I made my way home quickly. I needed to see if there was anywhere Vlad would go if he was hiding. I knew he wouldn't drop off the map of his own accord, but right now it was my only lead.

As soon as I entered the apartment I pulled out Vlad's journal. If he was hiding he'd have put it in here. I was sure of it. I flipped through the pages, searching for placed, oddities. Anything that would catch my attention.

A few phone numbers, some rants about school. Ben was right, he'd been getting in a lot of fights. According to his journal, there was some boys who had been messing with him. They had him cornered and he was defending himself. Elbowed one... knocked him out and gave him a black eye. He was just defending himself, but damn; and that was him pulling his punches.

At least he wasn't actually initiating any fights. That was a relief. I went through some more pages and found there was a spot downtown that he liked to go to do his homework. Somewhere near a diner. That's where I'd start. It said in his journal that it was a secluded patch of grass behind some old textile buildings that nobody used anymore. It was unlikely he'd be there, but I couldn't do nothing while he was missing. I had to look for clues.

I stepped out of my room and started for the stairs. It was late, but vampires were nocturnal by habit, so the night air was like a blessing to me. My sleep schedule had changed because of Vlad's so I hadn't been out at night recently. It would be like a visit home.

I was just reaching the first floor when I sensed a disturbance. The vampires in the foyer were all standing with defensive stances and there was a group of people, vampires by their scent, standing by the doors. I frowned at their floor-length cloaks. What were they doing in our territory? They weren't from around here, that was for sure.

A few of the older vampires from our group stepped up and started conversing with them. I watched from a distance, not wanting to get involved. This put a dent in my plans. It would be weird for me to try and leave while they were here. The others would see it as a betrayal of territory defense. Might as well go back up to my room to look through Vlad's journal some more. I'd-

Someone suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down the hall and around the corner. In defense, I scratched his arm and he released me momentarily. As soon as I had a second of freedom, I wrapped a clawed hand around his throat and slammed him into the wall.

Colby threw his hands up. "Whoa, hold on. It's just me." He said, ducking as I prepared to punch him.

I sighed and dropped my fist. "What the hell were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?" I asked, stepping away.

He dusted himself off. "I was gonna warn you."

I frowned and glanced around before lowering my voice. "Warn me about what?"

"Those guys, the ones in the creepy robes, they're looking for you." He said. He pulled me aside so we wouldn't be overheard. "Not by name, but by person. That kid you were hanging out with."

"Vlad?" I asked, getting angry.

Colby nodded. "Yeah, that was his name. They're looking for anyone he knows in this territory." He shrugged. "You're the only one. Do you know them?"

"No..." I bit my lip. "Vlad went missing last night. I had hoped he was just hiding out, but this is worse..."

"He's missing?" Colby asked, looking shocked. Then his eyes narrowed. "Do you think they took him?"

"I don't know. If they did, why would they be looking for me?" I paused and my spirits dropped. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

I looked up, snapping out of my spiraling panic. "What?"

"You said 'Unless'. Unless what?" Colby repeated himself.

I shook my head. "It's nothing important. Just a theory, but it's impossible." Not a lie, or at least I really hoped. "Has anyone said anything to them about me?"

Colby shook his head. "No, so far all anyone's said is that they've seen Vlad around once or twice before." He said. Then he stepped closer. "I don't like these guys, Jasper. There's something off about them. The way they talk and how they dress. It's weird."

We peeked around the corner to look at them. They were still talking to the elders, however, it seemed the conversation was getting heated. I turned back to Colby. "I have to get out of here to look for Vlad. Can you cover for me?"

He nodded. "If the elders ask, I'll tell them you've been gone all night." He said.

I patted his shoulder. "Thank you. I'll keep you in the loop." I said. Then I ran off to find the back door.

It took me longer than expected to find Vlad's little patch of grass, but finally I spotted it. There was a crumbled wall near the grass and I found several items of Vlad's hidden away inside. He seemed to have made quite a home for himself. However, it seemed he hadn't been here for a while. The books he had were covered in a thin layer of dust and the only footprints in the dirt were my own. Another dead end.

Even knowing that, I started looking around for anything that seemed personal. Maybe he had another place he liked to go. Those men were looking for people he knew which could either mean they were looking for me, or they were looking for a way to find Vlad. I prayed it was the latter and that Vlad was simply hiding, but my hope was failing me with every passing second.

When I found nothing relevant, I left the grass patch. My heart was heavy with defeat, but I trudged home anyways. This was getting bad. The sun was already coming up which meant it had been almost twenty-four hours since Vlad had disappeared.

I stopped and leaned against a wall. My throat was tight with fear and distress. This was... all my fault. If I hadn't lied to Vlad and fought with him... he'd have been fine. I covered my face with my hands and slid to the ground. If I hadn't lied to him he'd be in my arms right now. He was... He was... If I lost him... I didn't know if I could bare it anymore. I couldn't lose someone else... I didn't want to keep going on alone...

*******

Hey everyone! Warning! I will be beginning my summer classes on Monday so my updates may slow down. That may include stopping entirely. This is my hardest subject and I really need to focus on my work. I'll keep y'all posted! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! AS ALWAYS, VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, AND STAY AWESOME!

-Nekoco