Chapter Eighteen (Walter)

Peter was silent the whole way back to the hospital.

He looked surprisingly shaken when we received the news from Hunter that Seth and Kipp had gotten into a serious accident. Peter didn't even really like us, from what I could tell, and yet he still seemed to show fear and pain over them. I didn't question him about it, though.

I did want to question Adam, however.

What was his deal? I'd never seen him freak out like that before. The moment he took the duct tape off Julian's mouth, and all that blood came pouring, I had to admit that I was stunned. I didn't think removing someone's fangs would make them bleed that much, unless Jack had done something else to Julian that we didn't know about, but from the looks of him, he was totally fine, except the fangs. They were gone.

But the look on Adam's face. You'd think someone just killed his puppy. I guess I never really paid attention to how serious his relationship with Julian was. Adam had turned murderous, agonized, all at the same time. And when Peter told him about Seth and Kipp, it was like the final blow.

Adam looked stuck. And I could see the panic in his eyes. He didn't know what to do, where to go, what decisions to make, how to save anyone. The guilt of blaming himself for what happened to them blazed so hot inside him that when I had grabbed him, I practically felt the burn of it. I was feeling a little suicidal, I suppose, when I had treated Adam roughly. I'd only done it once another time before and Adam had punched my lights out for it, but this time, it was like something I said clicked with him. The way he looked at me like he was seeing a light at the end of a dark, dreary tunnel.

And for some reason, it actually felt good to know that I wasn't totally useless.

So after managing to snap Adam out of his daze, he went back to his macho bossy attitude and we were on a roll to the hospital.

We pulled into the parking lot just outside the visitor lobby near the emergency wing. Adam led the way in after we got Julian changed out of his bloody clothes into a fresh pair. By then, I had noticed that his mouth had stopped bleeding, which meant his magic vampire powers were working, but he didn't dare open his mouth. He stayed quiet, and it was so odd.

Julian was a natural obnoxious loudmouth that liked picking fights for shits and giggles. He was rude sometimes, but he was honest and loyal. And right now, he just wanted to hide the shame of not having his fangs anymore. I had learned already that fangs were a vampires most important weapon and way to get food. And now Julian's were gone.

Even with Adam holding his hand tightly the whole way into the hospital, I knew Julian was going to change.

We went to the desk and informed the woman we were friends of Seth's. She made us go to the closed off glass lobby where we spotted Kipp sitting on a sofa with a paper cup full of water. He jumped to his feet as soon as he saw us. He looked pretty crappy with a large bruise forming on the side of his cheek, several small cuts made on his cheek, neck, and shoulder that was wrapped up in gauze, a gauze pad stuck to his forehead over what I assumed were stitches.

"You guys!" Kipp sounded like he couldn't say anything more than that. I waited by Peter while Adam and Julian went to Kipp. While I had joined their little group, I still didn't entirely feel part of it, so I would give them the privacy they needed, because Kipp looked like he was on the verge of bursting into tears and even Adam took a moment to give Kipp a quick man hug before they split up.

"What happened, Kipp?" Adam asked firmly, studying Kipp's face intently. Kipp glanced at Julian, who just stared at him expectantly, before Kipp sighed and wrung out his hands, wincing every so often when he jostled his shoulder.

"I don't even know," He admitted nervously, "We were driving away from the hotel. We were talking and then the light turned green and he just started to go and suddenly this car just-just comes out of nowhere and..." He stopped and choked up again, using his hands for emphasis as he avoided our eyes.

"Jesus Christ, I don't think... I've never seen so much blood in my entire life," Kipp stammered, making everyone flinch at the thought, "His legs. His arm. And he was trying so hard. I just... I didn't know what to do. I tried to do what I think he'd do, but then when I looked up at him and... and his eyes were closed and-- Goddamn it, I thought he was dead."

"I'm sorry, Kipp." Adam told Kipp quietly. Kipp just sniffed, wiping quickly at his eyes to try and compose himself. He coughed, clearing his throat and sniffing again while Adam stood there and seemed to be thinking about something. I frowned.

"What about Hunter? Is he here?" I asked. Kipp peeked at me as he reached up to brush the hair back from his face before he nodded timidly.

"He's by the vending machines in the hall, just to the left near the bathrooms." He told me. I nodded, then looked at Adam, who looked at me. I didn't even need to say anything as Adam nodded in indication that I should go find him. I nudged my head to Peter for him to follow, and surprisingly, the scrappy little guy was right at my heels as we left the guys alone to talk and comfort each other.

I felt odd. I wanted to say something to Kipp, but I didn't know what. I felt like saying sorry wasn't enough, or threatening, or anything. In fact, I just felt plain uncomfortable, like I was intruding on the privacy he had with Adam and Julian. So I was grateful to be out of there.

"Is Seth your friend?" Peter asked as we left. I frowned, glancing at him out the corner of my eye before looking back down the hallway.

Was Seth my friend? I wasn't sure. We'd never called each other friends. We only hung out because I was following Julian around. I only followed Julian because he was the only one who knew I wasn't totally off my nut... But as time went on, I realized maybe even Julian thought I was crazy, maybe I really was. I had to be to get into this kind of mess, and yet, for some reason, it still didn't scare me.

I said nothing to Peter, who sighed wearily. He was tired of trying to get me to talk to him. I saw no reason to talk to him about much. I didn't know him that well and I certainly didn't trust him. The little booger pulled a gun on Kipp for cryin' out loud, and he was only with us because Hunter was and Peter was the lost little puppy that would do anything to make big brother smile and pat his head.

We came to the vending machine where Hunter leaning with his head against the glass, watching as a baggy of M&Ms fell down into the bin below. He stooped, wincing as he did so, grabbing the baggy and standing up to turn and see us. His expression was completely calm, despite the blood on the front of his clothes. Peter's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, but Hunter flicked an M&M at him.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, petit frère. It's not my blood." Hunter paused to frown at that while Peter shifted uncomfortably. I just stared at him flatly, keeping my expression bored as he shrugged and popped an M&M into his mouth.

"What about the demons? Did they make it out of the crash?" I asked. Peter frowned at that and looked at Hunter, who held up a finger for me to wait a moment as he picked up a water bottle at his feet. He took a few deep swigs before sighing in relief, glancing at me out the corner of his eye.

"Only three." He replied.

"What about the fourth one?" I asked. Hunter screwed the cap back on his bottle and stuck it into the pouch on the side of his backpack. He tossed the bag over his shoulder, stopping for a spit second-- probably from the pain of moving so quickly with his side still in pain.

"Kipp dropped it," Hunter stated, making my eyes widen in disbelief and Peter grimace, "Apparently, the thing shot out of the glass and went through the ceiling and disappeared. So we have three things of what could have happened. A) We have a loose parasitic demon that can just jump into any body he wants. B) The thing's already dead considering he doesn't have a host. Or, C), and this is Kipp's idea, the thing jumped into Seth."

"Why did he think it jumped into Seth?" Peter asked, confused.

"Yeah," I agreed dryly, "Those things like powerful supernatural pricks. Why would it jump into a human?" Hunter shrugged.

"Who knows? Kipp just said he got this feeling. And Kipp got a feeling about the car crash too. Well, not the car crash to be exact, but Kipp said he got a bad feeling as they were coming out of the hotek, so my bet is either on B or C. Either way, we need to get rid of the three that we have." He told us. I frowned at that.

"You mean kill them." I stated. Hunter glanced at me flatly as he crumpled up his M&M wrapper, shoving it at Peter, who scrambled for it, then shot Hunter a dirty look as he tossed it in the trash.

"I mean kill them." Hunter told me. I don't know why, but I didn't like the sound of that. I couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling either. Maybe because I knew Daimonas would be upset? He was already upset because Julian wouldn't talk to him, and he didn't understand why no one could snap their fingers and Seth was healed. While it would be nice to ask Daimonas to do it himself, the little guy still didn't even know how to conjure a burger with no pickles.

"Did you tell Adam that?" I asked. Hunter didn't look at me now as he rifled around in his bag.

"Nope."

"Are you going to?"

"Nope."

"You know I probably will, right?"

"Yup."

"Well, at least we understand each other." I said sarcastically, frowning as Hunter put his bag back over his shoulder after withdrawing a bottle of vicodin. Peter shifted uncomfortably, then glanced up at Hunter, who swallowed a couple of pills dry.

"I thought you were helping them." He told his brother, who snorted.

"I was helping them do what I wanted to do. And that was get rid of the demons. Those things are what Zephyra is using to pretty much destroy the world and enslave the human race to become cattle. Dunno about you, but I don't think I'd look so hot with a cow bell 'round my neck and a tattoo on my ass. We don't have time for you to feel sorry for those things. You're already knee deep in the shithole by dragging that one around with you." Hunter gestured with his pinky through the glass to the next room where the guys were. Daimonas was also with them, but he was surprisingly quiet now and kept grabbing at his chest a lot like he was in pain, probably heartburn from all the burgers he sucked down like a goddamn vacuum.

"Daimonas isn't dangerous to them." Peter pointed out. Hunter looked mildly surprised at Peter defending them, but just as I expected, the look made Peter back down. Yeah, if Peter were a dog, his ears would be back and his tail between his legs.

"Daimonas is dangerous to them," Hunter told Peter firmly, then looked at me, "Really dangerous. Right now, he's got the mind of an infant. He's learning, and he's learning fast. He'll be able to use telekinetics and any other sorta weird powers in no time. Powers he can either use against you, or Zephyra will capture him and force him to use his powers for them. Yeah, and that's another thing. So long as Daimonas is piggy-backing with you yahoos, Zephyra will be right on your heels every step of the way. And today was just the beginning."

"He's got a point," Peter said quietly, making me turn my gaze on him as he shifted uncomfortably, "Today, Julian was defanged and Seth is probably going to die. I've never heard of anyone walking away from that kind of accident, no human anyway. And worst of all is that you didn't even kill Jack or Orion. What'll happen next time when you actually try to kill someone? You might just be signing up for a suicide mission."

"I really don't care," I admitted, making Peter stare at me in surprise, before I turned to Hunter, who just stared at me with mild interest, "I knew what I was getting into with this. Unlike Seth and Kipp and Adam and Julian and, hell, even Daimonas, I don't care if I die. But I'm not going down alone, so if I have to drag everyone else to Hell with me, fine. Fasten your seat belts. It's a one way ride from here to Hell." Hunter surprised me by smiling now.

"I like you," He said, gesturing at me with his pinky finger and taking another swig of water, "You're honest and you don't give a shit. I guess that comes with being accused of being a nutjob, huh? Sucks, don't it?"

"Just dandy." I replied sourly. Hunter smirked, shrugging lightly as he glanced back into the waiting room before looking at me.

"You can go ahead and kill yourselves. Ain't no sweat off my balls if you reach an early grave. I'm a hunter. I only do what I do if I get rewarded or it's something I wanna do. I came here to get rid of demons. I'm taking those three that Seth and Kipp managed to get. And I'm gonna see if Seth is carrying that fourth one. If he is..." His voice trailed.

"You'll kill him." I deadpanned.

"It'll be quick."

"You're cruel."

"And so are you," Hunter told me seriously now, making me frown as he took a step closer so I had to crane my neck a bit to look up at him, "You're just like me. You're a selfish little shit is what you are. You'd make a good hunter someday." With that, he turned and headed down the hallway. Peter watched him go, looking disgusted and angry at his brother's words. He looked at me.

"You are not selfish," He said angrily, making me raise an eyebrow in surprise, "Hunter's just a dickbag because his pain meds wore off. And he thinks he's tough shit, when he's really just a bratty kid in the skin of an adult. He wouldn't kill Seth. Seth's still... a kid."

"He doesn't seem to have a problem killing children." I said, referring to the demonic parasites. Those things, according to Julian and Adam, were just a few weeks hold, maybe days. They were incredibly young and whether they came out speaking full English sentences or not, that still made them children. They were innocent and naive and they just wanted to survive.

Maybe that was why I didn't want to kill them.

Because they weren't corrupted like everyone else I came in contact with.

They didn't lie. They didn't hate or betray or spit in your face. Because they didn't know how to. All they understood was survival. And I respected that.

"You're going to steal them from him, aren't you?" Peter asked suddenly. I actually hadn't been thinking, but it was the perfect solution to my thought process. Those demons didn't deserve to die, not without a fighting chance, and if they did end up turning evil, then I'd take responsibility for them because I was the assclown that let them out. I said nothing to Peter, just gave him look that told him I was considering the idea. Peter grimaced, but instead of running back to his brother, he started to follow me to the waiting room.

"Is there a reason you're with me?" I asked, turning to face him before we went in. Peter blushed right to the tips of his ears. It was still odd. Peter was older, but he was smaller and still had a baby face that a grandma would kill to pinch and poke. But when he blushed like that, it made him actually look adorable, instead of bratty.

Huh.

Must be a brother thing.

"I don't normally disagree with my brother," Peter said defensively, trying to put on a brave, macho face, "But... But this is wrong. At least, I think it is. It feels like it. I didn't like vampires to begin with... And I still kinda don't. They... I've seen what they've done to people. But those demon thingies? Daimonas is innocent. And if he can be good, so can the other three. And everyone deserves a chance."

"That's cute," I told Peter, making him blush harder, "I didn't think you felt so strongly about it."

"S-Shut up! Quit acting like I'm a little kid! I have opinions and morals and whatever! And if I say we ain't killin' them demons, then we ain't killin' 'em!"

"Yes, sir." I replied, giving him a salute. Peter scowled, making me smirk before I went calm as we entered the waiting room. Kipp looked and his shoulders slumped. I think he was expecting the doctor, but he didn't have to wait much longer because right as Peter and I took a seat, the doctor came in and everyone was hopping to their feet again.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Kipp asked frantically. Adam put a hand on his shoulder, then looked at the doctor, who cleared his throat and looked down at his clipboard. But from the look on his face, things weren't looking so good and I felt my stomach shrink.

Hey, bravado that threatened to bring everyone to Hell with you, where'd you go?

"Seth Zeggers," The doctor began calmly, "He was brought in critical condition. We currently have him stabilized, but for how long, we're not sure. He received massive brain trauma and he's currently in a comatose state. Unfortunately, in that condition, we can't tell if his lower half is paralyzed or not without doing certain tests. We're still doing tests to figure things out. He's lost a large amount of blood and he's fractured seven of the ribs on his left side, causing his lung to become punctured. To be honest, he probably should have died on the scene, but somehow, he's still fighting and we have our best surgeons doing everything they can. But as of right now, I would be preparing for the worst."

The news seemed to floor everyone. Kipp got this look on his face as if the doctor had just punched him. Instead of responding, he just plopped back down in his seat, his legs giving out. Adam pursed his lips tightly, rolling his eyes to look away from us. I could tell he wanted to leave. He was getting that look on his face again, like he couldn't take it anymore. Julian, no matter how tough and a pain in the ass he could be, was starting to get misty eyed. He kept wiping at his eyes, making sure that the tears didn't get by. Peter seemed frozen.

I was trying to sort everything out in my head, but it was so hard.

What do you say to that?

This doctor, this complete stranger, just came and told me that someone I know could very well die, right now, tomorrow, the day after, next year. Seth could die. Seth, of all people.

Seth wasn't the nicest person in the world, and we knew that. Everyone who met him knew that.

Seth told you how it was, even if it made you cry. Hell, if a girl asked if she looked fat in a dress, Seth would tell her she looked like Moby Dick. Seth was the kind of guy that also didn't take anyone's bullshit. You never came to Seth crying about how your life sucked, because Seth would make it a hundred times worse, or maybe, a hundred times better. He was incredibly smart. The guy could hack into private government sources or take over a security footage. He could take a computer apart with his bare hands and put it right back together again, better than it was before. He had a pretty rude sense of humor, but it made everyone laugh, so what did it matter?

Seth was part of their group. Seth was part of their pyramid.

And now, looking on the inside from the outside, I could see that pyramid beginning to crumble.

I could see what Hunter meant now. This mission was dangerous. It was deadly.

Seth had told us that he wasn't scared to die. Was he scared now?

I couldn't even tell if I was sad or not. It was kind of hard to pick out certain feelings if you haven't felt them in a while. I couldn't ever remember having someone tell me I know was gonna die. Even my grandparents somehow managed to push through to ripe old ages. My world just suddenly felt even colder. Like a strong gust of wind in the arctic.

"Is it... all right if we see him?" Kipp asked at last. The doctor hesitated, then nodded and gestured for us to follow him. We all followed the doctor out of the waiting room and went down the hallway, turning a few corners until we came to a large glass window that looked into Seth's room.

And I thought Seth looked small before.

He looked incredibly tiny lying down in the hospital bed, hooked up to dozens of machines, half of which I had no idea what they were monitoring. An oxygen mask was over his face, his chest heavily gauzed and rising and falling slowly. His arm was in a cast and both his legs hidden under the blankets, but if they had been crushed, I wouldn't doubt they were in casts too.

I glanced at the others to see their reactions. Adam grimaced and clenched his fists, looking as pained as Julian, who covered his mouth with one hand, then stepped closer to Adam. Kipp just stared inside. It was so hard to tell what he was feeling, but I think shock would be the best word for it. Peter just flinched and stepped away from the glass as the doctor cleared his throat. Daimonas didn't seem to have a reaction at all and just watched with interest.

"As I've said, he's currently in a coma. His body is trying to recover from the trauma. He--" The doctor cut himself off as all the machines started to blare at once, making us jump. The doctor shouted to a few nurses down the hall before rushing into the room. We couldn't really do anything, but watch as they crowded around Seth, who was trembling on the bed. A seizure, I recognized with a frown.

His body was probably on the verge of giving up.

"He'sss okay." Daimonas said suddenly, making us stare at him.

"Didn't you hear what the doctor said?" Peter asked, as if he couldn't believe Daimonas was so dumb he couldn't even figure it out. Daimonas wrinkled his nose.

"I heard what he ssssaid. I didn't underssstand it, but I heard. And no, he won't die." He replied dryly, turning back to stare through the glass. Peter didn't seem to know what to say.

"What do you mean?" I asked Daimonas, feeling a sense of alarm rise inside me as Daimonas cocked his head. He placed his hands on the glass, peering inside with wide, eerie reptilian eyes as Seth shuddered on the bed while the doctors worked hard to stop his seizing.

"He won't die," Daimonas answered, still watching Seth, "Becaussse my brother'ssss inssside him."

"What?" Adam asked so sharply that Daimonas actually stepped away from the glass and toward Peter and I were, like he was afraid Adam would hit him.

"What do you mean, Daimonas?" Peter asked sternly now. Daimonas blinked owlishly, then pointed a fingertip against the glass to Seth.

"My brother'sss inssside him. I can hear him. He'sss trying to fixxx the damage done to hisss hosst." He told us calmly. Adam's eyes widened and he looked back into the room where all the machines began to settle down. The doctors were still scrambling to do things, even though Seth had stopped seizing. We all looked inside, watching as Seth's eyes slowly flickered open, eyes rolling around sleepily and in confusion before they settled on us.

A very faint smile touched his lips before his eyes fell shut again and he was back to sleep as the doctor's pumped him full of sedatives.

"He's alive." Kipp managed. He was crying now. He didn't care who saw either. He was pressing up against the glass, fists clenched so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Holy shit." Adam breathed in awe. Julian sighed in relief, dropping his head against the glass, his eyes closed.

"That's... amazing." Peter admitted.

"Not really," Daimonas drawled, making us give him pointed glares before he cleared his throat and shrugged, "I mean, the only thing amazing to me isss the fact that he chossse Ssseth. Ssseth isss human. We don't chossse humansss becaussse they're weak and eassssily deteriorate."

"So... what's going to happen to Seth with your brother inside him?" Peter asked cautiously. Daimonas shrugged.

"I guessss we'll jussst have to ask when your friend wakesss up." He replied. I shared curious stares with Adam and Kipp, but we decided to discuss that freak show later, because right now, we were all trying to take in the fact that Seth was going to live.

Or, at least, for a while.

Because if the demon didn't kill Seth first, Hunter would.