Chapter 43

They were doing it again. They were following people and they didn't have a clue what they were doing. Well, Ren at least didn't know what the hell he was doing. Maybe Ashton had some plan made up in his mind—he seemed to be always coming up with a solution to their problems like he'd seen the future or something.

They'd fallen behind Regan and Darrien considerably because of their—

He wasn't sure what he would call it. It didn't feel like an argument. But now that he thought about it, their arguments had never really felt like fighting. He always got worked up though they never raised their voices.

Then he remembered the first time they met.

That had been a fight. He'd bit Ashton. That had been the first time he'd tasted blood. Vampire blood at that.

As they walked the path Regan and Darrien had taken, Ren thought heavily about what the two of them could possibly up to. He was sure that it was something bad. His gut was screaming at him that it was worse than he thought.

The brush was wet. He hadn't noticed that everything was covered in a light dew. It must have rained that morning.

Ren was well aware of Ashton. Too much so at that moment. His body was locked up tight as he swear he felt Ashton's eyes wandering over him. He fought the crawling feeling that was spreading across his back and over his shoulders. The feeling felt like Ashton was running his fingers across his naked skin. Chills went down his spine, but he refused to shiver.

The forest was quiet. The crunching of leaves and brush beneath their feet was loud in his ears.

A burning started in his chest. He was floored by it, stumbling over his feet as it struck him in the sternum. His eyes widened in shock, hand flying to his chest. The heat bloomed until he felt it rising in his neck and that's where it stopped. His gut felt some of it. The thing thrashed. It was going crazy, but it wasn't hurt. This heat didn't hurt. It was just there, burning, and it was uncomfortable.

"Ren?"

Ashton grabbed him by the shoulder. The touch flames the fire within him and he choked. He gasped for air was the heat rose higher, turning his head into goo.

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just..."

He didn't get to finish what he was going to say because that's when he felt the most intense onslaught of dark emotion he'd ever felt. It was more intense than the mob at school had felt even though there had to be more people there at the time. Though he felt that there were less people in the area their hatred was so strong that it was like there were thousands of people crowding up on him.

He was surprised when Ashton wrapped his arm around him. He would have pushed him away if his touch didn't actually relieve some of the pressure that was building in his head. He didn't know if the heat was because of all the swelling emotions he was picking up or if it had to do with something else. It had never happened before and he didn't know why it would be happening now.

He waded through all the cloudiness. The emotions that were hitting him like a bag of rocks let up for just a second. He took the opportunity, before it was too late, and pushed through to feel out what was going on.

He couldn't tell much since he didn't know how to use his power all that well. What he could sense was that there were a big crowd of people in one area. They weren't necessarily angry right now. It was more that they hated something so much that it had seeped into their everyday feelings.

The place that it was coming from was nearby.

He pushed forward.

"What's going on?" He heard Ashton's voice, but he couldn't find the words to explain.

There was a lump lodged in his throat and it was so much easier just to show Ashton once they were there. Ren was sure that he would understand. He didn't know how he already kinda knew what he was going to find, but he also didn't know how he could feel so many people's emotions at once without losing his mind.

He felt Ashton's hand slip away from his arm as he continued to walk. It was long before the swelling of emotions built once more inside of him. He was on the verge of bursting. He didn't know what that would look like, but it felt like it was going to make his brain burst out of his ears.

The heat wasn't as unbearable. It was a constant heat that pulse like it had a heartbeat. The thing was riled up, ready to attack if anything so much as moved in their direction.

Before he knew it, he was at the cusp of this overwhelming surge. Like a dam had been broken, Ren was thrust into the depths of the hatred and disgust that was in the air. His eyes went cross for a moment as his body seized up. The thing snapped its jaws, looking for a fight with the attacker though there was nothing. Just like the thing, the emotions had no physical form, therefore, no way to fight it.

And then they were there. Standing at the edge of all this emotion, fitted under a dome that when Ren got closer to it, he was assaulted by all of it. For a second, he was able to think and to pull himself together. It wasn't a long enough second, just a stolen moment that took a lot more effort from him than he was used to.

Ashton was right there beside him. He didn't want him there. He had this prickling sensation at the back of his neck. Danger. He felt it like someone had pulled a blanket over him and he didn't want Ashton to be around here because of that. He didn't know when he'd become protective over Ashton, when he wished that the Mantel wouldn't die—it didn't make sense because Ren hated him. Hated him even more after he let his parents belittle him like he was nothing more than a stray dog that had been stealing their food.

The forest had opened up once more like it had at the border of town. While the town was divided from the forest by the almost unused highway, there was no cutoff from the opening which a large building the size of the high school was built.

Ren recognized this place. It was an old production plant that dealt with plastics. When the company went under around ten years back, it had been vacant for years.

This was the first time he'd seen it since a couple years ago. It used to be a hot spot for junkies to crash since it was out of city limits and the cops usually didn't patrol too close to it.

Ren stopped in his tracks. Ashton was tugging on him, saying something, but it was just a noise in the distance to Ren. He gaped at the building now. It looked almost nothing like it had before. The windows were patched up, replaced with dark tinted ones, and the once red brick was painted a dark gray that didn't make the building stick out so much like a sore thumb.

Ren almost didn't recognize it. If it wasn't for the basic structure, the layout, he would have thought they built an entirely new building right where the old one used to be.

"What is this place?" Ashton seemed just as shocked as Ren was.

Ren shook his head, mouth still gaping as he tried to process what he was looking at.

He was glad he wasn't able to move a muscle. They would have been screwed if he kept walking up to the building in the zombified state he was sort of in.

He saw them. Darrien and Regan. They were a lot closer to the building than he and Ashton were. They were right at the front entrance. Ren wasn't for sure, but it looked like they were still arguing. Darrien was waving his hand as if he was trying to dismiss Regan, but Regan kept getting up in his face.

Ren knew that look on Regan's face. It usually meant that Regan was on the tipping point of killing someone. However, the looked was slightly off. Ren couldn't quite read what Regan was feeling. The air was too twisted with so many emotions that he couldn't focus on just one at a time. He was sure if he had more time to get used to the new sense he would be able to pick apart thousands of different strands of emotions coming off different people.

But he wasn't at that stage yet. Not at all.

Ashton walked out from the safety of the trees and toward the building.

Ren panicked and grabbed his arm, jerking him back.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He looked over at Regan and Darrien, making sure they hadn't noticed the two of them.

They hadn't. They still looked like they were fighting, but they were going inside. Ren couldn't get a good look at the entrance of the building though he thought he saw Darrien swipe a card. If the windows weren't tinted, he might have been able to see something that would give them a clue about this place. There were no signs which made it more ominous.

Ashton shrugged out of his grip. "It's quite obvious isn't it?"

Ren scowled at him. "We don't know what this place is. You can't just stroll up there and expect things to go over well."

He took one more look at the entrance. Regan and Darrien weren't anywhere in sight, completely shielded by the building walls.

"We won't know if we stand here fucking around." Ashton didn't march off like Ren thought he would, but Ren should have known that. As much as Ashton was a dickhead, he wasn't irrational. He was coolheaded most of the time and he knew what he was doing.

Most of the time was the keyword.

The old factory building gave Ren high anxiety. He didn't know what about it made him on edge or why he was having such a strange reaction to the place. One thing for sure, he didn't want to get any closer to it.

But as Ashton slowly made his way around to the side of the building, avoiding most of the windows, Ren had to make another decision.

He'd already came this far. He'd given up already so many times so it really shouldn't have been hard to take one more step closer to death. Just about half an hour ago he was ready to end it all himself.

He hated fear. He hated how it made his palms sweat and his heart race to the point of it causing him pain.

Yet, as the thing gave him a confidence he wasn't used to feeling, he was able to push down his fear.

Promise was a promise and he was so tired of turning his back to everything.

He walked across the small grassy area and met with Ashton who was now creeping to the back of the building.

There was a heaviness in his lungs that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he took a deep breath and let it back out. His stomach was twisting and he couldn't understand how Ashton could be so calm at the moment.

Ashton wasn't so much as pressed against the building as he was just standing next to it. He scanned the area, looking for something Ren couldn't quite guess, and then he was looking back at Ren, tilting his head. Ren nodded back at him and followed him as he rounded the corner.

Ren got closer to Ashton so he could speak low. "I think I remember there being a loading dock in the back."

They were at the front side of the building now. There was a weird jutting out section that they still had to get around before they were actually at the back of the building.

Ren's head wasn't so clouded anymore. All the emotions that had been bombarding him were fainter now which didn't make sense. His lips pursed to the side as he tried to think of why that might be, but he didn't get far with his lack of knowledge.

They finally made it to the back of the building. And just as Ren remembered it, the loading dock had barely been changed except for the new set of doors. The latter that used to be there—one he remembered climbing up countless times to deliver vials to anyone who had the money for it—was untouched. It was falling apart, but that didn't matter. They might have found their way in.

Ashton was studying his face. "You've been here."

Ren didn't know why that embarrassed him. His face flushed, a heat spreading over his chest and neck.

All he could do was shrug.

Ashton kept staring at him. It was a heated gaze that felt like he was lifting layers of Ren and peeking into his mind. He could feel Ren just as Ren could feel Ashton, but Ren kept his emotions as stoic as possible.

If that was possible. It felt like he was, but he couldn't quite know if it was actually working.

"It doesn't matter." He finally turned to look Ashton in the eyes.

Ashton raised a brow. Slightly. It looked almost like a twitch. "It does. If you know your way around, that makes things a lot easier."

"That would be true if there was a guarantee they haven't changed things. This place was falling apart. I doubt they left anything untouched."

He furrowed his brows. "This isn't a good idea."

"We fought off Hounds for fucks sake. Who do you expect to be in there?"

Ren's face fell.

He hadn't thought...

Oh no...

Ren looked at the loading dock doors with wide-eyes. Dread fell over him, clutching his heart and squeezing hard.

"What is it?"

His mouth had gone dry. It felt like it'd been stuffed with cotton balls.

"Hunters..."

That was all he had to say.

They'd survived Hounds. Barely. And the Hunters had let them go.

Ren thought about Darrien and Regan, all of it suddenly making sense. But he didn't want to believe it. Even if he'd already written them off as people that wanted him dead.

Ashton stepped in front of him. His face was blurry, Ren's eyes focused on the doors.

"You're serious." Ashton turned back around. He placed his hand on his forehead. "Shit."

Ren couldn't keep the glare off his face this time. He narrowed his eyes.

"Well, it's not that much of a stretch."

"I wasn't—" Ashton scoffed. He turned away like he was going to march away and never come back. He turned back around instead, looking right back at Ren. "I wasn't doubting you, okay? It's just..."

Ren understood. It wasn't what he wanted to believe either. But the signs were pointing in this direction. They would be complete idiots if they ignored the obvious.

"What now?" He asked it really just to fill the silent void. He already knew the answer. They were going to continue with this suicide plan. They didn't have much of a choice now.

He was all in now. He didn't fucking care if he died. He shouldn't be scared, but that wasn't something he could control.

What he could control was the outcome of all this. He hated the Hunter Society just as much as any other vampire. They destroyed everything because they believed something. It didn't matter if their truth was wrong or flawed. They did what they wanted, damning anyone else.

Darrien's face popped in his mind. For a moment, Ren had thought he found someone he could trust outside his mom. Now, he couldn't trust either of them.

He gritted his teeth as he remembered Regan's ugly face and all that he'd done to Ren in the years they'd known each other.

Yes, he would get the outcome he wanted. He wanted Darrien and Regan to go down with the stupid ideals they thought were righteous.

Ashton's eyes softened for a moment. It was a fleeting moment he wasn't sure he was supposed to see at all. The way Ashton looked at him—no matter how short it was—eased the tension in his shoulders. He felt his knees grow weak and all he wanted to do was fall down with Ashton holding him.

He pushed that sweet day dream away. That was never going to happen. He didn't want it to. He was just fine being alone. Mother and everyone else be damned.

Ashton knew he was in. Ren saw the recognition.

So, Ren climbed the latter to the loading dock doors.

And Ashton followed.