Ren turned away from the mural of mutilated bodies and gagged. He covered his mouth tightly with both of his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut and begged for the images of death to go away. They didn't. They were there to stay, to torment him forever, and there wasn't anything he could do.
And there wasn't anything he could do to help the people in the photos. It was all in the past. It had already been done.
"They'll hear you," Ashton softly said. Ren almost missed it over his harsh gagging.
But it was what he needed to hear. He took in a deep, ragged breath, his eyes still closed, and thought about his mom. He thought about the forest and the mountain, how he felt when he was at his happiest. He wished he could be there now. In the middle of the forest without a care in the world about anything else.
He wished life was as easy as pain and death.
Ashton stood close by him. He hovered by the door, listening, and Ren was glad he was because he couldn't do anything but try to fight off nausea.
"They're heading back."
Ren sagged onto the desk. He folded his arms as he hunched over onto the cool surface. He didn't care about leaving fingerprints behind. He didn't care about anything except trying not to think about the pictures.
How could someone be so cruel? How could anyone looking at that day after day without going insane?
He heard Ashton move. He peeked down at the ground. Ashton was standing in front of the wall.
Ren balked. "How can you look at it?"
How can you even stand it?
"It's fine," Ashton said.
It wasn't fine. Even the tone of his voice gave away how much he didn't think this was fine. That settled some of Ren's twisting gut. He didn't want to think of the implication if Ashton wasn't bothered by the gory death in front of him.
Ashton stood there. Ren watched him. He couldn't look away. It wasn't the pictures he cared about so much now though there was no way he couldn't be unbothered by them. But at that moment, he watched every move Ashton made. Every small change in his body language and insignificant twist of his facial expression. He didn't know what he was looking for.
But he was waiting for something.
"These are new."
"I don't want to hear that."
His gut clenched.
All the things he heard about the Hunter Society never sat right with him. They were brutal and uncaring. They fought like they were hunting down demons and not people.
Hearing it and seeing it were vastly different things. He wasn't prepared for this.
He laid his head back down on his folded arms. He couldn't have known what they were walking into. Yes, he knew the Hunter Society was full of fucked up people, but he didn't know it was going to be like this. He knew about the destruction and violence that had happened hundreds of years ago.
But that was so long ago. How could it be the same? How could nothing have changed in such a long time?
He was never going to get an answer. He would never understand why people were like this. He just wished he could stop chasing after answers that didn't exist and that would never make sense to him.
He heard Ashton move again. He walked over to the desk, hovering just by Ren's side. Ren focused on Ashton's body heat. He tried to anchor himself to it and to not think about the pictures. It helped to ease some of the tension in his chest, but his eyes still burned with unshed tears.
"Is there anything I can do?"
The soft spoken words were strange coming from Ashton. He didn't sound like himself.
The tension was back. It was spreading throughout his chest and up his neck. His throat was tight as he felt Ashton step even closer. He stood right there. If Ren moved even an inch they would be touching.
Butterflies fluttered in his stomach. It reminded him of the time in his bedroom. And when Ren had bitten Ashton.
"I'll be fine." Another lie. They were both lying to each other.
They knew. It was obvious Ashton knew Ren was lying. And it had to be obvious Ren knew Ashton was lying.
That was okay. They didn't trust each other anyway.
Ren turned his head. He peeked out of the small cave he'd created with his arms. It was darker in the room now. It was evening and the sun had lowered to the point shadows were dancing through the window. Ashton's face was covered in them. Ren was thankful for that. It was more obvious in the light how beautiful Ashton was. It was harder to focus when Ren could only think about how good he looked.
Ashton looked back at him. His light brown eyes were faintly mixed with red as he was came from using his power. Ren was caught in the color. It wasn't just him craving Ashton's blood. It wasn't even him lusting after Ashton's body.
There was this longing he'd never felt before. He wanted to be by Ashton's side. That was it. He wanted to spend time with him and it would be enough to make him happy.
Ashton moved closer still, inching his head down. Ren held still. Ashton's nose bumped Ren's.
"Is this okay?"
Ren's eyes flickered to Ashton's mouth. He licked his lips and met Ashton's eyes again.
"Yes."
Ashton pressed his lips to Ren's.
It was too much yet not enough. Ren stood rigid, frozen at the thought of what he was doing. His stomach twisted.
Ashton pulled away.
He turned his face and wiped his mouth. Ren watched him, but he didn't say what he wanted to say.
"Sorry."
Ren shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
He was prepared to never talk about this. Ashton was good at denying the truth and Ren was going to let him because he was scared of it all. It was better to just let things go than chase after something that would never be real.
Ashton moved around the desk. He moved elegantly, hands at his sides and the stoic look on his face Ren hated so much. But the look was so unapologetically Ashton that Ren found some sort of twisted comfort in it. It wasn't at all like the feeling of comfort he got when he was home with his mom.
This sort of comfort was burning with a blistering heat that rose throughout his body like a tidal wave.
"Ren." Ashton hovered across from Ren. He was looking down at something.
Ren swallowed a groan. "What is it?"
After seeing what was on the wall, he didn't want to imagine what Ashton was going to tell him.
Ren peered up. Ashton was looking at a picture frame put off to the side. It felt insignificant compared to everything else. The large monitor took up most of the desk and what room was left was reserved for a stack of papers twelve inches thick and a notepad left blank. There was a black pen resting on top of the notepad as if someone had been ready to write something down but hadn't had the chance. The desk was neat though. There were barely any wires. The ones poking out of the monitor were neatly folded back and wrapped together so they blended in with the desk.
The picture frame didn't fit. It was on the edge, barely hanging on. A gust of wind could have knocked it off. It felt careless. Whoever sat at this desk couldn't have looked at the picture often. It was placed at an odd angle. Opposite of the monitor and the notepad. And if the person ever looked at the photo they would also be looking at the bloody massacre hanging on the wall.
"Come here," Ashton said. His words were firmer this time, leaving no room to refuse. Ren wasn't going to. He was already walking over.
He made sure to keep his distance. He didn't trust himself. Not that he was going to do anything to Ren or make a fool of himself. He didn't trust himself to not fall even further for Ashton Mantel. It was inevitable now. The seed was planted and it was only a matter of time before Ren was utterly in love with the irritating vampire.
He was going to try his hardest not to. Even if it was an impossible task.
Ren expected something a lot worse than an innocent family photo. That had a lot to do with the horrific photos taped onto the far wall. He expected so much worse than the simple photo of a man and woman with their teenage son.
But maybe it was as bad as he thought it was going to be.
Standing between the man and the woman was Darrien.
That wasn't even the worst of it.
The man in the photo was the man at the rally.
Ren reached out, but Ashton stopped him.
His hand wrapped around Ren's wrist, tightening just enough to snap Ren out of the trance like state he'd been pulled under. He blinked, trying to get the fogginess out of his vision. He was caught there for a moment, still processing what he'd just seen.
"Who is that?" He asked.
He knew it couldn't be good. He already knew the man had been at the rally, but he was in such shock he couldn't quite put his figure on who exactly he'd been.
"That is the President of the Hunter Society." Ashton murmured the words, but they felt like they were being yelled into Ren's ears.
His heart ached. His stomach dropped and he felt all the strength in him give away.
"And it looks like your friend is his son."
Ren tore his hand out of Ashton's grip. That was the truth. Ashton saying it was the nail in the coffin.
"He's not my friend."
Ashton snorted. "Okay."
Ren glared at him. "He's not. What's your problem anyway? It's none of your business."
Ashton glared back, his brown eyes glowing red for a second. "It is my business when you're getting caught up with vermin like him. You don't have just your life to worry about anymore. You have mine as well."
Ren stepped back. "I'm not going to intentionally get you killed."
He hoped Ashton didn't know Ren had been about to do that just half an hour ago. He wasn't exactly proud he'd wound up in such a dark place, but he also wasn't going to let Ashton walk all over him like this. He was done being the punching bag. It didn't matter if he deserved it a little. He wasn't going to let it happen either way.
Something flickered in Ashton's eyes. Ren thought he recognized what was going on in Ashton's head, but he couldn't quite grasp onto it fully. And maybe Ashton did know Ren had been to the point of killing himself. Ren had been in the middle of the forest, he'd been distraught, and maybe Ashton had felt that the entire time.
Ren wouldn't know. He'd probably never know.
Like the kiss, they were never going to talk about it.
Just then, there was the slamming of a door. Ren stared wide-eyed at the door of the office as stomping footsteps echoed from down the hall.
"Fuck," Ashton hissed as he grabbed Ren's arm.
The two of them clamored to the window of the office. Ashton threw it open and before Ren could even think about it, Ashton was dragging him through.
They rushed out without looking, falling to the grassy ground. It was dark, the sun setting, and the wind howled.
"Well, isn't this lovely."
Ren looked up and internally cursed.
They were surrounded by Hunters.
Ren turned around. He started toward the window, but halted when he not only saw Darrien and Regan staring back at him. The man—the President of the Hunter Society—stood behind them. He wore a smug smile.
Ren stumbled away from the window. His back knocked into Ashton's.
"Keep still," Ashton hissed to him.
Ren gave a jerky nod.
"I knew we should have gutted them." Ren recognized the voice. It was Kenny. He didn't dare look away from the window, afraid of how close Darrien and Regan were getting, but also because he didn't like that sinister look on Darrien's father's face.
"Shut up, Kenny," Malcolm said. There was a loud thump and Kenny let out a yelp.
The wind died down. The forest around them went quiet. Or that there was a big storming coming. Ren took a shaky breath. He had to force himself to breathe steadily. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was, but knowing they were surrounded by people who wanted to do more than kill them—it made everything difficult.
Darrien's father walked forward. Darrien and Regan stepped to the side to let him through. He went right up to the window and peered out of it. He stared with a rue grin on his face directed at Ren.
Ren wanted to look away, but he forced himself to stare at those soulless eyes.
"Are these the vampires I've heard wonderful things about?"
The man's mouth quirked to the side. The dead smile created deep wrinkles above his brows and on his cheeks. He was older up close.
"Yes, this is them," Malcolm said. His voice wasn't as full as joy as the man's was. He sounded like he was just as put off by the man's demeanor as Ren was.
Ashton stiffened. Ren felt him trying to look at the man from over his shoulder.
"Don't," Ren whispered. The man raised a brow like he heard Ren speak. "Keep an eye on them."
They needed to keep their guard up. It didn't matter if they weren't a match for all of them. He wasn't going to let these slimy fucks win from a sneaky attack.
Ashton didn't try to look at the man after that. Ren was glad he was listening to him then. It was a slight miracle he listened to Ren at all.
"Hm."
Ren clenched his hands as the man stepped out of the window. Darrien stood in front of Regan. Ren caught his gaze for a second. He didn't know what he should think about the acquaintance he'd met just a couple weeks ago. They weren't friends, but Ren had started to trust him.
He looked away.
He didn't see an ounce of Darrien's father in Darrien himself. But he was following in his father's footsteps either way. That meant they were on opposite sides.
The man stood away from Ren. That was good. Though he didn't have his switchblade with him, he wasn't going to hesitate gouging the man's eyes out.
Ren gave it his all when he glared at the man. He hoped he looked as dangerous as he felt. He hoped the man could feel his throat being ripped out when he looked into Ren's eyes.
But the man didn't give Ren the reaction he wanted.
He looked Ren up and down and snorted.
He fucking snorted. Like Ren was nothing more than a little kid trying to start a fight with him.
Ren didn't know he could take such an offense to that.
"I expected more."
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"What do you want us to do with them, Cipher?" Malcolm asked.
Ren was thankful Kenny wasn't the one in charge. If it was up to him, he would have chopped both of their heads off the moment he saw them in the forest.
Then, he realized what Malcolm had said. Cipher. His brows furrowed. That was the man they'd been talking to when they were looking for the girl. Carla was her name.
He shouldn't be forgetting that. It should have been easy to remember her name when he'd touched her corpse and had heard her screams before she was viciously murdered. She'd been mutilated. The least he could do was remember her name.
Cipher took a large step toward Ren.
Ren backed up as much as he could with Ashton behind him.
He flinched when Ashton grabbed his hand. They weren't holding hands. It more like Ashton was cupping Ren's fist, but even so, the small touch somehow made the situation better. He wasn't alone. Not entirely. And while Ashton wasn't the person he wanted to be stuck with, he was glad he was here nonetheless.
Because they were almost the same person with the bond. Their lives meant so much more when they were connected and that had to count toward something.
"I think they understand what's going to happen to them," Cipher grinned. The eery smile stretched to his eyes. It was a genuine smile, but it was laced with violence.
The photos on the wall were what Ren thought of first. He remembered the stories of mayhem and the destruction the Hunter Society liked to impose. They were a hate group, an organization merely existing to justify murder.
Ren had been so focused on Cipher that he hadn't noticed Darrien and Regan leaving the room. Cipher glanced briefly at the door closing, his smile falling for a moment before he put that dark grin back onto his face.
Ren's stomach flipped as he once more thought about the photos. The blood was painted everywhere in those disgusting images. He understood vampires needed blood, he understood monster-like instincts existed inside of him, but he didn't understand how a human could love blood just as much.
He didn't need to read Cipher's mind to know he loved the images on his wall. He partook in the killing of those people and he relished in it. Ren didn't need to feel Cipher's emotions to know he wanted to do the same thing to Ren and Ashton.
He didn't mean to lock eyes with Cipher. He didn't want to look at Cipher at all.
But he did. Their eyes locked and it felt like Ren was being punched in the gut. He swallowed the reaction. He buried it deep inside him and instead glared as hard as he could. He put everything into that glare though he knew it wasn't going to do a thing.
Cipher's grin widened even more until it looked like it was going to break his face.
"I'm tired of this. Let's just kill them." Ren heard rustling and then what sounded like a gun being cocked.
"Put the fucking gun down!" Malcolm yelled.
The next few seconds were nothing more than chaos. Ashton grabbed Ren's arm and threw him down to the ground. They rolled on top of each other, Ren's head smacking into the ground while Ashton's body crushed him from above. He stared wide eyed up at the sky, making out Malcolm and Kenny struggling with a gun just before a gunshot pierced through the air.
Ren winced. His ears rang.
"I'm going to kill you, Kenny!"
Ashton hauled Ren up from the ground. A few feet in front of them, Kenny and Malcolm were fighting in the grass. Malcolm had Kenny in a headlock and Kenny was flailing his arms, his gun in one hand.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," Ashton said and Ren agreed.
They didn't get to take two steps before the woman—Remy—stepped in front of them. She pointed both of her guns at them.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Ashton tilted his head down. His eyes flashed red. "Get out of my way."
Remy froze. Her brows furrowed and her eyes glazed. She didn't move, but she didn't drop her guns.
Then, she stepped to the side.
Ashton shoved past her and Ren ran after him.
"What the hell was that?" Ren looked back at Remy who was still standing there like she'd been turned to stone.
"Tell you later. Preferably when we're not trying to be killed."
That sounded like a good idea.
They ran across the large field in the opposite direction of the building. Ren didn't know where they were going to end up once they disappeared into the forest, but he didn't care as long as they were far away from the Hunters.
As they neared the line of trees, a knife flew right between them. It sliced across Ren's cheek. He let out a muffled yell of shock.
Even as his cheek stung, he kept running. They both ran past the knife sticking out of the ground. It looked like it was as big as Ren's forearm.
Ren grabbed Ashton by the back of his shirt and yanked him back just as another blade flew through the air. It stabbed into the ground right before Ashton's feet.
Ashton breathed heavily. "Thanks."
Ren panted but didn't say anything.
"I'll make it simple for you two."
They both turned at the same time.
Cipher was standing by himself, twirling another knife in his left hand. Behind him, still close by the building, Kenny and Malcolm were hauling themselves from the ground. They yelled at one another but had stopped fighting long enough to realize the threat—Ren and Ashton—had moved.
"Go fuck yourself," Ashton said.
Ren gritted his teeth. He didn't think telling the man twirling a knife who wanted to kill them to go fuck himself was a good idea. Though, he didn't disagree with the sentiment.
Cipher slowly shook his head. "So cocky. I'm going to enjoy this. I can't wait to see the anguish in your parent's faces when they find out their heir is dead."
Ashton jolted forward, ready to attack Cipher, but Ren held him back. If Ashton really wanted to, he could have easily broken out of Ren's grip, but he didn't.
Cipher laughed louder this time. "This is going to be way too easy."
In that moment when Cipher stepped closer to them with his knife, and as the other Hunters sprinted across the field with their guns drawn, Ren saw flashes of everything wrong in his life. He saw his mother slowly dying in this parasitic town, he saw himself turning into the monster he tried his life not to be, and he saw the Hunters killing every single member of the Mantel family.
There was nothing he could do. He was helpless. And it didn't matter if he found a way to cure the horrific things the Hunter Society was doing, he would always be a problem.
He was always going to be who he was and he wasn't going to be able to change that.
But he didn't want to die.
And he didn't want to give up trying before he had a chance.
He didn't want to give the Hunter Society an easy kill.
Ren yanked Ashton back, throwing him down to the ground. He stepped in front of Ashton just as Cipher came at them with his knife.
"Stop!" Ashton screamed at the top of his lungs.
Cipher caught himself as he tripped. His arm missed its mark, slashing an inch in front of Ren's chest.
They didn't get a chance to comprehend what happened when sirens screeched.
"Ah!"
Ren fell to his knees. He threw his hands over his ears and pressed them as hard as he could, trying desperately to cut off the high pitch wails of the siren. He forced his eyes to stay open through the pain.
Cipher squinted as he was effected by the sound, but not as badly as Ren was.
Ren was just strong enough to pull his hands away from his ears and to find Ashton blindly with them. He turned his attention to Ashton.
Ashton was curled in a fetal position. He let out these low and breathless moans of agony. His hands pressed tightly to his ears, his eyes squeezed shut, and his body was ratted. Ren wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close to his chest.
"Jesus Christ."
Ren's heart dropped in his chest as he saw blood pouring out of Ashton's nose. The blood dripped down the sides of his face. It was coming from his ears.
"Shit. Fuckfuckfuck." Ren pressed his own hands to Ashton's ears. The wail of the siren changed tones. It was now a long note that stretched on forever.
He fought through the pain, holding Ashton close to him.
The other Hunters stood behind Cipher. Ren frantically looked at all of them.
He thought he wanted to die. Now, he knew he didn't.
Cipher stomped toward them. Ren wasn't fast enough. He couldn't drag Ashton away from Cipher in time.
Cipher slammed the butt of the knife into Ren's face.
It knocked him to the side. He gasped as his vision blurred.
"I'm not going to make it quick for you. I'm going to make you scream. I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born."
You're too late for that.
Cipher pressed the blade to Ren's neck. Ren tried as best as he could to cover Ashton's shaking body with his own in the position he was in. He swallowed. The blade nicked his skin. He felt a beed of blood run down to his collar bone.
"You've seen the pictures," Cipher said. "I can do so much worse."
Ren believed him. As he stared back at the soulless eyes of the Hunter, he saw the devil lurking in there. He thought he was a monster. He'd been wrong.
This was what a true monster looked like.
Ren curled his lip.
"Bring it."
He balled up the biggest wad of spit he could and spat it directly in Cipher's smug face.
It splattered over the man's face, exploding into thick droplets that even made Ren wrinkle his nose in disgust.
Cipher closed his eyes just as the wad hit his face. He paused for a moment and then roughly wiped his face.
He let out a not-so-humorous laugh as he wiped his soiled hand onto his pants. "You just made it a lot worse for yourself, Ren Cornelli."
Ren slammed his fist into Cipher's face.
The man was knocked flat onto his ass. Ren rolled Ashton out of the way and practically flew toward Malcolm. He slammed into the Hunter and they both toppled to the ground. The thing within him boiled to the surface and then he was exploding with all the dark needs that he'd been hiding from.
Malcolm screamed and beat at Ren. Ren ignored the pain. He sunk his fangs into Malcolm's throat and drank deeply. It was only a few seconds, enough to render Malcolm useless to fight.
"Get the fuck off him fanger!"
Ren rolled to the side. He swallowed down the blood, gasping at how good it tasted. He clung to that, fighting down the thing inside that wanted to go crazy. But it was also the thing that gave him the strength to take action.
Kenny shot at the small space above Ren's head. A warning shot.
The blazing hatred in Kenny's eyes was exactly what Ren had envisioned his entire life.
Kenny aimed his gun at Ren and this time he wasn't going to miss.
Ren ducked just as Kenny pulled the trigger. He searched out Kenny's emotions. He felt them, the anger, the fear, and the excitement. He pushed deeper and he got a taste of what Kenny was going to do next.
Ren kicked at Kenny's face as Kenny turned his gun downward to take a shot at his lower body. They collided somewhere in the middle, Ren's foot not reaching high enough to hit Kenny, but high enough to kick the gun out of Kenny's hands.
"Shit! Motherfucker!" Kenny clutched his hand with his other.
Ren looked between Kenny who was seething at his hurt hand and the abandoned gun in the grass. He grabbed it.
He didn't have time to think through what his plan was. He'd never held a gun in his life. But there he was. Standing in the middle of a field, ears ringing, blood in his mouth, while he held a gun pointed at a Hunter.
Kenny froze.
"You don't have the balls, kid."
Ren cocked his head. "Not 'fanger' this time?"
Ren pointed the gun at Kenny's leg and pulled the trigger.
"Fucking shit!" Kenny collapsed to the ground. He covered the gushing wound.
The blood was more than tempting, but Ren fought the urge. He looked down at the gun, deciding then he wasn't going to leave it for Kenny to grab again.
The siren had lessened.
Ren hurried over to Ashton.
Cipher was close next to him. He was struggling to get off the ground, his hand cradling his face.
"—ngh. You…ah…bitch."
Blood was streaming down his face from under his hand. Ren held the gun firmly in his hand, pointing it right where he'd struck Cipher in the face.
"I'll do it. I'm not scared."
Cipher laughed. "You should be. This isn't even the start of it."
Ren knew he wasn't talking about what had happened just now.
Ren helped Ashton to stand. He was just strong enough to wrap his arms around Ren and to sag into him. Ren pulled him close with his free arm.
He slowly backed them up, never once letting the gun move away from Cipher's face.
As they got closer to the forest and the carnage Ren had caused got further away, the look on Cipher's face got darker and darker.
And just when he removed his hand from his face, Ren and Ashton faded into the forest.