I panted, staring down at the corpses now littering the floor. My anger really got to me. Now all I want to do is kill things. I looked out the window to where Latte, Bella, and Edward waited for me.

I exited the apartment via the broken window and climbed onto my horse. We were almost right next to the woods so there was no reason to hurry. Latte walked alongside the numerous trees.

"Come on, Latte, onto the next place."

She whinnied and picked up her pace slightly. Despite the fun I was having now, I still wore a frown the whole time. I just can't believe Selene. She completely ruined my chance at getting rid of those two.

I mean, come on, what could possibly be out there that we can't handle? There's no reason for her to be so cautious. I can take care of myself.

Realization hit me. She's acting kinda like Austin. She's been looking out for me and keeping me out of harms way, just like he did. I found myself laughing lightly.

"She really is growing on me," I mumbled to myself.

Even though I now understood her actions, I refused to go crawling back to her. I was still pretty livid right now. Instead, we continued onward to the next home.

Selene's pov

The following night arrived agonizingly slow. Things just seemed so quiet and dull without Naomi here. I've grown quite accustomed to her random questions and constant talk of killing Jeff.

Even Fang and Saber seemed a bit down without their opossum friends. This time, I honestly don't know where Naomi went or if she's even coming back. But if she does return, I'll be sure to make it up to her.

She simply must understand that she's not the most powerful one lurking out in the forests. There are others to be wary of. But I don't understand why I can't track them.

Only while Naomi was fighting did I sense the approaching danger. But any other time, the spirits tell me nothing of this bunch and I am unable to locate them.

I sat in front of the fire, gazing into the flames. I was connecting with the spirits, trying to get them to help me find something, anything, that could be useful. That's when I saw it.

Another crystal. This one with a blue wisp inside. It was close by, very close by. I stood, knowing I needed to get to it immediately.

"Fang, Saber, stay here," I ordered. "I'll be back shortly."

The dogs stared at me, whining as I left. I walked through the dark woods, letting the spirits guide me. It wasn't long before I caught sight of someone. I crouched behind a bush, observing them.

It was a man. With short, blond hair, he wore glasses and a simple shirt and shorts with hiking boots and a small pack strapped to his back. He's very brave to venture this deep into the forest. How foolish.

I immediately caught sight of the silver bracelet on his wrist with the crystal encrusted in it. I remained still and watched him. He looked all around and muttered to himself about losing his way.

From what I could gather, he was a simple explorer, probably searching for more of the crystals thinking they're of some value to him. I silently followed him with my dagger in hand.

It wasn't long before he stopped at a creek. He got down on his knees and began scooping up water and splashing his face. I came out from hiding and crept up behind him.

In one swift movement, I grabbed him by the air and yanked his head upward while positioning my dagger against his throat.

"Give me what I want and I won't harm you," I said to him.

"O-O-Of course," he stammered with fear. "Just name it."

"I want that bracelet you have on your wrist."

He hesitated before saying, "But that's an artifact, it must be studied and shown to the world."

I chuckled. "That is no artifact. It holds no value to anyone but me, and I happen to want it back."

Before he could say anything else, I slit his throat. I let go of him and backed away, watching him fall back onto the grass. I flicked the excess blood from my blade before sliding it back into my belt.

I stepped over his body and crouched next to him. I snatched his arm and pulled the bracelet off his wrist. I stared at the blue smoke inside the crystal, smiling to myself.

"I'm so glad to have you back," I mumbled to the object. "I'm sorry I lost you. Just wait a little longer, I still have to find two more."

Jack's pov

I quietly sighed to myself. This is a mess. Masky and Hoodie are out of the hunt for awhile. After their encounter with Naomi, Slender returned with the injured proxies.

Now Slender won't let them leave the house again until they've healed a bit. Which is why I'm out here now. Jeff and I are the only ones left to continue the search, aside from Slender, that is.

But with Jeff still being hell-bent on killing Naomi, I figured it best we split up. While Jeff would just rush into a battle, I'd prefer to observe things first.

I soon froze in my tracks, noticing something not far from me. I silently crept closer to get a better look. I could see the bloody corpse of a man on the ground. There was a person crouched next to him.

It looked to be a girl. With her back to me, all I could see was her black hair with beads and feathers hanging from it and that she was wearing tribal-like clothes with a blood-coated dagger strapped to her hip.

She looked to be holding something to her chest, but I couldn't tell what it was. After a moment, she snapped her head toward me, as if sensing my presence. She immediately stood, facing me.

I was unable to see her face because of the mask that she wore. It seemed to be a skull from an impossibly large bird. Seconds passed as we both stood still, staring at one another.

I carefully took one step forward, but as I did, the girl turned and darted off into the darkness. I stood there in confusion. Who the hell was that?

Naomi's pov

I don't believe it. Jeff, he's here. A grin spread across my lips. How lucky am I? I just happened to pick an apartment that Jeff also chose. This is great!

With his back to me, I carefully approached him with my knife in hand. I glanced at the lifeless bodies on the floor, the victims Jeff got to before me. He suddenly chuckled.

"Naomi, how nice it is to see you again."

He turned around, his dark, unblinking eyes meeting my own. I was eager to finally put an end to this. But before either of us could move, the sounds of sirens reached our ears.

"Damn it!" I shouted in anger. "Why does this shit always happen at the worst possible time?!"

"Tell me about it!" he yelled in agreement. "How's anyone supposed to have a proper dual?!"

I pointed my blade at the white-skinned man while backing away toward the window I climbed in. "You remember where my old house is?"

He nodded. "Course I do, that's where I killed off your buddy."

I managed to ignore his remark and said, "Tomorrow, meet me there at midnight, alone. It's time we finally settle the score."

His permanent smile widened slightly. "Heh, can't wait."

"See ya there," I said before jumping out the window.

I hopped onto Latte's back and we took off into the closest part of the woods. Seems my rage has finally died down. Just knowing that I'll get to kill Jeff tomorrow has put me in a good mood.

Looks like I have no choice now. Guess I'm heading back to Selene's place after all. Arriving at her home, I climbed off Latte and rushed inside. Selene was there, sitting by the fire with Fang and Saber like she usually was.

"Naomi?" she said while rising to her feet.

"Selene, you won't believe what happened," I began, hoping to put our argument behind us. "I ran into Jeff. I set up a dual at my old house tomorrow night. I was hoping maybe you'd come with me."

She tilted her head to the side. "Really? You're no longer angry with me?"

I waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, I'm over it. Besides, we're a team now. We've gotta stick together to take down these bastards."

She suddenly smiled and nodded. "You're right. I'll help any way I can."

I then noticed the bracelet on her wrist now accompanying the ring and necklace. "Hey, you found another crystal on your own. Nice job."

"I was lucky," she replied. "But tell me, if this dual you speak of is between the two of you, why bring me?"

I smirked. "Because Jeff has quite a few buddies and he doesn't seem like the type of guy to play by the rules. I doubt he'll honor our agreement and come alone. Therefore, you can be my backup."

She grinned. "Alright then, consider it my way of apologizing for what happened last time."

"That's not really necessary, but whatever works for you."

"Perfect," she answered. "Now we should begin our preparations for tomorrow. I have an idea that may give us an advantage over our foes."

We both chuckled. I couldn't wait to hear Selene's plan. Knowing her, she'll have everything figured out. Seems tomorrow can't come soon enough.