Anthony looked angrier with each passing day. We had no positive news to give him, and his mood was terrible. The atmosphere during dinner was tense, and after Clock updated the Prince and Lumiere about the recruits, Anthony abruptly pushed his chair back and left without a word.

"This is bad," Lumiere sighed, poking at his food.

"Really bad," Clock muttered.

My gaze shifted between the two of them. "So, what do we do now?"

"My crew is checking out Marianne's tips right now; we'll see what they find."

I glanced at Lu, but he didn't react when he heard her name. "It's not enough," I continued, turning my gaze back to Clock, my heart aching at how exhausted he looked. "We need a Plan B."

"Plan B, as in if everything goes to hell?" he scoffed bitterly.

I nodded and stood up from the table, extending my hand to him. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"You need something else to think about."

Lumiere also got up, seemingly eager to leave the room, but as he passed by me, I slipped the crumpled note into his breast pocket. "What's this?"

"A happy pill," I grinned, pulling Clock out of the dining hall and toward his room. We walked slowly, and I could see him struggling with all the thoughts swirling in his head. "Why doesn't he ask the other princes for help?"

Clock glanced at me, "Anthony is the black sheep, so to speak; the others don't deal with illegal activities. They hold high positions in the human world."

I nodded a few times. "Okay."

"Levi was his only chance."

"... so, Plan B?"

Clock grabbed my hips and shoved me against the wall, looking dangerously sexy if it weren't for the worried eyes staring into mine. "Survive."

With a sigh, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. "I hear Thailand is lovely this time of year."

Clock let out a small laugh but still looked serious. "I can't break my promise, Bel. He needs me, and I can't just leave him to the monsters."

I brushed a hair strand from his face and smiled weakly. "He could come with us?"

He sighed heavily, resting his forehead against my shoulder. "You, Anthony, Lumiere and Marianne; that's all I care about, Bel. The rest doesn't matter."

I glanced over Clock's shoulder and realized we weren't alone. Anthony stood farther away, watching us intensely. "Do you really think it'll come to that?" I muttered, meeting Anthony's gaze.

"I don't know, Bel, but everything feels hopeless," he whispered against my shoulder.

In the Prince's eyes, I saw the same hopelessness. The determination he usually exuded was gone as he turned and left us. I ran my fingers through Clock's hair and forced him to meet my gaze. "I was supposed to make you think of other things, remember?"

A small smile spread across his face as I took his hand and led him away from Anthony, feeling a mischievous spark in the air. "And what if I just want to think about you?" Clock teased, his tone lightening as we stepped into the safety of his room.

I chuckled, ready to distract him with whatever chaos we could conjure up. "Oh, I can make sure you don't think about anything else."

We spent the following days hiding from Anthony's mood, and I spent my time in the tunnels—a place I knew he wouldn't venture. 

"Where is she?" 

I spun around to see Lumiere standing in the doorway. "Out. She should be back any minute."

With a sigh, he leaned against the doorframe. "I can't wait; I shouldn't be down here."

"What would happen if you defied him?"

"Belmont..." His voice had a warning tone. "You don't understand; we had nothing, and he gave us everything."

"Yeah, hundreds of years ago?" His eyes narrowed as he met my gaze, but he said nothing more. "Don't you think you've worked off that debt by now?"

He shook his head and reached out a sealed envelope. "Can you give this to her?"

I took the envelope and tucked it inside my shirt, nodding. "Hey, Lu..."

"Mmm?"

"Anthony made a promise to Clock," I hesitated before continuing, "do you think he'll keep it?"

Lu nodded seriously. "Anthony never breaks a promise."

I bit my lip and turned my gaze away from him. "Alright."

"You don't trust him," he stated.

"Well, in a way, I do. But the problem is," I sat down and glanced at him, standing there in his dazzling white suit, so out of place amidst all the dirt and grime. "He'll never leave him, no matter what."

Lu stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Clocksworth?"

I nodded. "Anthony knows that."

"So you want me to convince him to run away with you?" He laughed dryly.

"Us. You and Marianne are invited too." I gave him a smile and shrugged. "Why not?"

With a deep sigh, he turned away. "Maybe; I need to think about it."

"What do you have to lose?"

He shrugged before walking away. "My honor."

Jesus, I thought to myself. Honor? That felt like something from the 1600s, not our reality. I muttered irritably to myself as I continued sorting through gas masks and bulletproof vests. The old tunnel was desolate and silent; it was just me left. Clock was off training the new recruits, and Rami was probably somewhere hacking through another database, hoping to uncover more about the gas we were chasing. Their last mission had gone completely sideways; the lab remained untouched, and we were far too few to take on the guards. Roch had even taken off with a patrol to try to bribe some of their people—of course, with threats of death; that was what Roch did best.I rummaged through some dusty boxes that looked like they had been there since World War II. Anthony had collected so much damn junk over the years. This was going to take all night.

As I stood there sorting, I suddenly heard a rustling sound. It was faint but clear, like claws scraping against the concrete. I straightened up and quickly scanned the area, but it was as empty as before. Must be my imagination, I thought, shaking off the creeping sensation that had snuck into my spine and returning to my sorting.

But just a few minutes later, I heard it again. It was no coincidence. A warning grew within me, and my vampire instincts began to sound the alarm. Something was wrong—very wrong. I dropped the vests, slowly stood up, and crept out into the dark corridor. Everything was deserted, still, but an unusual silence hung over the place, a silence that sharpened my senses, and I immediately sent a text to Clock.

Come to the tunnels; someone's here.

I sneaked around a corner, my pulse quickening. There! The sound again! It came from Storage B. I moved toward it as quietly as I could. Probably just some new recruit partying in there, I thought, rolling my eyes as I punched in the code.

"What are you doing, darling?"

I jumped and nearly punched her in the face. "You scared the hell out of me, Marie!" 

She giggled, looking quite pleased with herself. I quickly pulled out my phone and sent a new message: False alarm. But just as I put the phone away, I heard that rasping sound again. 

"What the hell, who dares to throw a party in our storage room?!" I muttered, opening the door.

I should never have done that. My heart stopped. Every demon from hell had invaded us! They were everywhere—on the floor, in the shelves, on the racks. There sat the most horrifying creatures I had ever seen. Pale faces with red eyes, wide mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth, and blackening hands with terrible claws. There were about thirty of them inside, and they were gorging themselves on our blood supply.

I saw them and gasped. 

They heard me. 

All those red eyes turned toward the door, and thirty blood-curdling screams echoed from the room, hitting me like a wave.They ran, climbed, and crawled toward me. Instinct took over, and I slammed the door shut, muffling their screams. I took a few deep breaths, waiting—what the hell was I going to do now? First, I heard claws scraping against the steel door, but then it fell silent. Too silent. Twenty seconds, twenty damn seconds passed before I heard them in the ventilation system.

"Fuck!" I fumbled with my phone. "Fuck... fuck... fuck!!!" Marianne snatched the phone from my hands and searched for Clocksworth's number while we sprinted through the tunnel to get back to the living quarters. "What the hell was that, Marie?!"

"Les Affamés."

"What?!"

The call wouldn't go through, and Marianne tossed the phone back to me. "The reception is too poor down here," she gasped as we ran toward the staircase.

When we reached it, I pressed my ear to the door leading to the stairwell. No sounds. 

"Les Affamés?" I looked at her questioningly, "What the hell are they?"

"A side effect," she whispered.

"What? You mean...?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "better ask your broody prince for the details."

"What the hell," I felt like I might cry and throw up at the same time.

Carefully, I opened the door and peeked inside. No one was there. With light footsteps, we began to run up the stairs. I tried to call again. 

"The number cannot be reached at this time..."

"Fuck!! Do you have a phone?" I asked her, panic rising in my voice.

"Of course I do."

"Call Lu... warn him!"

She pulled out her hot pink phone and held it to her ear, but her eyes grew more and more anxious. "He's not answering..."

"DAMN IT!"

We ran. Through narrow corridors and spiraling staircases, the air thick with the stench of decay. Les Affamés were everywhere. Their pale, gaunt forms slithered in the shadows, long limbs stretching unnaturally as they clawed at the walls. I could hear their nails scraping against the stone, a sound that drilled into my ears and sent shivers down my spine.

They weren't just in the walls—they were on them, clinging to the ceilings with their grotesque, twisted bodies. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dark, like embers of a dying fire, tracking our every movement. I tightened my grip on the sword, the weight of it foreign in my hands. I wasn't a fighter; I had never wanted to be. But in this moment, there was no room for hesitation.

My blade moved in wild, unfamiliar motions, slashing through the air as one of the creatures lunged toward me. Its maw opened impossibly wide, revealing rows of jagged, blood-stained teeth. I swung with everything I had, and the sword connected, slicing through its neck. Black, viscous blood sprayed across my face, burning my skin with its acidic touch.

I didn't stop. There was no time to think, only to react. My legs felt like lead, every muscle in my body screaming for rest, but I couldn't let myself slow down. Not when their guttural growls and hungry shrieks grew louder behind us. Not when I could feel their icy breath on the back of my neck.

"No time to catch your breath, honeycomb!" Marianne called out with a manic giggle.  But I almost did when I glanced back. They were swarming now, a writhing mass of limbs and fangs spilling into the corridor like a flood of nightmares. My heart pounded in my chest, a frantic drumbeat that drowned out everything else.

We had to survive. We had to. It couldn't end like this—not here, not now. I clenched my jaw and pushed forward, my sword cutting through the monsters that got too close. Each swing drained more of my strength, but stopping wasn't an option.

___________________

*Les Affamés - The Hungry , there is also another name for them: Les Griffes, which can be translated to The Claws.