Children of The Fallen

Chapter 17: monster

Morgan Sinclair

Those were the longest two and a half hours of my life. This long winding road seemed never ending and my anxiety increasing with every passing second didn't help. Palms sweaty, hands shaking, I was trying really hard to hide it but I kept fidgeting with my hands so I'm pretty sure anyone sitting in the back with me saw.

About 3 miles from the address I tell Kellan to pull over.

"Why?" He asks.

"I'll run the last three miles. I'm not risking them seeing any of you if we go any closer. Pull over."

With the rest of the group following as I step out of the car, I walk a few steps staring down the road out at the unknown. I could be running straight to my death should anything go wrong, but my death isn't really what I'm worried about. I feel a hand on my shoulder- Victoria.

"Here. You might need these." She says, with two blood bags in her hands.

"What?" I question, not that I don't want them.

"What are you doing?" Dane asks.

"She could be walking into a fight or at least to Mercer being an agitating dick. Going in there an exhausted mess won't do anyone good. It's not a lot but it'll give her a fighting chance."

"Victoria-." Kellan starts.

"Enough. She's right." Chloe says. "We're not turning this into an argument. She'll need this."

"Wow Chloe I'm shocked." Grayson scoffs.

"Shut up." She snaps. "Are you gonna be good?" She asks Grayson, looking up at the sky.

"More than enough time. Don't worry." He says.

Taking the first blood bag, I finish it quickly. I wish I could enjoy this moment of satisfaction, but I can't. I do the same to the next, feeling the pinch of my fangs protruding from my gums. Finishing that one just as quick. While I'm still violently anxious I'm energized at least.

I take a deep breath, forcing my fangs to retract. I don't want my family seeing me like that.

Victoria takes the empty bags from my hands. "This has got to be in and out. Okay? We take these cunts out then right after-."

"I know." I wish it didn't have to be that way. I wish I could tell them everything, but would I even want to? I look to the rest of the group. "I'll see you guys in there." I say, running off right after. Another thing I wish I could fully enjoy.

Normally if I'm using my speed I'm being chaperoned and it's never for long distances. It feels amazing, the wind on my face, the way everything blurs around me, but I have to ignore it. Sprinting down the long highway then through woods, I eventually arrive at this dingy warehouse. It appears recently abandoned, not completely run down and dilapidated but it'll get there in a couple of years. Slightly overgrown greenery, a few patches of rust on the outside warehouse walls, and the one small blacked out window I can see is cracked. People are definitely around so it wasn't a trick. They're in the surrounding woods area, inside the warehouse. I can smell them, hear their heartbeats. There's a lot of them especially surrounding the warehouse- I hope the others can get rid of them fast. I run to the door, flinging it open and sprint through. The several heartbeats much louder than seconds prior. Along with the scent- the blood under everyone's skin hits my nose bringing that hunger back with a raging fire. Wanting and needing it, even if it's just a taste.

But one look at my family and everything fades away. Mom, dad, Chris, Lindsey, they're all here. Seeing them in front of me after such a long time, I feel this instant relief- almost happiness. That happiness quickly fades as I register the full scope of the scene. They're bound to chairs, with tape over their mouths, sitting a couple of feet away from each other. Four men stand in back of them with pistols in hand. Over my shoulder, the around 9 people in back flinch at my eyes meeting theirs. Even for the split second we make eye contact, they're scared. They're scared of me.