[ 51 ] 2014

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"The descendants of the original hunter have to be sacrificed. Then it will all be over. The hunters will give up their powers as well."

-

Calum went to his house after leaving Harley and Dempsey at the hospital to watch over Arthur, not after first stopping by the hunters' home. 

His house was the one he had first lived in when the Quinns moved to Sydney from Perth in what felt like ages ago. The house that belonged to his grandfather was a mess and probably still an open crime scene after Harley and Arthur were shot, and Cole was killed by James in the altercation, something that didn't bother Calum. He had been his uncle, but Cole never loved Calum. Calum didn't have any fond feelings for him either. 

The hunter had promised that he would take care of everything--which included wiping everyone's minds of the employees at the house and mind controlling the police to believe his version of the accounts as they supposedly happened. The story was that Calum and Arthur had gone to the house to dispute the inheritance that belonged to him rightfully. 

Cole, unwilling to let go of his greed, refused and tried to take them hostage, but James and Harley had shown up to the rescue. Most of that was what had actually happened, just in a more vanilla sense, as Calum put it. The events had been much more bloody and deadly, but the police would never believe them anyway if they said they were people with superhuman abilities. Now he would have to get a cleaning crew into the study to clean up all the blood stains on the floor, since he was sure there was a lot of it. He didn't even want to go in there himself, as seeing Harley's blood on the floor would make him want to revive his uncle just to have him killed again.

Just as he expected them to be, Niall and Andrea were already back from school when he arrived. The moment he saw the blonde haired Irish boy, he rushed over to him with a special request. "My good friend Niall. Just the person I wanted to see." He said in an overly friendly voice which all of them knew was way out of character for him. Although, Niall and Andrea noticed, that he really had been in a much better mood since he started dating Harley Quinn for real. She was one of the few people in his life who were still around, and she made him happy. 

At that moment, the two teenagers were sat down on the couch, watching a movie called Camelot. It told the story about a boy who had grown up with nothing, only his best friend and the girl that he loved. He had grown up admiring King Arthur and yearned to be like him, to the point where he formed a ruthless kingdom from nothing. He then changed and became a totally different person, being overly jealous and not letting his wife out of the house. Niall had the tub of popcorn in his lap and Andrea's head on his shoulder, both of them engrossed on the film. The two were comfortably watching the movie as they knew the only worries they had now were graduating high school. The threat of Arthur hunting shifters was over, since he had spared them for being Harley's friends and his only real targets nowadays were the originals Jack and Hazel.

Niall tore his eyes from the screen momentarily, cocking an eyebrow at his friend in confusion. "Why are you being so friendly all of a sudden?" 

Calum immediately gave up in his charade of being too friendly and informed his friend what he really wanted from him. "Okay, I need you to do me a big favor. My uncle is still in critical condition and Harley told me Michael and the originals are back in town--"

Andrea raised an eyebrow at him in question. "So? What's that got to do with us?"

"I need Niall to help me track down Jack so that I can ask him to help Arthur." Calum stated, as though it were painfully obvious. To him it was. This was another out of character thing for him to do. The Calum they had known from back then, from about a year prior, would never have worried about saving someone else's life. The Calum they knew back then only worried about himself. It seemed that falling in love with Harley Quinn was making him an all around better person.

"Hello." Andrea started to point out, and Niall soon agreed with a nod of his head. She had by now pushed herself off her boyfriend's shoulder and was looking at Calum with an incredilous look in her eyes. "Arthur hates the original family, and they hate him too. Jack will never be willing to help him. Just give up already and let the doctors do what they can."

"Just help me with this and I'll deal with the problems as they come along." Calum heaved a sigh of frustration, hints of a bad mood approaching. He really didn't think it would be so difficult to get them on board with his plan. It seemed simple enough when he thought it up in his mind. As an idea came to him, he made Niall an offer that he knew he couldn't refuse. "If you help me find him, Niall, I promise I will buy you every single item on the Nando's menu. You have my word." At that, Niall perked up like an excited pup and was at full attention. How could he ever pass up the idea of free food?

Calum grinned, knowing he had gotten to him. Just like he had done once with Harley, Niall responded enthusiastically. "I'll do it for the food."

Andrea threw her head back and groaned loudly, a bit annoyed that he had submitted to the offer all too quickly. "Of course."

But then again, she wasn't surprised. Niall would do anything for food. It was one of his one true loves. The other was his girlfriend Andrea. 

From his pocket, Calum pulled out a shirt of Jack's which had been forgotten at the hunters' home when he was staying with them not too long ago. Calum had broken into their house to find something of his and he was lucky to find it laying around. He tossed it at Niall, who in turn caught it in one hand and brought the material to his nose. It was uncanny and amazing to Calum how he could sniff a person out, just from one item that belonged to them. His one weakness was if a person was hiding around a large body of water.

Niall closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to pick something up. When something finally came to him, he opened his eyes again and looked to Calum. "I've got something. Let's go."

Calum nodded gratefully and raced towards the driveway with Niall and Andrea following behind him.

-

The scent led them to the abandoned warehouse district in the outskirts of Sydney. It was a place familiar to all of them. Calum had gone there with Harley once. Niall and Andrea had gone there with Harley too, to search for any news on Calum when he went missing. It was also the place where Ashton and Harley had followed Michael when he first arrived in Sydney. But Calum and his friends didn't know that. 

They parked in one of the old lots. From the outside, it was completely empty of cars, but there was an overgrowth of plants everywhere that made the place look like it hadn't been used in years. It was a row of factory buildings with an office building including a beautiful clock tower near the end of the property. They had parked closest to the offices and as they left the car, Calum followed Niall towards the old offices of what had once been an office furniture warehouse. They went around to a side door that was always unlocked, and followed the tracker through an endless maze of hallways.

When they reached a certain door, Niall stopped, whispering to Calum. "In there." He pointed.

Calum slowly reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. When he did, he found Michael standing there, Diamond Rose in hand, pointing at the doorway. The three teenagers outside raised their arms in self-defense and surrender. In the far end of the room was an old bed. Hazel and Jack were sitting there, with the younger of them afraid and in her brother's arms. 

Michael rolled his eyes at them as he heaved a sigh filled with what Calum could tell was annoyance, but his words were dripping with clear distaste as he spoke. He still wasn't on good terms with Calum. Calum didn't think they would ever be on good terms either, since the rivalry between them didn't stem from him being a shifter and Michael being a shifter hunter as he initially thought. It stemmed from Michael having a crush on Harley and being jealous of Calum for being so close to her. 

"I was this close to shooting you, mate." He hesitated for a moment before he put the gun down and stepped aside to let them into the dimly lit room. For one, he knew that they were not there to harm any of them. Also, he knew that if they were to even try, they would all leave the warehouse in a casket. 

A friendly smile spread across Jack's lips when he saw who it was. "Its my friend Calum." He said, and Hazel almost choked on air because she absolutely despised the raven haired boy. 

At least Calum had been right about one thing--Jack actually considered him a friend. Calum could consider him a friend as well, since he was a nice guy who had saved his life on more than one occasion and he was always willing to help. As far as Calum knew, Jack was the real MVP in their group of friends. Hazel, on the other hand, was absolutely insufferable to him. He could not stand her, despite her resemblance to Harley Quinn. From the very first moment, they had done nothing but constantly clash.

"Jack," Calum wasted no time and cut the distance between them. "I need you to do me another favor as a friend."

Hazel immediately replied for her brother with a vehement shake of her head. "We will not help that man. I'm sorry for Harley because I like her and she's a good friend. But we can't help a man who wants us dead."

The boy with raven hair and dark eyes shot her a glare. "This is an A and B conversation. Why don't you fuck off?" He asked her. It was the most polite he had ever been to her considering that he wanted her brother's help. But still, his words were dripping with annoyance. Jack only found the whole exchange between them to be amusing. When she rolled her eyes at him, he added, "As a matter of fact, why don't you sleep? You look tired. I think you need some rest." He gave a command, brown eyes boring into her green ones.

His powers did nothing, didn't even faze her, and she laughed in his face, mocking him for being powerless against her. "Didn't you know? I'm from the original family. Your mind control powers don't work on me."

Jack was delighted to witness their interactions. With a chuckle, he pointed from one teenager to the other. "Its a real shame you're dating Harley now. I honestly would have loved to see something pan out between the two of you." By the two of you, he had been talking about Calum and his sister Hazel. He knew that his sister had a little crush on Michael, but since Michael was busy pining over his half-sister, Jack considered Calum a better option. The problem was that Calum was also in love with Harley Quinn.

Hazel cringed so hard, as though she had been mortally wounded. Then she crinkled up her nose, "He is the spawn of satan. He and I would never in a million years happen."

"That's one thing we can agree on." Calum nodded. He quickly corrected, "Not the spawn of satan bit, the never gonna happen bit." Heaving a sigh, he then said, "We're getting sidetracked. I need you to help me cure Arthur, and I promise he will not hurt you. I will convince him to spare your lives. I think its the better option for all of us anyway. I like my powers."

"He's over here making a million promises like a politician on campaign." Andrea muttered to Niall, who placed a hand over his lips to stifle a laugh.

"Plus," Jack pointed out, half way on board already. He just had a few comments on the situation. "That wouldn't get rid of everyone. The hunters would still be around, and who's to say the hunters are God's gift to humanity? There are probably bad ones out there too."

At this, Michael spoke up. He knew things about the hunters, and their organization that no one else in that room knew. "Arthur once gave me a book to read about the hunters. How they were created in Mexico to counter the shifters in Canada. Polar opposites, like fire and ice, prey and predator. When the last originals die and all the other shifters become normal human beings, the hunter is to return to the place where it all started. The descendants of the original hunter have to be sacrificed. Then it will all be over. The hunters will give up their powers as well." As the thought dawned on him, Michael gasped. "Wait, no. Fuck this shit. If its Arthur, don't fucking tell me he wants to sacrifice me and Harley."

Calum's eyes widened at the thought. He wasn't so much worried about Michael, but he was terrified of losing Harley. Especially now that he had her. "He wouldn't."

"You want me to save him, so that he can then kill himself, and his two spawns?" Jack wondered.

Calum was in denial, and replied with a shake of his head. "He would never do anything to hurt Harley. He loves her. I trust my uncle."

-

this one is very filler as well. but also contains useful information. 

so guys, since i hast updated this, i listened to the new 5sos album. AND I FUCKING LOVED IT. the boys dragged me back into their lane. i'm crying so hard. after two long years, i am a 5sos fan again.

tbh i still love exo and kpop more. but 5sos were like "bitch you thought". my bias used to be ashton though, and now i think its calum.

he's so handsome and i wanna pounce on that. but ash still holds a special place in my heart. 

i hope you're all liking this. there will be some final bits of drama before this story ends and then i will write the alternate endings. i remember i had four in mind and i have notes for them somewhere in my computer. you all can decide which one you wanna stick with. i leave it up to you.

-clary