I had said I would keep one eye open, but at some point my exhaustion must have taken over and I fell asleep. However, I awoke to the sound of the lock on the door clicking. Instantly, I snatched up the lamp, waking Melody in my scramble.

She sat up straight as I got to my feet, blinking up at me. I grabbed her arm and helped her up. "Get to the back of the room." I said.

She nodded hastily and hurried to the far wall as I took up a position next to the door. I gripped the club tightly in my hands, ready to defend myself and Melody. The lock took longer to open than usual, but when it finally clicked, the door opened slowly. I waited until I saw their foot pass the threshold before I clenched my teeth and swung the lamp.

I missed and hit the door frame as the person duck out of the way. Then I threw the lamp at them. As they caught it, I wrapped my arms around their waist and shoved them back.

"Holy-!"

The person caught my fist as I attempted a punch and- I froze. My eyes widened and I blinked. My ferocity fading. "Colby?"

Colby stared up at me in mild confusion. "Who the fuck-" Then he seemed to recognise me also and his eyes lit up. "Vlad."

I stood quickly, watching him as he got to his feet. He had on one of the large cloaks, but it was obviously too big for him. A costume? He grabbed my shoulders. "It's so good to see you. Jasper's been looking everywhere for you." He said. Then he sobered. "Have you been here this whole time?"

I stuttered over my words. "Y-... Yes, but not just me. Jasper-"

"Jasper's here too?" Colby swore. "Of course he'd get himself caught. That idiot. For all the knowledge he has, he's always been a hothead when he gets going."

That almost made me laugh because of how true it was. Colby glanced around, eyeing Melody behind me in the bedroom. "Where is he?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. We were together, but now-..." I struggled to force the words out. "They took him somewhere. Something about lower levels."

He nodded. "Okay, then that's where we'll go." He said. "Put this on." He handed me a cloak to wear. I nodded and slung it over my shoulders. Once I had it secured Colby started away. I hesitated and I glanced back at Melody. She looked scared and was shifted from side to side. I couldn't leave her. I waved for her to follow, but she held back.

Colby came back with a frown. "What are you doing? We gotta go." He said.

I ignored him and went back into the room to take Melody's hand. "Come with me. We'll get out of here. We'll all go home."

Her eyes widened and she stepped towards me willingly. "Home?"

I nodded. "Yes, but you have to come with me. Alright?"

She nodded and together we went to join Colby by the door. She shrunk away as Colby frowned at her, but he said nothing. Then we started hurrying down the hallway.

"How did you find this place?" I asked, pulling Melody along behind me.

"Jasper and I were supposed to meet this afternoon, but he never showed. Jasper isn't like that so immediately I knew something was wrong." Colby said. "From there it was pretty easy to spot one of the freaks that had been looking for him and follow them here." He sighed deeply. "Probably what that dumbass did to get caught."

True again. "So do you know how to find Jasper?"

"Not really, I'm kinda just winging it. I saw some stairs going down somewhere around here." He said. "I figured we could take them down to those lower levels and go from there."

I nodded. I was worried we'd run into someone, Lunas maybe, but thankfully, Colby seemed to know what he was doing for the most part. He lead us until we finally came to the stairs. "Phew," he said, sighing in relief. "I thought I lost it..."

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Colby and I both stopped short, and Melody whimpered behind us. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Is that really..."

Colby's face darkened. "Stick close."

We pulled our hoods up as we left the stone stairwell to enter a brighter, white hall with glass windows on either side. They looked like hospital rooms, but with less equipment and more tables which looked more like something you'd see in a half-modern Frankenstein. A few cult vampires, judging by their attire, were working in the the rooms, taking measurements of blood and chemicals and writing it all down on charts.

Colby and I kept Melody between us as he walked down the hall, keeping our heads down to avoid attention. It worked until we came to the other end of the hallway and found the door was locked. Colby glanced back at me with a worried expression, but he didn't even get a word out before one of the vampire cultist stepped out of one of the rooms. "No one is allowed down here apart from the research team. Who're you?"

"Uh..." Colby grinned awkwardly. "We were sent to take the prisoner, Jasper, to..." He glanced at me for a name.

"Lunas..." I mumbled.

"Lunas. He requested we bring him for questioning."

"He's already been questioned. Hit a dead end." The vampire snapped, though it seemed he took the story because he said, "Doesn't he know we have a schedule to stick to?"

My hands started sweating anxiously and I covered my face more, but Colby held his head high. "Don't you know who's in charge? Don't make me tell him about your attitude."

The vampire recoiled at that and quickly pulled out a key. "My apologies. Please keep this little conversation between us." He said as he unlocked the door. "I'll take you to the prisoner."

Colby had to keep himself from sighing in relief aloud. Past the next door there were more horrors than the last. I kept my eyes glued on the floor to keep from having to look at the humans, and horrifyingly, the vampires in each room. Some looked like a horrible disaster, a test tube gone wrong. Some were so thin they could've been walking skeletons. It was a nightmare come to live in vivid detail.

We followed the man through a few more areas before we came to one of the glass rooms with film over the glass. That didn't give me a good feeling. The vampire opened the door and stepped aside to let us in. My stomach lurch at the sight of Jasper.

He sat against the far wall, hands held tight on either side of his head by metal cuffs. His head was dropped forward limply so I couldn't tell if he was conscious or not. The floor around him was splattered with blood and he had fresh wounds littering his body. I inhaled sharply, stepping towards him. "Jas-"

Colby grabbed my arm, stopping me before I made a fatal error. He shook his head firmly at me and I slumped my shoulders slightly.

The vampire tapped his foot impatiently. "Well, go get him. I don't have all day." He said.

Colby hesitated before he went and began unlocking the cuffs. Jasper didn't even look up. That is, not until Colby had freed both his hands. Then, in an an instant, Jasper had him pinned, growling as he slammed Colby back against the floor. Then he stopped and his eyes widened. He looked up at me and I saw the momentary confusion on his face before Colby, afraid the other vampire might try to intervene, rolled, flipping their positions so that Jasper was the one held down. "Don't make me restrain you." He said sternly in a voice that almost made me think he was serious.

Jasper still seemed confused as Colby hauled him to his feet and grabbed his arm tightly, but as our eyes met the pieces seemed to click in his mind and a look of relief washed over him. I set him a tiny smile and he returned it.

"Please sign him out before you take him." The vampire said as we tried to step out of the room.

He held out a clipboard to Colby who laughed nervously. "Oh, yes. Of course." He hesitated before writing down a name and handing it back.

As the vampire looked it over, we started back the way we had come. Jasper frowned at Melody and then Colby before glancing at me with a sideways look. "What's going on?" He asked under his breath.

"Rescue mission." Colby murmured.

"I thought I told you not to be an idiot." Jasper grumbled.

Colby couldn't resist a small grin as he pulled his hood forward. "You're only an idiot if you get caught."

Jasper rolled his eyes, but it was cut short by the sudden shout from the vampire behind us. "Stop where you are! There's no one by that name in service to Lunas!" He said, running towards us.

Jasper gave Colby an exasperated look. "You were saying?"

Colby groaned. Jasper grabbed my hand and I grabbed Melody's and together the four of us started running. Unfortunately, the vampire cultist started yelling for help and other cultists began poking their heads out of the rooms they were working in. We burst into the last hallway and made a break for the stairs.

We were almost there when I felt Melody's had get ripped from mine. I turned quickly to see her crying as she was dragged back. I shouldn't have, but I couldn't leave her, and let go of Jasper's hand to run back. Jasper shouted at me and tried grab hold again, but then a vampire slammed into him and they went tumbling through the glass window to the right, shattering it and sending glass everywhere.

I grabbed Melody's hand again and tried to pull her free. The vampire screeched when I scratched his arm and he released her with a hiss. My hood fell back as I stumbled backwards and his eyes widened with surprise. "You. You're the miracle." He said.

I didn't wait to listen and when I turned back, I saw Colby was against the wall being punched and Jasper was pinned to the floor in the room he'd smashed into. The vampire above him was dragging his claws across Jasper's chest and face with vicious swips.

I gasped as his claws dug in deep enough to gash and ran over, shoving him off of Jasper. I pulled Jasper upright and he winced. "What the he'll were you thinking?" He asked. I went to respond, but then I heard Melody squeak and retreat with fear, and looked up just in time to be grabbed up and thrown into the nearest wall.

My head spun from the impact and I didn't realize I was being lifted off the ground until two hands squeezed around my throat. I choked and grabbed his wrists. "Wai-"

He growled and I saw his eyes flare as he used more force. I could feel my windpipe start to give out. Jasper's voice was fading in and out, shouting, as my eyes squeezed shut... Oh, God, I was gonna die. Adrenaline pumped through my system and I fought hard, but he was much stronger than me. I guess this really was the end...

"Stop!"

*******

Hey everyone! The ending of this was weird, but it'll do. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! AS ALWAYS, VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, AND STAY AWESOME!

-Nekoco