(Jasper's POV)

It was late in the day as I walked back and forth in my room. Vlad had left my apartment three days ago and in that time I hadn't found a trace of him anywhere. If he was hiding, he was doing a damn good job of it, and if he wasn't... I didn't want to think about why that would be.

I scooped Vlad's journal off my bed and began to flip through the pages for the eighth time. It was probably a waste of time, I'd read every word over a dozen times already, but I was ansty. I needed to be doing something, anything.

Suddenly, my door opened. I looked up to see Colby hurry into the room, closing the door and locking it behind him. I frowned. "What're you doing here?"

He turned to face me. "Those guys are back and they're still looking for you." He said.

"So?" I asked. "They didn't find anything last time."

He shook his head and glanced back at the door. "It's different this time. They have your name, Jas."

My heart thudded in my ears. "Did someone tell them?"

"No one here. We wouldn't betray you like that." Colby said. "They got it somewhere else."

I bit my lip. What should I do...? As I ran a hand through my hair, Colby grabbed me by my shoulders. "These people are bad news. You have to leave, before they find you." He urged.

He looked worried for me, something I wasn't used to. It made me not want to leave... I turned away to think. This was bad. Damn, this was really bad. He was right though, I had to leave. I nodded at Colby. "Okay, I'll go. But promise me that if Vlad comes here you'll let me know."

He nodded. "Of course. I'll keep an eye out for him."

"Thanks." I began grabbing a few necessary things, Vlad's charm included, stuffing them into a bag to take with me. "Will you meet me at the fountain in the square tomorrow at noon to check bases?" I asked.

"You got it." Colby promised.

Then there was a knock on my bedroom door and both our heads turned. I was going to ask who it was when Colby starting pushing me towards the window. "The elders must've have directed them to your room." He muttered. "You have to go now."

I hesitated. "Colby-"

"Tell me after you've found Vlad and come hom safe and sound." He said. "Right now you need to get out of here."

It worried me that he'd be left here alone to deal with those strangers, but I knew I had to go. He could take care of himself. The knocking was becoming persistent as I opened my window. Just before I jumped to the ground below, I glanced back. "Don't be an idiot." I said.

Cobly gave me a half smile. "When have I ever?"

His usual spunk having returned to his attitude made me feel reassured and I didn't hesitate any longer. I hopped from the ledge, landing with a soft thump on the ground two levels down. Then, after taking a moment to look back up at my window, I started running. I didn't plan to go far, I needed to find new territory; or at the very least, a place to hole up until it was safe to go home.

I ran around the side of the building and towards the front. There was a motel nearby. I'd have to steal some cash, but I could probably stay there. It was close enough to home that I could keep a lookout for Vlad if he came back, but far enough away the strangers wouldn't look for me there.

I was so obsorbed in my planning, I wasn't watching where I was going and ran straight into someone. I blinked and stepped back with an apology. Then I froze. The man scowling at me brushed off his floor length cloak with annoyance. "Watch where you're going next time." He snapped.

I swallowed and nodded, backing away and ducking back behind the corner of the building. My hand gripped the front of my shirt as I tried to keep my heart in my chest. That man was one of them. I peeked at him from around the corner. He was tall and his cloak covered his entire frame as he stood by the front door of my territory.

Slowly, my eyes narrowed. Vlad might be with him. Maybe they had him held captive. The plan for a motel room faded away as anger took over and was replaced by the idea of something else. I was going to follow him. He could lead me to Vlad. I crouched down to wait.

It wasn't long before a few other people in cloaks joined him at the front doors and they conversered amongst themselves. By the end of It, two of them stayed and the others, including the tall man, began to make their way away from me. Keeping to the shadows of the evening sky, I followed them.

They didn't seem in any rush as they walked down the streets of the city. It was weird though, it was like they didn't even exist. No one noticed them, not even their strange appearance. It worried me, but not enough to halt my pursuit.

It wasn't long before they came to a dead end street and turned into an alley. After waiting a few seconds to pace myself, I followed, but something was wrong. They weren't there. I turned a full circle in the alley, looking for anywhere they could've gone. There was none. Then I spotted a manhole cover a few feet away. Carefully, I went over and lifted the lid. There was light coming from inside.

My years of honed instincts told me this was a bad idea, but I ignored them and slipped inside, pulling the cover into place above me. I climbed down the ladder to the ground and turned to find myself in a well lit, carpeted hallway. I scanned it for anything strange, not that the whole thing wasn't strange, I was in a sewer system. There didn't seem to be anything to worry about and I started advancing down the hallway.

The torches on the walls cast everything in a shadowy, yellow light as I made my way deeper. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I prepared for anything. That was until I reached the first unlocked door. I turned the knob slowly, but as I pushed it open, my eyes widened.

Vampires lounged about with humans at their aid. My mouth dried with realization and a knot the weight of a bowling ball dropped to the pit of my stomach. Some of these humans... their faces were on missing posters... and they were here.

My entrance did not go unnoticed as my hand slipped from the knob and the door creaked, causing all heads to turn to me. It was early enough that a few were sleeping, but all the others noticed my presence at once. Many stood up, glaring at me with territorial warnings as they growled.

I stepped back, but hit something solid. I turned only to have a large hand grab my throat, long fingers wrapping around my my neck like vines. My gasp of surprise was cut off as the man from before smiled down at me, squeezing tighter than was comfortable. "Hello, Jasper." He said.

*******

Hey everyone! It's shorter than I wanted, but sometimes that's what happens. I'm glad I could finish this today. I was studying for like a whole 5 hours and I'm still going to have to study more tomorrow. Such is the life of a college student. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! AS ALWAYS, VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, AND STAY AWESOME!

-Nekoco