it was something we both could use. Sam's not a wrestler, that's why she nixed the wrestling ring idea." Randy tells him with a shake of his head.

"Plus, where in the world could you have even put a new ring?" I ask with an eyebrow raised as I crossed my arms. "I've been to that house you used to share with Sam many times before babe. There was absolutely no way you could have fit that ring inside the place."

"We could have put it outside . . . but then again the weather would be a major pain to deal with." grumbles the Viper as I slide out of my seat.

"Hey . . . you may not have gotten a wrestling ring while married to Sam, but you do technically have one now that you're dating 'Manda . . ." says Nate as he shrugs his shoulders. "So in a way, it has worked out for you in the end."

"Yeah . . . I guess you make a good point," says Randy as he concedes to Nate's point. All of a sudden, this loud rumbling sound comes out of nowhere, practically shaking the bus while it's still moving. I would have almost slipped to the ground if it weren't for Randy quickly grabbing me to hold me steady, one of his hands coming around my waist while the other held on to my shoulder. "Babe, are you alright?"

"Yeah . . . I'm fine . . ." I say quickly as I bring a hand to my swollen belly. "I'm okay, but where the heck did that rumbling come from?"

"I don't know . . . but maybe that giant plume of smoke that's coming from Grandma and Grandpa's house could give us a hint . . ." suggests Nate as he looks out the window. We both turn our heads to see what Nate was talking about, and indeed, there it was: a giant plume of smoke coming from the area where the house was at.

"Well . . . I think it's a safe bet that the house is no longer with us . . . like, really no longer with us . . ." I say with a shake of my head as Randy continues to hold on to me.

"First they lose their neighbors . . . and now they lose their house . . ." says Nate as he shakes his head at the scene. ". . . It's not a good day all around, if you ask me."

"Grandma said that they've been planning and building that home for years . . ." grumbles Randy as he looks out the window with a scowl on his face. "And now it's all up in flames . . ."

"Hey . . . they can always rebuild . . ." I suggest as I turn his head so that he faced me. "Just be glad none of us was inside the house when it was blown up . . . You can always rebuild a home, but you can't rebuild a blown up body."

"Unless you're an immortal zombie, but who am I kidding . . ." we hear Nate say before he walks into the bathroom.

"Does he have to add his two cents into everything either of us say?" I whisper in Randy's ear as I continue to eye the bathroom.

"Unfortunately . . . yes," says Randy as he leads me to the bedroom. "He just can't keep his mouth shut."

"And I am damn fucking proud of it!" exclaims Nate as we hear the sounds of running water come from inside the small room.

"That's a good 50 cents for my swear jar Uncle Nate!"

We both turn around to see Alanna looking at us with her sleepy eyes, struggling not to drop her head back onto her pillow as her eyes turned to the bathroom door.

"Not only do you owe me 50 cents Uncle Nate, but can you please keep your voice down . . .?" Alanna ask him as he finally pokes his head out of the bathroom. "Some of us are trying to sleep here."

"Sorry . . . and you'll have your money in the morning . . ." says Nate as he shot her an apologetic look.

"You better . . ." says Alanna, giving him a Viper like stare that was probably making her dad proud right now. Nate let out an audible gulp before slowly sliding his head back into the bathroom, just as Alanna slammed her head back onto her pillow and went back to sleep.

"That was a very impressive Viper stare she did . . ." I say in astonishment as I looked at the proud looking Viper. ". . . You must be proud."

"Yes . . ." he tells me with a big grin on his face before pecking my cheek. ". . . Yes I am."

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