He didn't know where to start.

He knew he needed a plan of some sort, something that wouldn't get him and Phil killed at the same time; rushing in blindly wasn't an option. But he needed to act quickly because he wasn't sure when his family would finally notice he was gone, and track him down.

He tried to find some sort of lead, any evidence about where they might have taken Phil, but it was mostly fruitless. His room and everywhere around his house held nothing, and the school was just as barren. He was running on hope and diminishing determination, and the more he tried the less he came up with.

He knew about hunters. He knew they liked to keep things quiet, wouldn't risk being anywhere in the open lest they be discovered by reckless bystanders. They would be somewhere secluded, but there were a lot of places like that, and Dan didn't have the time to search them all.

It was cold out, and even though he couldn't feel it, he still hunched into his jacket.

They'd probably be inside somewhere. They were human after all, and wouldn't be willing to stand the cold just to keep a hostage. And yeah, that narrowed the possibilities somewhat, but not by much.

He was running out of time. Besides the fact that Zoe had probably already told the other's of his intentions, he was also trying to find Phil before something happened to him. He didn't... he didn't want to end up being too late to save him.

It was an endless loop in his mind, a nonstop chant of my fault my fault my fault, and Dan hated himself with every step he took. Phil didn't deserve this. He had no idea the extent of the danger that would be brought on him just by interacting with Dan, no idea the things they would most likely do just to get their hands on him.

The small thread he was hanging onto, the possibility that he could still fix this whole mess, was wearing thin with every minute that Dan didn't do anything, but it was like no matter how how much he tried and he wished and he goddamn prayed, it wasn't enough. Nothing was going to fix this.

He was fucking moping, he knew, dragging himself through a small area surrounded by trees and staring at the ground like he was in some depressing chick flick and the girl had just gotten dumped by the guy. If it had been raining, well, wouldn't that just be the perfect addition to his pity party.

And man, he was not paying attention in the slightest because two seconds later, there was a knife at his throat, pushing him up against a tree as the person holding the weapon restrained him.

"You must be really fucking out of it to be caught so easily." The guy, one of the hunters he knew, hissed in his face, practically radiating anger. Dan stared back at him resiliently, cursing himself for being caught off guard like that. He needed to stop spacing out so much.

He heard more footsteps, more hunters, heading their way, and now him and Phil were both screwed.

***

Phil

The only one who he saw after that was PJ.

From what little he'd explained, there were more than just him and Chris, a whole community that stuck together to kill 'those sons of bitches'. And they all wanted to torture Phil for the information they needed. PJ didn't like resorting to violence so easily, and he had felt bad for Phil being treated so poorly. And Phil didn't know if he was telling the truth or if it was just some kind of ploy to get him to talk.

He was brought food, though, and water, and that much was greatly appreciated. At least they didn't leave him there to rot. But he was constantly terrified about whatever was supposed to happen next, and sleep was nonexistent. Not to mention the rope burn he was getting from struggling so much against the ropes around his arms and ankles.

How long has he been here? There was no telling the amount of hours or days he'd spent here, but it felt like years. Even soft hearted PJ refused him the luxury of knowing what fucking day it was.

He tried constantly to get Phil to talk, answer his questions and tell them where Dan and the rest of them were. But Phil didn't even bother with refusing out loud anymore, he just kept his mouth shut and let the guy question him until he got frustrated and left. It was a process he'd grown used to quickly.

"This would be so much easier if you would just cooperate." PJ muttered from where he was leaning against the wall opposite of Phil. He looked thoroughly exhausted, but there wasn't an ounce of guilt for it. "There's a much bigger idea here than just killing them, we have reasons."

Phil leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling boredly.

They stayed like that for a while, in complete silence, before being greatly disrupted by the door slamming open and a girl that Phil had never seen before rushed in, talking quietly but urgently with PJ.

"You're fucking joking." PJ said in near shock, looking much more alert them he had a minute ago. The girl only shrugged, and left again.

Phil stared at his interrogator questioningly, wondering what the hell was going on. Had they finally decided he was worthless? Or were they going to start torturing him since PJ wasn't having any success.

PJ stared back at him, wearing a small smile that didn't look promising. "Looks like your information isn't needed anymore. We got one." He said, and then left after the girl, shutting the door again and leaving Phil alone.

Fuck. It was a very very small chance, next to completely none, but Phil had the largest feeling of dread in his stomach, twisting inside of him making him want to throw up. What if it was Dan? The rest of that family didn't seem at all the type to even think about going after the hunters, let alone be stupid enough to get caught. But Dan... he was reckless most of the time, and Phil could easily imagine him being captured.

It felt like hours, with him just sitting there, worried out of his mind and coming up with all kinds did scenarios, usually ending with death.

This is my fault, everything is my fault, he thought bitterly, struggling against his restraints for the hundredth time and groaning irritatedly. He was always fucking things up, and now he was sitting in the palm of these hunters hands, most likely dragging Dan down with him.

There was a bang from right outside his door, and he froze, waiting expectantly for whatever was going to happen. The door opened slowly, and Phil shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to be apart of what they had planned.

"I swear, as soon as this is done, we're moving to Florida." A female voice hissed in his ear, making him tense up.

"Zoe?" He said hoarsely, not entirely convinced he wasn't hallucinating. The brunette was cutting at the ropes tying him down with a box cutter, scowling the whole time.

"In the flesh." She replied sarcastically, tearing the ropes from his arms and moving to his legs. He continued staring, his brain going into overdrive trying to figure out what was going on. Was this some kind of rescue mission?

"What's happening?" He asked, standing on shaky legs when he was finally free. "Why are you doing this, I thought... I thought they caught Dan."

"They did." She muttered, grabbing his arm and dragging him roughly from the room. The hall outside was just as dark as the room he'd been in, and he barely kept from tripping over his own feet. "Trying to rescue you, of all things. Wasn't paying attention like the idiot he is, damn lucky I was following him."

He was having a really hard time processing this whole situation, everything was moving really fast and making his head spin more than it already was. Zoe didn't elaborate any further though, and he didn't ask, just let her keep pulling him along.

The whole place seemed to be empty, Phil guessing they'd all decided to help out with capturing Dan.

"Are we.... gonna save him, too?" He asked when they had reached the exit, and he realized they were in pretty much the middle of nowhere with nothing but trees around them. Zoe stopped near a large group of them and Phil tried to catch his breath.

"That's the plan." She said, although Phil noticed she didn't sound very hopeful about it.

***

Dan

There were too many of them for him to even try and escape, three gripping his arms tightly as they led him through the trees, and the rest of them spread out in case he did pull free.

But he didn't. There wasn't much of a point for him to, they would easily catch him again, and wouldn't hesitate to kill him on the spot. At least this way, he still had a chance, albeit a small one.

And maybe he could see Phil at least once. Doubtful, but a demon could dream.

He thought they would take him to whatever place they were hiding out at here, tie him up and torture him like he'd heard about so many times before. But he was slightly surprised when they dragged him to a seemingly random tree, pushing him up against the trunk of it roughly before tying him up with a length chain he hadn't noticed before. But he still didn't struggle, didn't utter a word of protest.

One of them, a guy who couldn't be much older than twenty, approached him, slipping a long blade from a holster on his thigh and placing it against the skin of Dan's throat. It slid gently under his chin, but Dan still felt it slice the skin open, and winced at the burn. There wasn't much that could harm him, and definitely not that knife, but they must have done something to it because it continued to ache even as it was pulled away from him.

The hunter in front of him sneered. "We're gonna have some fun with you."

***

a/n: annnnd we're getting close to the ending. I can't wait to see you guys' reaction man. I just... ugh it's gonna be fun.

I remember when I first started writing this story. Like literally, a year ago.  Wonder if anyone has stayed with this since the beginning. Probs not, but much love to everyone who is reading it currently, you make me smile.

Yeah okay, that's all. Hope you guys liked this and stick around for the ending. Peace :3

(Agh I keep forgetting about this part until I almost publish the chapter. I've started writing a new story for those who don't know, and the first two parts are up and ready to be read. Um, it's called Give Me Some Of That Bass *still working on the title smh* and you should read it if you want to I guess. Yeah. Okay bye for real now babes. Love you).