Before I can stop myself, words are spilling from my mouth. "There's no way you could have been in-"

But the ground shakes, effectively cutting me off. Unlike before, this tremor is much more tremendous. The cabinets in the kitchen burst open and dishes come flying out. Despite us being unsteady on our feet, Alexei grabs hold of me, anchoring me down with her. I wrap my arms around her and tighten them, afraid to let go. From the corner of my eye, I can just make out Ingrid nearly falling to the ground, but steadying herself on the refrigerator.

Cal dodges a plate that comes falling towards him. There's not many places he can go as letting go of the counter will cause him to lose his balance and fall to the ground that's littered with glass. All the while, James remains sitting. He looks up at the ceiling, as if he's gauging something the rest of us are failing to see.

This continues for longer than two minutes. At some point, a crack forms on the walls, starting from the base and working its way to the ceiling. Seeing the break in drywall causes me to bury myself further into Alexei, afraid the structure will crush us.

Once the quake finally ends, my legs are like jelly. Unclenching my fists from Alexei's shirt is a hassle and I have to force my fingers open. Taking a deep breath, I look around at everybody to see they're all doing well. Though they're all just as baffled as I am by the massive earthquake we've just experienced.

The room is now a mess. Some cabinets hang open with half of the doors of their hinges. Broken plates and cups sit in despair on the hardwood floors. Even non-perishable items that were in any of the cabinets sit in disarray on the ground. And above us, the light blinks on and off, letting us know that some wires somewhere have been ruined by the shock.

"It's starting," James mumbles. It's a wonder how he was able to stay grounded in his seat the whole time. "We need to get away from here."

He stands to his feet and brushes himself off. Pieces of the wall drop from his clothing as he gives himself a good shake. Then he begins his way toward me, only to stop midway. Like an animal sniffing out its prey, he narrows his eyes and turns his head towards the door. His nostrils flare ever so slightly as he sniffs the air.

"It's time to go," his deep voice booms before the door of the kitchen bursts open, flying off its hinges.

A scream tears from my mouth as the large block of wood flies towards Alexei and I. My body is pulled to the side and I hear the item breaking. With Alexei's height and my body being pressed against hers, for now, my vision is obstructed.

"What is that smell?" The voice is that of a woman, high pitched and scratchy. "Where is it?"

Forcing my body away, I turn to see who and how many people have come here. Five vampires stand in the doorway. They look crazed and sick with the same thing as James from before. As if all possessed by the same thing, their eyes zero in on me. My heart seizes in my chest and it drops to the very pit of my stomach.

One of them lunges, then another, before the last three go at the same time. My original attacker is the first to spring forward and tackle the first to the ground. He bares his fangs and hisses loudly. Then as if he's a piece of paper, his body flies back, though his hand comes out quickly and he grabs the woman by her neck, taking her with him. Their standoff doesn't last long as just the two of them as the second person is pulled in.

Cal shoots past us to apprehend the others. Ingrid stays where she is, watching the scene with wide eyes.

"You guys go," Cal commands, not taking the chance to look back at us. He grunts as the other vampires begin to bite at his arms as he holds the back. The sight of his blood dripping down his skin makes my stomach turn in both guilt and disgust. "We'll hold them back, but you need to get Sophia-Grace out of here."

Alexei says nothing as she hoists me into her arms and dashes past both fights that have broken out. In a blur, things pass by us and we land at the entrance of the massive home in a flash. But what meets us are more deranged looking vamps. They all sniff the air repeatedly before going in for the attack. Alexei growls before she dodges away from each and every assailant who throws their body our way.

Ingrid, who I hadn't noticed followed, begins her own attack. Seeing the former guard in her glory makes me realize that the people I'm with are highly dangerous. They're able to hold their own just fine.

At least that would hold true if Ingrid was still having a sufficient amount of blood. But seeing as she's been making due with animal blood, which by their standards doesn't sound as potent as human blood, she's a lot slower than she could be. As she begins to get overtaken by several other vampires, I wonder if she'll be okay.

"Alexei, things aren't looking up," I speak, knowing that negativity isn't the best for this situation. But realism is. "We need to run and it has to happen now."

We begin to get circled by them. I'm scared, a lot more scared than I want to be right now, but I'm unable to do anything about my fear. At the moment, it seems like I'll be sucked dry in no more than an hour.

"Do you think you can land on your feet?" Alexei asks, barely sparing a glance my way.

"What?"

"If I throw you, can you land on your feet?"

Her questions confuses me, but I only nod my head in reply. I'm not even sure if she saw me do so, but I'm too baffled to speak.

"Brace yourself."

Once I do so, I prepare to get possibly thrown and close my eyes. When I don't feel my body flying through the air, I pry them open and look around. Bright lights blind me, causing me to lift a hand to shield my eyes. In the process of me doing that, I hear an engine rev multiple times before tires screech against the pavement.

I take my hand away just in time to see the SUV smack against several of the people who were threatening us. Some bodies fly while some land under the truck. Bringing a hand up to cover my mouth, I stare at the sight, unbelieving that I witnessed this.

The passenger window rolls down to reveal James. He motions us towards the vehicle all while yelling to get in. Alexei makes haste as she zooms to the back seat, throws the door open, and sets me in.

"I need to get Ingrid," she tells me before she looks at Cal, the driver. "Start the descent, we'll find our way to you guys, okay?"

"No." I grab Alexei's hand and clutch it to my chest. "Alexei, we need to go."

She only shakes her head and pries her hand away from me. "We can't leave her. We'll be fine, okay? I'll find my way to you, even if I have to crawl out from the depths of hell."

With that, she shuts the door, signaling Cal to start driving. I watch out the window as Alexei begins fighting her way through the lucid, but zombie-like vampires. When I can no longer see her, I can't help the childish huff that comes out as I throw my body back into the seat.

"Alexei is strong," Cal assures, glancing back for a moment. "She'll be fine."

Nodding my head, I run a hand down my face. "Thanks, Cal, but that's not what I'm worried about. I have a bad feeling... like this is a situation we won't be able to overcome."

It remains silent for a time after that as we leave the area. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised that we aren't being followed. This would have been the perfect chance for that since there aren't many of us. Though I guess it's true that life isn't like books or movies.

It feels like it takes no time when Cal finds the freeway and drives onto it. I close my eyes for a moment before remembering that we have a new companion. James sits quietly in the front, making his presence almost nonexistent despite his bulky form.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," James speaks first, hitting the mark perfectly. Yes, I do have a lot of questions about what's going on and why James is appearing so suspicious. I want to say it has something way more to do with just him getting a taste of Elysium, but I don't know. "I don't have a lot of the answers that you may be looking for, but I'll try my best to answer with what I learned.

Words of thankfulness are on the tip of my tongue before a force pushes our vehicle to the side. As we roll, my head hits the window and I begin to black out. I can just make out Cal and James screaming for me, asking if I'm okay. I don't know if I reply before my eyes close and I lose consciousness. 

*forgive any discrepancies between the time, as in if it's morning or night*