He launched it at a window next to the door. It hit the pane, but instead of going through the glass, it merely caused a small crack. "What the..."

Chris's voice trailed off as they all stared at the window. Devon's muscles and the veins in his arms stood out as he lifted the statue and heaved it at the window again. If it could crack, it would eventually break. He just wasn't sure it would be in time.

***

Cassie frantically searched for Luther and Sister Anne, or whoever she was. "Luther! Luther!"

There was no response, no sound. She glanced toward the front door, but no matter how preoccupied she'd been with the young boy, she would have heard it open and close. That only left the stairs. She turned and dashed up the stairs two or three at a time. She reached the second floor hall and began to frantically thrust doors open as she moved but she found no one. She turned the corner in the hall and came across another set of stairs. These ones wound their way up and disappeared in a curve that blocked the view of the third floor.

She didn't hesitate, didn't pause as she used the railing to propel her up the stairs. "Luther!" she was practically screeching now as she stumbled/flung herself into the third floor hall. It was as dark and empty as the second story one.

She threw doors open with enough force to shatter the plaster in the walls behind them. She couldn't think straight as she spun around in the hall. Where had that bitch taken him!? Her canines lengthened as her lips curled back in a snarl. She wasn't ashamed by the bloodlust that thrummed to life within her; instead she welcomed the power it gave her.

Cassie bolted back down the stairs, thankful for the agility that being a Hunter had given her, and the immortality that being a vampire had afforded her. Otherwise she definitely would have tumbled down the stairs and broken her neck.

She slammed off the wall in the second floor hallway and bounced off of it as she fled forward. It had been far too long since she'd last seen Luther. She took the next flight of steps in two large, silent bounds. She slid to a halt feet before the front door. She was about to shout Luther's name again when she snapped her mouth shut. She'd been bellowing throughout the house alerting Anne, and anyone else here, to where she was at all times. Silence was the best way to go now.

She stalked down the hallway, her footsteps hushed due to her nimble step and the thick rug beneath her sneakers. The children were now perched upon the couch in the living room; their hands were folded demurely in their laps. Cassie didn't find them cute and pitiful anymore, now they creeped her out. She'd seen Children of the Corn, and though they weren't all blue eyed and blond, the serene expressions on their faces and their immobile postures were unnerving.

She turned the corner, leaving the living room behind as she steadily crept forward. From somewhere in the back of the house she could hear something banging. She had no idea what it could be, but it added an ominous note to the already sinister home. She contemplated going for the others but she could practically hear the seconds of the clock ticking away Luther's life in her head. Besides, she still wouldn't be able to get Julian and Devon into the house, and she would only be placing Chris and Melissa in danger.

She wasn't surprised to find the playroom abandoned as she passed it. She was almost back to the kitchen when she saw a door she'd missed before. It was tucked beneath the stairs, barely visible except for the thin glow of illumination that shone from beneath the door crack. Light she was certain hadn't been there before. Tiptoeing to the door, she turned the knob slowly to ensure that it didn't make a sound.

She poked her head into the doorway, her forehead furrowed as she took in the spiral stairs before her. She couldn't see the bottom of the stairs or the floor of the basement. Beneath the pungent scent of mildew and disuse she caught the scent of the mice and rats that inhabited the building. She imagined this is what the little explored areas of the subway system smelled like.

But the worst was the lingering scent of putrefaction that permeated the air.

***

Julian had found a concrete block and was hammering at the window in between times that Devon crashed it with the statue. But what had started as a small crack wasn't getting much bigger. In fact, it was only a jagged line running across the glass now. It had to give at some point but he wasn't sure that it was going to be in time.

"What is this made of?" Chris panted.

"Bullet proof," Melissa muttered. "Or something close to it."

Devon felt as if there was a feral animal clawing at his chest as he bashed the statue into the window again. They'd been inside for far too long now, any number of things could have happened since they'd disappeared. If it wasn't for the fact that he could still feel Cassie, and knew that she was alive, he would have completely lost it by now.

"Useless, this is useless." Julian's frustration and exasperation were palpable as he heaved the block at the window. He didn't go to retrieve it but instead turned away as his gaze rapidly scanned the building. "Do you think the upper windows are the same?"

Devon's arm halted in mid throw as he studied the windows. "Only one way to find out."

Repositioning his arm, he aimed the statue at the window and let it fly. It slammed into the glass and bounced back off of it. Devon caught it before it hit the ground; a brutal bellow tore from him as he whipped it at the glass with all of his might. "Son of a bitch!" he roared as the statue rebounded before them.

Devon spun away from the window, determined to find some way into the house. "Devon! Devon wait!"

He almost ignored Melissa's frantic cry, but there was something in her voice that halted his movement. He turned back to her but none of them were looking at him. Their gazes were focused upon the back door, a door that was now open.

Devon took a step closer as a small boy appeared in the doorway. His golden curls and chocolate eyes were enhanced by the muted illumination filtering around him. Devon ran back to the porch and bounded up the stairs. He pushed through Julian, Melissa, and Chris to kneel before the cherubic child. The child met Devon's stare with an unwavering directness that was a little unnerving for someone so young.

"Can you let us in?" Devon's voice was harsher than he had intended but the clawing in his chest had spread into his throat.

The boy scanned him from head to toe. Devon's fingers flexed as he rested his arm on his knee and fought the urge to grab the child. It would be a useless attempt anyway as the child remained safely within the home. Those dark eyes focused on Chris and Melissa. "They can come in," he murmured before his gaze slid back to Devon. "But you can't."




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