Chapter 50

Chapter 50

"Fucking hell."

Ashton—for the fourth time—tugged at his shirt. He looked down at it in disgust again.

Ren shook his head. "No matter how many times you gripe about it, it's not going to suddenly become clean."

"Did I ask for your input?" Ashton rolled a look over at him. His glare was almost cute this time.

"Do I need to ask your permission to speak?"

When Ashton didn't answer, instead, mumbling under his breath while he fidgeted in his ruined clothes, Ren grinned. He smiled as Ashton picked up the pace and marched forward to the familiar path that appeared in front of them.

He didn't expect it to be easy to forget for a few minutes that their lives were on the line. But when Ashton wasn't paying attention to him anymore, all the realities he was avoiding came crashing on him.

He was starting to recede back into his thoughts when he heard something.

"Did you—"

The words weren't even completely out of his mouth before Ashton slammed his arm into his chest, knocking him off his feet. He plummeted toward the ground at an awkward angle. His elbow hit first, protecting the gun just in case his bad luck decided to strike and set the thing off on impact. He seethed as the sharp pain shot through his arm and up toward his shoulder.

The second that it took for him to crash to the floor was enough for Ashton to take a stance in front of him, blocking whatever or whoever had found them.

"Where's the gun?"

Ren's heart went cold.

He scrambled back from where Ashton was shielding him. He'd been caught between Ashton's spread legs and as he got out from under the protection, he saw the two familiar figures that were blocking their path.

Darrien pointed the same type of guns the Hunters' used at Ashton. Ren almost expected Regan to be right behind him, but he wasn't.

He was alone.

Ashton held his hands up. It wasn't a surrender. It was a graceful and somewhat sarcastic gesture. As if Darrien had barged in on Ashton's afternoon party and was embarrassing himself.

"I think we should talk about this," Ashton said in a concerning calm voice.

Ren felt the second Ashton started using his powers. It was satisfying release of power. Almost as if he'd been full of it and letting go just a little bit of it had released tension.

Darrien's eyes locked onto Ashton's. Ren was sure that it had worked.

Darrien blinked and his lips turned down into a frown. "I'm not stupid. I'm not going to walk around with vamps with no protection."

Ashton stopped trying to use his power. He was just as confused as Ren was.

Darrien looked down at Ren. "You have it, don't you? Toss it over."

Ren stared back at Darrien's grim face. He couldn't believe that he actually started to think this guy was anything other than a conniving backstabber. But as much as Ren tried to see Darrien as nothing more than a bloodthirsty Hunter, he couldn't. His vision was blurred by how nice Darrien had seem when they first met.

How he hadn't been entirely mean when he found out that Ren was part vampire.

It was his own hope that was washing away the true colors of Darrien. While it might have seemed like Darrien was trying to pull himself out of the close-minded brainwashing he'd grown up in, it really was just a ruse to get Ren to trust him.

What would have happened if Ren had ended up trusting him? Would he have killed Ren the moment they were alone together?

He met Darrien's eyes. He didn't know if he thought he could see the eyes of a killer reflected in them or what. Of course, he didn't find the answer he was looking for by doing just that.

Darrien was a blank canvas. He was good at hiding himself.

Ren tossed the gun to the far left. It landed somewhere in the sea of dead leaves, not close to any of them.

Darrien didn't even glance at it. He was staring at the two of them, the gun seemingly weightless in his hand. He looked too calm around it. Like he'd been using it for years.

Ren grew increasingly uncomfortable as the long silent moment stretched on forever.

"Stand up," Darrien finally said, breaking the unbearable silence.

Ren looked up at Ashton. Ashton was still faced forward, not at all moving. Ren wished that he could see his face. What he felt between them wasn't enough to get an insight as to what Ashton was truly feeling. It felt hollow. Like he was alone in darkness and he really didn't like that.

"Ren."

He caught Darrien's dark eyes. When they looked at each other, Ren couldn't help, but think back to when he first met Darrien. He hadn't quite liked the guy—he'd written him off as another annoying douchebag, but he hadn't thought he was this bad. He still couldn't wrap around his mind that Darrien's father was the head of the organization that had killed thousands of people like him. An organization that wanted him dead.

He glared back at those blank eyes. He hoped Darrien was scared of him. That's why the Hunters hated him so much, right? Because they thought he was a demon, a threat to all humans.

He could be. He could be the creature they were making him out to be. He could be so much worse than they could possibly imagine.

He stood up, keeping eye contact with Darrien the entire time. His stomach was twisting and churning, but he didn't feel like he needed to throw up which was a shock. For some reason, he wasn't even nervous though he was being held at gun point. He should have been just as scared as he was when the other Hunters had been hunting them down like animals.

Though, he could see that Darrien was different from them.

How different was an answer he couldn't give himself.

"We're not going back."

Darrien looked away from Ren and at Ashton.

"If you don't, I'm going to shoot you."

The threat was blunt. It sounded way too crass coming from the teenager. It was sad that Ren wasn't even surprised by it. He was too used to being threatened by death.

Ashton slowly lowered his hands. Darrien's grip on the gun tightened. His eyes narrowed.

"I don't want to do this."

Ren snorted. He shook his head by how ridiculous this was.

Darrien gave him a curious look.

"Don't make excuses," Ren almost seethed. "We all know that what you're doing is fucked up. No amount of backhanded apologies are going to make up for it."

Darrien gave him a long hard look. "I'm not apologizing. I'm saying I don't want to hurt you."

Ren inwardly groaned.

He shouldn't waste his fucking breath on this idiot. It was obvious that no amount of reasoning was going to get through his thick skull. Still, he hated how the Society had done this to someone. He probably thought he was doing the right thing. Either that, or he was trying to make his dad proud.

Ren was sickened when he thought of the man named Cipher. Everything about the guy was wrong.

Darrien crept closer to them. "Both of your hands, up."

Ren put his hands up. Ashton was slower than him. He didn't look at all happy to be bossed around.

Ren's eyes flickered to the gun almost hidden by the tall grass. The handle was pointed back at him in the perfect angle for him to swoop down and grab it. Though, how he was going to get it was the main problem. If he was fast enough before Darrien pulled the trigger was a close second.

"Turn around."

Darrien took another step forward.

Ren looked at Ashton. He was looking back at him. The second their eyes met, Ren knew what Ashton was thinking. He could feel the tension in the air getting thicker. Time slowed and his eyes zoned in on Ashton's dark brown eyes.

Ashton gave a small nod, setting the plan into action.

Ren leaped to the side, aiming straight for the gun. He saw Darrien turn the gun toward him, but before he could take a shot, Ashton slammed into the side of him. The two of them toppled to the ground. Ren scurried to grab the gun. His fingers wrapped around it just as he heard Darrien yell out.

He flipped over onto his back. His chest heaved as he held the gun with both hands and aimed it at the tangle of limbs in front of him.

Darrien was sprawled on his back with Ashton on top of him. Their hands were fumbling to get a grip on the gun. Darrien stretched his arm out, trying to get out from underneath Ashton.

Ren frantically got up, moving as fast as he could to them. He stood above them.

"Darrien!" He yelled out.

He caught Darrien's attention, but it wasn't until he saw the barrel of the gun pointed straight into his eye that he froze.

This time, when their eyes met, Ren saw the fear. Darrien wasn't prepared for death like Ren was. He wanted to live. And that gave Ren all the advantage.

Sweat dripped down the side of his face. His chest heaved. He stared down at Darrien, his hand steady on the gun. He was in control. It seemed like it was forever since the last time he was in control of himself. There was no sign of the thing within him, no dark thoughts that wanted to see Darrien's brain mattered splattered on the forest floor. It was just quiet within him. He missed that. He missed when he could be thinking of nothing and feeling nothing.

Ever since the thing awakened inside of him, he never got peace and quiet. It was either it controlling him or the emotions of other people influencing his own.

It wasn't like that now.

Everything was still. He heard nothing and felt nothing.

Darrien struggled to get out of Ashton's grip. He kicked his legs and tried to roll over, but Ashton grabbed his arms and pressed them down above his head.

Ashton flashed his fangs.

Darrien still in horror. "You wouldn't."

Ashton grinned. "There's more than one way to drain a human."

Darrien looked like he was going to be sick.

"Just kill me. Get it over with."

Ashton made a sound of disgust. "We're not going to kill you."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Ren crouched down. The gun was feeling heavy now. It hurt his wrist. But even so, he kept it held to Darrien's temple. He pressed the cold metal to Darrien's skin and he shivered. His eyes turned to look at the gun and Ren. Still, there was barely any fear there. Ren wondered how long Cipher had been training his son to become nothing but a killing machine.

How many years of brainwashing had he gone under?

Ren felt sorry for him.

"You—" He pressed the gun harder into Darrien's temple. "—are going to sneak us back in."

The three of them fell silent as Ren's words sunk in.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Ashton hissed.

Ren turned his head to glare at him. "I know what I'm doing."

"Really? So you're going to lead us back to the place where we almost died?"

Darrien groaned. Ren and Ashton looked down to see that Ashton had almost broken Darrien's arms.

Ashton loosened his grip before turning back toward Ren. "What you're thinking is insane."

He was right. The plan Ren had thought up had only a small percentage of succeeding. All odds would be against them. But there really was no way that they were ever going to get out of the cycle of being chased by the Society unless they cut the cancer at the source.

They needed evidence of what the Hunter Society was doing. They needed it to keep them safe until they could clear their names of the murders. And the evidence was in Cipher's office.

It had been dangling right in front of their faces.

"They're going to find us anyway," Ren said. "They know who we are. They're going to kill us. It's just a matter of time. And we won't have anything to defend ourselves when it happens."

It would be the word of the Society against theirs.

Ashton looked down at Darrien. Ren did as well, meeting the Hunter's eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day. He stared back at Ren like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. And maybe Ren was a complete idiot for believing his plan had a chance at working. He just didn't see how anything else was going to save them from the impending death. And he also had to think about his mom. While he didn't want to care about the Mantels either, he wasn't coldhearted enough to wish that they died.

Darrien turned his face to the side, his cheek meeting the ground. "I'm not going to help you."

Ren pulled the gun away. "Do you think you have a choice?"

Darrien seized the opportunity and punched Ashton in the face. Ren didn't have the time to think how the hell Darrien had gotten out of Ashton's grip before he was tackled to the ground. Darrien knocked the gun out of Ren's hand. He was thrown onto his back and then Darrien's hands were wrapped around his throat.

But he didn't squeeze.

He simply stared down at Ren with wide eyes. His fingers trampled against Ren's skin.

Shock. Disgust. Ren couldn't tell if the emotions were targeted toward him or Darrien. They were a cloud of smoke that blinded him against the rest of the world. They were such thick emotions—like they'd been bottled up for years and this was the first time that they'd seen daylight.

Ashton stood above Darrien, ready to haul him off, but Ren raised his hand to stop him.

Darrien was almost trembling above Ren now.

"You're not going to kill me," Ren softly said.

Darrien laughed, but there was no humor in it. It was bland. Lifeless. "How can you be so sure? My dad wants to kill you. Everyone in this town wants to kill you."

Ren placed his hand on Darrien's arm. Darrien flinched at the touch, but he didn't pull away.

"I trust you."

Darrien yanked his hands away. He stared back at Ren like he'd slapped him across the face. It was then that Ren could see how destroyed Darrien was on the inside. He reminded Ashton in that way. They were similar. Both broken by parents that should have been there to protect them.

Darrien scrambled off of Ren. He didn't try to get to his gun. Instead, he stood, covering his face with his hands. He shook his head.

"He's right. You're crazy."

Ren got up, picking the gun off of the ground again. He put it into the back of his pants. "I might be. Are you going to help us?"

Darrien was silent for a moment. Ren wasn't entirely sure that he'd gotten through to him. He just hoped that what he saw in Darrien and what he felt from him was enough to make Darrien choose the right path. Ren didn't fully believe that Darrien was a bad person. He was someone who was influenced to bad things.

Everyone made mistakes.

Darrien ran both of his hands through his hair. He rested them on top of his head, staring out into the dark forest.

Ren took a step toward him. The wet brush crunched beneath his feet. He caught Ashton watching him from the corner of his eye.

They both thought he was out of his mind. That was okay. He didn't care as long as his mom was going to be safe at the end of all this.

"What am I getting out of this?"

Ren paused.

"What do you want?"

Silence again. This time, much heavier. Like a weight was resting on top of Ren's lungs.

Darrien tilted his head. It was a mere fraction, just enough for his eyes to gloss over Ren's still form.

"I don't know."

Ren looked away. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should. Almost as if he was overstepping somehow. Reaching deep into Darrien's personal space and looking into somewhere that he was allowed to.

"Fine." Darrien dropped his arms down to his sides. He turned abruptly, marching up to Ren.

Ashton stepped up as well. The three of them met together with only a couple feet between them. Ashton gave Darrien a hard stare.

"My threat still stands."

Darrien gave him a dull stare. "Clearly."

"Do we have a deal?"

Ren held out his hand.

A small moment passed as Darrien looked at Ren's outstretched hand and then at Ashton's piercing gaze. Ren could almost see his thoughts rolling around in his head.

"We do," he said and then shook Ren's hand.

His grip tightened, tugging Ren toward him slightly.

"I'm not on your side." The depth of his eyes almost swallowed Ren whole as he gazed into them. "I'm not on anybody's."

Ren gave a nod. Darrien yanked his hand away.

"I'm going to get you in and that's it. If you get caught, I'm not with you."

"Good," Ashton voiced. He rolled his eyes, walking over to Darrien's gun.

He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Darrien marched over. He held out his hand. Ashton snorted.

"Did you really think I was going to let you have this back?" Ashton grinned, showing off his white teeth. He put the gun away in the same spot that Ren had his.

Darrien gaped. "Are you serious? How am I—"

"I guess you're just going to have to figure it out, Hunter." Ashton slapped Darrien on the back.

As he walked past Darrien, he sent a smirk Ren's way. Ren returned the smirk with a frown.

Darrien looked to Ren for help and Ren just shrugged him off. He wasn't going to fight with Ashton over this. While he did trust Darrien to not kill them, he needed Ashton to trust Ren's judgement more.

As they walked back into the hell they'd only just escaped, Ren prayed that he wasn't sending him and Ashton to their death.