History Repeats Itself

Chapter 10 - 'Not The First Time'

"I may start thinking you like me if you keep talking to me this much," Jade told him as she answered his call, the cigarette against her lips. She exhaled as she leaned back against the wall outside, waiting for the sun to peek over the hill.

"I refuse to comment on that. I'm still left figuring out my feelings on it." Jade smiled. She could agree with that. Xander did things to her, and she didn't like it. Found it questionable and she wasn't sure how to handle it. This was new territory for her, and that was saying something given how crazy long her life had been.

"Yeah, well, don't blame you." Jade finished off her smoke, killing the flame under her booted foot, and went inside, the colors changing enough to warn her she had to get in. "What's on your mind, Xander?"

"Your cell, it's not like tapped or anything, right?" Jade tried to control her laugh, but she couldn't help it, it slipped out.

"Sorry, it's not funny. If you're referring to the council, they don't even have phones, let alone how to tap one. They still send handwritten messages." Jade plopped down on the couch, slowly frowning as she thought the question over. "Why do you ask?" She heard the squeaking of the chair and realized he was still at the office. Sure, he had said he was a night owl, but as it was sunrise, she thought he would have already been in bed. Night owls didn't make it till the sunrise.

"The vampire deaths, they're victims, teens that have been reported as missing or runaways."

"Yeah, thought that was the path you were leading on already?"

"It is, Jade. However, it's not the first time in our history that a group of teens have gone missing altogether within a certain amount of time." Jade wrinkled her brows, confused by the statement. Okay, so it wasn't normal. She gathered that much. Missing teens, as sad as it was sometimes, wasn't a common thing. A lot of people just overlook it these days.

"I'm sorry Xander, I don't get what you're asking or what you're thinking."

"I don't think this is the first time this has happened. Within our history," he paused, making her sit up at the words he was about to say, "or yours."

"Kidnapping unwanted kids and turning them?" She knew that wasn't exactly what he was getting at. But if she thought she had any idea of what was coming next, she wasn't sure what she could say in response to the question.

"Yes. But also, in the killing of them. Two doesn't make it a serial killer yet, but something tells me whoever is doing this, isn't done. And it's not a human. Which means it's part of your world, not mine. Jade, I need to know what you can find out."

"Nothing, Xander, I can't find out anything! I told you, it's not like I can walk into the council house and just research it like I could at a library."

"I know, but I can't think of anything else. Something is odd about this, Jade, something doesn't make sense, and I can't compute it, can't put it together without some help." Jade groaned as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the couch. She wanted to help him, she really did, but he had no idea what he was asking of her.

"You do understand this could be my death, right? If I got caught."

"Don't get caught. But you know as well as I do that something is off-kilter here. You have the glint in your eye of questioning this, so don't pretend you aren't curious." She hated that he picked up on that. Fucking hell though, she didn't want to put her life on the line either.