David found the others on the outskirts of Santa Carla, hiding in an abandoned factory. Thankfully, they still had a few hours left before sunrise to figure out their next move. Whatever that was.

"What's the plan?" Was the first question out of Dwayne's mouth.

David spared him a tired glare. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"What happened? How'd you get out?" Marko wondered, gnawing anxiously on his glove.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a moment to inspect their hideout; counting the windows, the doors. The place must have a basement or sublevel of some kind or even a storage room where the sun wouldn't touch them.

"We're not staying here… are we?" Paul piped up, interrupting David's inspection.

He glanced at the rocker and the tiny hellhound shaking in his arms out of the corner of his eye before he continued his sweep.

"Temporarily."

They were far enough from the heart of Santa Carla, Sloane probably wouldn't notice them.

"And then what?" Dwayne stepped into his field of vision, forcing him to look the other man in the eye.

He struggled to maintain eye contact. "I don't know, okay? We can't take her on our own. And there's no one who is going to help us."

Except. That wasn't totally true.

He thought of the new vampire who had shown up out of nowhere and somehow managed to take Sloane by surprise, something none of them had been able to accomplish.

Marko caught his errant thought and latched onto it. "Tell us how you got away. Really."

He exhaled deeply, internally groaning. Dreading having to explain the mysterious figure that was Shane, David made his way over to a concrete staircase and sat down on the steps. To buy himself time, he made himself somewhat comfortable, resting his elbows on his knees and interlocking his gloved fingers.

"There was someone else there. After you guys got away. He just showed up." The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smirk. "He actually kicked in the back of that bitch's head and we were able to escape together."

Without having to look up, he knew all three of them were staring at him with varying degrees of confusion.

"He said his name is Shane. He's from up north. Said Sloane wiped out his entire tribe and he was passing through to warn us about her."

"Damn. He couldn't have shown up a couple days ago?" Paul joked, albeit half-heartedly.

He closed his eyes so they couldn't see him roll them in annoyance.

Paul might be cracking jokes but David could sense deep down he was shaken to his core. David suspected the rocker desperately trying to forget the burning sensation of holy water and its deadly touch. He also reeked of some seriously pungent weed, which meant his high was the only keeping him glued together.

Dwayne appeared to be contemplating something.

"Where is this 'Shane' now?"

David thought the question, or at least the tone of it, odd. It wasn't like he was going to invite the guy over to hang out and join up. He had already learned his lesson on that front.

"Don't know. Don't care. We've got bigger problems to deal with."

That went without saying.

What else was there left to do, though? They lost. Sloane won.

"We should search the place. Make sure it's safe to crash here in the daytime."

Uncharacteristically, Paul and Marko set off without a word. For a split second, David worried he had accidentally given them an order through the sire was Dwayne who dispelled this concern by lingering knew instantly the other Vampire had something on his mind.

"What the hell."

The way he said it was more of a statement than a question.

David at last gathered the energy to raise his head high enough to look Dwayne in the eye.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" Dwayne actually snapped at him.

Oh shit. He's really pissed, David thought to himself.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Dwayne clenched his fists.

"Nevermind. You already know what I'm going to say."

And that's when David heard exactly what he was thinking.

You're failing us. And you're going to get us killed.

It felt like a punch to the gut.

Because he was right.

He had no idea what he was doing and Sloane was absolutely taking advantage of that fact. It didn't matter if there was strength in numbers. Only witches could fight witches. Jessica and now Wynonna would rather them die than stop their new sister from her brewing rampage.

"We should get the hell out of dodge while we still can. Find another city and move on." Dwayne looked away as he said this last part."

David's eyes narrowed into slits as though his second in command's words deeply offended him.

"You want us to just. Move. On. Like it's that easy?" He fumed.

Dwayne growled. "We were never supposed to linger here forever anyway. It's not safe to stay in one place for so long. This place has brought us nothing but grief."

David wanted to argue. This place had also given them so much more than grief. The list was short enough to count on one hand but he wouldn't give up any of it for anything.

He refused to even consider leaving Santa Carla.

Dwayne knew exactly what he was thinking and was already steeling himself for the coming storm.

I'm going to put that witch in the ground one way or another. I swear.

Dwayne bared his fangs at him, features sharpening, eyes glowing yellow. "Damn it David. Listen to yourself! Think of what this will cost you. Cost us. Are you really willing to lose us all over again?"

David stood up at the challenge, face equally monstrous. "You used to trust me. When you drank my blood, you swore you would follow me anywhere."

Dwayne was clearly struggling to hold himself back. It actually scared David to see him so furious. To be the sole target of his fury was a wholly new experience too.

"I want to meet with Shane tomorrow. He's the only person I know of that managed to take her by surprise. I need to know how he did it."

He offered this very risky solution to hopefully pacify the other vampire. He honestly didn't know what he would do if Dwayne were to suddenly mutiny against him.

Thankfully, Dwayne seemed to compose himself enough to appear somewhat satisfied.

"You're not going alone. I don't trust this guy," he boldly declared.

David repressed a derisive snort. Or me, apparently.

Jessica Sanders could sense that something terrible was about to happen. She might not be a full-on oracle, but it didn't take a psychic to figure out that Sloane, her new 'sister', was up to something.

She had decided the boardwalk was as good a place to start as any.

So far nightfall hasn't brought about any disasters yet.

The crowd was the same.

The food

The rides.

Maybe… she was imagining it. She fully expected Sloane to do something, although she wasn't sure what.
As she navigated her way through drunk adults and hyperactive teenagers, she thought back to her early lifetimes and the kind of witch she used to be and shuddered. Those memories just reminded her that she had to stay on her guard. A new witch was capable of anything.

Eventually she found herself at a certain comic book shop. Maude had filled her in somewhat on the events that led up to her sired, Maximilian, and his demise. The rest she had inferred herself with some top notch sleuthing.

The tale was almost unbelievable. A couple of amateur hunters, some rogue fledglings, and an innocent family of humans had gotten lucky. That was all Jessica could say about it. The only way they had struck down a vampire as clever as Max was sheer, dumb luck. And yet, they didn't all make it out after all.

Out in the distance, away from the bonfires, was a boy sitting in the chilled sand by himself under the moonlight facing the inky black water of the ocean.

She sighed, gaze fixed on his back as she leaned against the railing overlooking the beach. This wasn't the first time she had watched him. Everyday she watched him from across the lunchroom at school. She couldn't very well go over to him and apologize to him. What would she even say?

'Sorry my hag of a sister made me resurrect the monster who ruined your families lives and murdered your brother and his girlfriend. Also, I'm a witch. Nice to finally meet you.'

Okay, so she probably wouldn't lead with that, but she wouldn't let him drown in grief alone any longer.

She took her time crossing the beach. Every step closer, she seriously considered turning back and letting him be. Something, maybe guilt, ensured that she didn't.

He sensed her approach from the corner of his eye. She knew instantly that he had been crying. Hastily, he swiped a shaky hand over his red face.

"I'm really not in the mood right now so beat it." He sniffled, not looking in her direction.

She stayed rooted in place, throat working as she tried to find the right thing to say.

"My sister just died. Both of them actually," she blurted out.

He tensed, head ever so slightly pivoting towards her.

She continued, "And the universe wants me to move on. Like it's nothing. Like they were nothing. I don't know…how to…where to…" she trailed off, bottom lip trembling.

They stared at each other.

The expression on Sam's face was difficult for her to interpret. Was he still annoyed with her for bothering him? Did she get through to him at all?

Should she just leave?

"I'm Sam. I think I've seen you around school before," he suddenly introduced himself, catching her by surprise.

She nodded. "Jessica. Or Jess. We have the same lunch period."

"Welcome to my pity party Jess," he joked and she felt comfortable enough to sit next to him.

"For the record, I didn't come over here because I pity you. Ok? I get it. I heard about your older brother. I'm so-"

"Please don't say you're sorry," he interrupted. "If one more person tells me they're sorry I'm gonna lose it."

If only he knew how sorry she actually was for being the cause of his loss. If anyone owed him an apology, it was her.

She bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood. Someday, she promised herself. Someday I'll tell him the whole truth. About everything.

Instead, she would just have to be content to sit in silence. Well, not complete silence. She could hear the ocean, music and laughter carried by the wind. It was actually kind of peaceful out there by the ocean.

And, of course, right as she let her guard down, she began to hear the screams.

Sam heard them at the same time and they both leapt to their feet. They faced the boardwalk and knew instantly something was deeply wrong with this picture. Everything was thrown into darkness. Every single twinkly light was extinguished on the rides, the fairway. Even the street lights. Not to mention, the nearby hotels.

Jess could sense Sloane's fingerprints all over this. Whatever 'this' was.

"Oh shit," she groaned.

"It's a total blackout!" Sam exclaimed.

Jess knew it was more than that.

It's just the beginning.