This is Part 8 continuation of the Dalton's story. The rest of the links can be found throughout the blog. Stay tuned for continuations.
"You were on a what?" Jake asked for about the third time since the three of them had met up at the park.
"A Date! Jake shut up that's not the important part of the story" Lia said exasperated from trying to get their attention again and again when they were both fixated on the fact that she had lied to them about where she'd been going, honestly they lied for a living she didn't understand why they were so utterly shocked.
"Why were you on a date?" Jimmy added in confusion obvious in her voice and she buried her eyes in her hand.
"Dear God, give me strength" she muttered "because someone asked, and because I was trying to get that ring back" she reminded them.
"You could have just taken it back-" Jake said.
"Yeah where did the date come in, I'm still lost on that" Jimmy admitted.
"BOYS!" Lia shouted "Focus! Vampires, ring, Hunter, missing!"
"He's a hunter?" Jake said and she could almost see his need to punch someone right then and there.
"No! His name is Hunter" one more of these and she might just end up punching him herself. "We're wasting time if you're not going to be helpful I'll track them myself"
"Oh like hell Lia, you're not hunting alone you know that's not an option" Jake said going back into full on protective big brother mode, which didn't bode well for hunter when and if they found him. When, she needed to focus on that word rather than the possibility that they weren't going to find him. "This just doesn't make any sense, we kill the whole nest!" he reminded her.
"Then there's another nest.." she said simply "He said 'you weren't exactly subtle' which means they aren't the only ones who know we're here. They also know about the ring..."
"Which brings us back to that Tristan kid" Jake muttered and Lia looked at him. "What? Come on Lia, even you aren't that naive, that kid knew exactly what the ring was, the very reason he hadn't put it on. He wanted you to find it, he's using us for something, the question is what"
"But he sounded pretty upset that I didn't have it" she protested
"Of course he did because with us, it's safe, we aren't going to put it on, use it, lose it.... he needed us to find something on it for him, we just need to figure out what that is before he does, which means we have to get it back from those bloodsuckers" and suddenly he was in full on hunting mode.
"Jimmy research, we burned that warehouse to the ground so find any other abandoned buildings in town or surroundings. They're going to have to be large if they're building another nest, maybe a barn or another warehouse. Where ever they are, find it" he told him. "Lia, you're gonna help me track you were the only one who was here where did you leave that wounded one?" he asked and she led him quickly across the park to the tree where she had wounded him. Jake's blue eyes wandered over the bark and the surrounding ground before shining his flashlight on it "Black blood...you wounded him pretty badly" he said as he followed the trail with the light. "enough that it didn't heal right away, he's trailed blood all through the part" he muttered and followed it quickly. The trail stopped eventually.
"He wouldn't get too far without feeding" Lia said glancing around "Not if he was hurt that badly, he'd need the fresh blood to heal faster"
"Great so now we're looking for two bodies? Way to go Lia" Jake said harshly and she stopped in her steps.
"This- this isn't my fault" she said but there was a hesitation in her voice that was uncertain. Jake had never blamed her for anything before, not out loud, she had always done a good enough job of doing that for herself. She blamed herself for her parents death, for not coming home from school sooner, not being able to stop it, or to be with them when it had happened. She blamed herself for their Grandfather's death on the job, if she'd only listened to him when he had told her she wasn't ready to hunt on her own, he never would have come after her and he never would have been killed. There were so many things she carried around on her shoulders that they didn't even know about to have him throw it directly in her face seemed to have broken down some sort of barrier she'd been keeping it all behind.
"Of course it is if you had just stayed with us at supper you never would have found that ring, you never would have met that guy in the bar, he wouldn't have taken the ring and you certainly wouldn't have been on a date and had this poor guy kidnapped by fucking vampires" he hissed. She stared at him in shock for a few seconds before she realized he was right. She was always hurting people, with her day to day decisions there was always some sort of domino effect that caused trouble, like it followed her around waiting to come out.
"Screw you Jake" She said as forcefully as possibly but she was fighting tears as she turned and bolted from the park. This was pointless, Hunter wasn't here they'd already taken him and the park wasn't going to give them any answers.
"LIA!" she heard coming from behind her but she just ran faster. The further she ran the more time her mind had to think about what she'd seen around town, the places people frequented the ones they avoided. She stopped suddenly as a thought hit her and she pulled out her phone to check. A smile smile crossed her lips at the realization. She knew exactly where they were, and if it was the last thing she did she was going to get him out of there, alive.
"You were on a what?" Jake asked for about the third time since the three of them had met up at the park.
"A Date! Jake shut up that's not the important part of the story" Lia said exasperated from trying to get their attention again and again when they were both fixated on the fact that she had lied to them about where she'd been going, honestly they lied for a living she didn't understand why they were so utterly shocked.
"Why were you on a date?" Jimmy added in confusion obvious in her voice and she buried her eyes in her hand.
"Dear God, give me strength" she muttered "because someone asked, and because I was trying to get that ring back" she reminded them.
"You could have just taken it back-" Jake said.
"Yeah where did the date come in, I'm still lost on that" Jimmy admitted.
"BOYS!" Lia shouted "Focus! Vampires, ring, Hunter, missing!"
"He's a hunter?" Jake said and she could almost see his need to punch someone right then and there.
"No! His name is Hunter" one more of these and she might just end up punching him herself. "We're wasting time if you're not going to be helpful I'll track them myself"
"Oh like hell Lia, you're not hunting alone you know that's not an option" Jake said going back into full on protective big brother mode, which didn't bode well for hunter when and if they found him. When, she needed to focus on that word rather than the possibility that they weren't going to find him. "This just doesn't make any sense, we kill the whole nest!" he reminded her.
"Then there's another nest.." she said simply "He said 'you weren't exactly subtle' which means they aren't the only ones who know we're here. They also know about the ring..."
"Which brings us back to that Tristan kid" Jake muttered and Lia looked at him. "What? Come on Lia, even you aren't that naive, that kid knew exactly what the ring was, the very reason he hadn't put it on. He wanted you to find it, he's using us for something, the question is what"
"But he sounded pretty upset that I didn't have it" she protested
"Of course he did because with us, it's safe, we aren't going to put it on, use it, lose it.... he needed us to find something on it for him, we just need to figure out what that is before he does, which means we have to get it back from those bloodsuckers" and suddenly he was in full on hunting mode.
"Jimmy research, we burned that warehouse to the ground so find any other abandoned buildings in town or surroundings. They're going to have to be large if they're building another nest, maybe a barn or another warehouse. Where ever they are, find it" he told him. "Lia, you're gonna help me track you were the only one who was here where did you leave that wounded one?" he asked and she led him quickly across the park to the tree where she had wounded him. Jake's blue eyes wandered over the bark and the surrounding ground before shining his flashlight on it "Black blood...you wounded him pretty badly" he said as he followed the trail with the light. "enough that it didn't heal right away, he's trailed blood all through the part" he muttered and followed it quickly. The trail stopped eventually.
"He wouldn't get too far without feeding" Lia said glancing around "Not if he was hurt that badly, he'd need the fresh blood to heal faster"
"Great so now we're looking for two bodies? Way to go Lia" Jake said harshly and she stopped in her steps.
"This- this isn't my fault" she said but there was a hesitation in her voice that was uncertain. Jake had never blamed her for anything before, not out loud, she had always done a good enough job of doing that for herself. She blamed herself for her parents death, for not coming home from school sooner, not being able to stop it, or to be with them when it had happened. She blamed herself for their Grandfather's death on the job, if she'd only listened to him when he had told her she wasn't ready to hunt on her own, he never would have come after her and he never would have been killed. There were so many things she carried around on her shoulders that they didn't even know about to have him throw it directly in her face seemed to have broken down some sort of barrier she'd been keeping it all behind.
"Of course it is if you had just stayed with us at supper you never would have found that ring, you never would have met that guy in the bar, he wouldn't have taken the ring and you certainly wouldn't have been on a date and had this poor guy kidnapped by fucking vampires" he hissed. She stared at him in shock for a few seconds before she realized he was right. She was always hurting people, with her day to day decisions there was always some sort of domino effect that caused trouble, like it followed her around waiting to come out.
"Screw you Jake" She said as forcefully as possibly but she was fighting tears as she turned and bolted from the park. This was pointless, Hunter wasn't here they'd already taken him and the park wasn't going to give them any answers.
"LIA!" she heard coming from behind her but she just ran faster. The further she ran the more time her mind had to think about what she'd seen around town, the places people frequented the ones they avoided. She stopped suddenly as a thought hit her and she pulled out her phone to check. A smile smile crossed her lips at the realization. She knew exactly where they were, and if it was the last thing she did she was going to get him out of there, alive.
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