[ 19 ] 2014 

-

"You're not a hunter, boy. That's why the gun rejects you, and your body wants to reject it too. Those thorns will continue moving up your arm until they reach your heart. They will puncture it and fill it with poison unless you let go."

-

Calum had parked the rented vehicle in front of Ashton's house around ten at night, at which point he knew the teenagers were still either at the bowling alley or having food at the diner. That was after he had gone over to Bobby Vega's house in order to borrow his Diamond Rose gun. That was the only weapon capable of hurting a shifter and Calum knew well that Bobby had been a hunter in his youth, per his grandfather and Harley's information. He took the gun, making sure not to be seen by his parents, or his sisters, who were in the house at the moment. He knew from Harley that he also had two older brothers. But they were all old enough that surely they were already married and had left their parents' home. 

As he sat there waiting, he watched his grandfather arrive around eleven at night, accompanied by two other men. All were dressed in black and they covered their faces with black masks. They climbed the walls of the house, and entered the property. From what Calum remembered hearing in the stories of that night, his family were safe for the time being. They had only been captured, bound, and gagged. Conrad Hood was waiting for Ashton in order to start with his horrible deed. But as the clock continued ticking, and Ashton didn't arrive, Calum wondered if Harley had been successful in stopping him from coming back home. 

The clock continued getting longer past eleven and Calum decided to climb over the wall and hide by the side of the house. Through the window he could see the other two looting the place. But Con remained still in the middle of the room. As he crouched there by the side of the house, looking in through the window, he started to hear voices in the distance. One, a woman, who he recognized as Harley Quinn. The other, a man, who he knew was Ashton Irwin. The noise wasn't heard all the way into the house, but still, Con turned in that general direction, eyebrow cocked in confusion. "I sense that there's someone at the door." Gesturing to one of the other men, he instructed. "You come with me. The other stay behind and guard the prisoners. Make sure they don't try anything."

Both nodded and one followed Conrad and the other went ahead upstairs. Calum took that as his opportunity to enter the house. He knew Harley and he trusted her enough to not get caught. If that were to fail, at least Ashton looked like he was strong enough to fight back. Then again, he had gotten caught in the original scenario of this happening. All Calum knew was that if his grandfather were to put his hands on Harley, he would lose it and ultimately do something that might alter the course of the future more drastically than it already was.

He pushed the window open and climbed inside, being careful to make sure no one else who was of danger was in the house. He climbed the steps to the upper level and walked towards the master bedroom of the house. There, he felt his stomach churn, and he almost gagged as he saw four people tied up in the middle of the room, each of them strapped to a chair. Their throats had been slit with a knife and there was blood everywhere, staining the carpet floors in a deep crimson. The stench of blood overpowered his nostrils. From what he had read, his family had been shot when he got back home from Anne-Sophie's house. But this was different. This time they had their throats slit and that's why Calum didn't hear any gunshots when he had been waiting in the car. The mere fact that Ashton had taken so long to return home was what probably changed the course of the events that happened that night.

The person watching over them turned as he heard his footsteps, but didn't take any measures against him. 

"Back so quickly, boss?" He asked. And he had no time to ask any further questions because Calum began to concentrate really hard. Soon, the man started feeling as though his lungs were shriveling up like raisins and he fell to the floor gasping for air, the life draining out of him. Calum stopped as he felt his life teetering on the brink. He didn't want to be like that anymore, careless and destructive like his grandfather. He spared his life, but managed to do enough damage that he wouldn't be waking up for a good few days.

Calum only stood there, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't help them anymore. Ashton's siblings were dead. They were only children and it was a faster drainage of their blood. His father's heart had given out as well. The only one with atleast ten more minutes of suffering was his mother. Calum though about just ending her suffering, and being compassionate. But he also thought that it wasn't his place to decide that for anyone. 

Downstairs he heard a noise. It was things falling and shattering on the floor. He left the room and went to peek down towards the lower level from the stairs. There he saw Conrad Hood dragging Ashton's limp body towards the bottom of the steps and Calum felt his heart sink. what if he had gone out and killed them, and was bringing them back up to get rid of the bodies together? The other man who had gone with him carried the figure of Harley Quinn in his arms. Calum disappeared back into the bedroom to think of a plan. When it came to him, he hid in the closet, and waited to see what they would do next. Though he was boiling with anger, he would not let it get the best of him. He had to be smart about it if he wanted to get out of there alive with Harley.

-

"Wake..." Harley heard a voice command her, and at the same time, the burlap sack was pulled from her head, revealing that she was in what she knew as her parents' bedroom. She tried to get up, but she quickly realized that she was bound to a chair. The next thing she noticed was the overpowering stench of blood in the air, and as she looked around, her blue eyes widened in shock when she saw the four dead bodies of Ashton's family members, all with slit throats. 

The next one to wake up was Ashton, and he was more vocal about things. As he looked around and saw his family members, he started sobbing and crying out. "What's going on? My parents! Harry! Lauren!" He asked, crying hysterically. Harley didn't blame him. They were his family after all and he had seen them alive and well that morning. Now they were all dead. Harley felt a prick in her chest at the fact that she couldn't save them too. But at that moment, her priority now was saving Ashton's life.

From out in the hallway Conrad hood walked into the room, a smug smirk playing on his lips. And again, Harley was taken by the fact that Calum looked so much like him. But she could always find warmth in his eyes. In the eyes of that man, in that moment, she could only find hate and evil. He walked in with a bloody knife in his hands, playing with it. His hands stained with blood, which meant he had been the one to do the deed. There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke. "You took so long to return home, that we just had to warm up by executing your family."

"Why would you do such a thing, Con? You were my best friend! We were like brothers!" Ashton shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"That's funny because I never consider us that way." Con said with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "You should have saved your dumb notions of friendship for that stupid little Mexican boy that works at Claire's place. He dreams of helping people and becoming a cop. All I dream about if finding ways of making more money." As he finished, he scoffed, acting as though he were trying to hold back his laughter. 

"You're a fucking monster." Harley snarled.

Con finally looked to her, acknowledging her for the first time since they two had woken up. "Well, if it isn't Bobby's little sister? I really have nothing against you. My problem is with him." He gestured to Ashton, the knife was still in Con's hands and he was playing with it as though it were a toy. "Just promise yourself to me and I won't kill you. I promise we'll have some fun."

Right then, the man in the room next to Conrad fell to the floor, suffocating like a fish out of water. Everyone turned to look at him, just as Calum emerged from the closet at the end of the room, behind Con. There was a Diamond Rose in his hand, and he had it aimed at his grandfather's head. "Better yet, get the fuck out of here and I won't kill you. She's my girlfriend, and he's my friend. I won't let you hurt them." As the words left his mouth, he couldn't help but notice that he had called Ashton his friend. Then again, their relationship was complicated and there was no time for details at that time.

Con turned slowly, chuckling at Calum's words, but his smile was wiped clean off his face when he took a look at the boy holding the gun. "And who the hell are you?" He asked him with confusion. 

"I'm your grandson, from the future." Calum explained simply. Looking to Harley, he added, "That girl is Claire and Bobby's granddaughter. We're here to stop you from committing one of the biggest murders in Sydney. Not for your sake, but for his." He looked to Ashton next.

Ashton seemed to have been thrown off guard by the information. He saw the way Claire threw herself at Bobby, but he thought she was just joking to make Hayley angry. He didn't think they would actually have something. "Bobby...and Claire? They've been seeing each other behind my back?" Ashton said the names in a small voice. He couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by the information that was given to him. As he looked at Harley, he could see the resemblance a bit. She did looked like the two of them.

"Claire and Bobby didn't get together until long after you passed away, Ash. Bobby truly considered you his best friend, but she seduced him." Harley started to explain.

But instead of helping, her words confused him even more. "Me? Pass away?"

Their attention was once again shifted as they heard someone wince out in pain. It was Calum, who fell to his knees with the Diamond Rose still in his hands. Harley looked down at him and saw that where he was holding it, black thorns covered in a pink hue were protruding from the gun and digging into his flesh. It was like a poison overtaking him. Conrad stood over him, once again with his smirk on his lips because he thought he had won. He started to explain to Calum. "You're not a hunter, boy. That's why the gun rejects you, and your body wants to reject it too. Those thorns will continue moving up your arm until they reach your heart. They will puncture it and fill it with poison unless you let go."

Calum could already feel the poison flowing through his system. The thorns were slowly moving up his arm now, pricking him everywhere on his skin. As he took heavy jagged breaths, Calum looked up into his grandfather's eyes with a burning determination. "With my last breath, I'll make sure to shoot and kill you." He promised.

"No." Conrad gave a shake of his head, still looking amused. "I'll retreat for now."

He walked towards the door with Calum pointing the gun at him the entire time. He stopped at the door and closed it, calling out to them from the outside.

"that thing I said about retreating just now? That was a lie. I'm going to seal this door and burn this house down with you three inside. I'm sorry, grandson. But killing you is a small price to pay. I can always make more grandchildren." The door started glowing with a green hue before it went away quickly. As he walked down the hall, they could hear Conrad Hood chuckling darkly. 

Once Calum knew he was really gone, he let go of the gun, just as the thorns were reaching his shoulder. The threw it across the room, and the thorns disappeared. But the small traces of poison remained in his body and he collapsed onto his hands, still breathing heavily. He knew he needed to help and untie them. But he needed a few moments to catch his breathing. He felt more tired than he had ever felt before and just wanted to sleep. 

But there was no time for that.

They needed to get out of that house before Conrad Hood could set it on fire.

-

so i have to go shower because i have to go to my office and sign some stuff. 

but its freezing and my room has tile floor so it stays cold like a fridge in here. but i dont want to go over there all musty so i have to. 

anyway, i hope you all like the update. there will be another one this afternoon when i get back from my office. thank you all so much for reading and supporting my stories. it genuinely means alot. 

have a wonderful day!

-clary