CRITT3R

THANK YOU!

Thanks to all my besties who read my stuff! I enjoy writing so much! I may not be the best at it but it

excites me that you all care so much for Critter! :) <3 you all and we will meet back 

here when CRITT3R premieres! 

Lots of love,

Clayton Burns 

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 12 (Finale)

“WE’RE ALMOST THERE KYLE! HANG IN THERE!” screamed Clayton from the front seat as he was driving Kyle to the hospital. Rachel sat in the passenger seat as Ashley has Kyle’s head in her lap in the back. Ashley rubbed Kyles face and smiled as a tear hit his forehead. “Come on Kyle! Don’t go anywhere on us!” she pleaded.

After Lauren heard the gunshot she went running into Mitchell’s office. She saw Dayna still holding the gun and shaking with a terrified look on her face. Lauren lit her up and she became unconscious. Lauren took this opportunity to take her home and put her in bed, Dayna didn’t need to see what had happened outside. Lauren got in the truck and perched Dayna in the passenger seat with a seatbelt. She drove her to her home and put her in bed. “Worth a shot” said Lauren as she left her house hoping she would wake up and assume it was a dream. She had to get back to the bar to help take the bodies down to the Siren cave.

When the car pulled up to the hospital Ashley jumped out and came to the driver seat window “I’ll go get supplies, you pull around back to the ambulance doors, I’ll come out there”. Ashley told the group that she could treat the wound herself. If they got doctors and police involved it would be too messy. She grabbed what she needed from the supply closet and used her access card to swipe in and out of the hospital. She hopped back in the car and they drove off.

Mitchell was beginning to feel disoriented from the hunger. “How have you lived down here for so long?” he asked Megan “I’ll show you” Megan stood up and motioned Mitch to follow her around the corner of the dark dirty dungeon. Megan pulled back a curtain and there was a beautiful garden of assorted vegetables. There was a trickling stream of fresh water that lead into a small bin dug into the ground to keep the water from going anywhere.

Mitchell immediately fell to his knees and grabbed himself a carrot from the ground. The carrot was very under developed, he wasted no time. He lunged at it as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Megan knelt down beside him and grabbed his hand before he ate it “how is this possible?” Mitchell asked, “there’s no sunlight down here, no soil anywhere but here…how?” Megan grasped Mitchell’s wrist and a light began to travel through her big green eyes. The carrot then grew to full size. It was the most beautiful thing Mitchell had ever seen. “What are you?” Mitchell asked “I go by many names, but most call me an elemental” Mitchell sat there and demanded more information “I don’t understand” he said “when I was a little girl, around 5 years old, my three sisters and I were taken from our parents during the night. The man that took us told us we were special and that we had bigger and better futures to obtain too. He kept us for 3 years until he gave us up for adoption. During that time he found something in us. This is what he found In me, I have since learned to embody nature in myself, Traci knew that, she knew I would survive down here” Megan stared blankly at the garden “why did she put you down here?” asked Mitchell “because I’m a threat, well not alone I’m not, but if me and my sisters ever reunited, we could beat Traci, and that’s why I’m down here” “Why wouldn’t she just kill you?” asked Mitchell “I think one day she plans to take my abilities, and until she figures that out, here I will stay”.

“I also have something special about me” Mitchell explained “watch this” he placed his hand over a pile of rocks placed around the garden, he closed his eyes and to Megan’s amaze they were floating in the air. “WHY HAVE YOU KEPT THIS FROM ME!?” she yelled “HEY YOU KEPT YOUR ABILITIES FROM ME!” he yelled back “We can get out of here” said Megan “how?” he replied “I need you to give it all you got, use every last ounce you have left in your body and do exactly what you did to those rocks, to the ceiling, and leave the rest to me” explained Megan as they walked over to the area where the mystery boy was still sleeping. Mitchell looked over at Megan “do it” she said as he closed his eyes and raised his hands. He screamed as loud as he could and the sheer force of his abilities was shaking the whole place. Megan placed her hands upon the cave walls and closed her eyes, when she opened them again they were bright green. Vines came through the floor and punctured through the top of the cave. Light shone threw as Mitchell fell to the ground exhausted from the amount of energy he put forth. The mystery boy woke up and covered his squinting eyes. Megan stood up “we’re free, it worked MITCHELL WE’RE FREE!” Mitchell picked himself up and followed Megan as she climbed out from under the ground. “OH THE SUN! IT FEELS SO GOOD!” yelled Megan “where are we” the boy asked as he came up from under the ground. The three looked around, it was like nothing they had ever seen before. A waterfall flew through mountains. Birds were chirping and fluttering around, the sun was glowing and the grass was perfectly green “I’ve never seen anything like this” said Mitchell “is this heaven?” asked the boy. The three continued to gaze upon this lands infinite beauty when a woman wearing a long white dress interrupted them, her hair was beautiful and it flowed through the light breeze as she spoke “how did you get here? What have you done!” she yelled “who are you?” said Mitchell “YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! YOU ARE NOT ONE OF US!” the woman screamed and lifted her hands and light poured out, sending Megan and the boy flying across the grassy meadow. “WE DON’T WANT TO HURT ANYONE! PROMISE!” yelled Mitch “I can’t take that chance” she said as she hit Mitchell with another beam.

4 months later

The car was flipped upside down in a ditch when a fire started in the engine. The tires still spinning, no one in sight. The back door was kicked open as a man crawled out.

It was the dead of night; Jordan was feeding on a deer in the forest when he heard a crack. He immediately travelled to the noise. He peered past a tree branch and he saw a teenage couple making love in the back of an old pick up truck. This fascinated Jordan, he missed the regular life he had before. He had sacrificed so much when he turned. He listened in, but he stepped on a branch and the sound carried through the forest “Dalton stop, did you hear that?” the woman said “Alex stop you’re hearing things!” he replied, “Wait stop! I think I see someone?” Alex sat up and looked in Jordan’s direction “HOLY SHIT I DO SEE SOMEONE!” she yelled and Jordan stepped forward with his fangs out “please don’t be afraid!” he said as Dalton jumped out of the back of his truck and accidently kneed Alex in the face “OW YOU ASSHOLE!” the sight of the blood took over Jordan’s ability to think properly. He rushed over to Alex and grabbed her pushing her against a tree, seeing this Dalton sped off in the distance. Alex screamed as Jordan dug further into her neck. He sucked until she was completely drained. He pulled away and saw what he had done, he began to cry. Jordan was not a killer. He looked at the young girl; she had so much ahead of her. A full life to live. Jordan wanted to give that to her. He decided to do what Dave did for him not 6 months ago; he decided to turn the girl into a vampire.

Kelly stood in the forest where she and Clayton had been working for months to build a new meeting ground for the Mer people. “I don’t know the first thing about being a queen” Kelly said. Clayton placed his hand on her shoulder “We’re gunna do this together, we owe it to Warren” Rachel came running down the hill “their here!” she yelled as two woman and a man followed her “Hello, I’m Kelly and this is my brother Clayton and I see you’ve already met Rachel. I appreciate you coming all this way, my Mer father Warren taught me the value of family and I hope you will give me the same opportunity. The group smiled. They were sent over from another Mer clan to join Kelly in her area.

Lena woke up after the baby kicked; she shot out of bed and held her belly. “LAUREN! LAUREN! I FELT A KICK! MY BABY’S FIRST KICK!” she yelled as she ran downstairs. Since Warren past away Lena had moved into Laurens house for support. They were best friends, and together they would raise this baby, and protect her.  “I can’t believe how fast this is happening! It feels like yesterday you called me to tell me you were pregnant!” she said, “Okay now go shower! You’re gunna be late for your spa appointment!” Lauren motioned at her to head upstairs. Lauren, Ashley, Kelly and Rachel planned a surprise baby shower at the house tonight and Rachel was going to take her for a massage so that Ashley, Kelly and Lauren could get ready. After Mitchell’s disappearance and Warren and Jason’s death, they needed to get their minds off things.

Clayton arrived home and hung up his jacket on the staircase. While the girls were at the baby shower he was going to use this time to donate all of Tyson’s old stuff in the attic. The doorbell rang and Kyle walked in with a couple beers in his hand “what’s the point in ringing if you’re just gunna come in anyway?” he asked “hey I agreed to help you lug boxes all day! I can to whatever I damn well please!” they laughed and headed up to the attic. “Hold shit! This is a lot of junk, I wonder if there’s anything worth something up here” Kyle asked “if you find anything you want, just keep it” Clayton replied. Kyle picked up a box that was full to the rim, the bottom then ripped and everything fell to the floor. “Way to go” teased Clayton as a glimmering sparkle caught his eye. A locket on a gold chain lay on the floor. Clayton picked it up and Kyle began flipping through an old book that also resided in the dusty box. “What is this? Listen to this Clay” Kyle began to read as Clayton Grasped the locket “We agree upon the terms of the black group, place your hand on the blood and tell it to shine through you” Kyle dropped the book because his finger was somehow pricked, a drop of blood hit the floor. The locket around Clayton’s neck popped open and a whisper past through the room “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” yelled Clay.

Kelly, Lauren and Ashley set up for the baby shower. “We have a few hours till they get here! Let’s start by hanging up these cute baby themed streamers I found” said Kelly “oh so cute! I hope the cake arrives soon!” replied Lauren “do you mind if I have a quick shower?” Ashley asked politely “I just got off work at the hospital and I still have the smell of puke on me” she giggled “of coarse! Towels are in the closet outside the bathroom” Ashley ran upstairs and cranked the shower nozzle.

“Who do you think the baby is gunna look more like, Warren or Lena?” asked Lauren as they continued to decorate the living room. “I hope it’s the perfect amount of both! I hope she gets Warrens eyes!” Kelly explained hold on I’m just gunna go and get the folding chairs from the basement” said Kelly, Lauren heard a knock on the door. “Oh the cake it here!” Lauren runs to the front door and swings it open. It wasn’t the cake. Chris lunged at her as soon as she opened the door. He held his hand around her mouth and swung her around holding her tightly to his body. A gun was placed firmly on her back “I always knew you were too good to be true honey!” said Chris as he peered inside and threw her against a wall “is anyone else here?” he asked. Lauren shook her head, no. “You really thought that I would just go to prison and never forget about this? I thought you loved me Lauren! We were supposed to be together! But you left out an important piece of information didn’t you….YOU’RE A FREAK LIKE THE REST OF THEM!” Lauren cried as she slipped her palm against his chest “you know what I have to do right?” he asked as Lauren lit up her palm throwing him against the wall, but not before the gun was fired. Chris opened his eyes and saw Lauren clenching onto her chest and sliding down to the floor. Blood was splattered across the wall. Chris stood up and looked for his gun, he ran into the living room and saw that Kelly was standing a few feet away with the gun pointed at  his head “Kelly, let’s not do anything-BANG” Kelly fired a bullet into his skull sending blood spewing in every direction. She ran over to Laurens side “LAUREN!” she yelled as she lay face down in a pool of her own blood “i….can’t….breathe” she said as she began choking “OH MY GOD!” she ran to the phone t dial 911. When a burst of light filled the entire house. As the light dimmed, a woman with a long white dress stood over her “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU HAVE KILLED HER!” Kelly stood in awe as the woman grabbed her hand and disappeared. Lauren and the woman were gone. Kelly stood in the blood of Chris and Lauren; she fell to her knees and screamed.

 CRITT3R COMING SOON

CRITTER FINALE TODAY! STAY TUNED!

Volume 3 Coming soon

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 11

Dayna panicked and grabbed her key from her purse that each employee has to get access from the side door. She continued looking behind her at the men and woman surrounding her. Once she found the key that was buried art the bottom of her big black bag, she ran for the side door. The Sirens watched her run “should we chase her?” Dane asked “NO! She’s not the one we want, but she’ll bring them to us” replied Julia as she stood in front of hundreds of Sirens ready for battle.

When Dayna got inside she hid under the bar that carried the cash register. She got her cell phone out and dialed 911. The call was patched through to the local sheriff’s department; Officer Stackhouse answered “PLEASE JASON YOU NEED TO GET DOWN TO MITCHS BAR AND GRILL IMMEDIATLEY AND BRING HELP!” Dayna then hung up and crawled into the back room where she locked herself in Mitchell’s office.

Officer Stackhouse jumped in his car after hearing Dayna’s plea for help. Her phone was cutting in and out but he was able to hear that she was at Mitch’s bar in trouble. He figured he would give Mitchell a call and let him know. There was no answer on Mitchells phone but he had Laurens number because of all the stuff that has happened to her lately. When he called her phone sent him right to answering machine, so he decided to leave a message “Hey Lauren, sorry to bother you. I just got a call from Dayna down at the bar, she said something about the bar and I’m just gunna go check it out, I only call because Mitchell’s phone wasn’t connecting, Anyway if you see him just let him know to call me, thanks” he said as he drove up to the front parking lot. Dayna’s car was the only one in the lot, next to her car was a torch that was laying on the ground still lite. He left his car and walked over to pick up the torch.

Dayna saw him from the window of Mitchell’s office; she began knocking on the window to draw his attention, until a flame was ignited behind Stackhouse illuminating Julia’s face. “BEHIND YOU!” yelled Julia but it was too late, Julia snapped his neck and watched as his grip on the torch let up. Jason’s body hit the ground as Dayna screamed “NOOOOO! JASON! NO!” Dayna ran to the closet and dug through the closet where she found a handgun, she clenched it and crawled in the closet wiping away her tears.

For the most part the group had been staying awake awaiting the attack. Lena’s house was no longer safe so the group stationed at Tyson’s farm. Clayton was sipping coffee at the table with Kyle and Lauren. Jordan had joined the group since the sun had gone down. He was sitting alone on the staircase. Warren and Kelly sat on the front porch discussing the plan of attack. Rachel was sleeping in her bed, when she shot up from a cold sweat “THEIR HERE!” she yelled as she threw her jean jacket on and ran downstairs “THEIR HERE! I CAN FEEL IT!” no one understood Rachel’s abilities, she somehow could sense that Lena was pregnant and now she was detecting the sirens.

Warren and Kelly ran inside, Lauren shot up from the kitchen table and grabbed her coat, she reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone “I have a voicemail from Jason!” she put it on speakerphone and the group listened “Hey Lauren, sorry to bother you. I just got a call from Dayna down at the bar, she said something about the bar and I’m just gunna go check it out” Warren interrupted the message “LET’S MOVE OUT!” he said as the group rounded up.

Clayton grabbed his daggers and placed them firmly in a belt holder he had laced around his waist. Rachel tied her hair in a pony and zipped up her boots. Warren got in the truck and started the engine. Kelly, Clayton, Rachel, Lauren and Kyle joined in the car. Jordan came up to the car window “meet you guys there” and he disappeared in a cloud of dirt. “Show off” said Warren, he turns his head back to the group “ALRIGHT LET’S GO GET LENA BACK!” the group drove off in the direction of the bar.

Mitchell tried everything, there was no exit. This cave that him and Megan were in was not meant for escaping. Movement on the opposite side of the cave instantly distracted Megan and Mitch. It was happening again, somebody else was coming through. A young teenage boy fell through the cracks and hit the ground. They ran to the boy and looked for any sign of an exit, it was sealed up. Traci had sent this person down here for a reason. “WAKE UP! HEY WAKE UP!” yelled Mitch as he shook the boy. His eyes opened a crack “Where am I?” he asked, “we’re trapped down here, it’s some sort of dungeon, do you know how you got here?” “Got where? What….I……” the boy stuttered and looked into Mitchell’s eyes “Who am I?”.

The group arrived a few hundred yards away from the bar, Jordan met up with the group “there looks to be about a hundred of them, I don’t know if anyone is in the bar but there’s two cars out front, one is a cop car!” says Jordan. Clayton peeks through “that’s Jason’s car!” he whispers “ALRIGHT! Everyone listen!” Warren stands in front of the group “we will surround them, Kyle and Rachel you guys take the right. Lauren and Clayton take the left, Jordan you go from behind and Kelly and I will approach from ahead. There are a lot of them, but between the seven of us, we have a chance! Alright guys let’s go!”

Clayton clenched Kelly’s head in his hands “be careful out there sister! I love you” and everyone was moving to his or her positions. It was just Warren and Kelly standing by the bush line waiting to approach “alright don’t say anything! Follow my lead” Warren walked out and Kelly followed “AAAAAH I SMELL ROTTON FISH!” yelled Julia and the group of Sirens laughed and taunted, “Julia, we can settle this where no one get’s hurt. Give me Lena and we can negotiate” he said “AND HOW TO THE TWO OF YOU MERS EXPECT TO DEFEAT A HUNDRED SIRENS!” Kelly and Warren stood there as Julia gave the first order “GRAB THEM!” as Dane and Wanita began moving in. Jordan flew in faster then light and ripped Wanita’s head off with one tear “THEY DIDN’T COM ALONE FUCK FACE!” he yelled at Julia “Oh so you have a Vampire doing your bidding now!” Clayton also joined the fight when he saw Dane going to grab Kelly. He was running at Dane with his daggers in hand “YOU CAN’T KILL ME WITH A KNIFE FOOL!” yelled Dane as Clayton came through and slit his throat leaving him bleeding out on the ground. Lauren was sending Sirens flying in all directions with her light beams. “OKAY NOW YOU’VE PISSED ME OFF!” yelled Julia “ATTACK! KILL THEM ALL!”.

Kyle and Rachel saw the commotion and joined the fight “C’MON!” yelled Rachel as Kyle began panting and looking into the night sky “GO! I’ll catch up!” he said as Rachel cocked back her handgun and ran into the fight. Kyle ran past her as a cougar, he pounced on a Siren tearing at his throat. Brock approached behind Rachel and shot her in the back sending blood splattering everywhere “YOU RUINED MY BLOUSE! My turn” she said as her torso healed, she fired twice-sending Brock flying on his ass. She grabbed the gun that Brock had and began firing back to back with Kyle by her side.

Lena was tied up on a boat a few yards out from shore near the bar. The Sirens were planning on sacrificing her after they won the battle, as a celebration. She turned her head to see a loose screw from the side of the boat; she used it to rub against the tape on her wrists. She was able to break free and rip the seaweed off her mouth. The first thing she could do is scream “HELP! I’M HERE!”.

The parking lot of Mitchell’s Bar and Grill had now turned into a full-blown battlefield. Warren and Julia were in full combat, throwing themselves around, much like that day in the bar. Warren herd Lena’s screams “KELLY GO! GO GET LENA!” he yelled as he clenched onto Julia’s throat pressed firmly against the gravel lot. Kelly snapped the neck of a Siren and ran off in the direction of Lena. Julia threw Warren to the ground and turned her head at Kelly “DON’T EVEN THINK ABOT YOU LITTLE BITCH! SHE’S MINE! SCOTT GET HER!” she yelled as Warren and Julia continued.

Kelly ran to the water and began shooting out her scales. She could see Lena out in the lake waving. Kelly ran down the dock and out burst her fins. She swam faster then ever before and almost reached the boat when she noticed Scott enter the water. She swam faster but he caught up with her. Scott grabbed her fins and dragged her to the bottom of the lake. Scott’s long knife like finger nails dug into her throat, and he used his sharp legs to dig into her gills to stop the breathing. She began to lose consciousness when her head turned to the right, the anchor that was holding Lena boat in place was laying in the sand and with all her might she grabbed it and swung it as Scott’s skull, causing an instant bleed. She wrapped the chain around his neck and pulled until she heard a crack. She then swam back to the top to get Lena.

Julia was thrown into Dayna’s convertible and smashed through the windshield. Warren was slowly approaching to finish the job. Julia reached around the car for any sort of weapon; she found an ice chipper that Dayna had laying in the back seat. She played dead as Warren came closer. She then lunged at him smacking him unconscious. Warren fell to the floor “Josh, bring me the trident” she said as Warren lay on the ground dozing in and out. Josh appeared with a large golden colored trident and placed it in Julia’s hand.

Kelly and Lena arrived at shore, they came running to the battle scene and by the looks of it, we were winning. There was no sign of Warren or Julia, but Kyle, Jordan, Rachel, Clayton and Lauren were fighting off most of the Sirens. Kelly held firmly to Lena’s hand as they walked up a slight hill, they saw Julia holding the trident over Warrens body “NOO!” yelled Lena and Kelly as they ran to his aid.

Julia saw the girls running in their direction “GOOD! I want you to watch!” she yelled as she drove the trident through Warren’s chest. He shot up from the pain and blood spit out of his mouth.

Lena fell to the ground; a tear had not yet shed. It seemed like a slow motion blur. It couldn’t have actually just happened, Warren was dead. Kelly pushed through the Sirens one by one sending them flying. Julia Watched as Kelly clenched onto his body “NO YOU CAN’T DIE! NO STAY WITH ME!” Warren was barely breathing. He signaled her to bend her head down to his lips “it’s all yours now, it’s up to you to bring the Mermaids back…you’re the Queen now” he whispered. A tear fell from Kelly’s face as she turned to Lena “LENA!!!” she yelled.

Lena became aware of the situation, and she got up and ran to his aid, Kelly met her halfway “you need to say goodbye, he’s dying” said Kelly “no I can’t, he can’t die we’re having a baby! He can’t die!” she said crying deeply “go say goodbye Lena, go” so Lena did just that. Julia stood a few feet away smiling. Lena held his hand “it’s okay hun, you can go now” she new the severity of the wounds “I love you so much! I’m going to raise this baby to be good, and I’m going to protect her with all my heart, and everyday I’m going to tell her that her daddy loved her! YOU HEAR ME! WARREN!” she yelled as his eyes shut. His heart stopped.

By the time the rest of the group noticed, they had finished off most of the Sirens. “LET’S MOVE OUT!” yelled Julia signaling to the remaining Sirens to run. They put up a good fight but they were no match for Lauren and Jordan’s powers and with the help of the rest of them there was no point. Julia got what she wanted, Warren was dead. “GRAB THE BITCH!” yelled Julia as Josh and a few others grabbed Lena and pulled her away from the body. Clayton ran to Kelly’s aid as she sat on the ground next to the body of the man that saved her life multiple times, and she couldn’t save his.

Josh and another Siren has Lena arm by arm, but when they turned the corner Ashley was standing firmly in her tracks with a large gun, she blew Josh’s head clean off and the other Siren jumped onto Ashley and raised his claws into the air, ready to swing, but not before Lena got one last shot in. She held her hand out and picked Ashley up off the floor.

Julia had to get out of there, by this point there were around 10 Sirens left and it finally clicked in that she was loosing. Kelly stood up and saw Julia running towards the lake. She ripped the trident out of Warren’s body “YOU CAN’T RUN BITCH!” and threw it directly through her throat. Killing her instantly. Clayton stood up and stabbed another Siren, Lauren lit one up sending him flying into a tree, Kyle marched over with the arm of a Siren hanging from his jaws, he then shifted back into a person, Rachel held her smoking guns in her hand as she joined the group and Jordan wiped the blood away from his mouth. Together the group stood, Lena and Ashley following behind, Kelly walked towards Lena and gave her Warren’s necklace and placed it firmly into her palm “THIS IS OUR TOWN!” Kelly yelled “WE WILL PROTECT IT!”.

Clayton peered into the backseat of Jason’s car that was parked in the lot. What he saw next, he was not prepared for. Jason was dead, in the backseat. “NO! JASON! NO!!!” he yelled as he fell up against the car in tears. Kelly ran to his side “I’m so sorry Clay, I’m so sorry” she pleaded, “bring him inside” yelled Jordan. The group travelled inside the bar to regroup and tend to their wounds. They covered Warrens body in a blanket.

Clayton sat in a booth with his head down crying, and Kelly sat with her arms around him. Rachel, was wound free, but was patching up a serious cut on Laurens forehead. Jordan sat with Kyle as he placed a bandage over a bleeding wound “don’t get any ideas” said Kyle “I can control myself” he replied. A noise then startled the group, it came from Mitchell’s office. “I’ll go check it out” said Ashley as she raised her gun in the air “you can’t go alone” said Kyle as he joined along side. The two swung the door open and heard another noise from inside the closet. Kyle placed his two fingers on the door handle and slowly creaked it open ‘BANG’ a loud gunshot came through the closet door and went right into Kyle’s chest. Blood splattered on the walls and Dayna sat crouched in the corner of the closet with the gun “I’M SO SORRY! I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS YOU! I’M SO SORRY!”.  

Who will survive?

Which chapter from Volume 2 has been your favourite?

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 10

Clayton knew when he got involved with this war, that he wouldn’t stand a chance up against a Siren, like Julia, alone. However he couldn’t leave Kelly, so he would do whatever it took.

When Warren led Clay further into the damp forest, he wondered what could possibly be out here that would help against the war. Warren arrived at the riverside and knelt down aside the rocky shallow stream. He pulled a small vile out from his jacket pocket, inside was a clear green liquid. “If what you really want is to protect Kelly, then this will help you get what you need” Warren held the vile over the stream and let one drop fall into the water. “Well what are you waiting for? Follow it” Warren said as Clayton began running down the stream chasing a green light down the fast moving waters.

Warren watched with a smile but was distracted by excessive howling coming from the direction of his friends. He shot his head in the direction of the noise and began running in that direction.

He came across the clearing when he heard the girls screaming and crying, but it was too late, Mitchell was gone.

The Next Day

Ashley sat in her hospital bed looking at her surroundings, she wondered if it was time to come back to work. It would take time for her to get over what happened to her over the past couple of months but at least if she were buried in work she would be focusing on other things. “You have a visitor hunny,” the nurse said. Lauren walked in “how are you feeling?” she asks, “I’m doing better, thanks. How are you?” Ashley replied, “I’m fine, still a little freaked out. Just knowing Chris is still out there, makes it hard to sleep ya know?” Lauren asked “He’s getting what he deserves, rotting in that prison” “did they ask about Mitch?” Lauren asks “Nope, but how the hell do we explain what happened?” “We don’t, we will find a way to get him back, wherever he is…if he’s still alive, we will find him” she said confidently “pretty amazing though” Ashley says while staring blankly out the window “the power that woman had, it was exhilarating” explained Ash.

Clayton watched as the green light floating down the river came to a halt. He stepped into the water and began walking out deeper towards the light. He could see through the ripples, there was definitely something there. He stuck his hand through the light when he grasped something cold, the light then dimmed as he pulled out two large daggers. The light reflected off the metal and reflected on his face. Clayton felt an overwhelming familiarity to the objects. It was like they took over his body. So much so that when he was startled by the sound of a deer in the bushes, he practically became a lethal weapon. Warren was right; Clayton was now ready for battle. 

Clayton placed the daggers in his daggers in the barn when he heard a truck backing up in the distance, he ran outside to see a moving truck. Rachel came out from the house “my stuff is finally here!” Rachel ran to greet the driver “Rachel what is this? Are you staying?” Rachel grabbed her best friends shoulders “well there’s no telling how long this thing will last, and besides I wouldn’t feel right about leaving Lena. So I figured I would just bring my home here for now” Clayton smiled and went to help unload, as he grabbed one of the boxes he said “Rachel, we are your home, never forget that”.

Lauren sat in her truck outside the police station for 25 minutes, wondering if she should report Mitchell’s disappearance. It would be hard to understand but Officer Stackhouse was so understanding when it came to Laurens case. She decided she would give it a shot, for Mitch.  She pushed through the doors and accidently smashed into Stackhouse when he was on his way out. His coffee spilt all over the ground as well as a stack of folders. “I’M SO SORRY!” Lauren yelled as she got on her knees and helped clean the scattered papers. She came across a rather disturbing photograph that came out of one of the folders, a picture of Tyson on the day he died. His body laying in his truck, and another photo of two bite marks on his neck. “What is this?” she asked “those would be private documents regarding Tyson’s death” he said as he collected the photos.

Lauren then thought to herself, she only knew one vampire, could it be? Could Jordan be responsible for Tyson’s death? She continued to wonder as she stormed out the office, second-guessing whether or not she should report Mitchell’s sudden absence. She got in her car and backed out of her parking spot when she hit the breaks after being inches away from hitting a car behind her, it was Clayton. He took her parking space and Lauren drove away. Clayton got out of the car and entered the station. He noticed Jason was still picking up the mess Lauren left behind “well hey there handsome” he said as Jason looked up and saw him, he instantly smiled “can we talk?”

Mitch opened his eyes and instantly began coughing. He was confined in a small space, which seemed to be under ground. He could see a small tunnel leading into a bigger space, where he could see light. “Hello?” Mitch desperately waited for a reply and seconds later, someone did “follow the tunnel” was all the person said “who are you?” he asked. The person did not reply so Mitchell began digging and pulling himself through this claustrophobic little tunnel. He reached the end and rolled into a pile of dirt. He could see a figure leaning up against a wall staring at him. “Who are you? What is this place?” The figure became closer, it was a woman with big green eyes and long brunette hair “The names Megan, and we’re in her dungeon.”

Dayna drover her convertible to the front doors of Mitch’s bar and Grill, to see if there was any sign of opening back up again any time soon. Dayna needed a job, and since Mitchell had his little freak out it’s been closed. She peered into the window to look for any sign of life when she heard a noise from behind her. She turned around to see over a hundred lite torches standing around her car and along side the restaurant. Julia came forward “Hello, Dayna…..So, where is everybody?”.

Everything Has Led To This.

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 9

It was pitch black. Lena couldn’t see a thing. She was tied to a chair, she knew that much.  She was just thankful to be away from the water. She began breathing heavily in a panic when she realized she couldn’t move at all. The rope around her ankles, wrists and waist were tied like no other. She wiggled her hands from behind the chair and was able to maneuver them in such a position where it provided a tad bit of space. She pulled until the circulation was completely cut off. She yanked her hand out of the rope and the other hand followed not long after.

She waved her hands in front of her face and could barely see them, it was that dark. She then heard a small noise to the left of her. It sounded like one of them. At this point she had no idea how many there would be. She then remembered a small lighter she had in her back pocket. From time to time Lena would step out for a smoke on her breaks during work, it relieved some of the stress.

She lifted her left butt cheek and reached underneath. She was able to slip her fingers into the pocket and grab the lighter. She then heard another noise. This time from the right, and then another directly in front of her. They seemed to be getting closer. Lena flicked the lighter to try to get a flame. It had gotten wet from being dragged into the lake but it seemed like it was almost there. With one more flick Lena got a flame, but when she looked past it, hundreds or Siren faces stared back at her. They were standing around her staring at her the whole time. With one scream she blew out the light. It was dark again.

In one of Tyson’s cornfields, is where the group prepared for battle. There wasn’t much time left until they will kill Lena, they had to act fast but they weren’t ready. Kelly and Warren spoke in the distance, Lauren just assumed it was mermaid stuff in which she wouldn’t understand. Rachel and Clayton were standing off speaking with Kyle and Mitchell was standing alone, cross-legged on the ground. Jordan had left for the day to sleep. Lauren went to confront Mitchell when Kyle jumped in the way. “I don’t know if you remember seeing me that night. When we got the letters from Warren, but I was supposed to be there, I was scared you would all laugh at me or call me a freak if I told you the truth about what I am” “were all freaks” added Lauren “well, I just want to thank you for letting me come along, anyway I can help after the trouble I caused you” Lauren shot Kyle a look, and walked off.

“This whole time, you were special, just like Kelly and you never told me” Clayton said to Rachel “you have to understand, when we met, I felt a connection with you and I didn’t want to ruin it or complicate things by telling you. It would have freaked you out and I didn’t want to lose you” explained Rachel “Well my world has changed a lot since I found out about Kelly, things are different now, and your gift is incredible” Clayton replied. Warren then interrupted the pair “You can’t fight Sirens un armed, and guns won’t help, you need a special type of weapon to kill a Siren, follow me” he said as Warren and Clayton entered the woods.

Lauren sat down with Mitchell, he was somehow making a rock float in the air just by raising his hands “that could come in handy” added Lauren “ya well I don’t know much about these abilities, I don’t want to lose control” he explained “I ignored my powers for years, and eventually they started to fight back. I was having awful dreams and I would light up at random times. I was beginning to lose control. Until Natasha told me that I need to own my abilities, and once I do that I could control them better.” Mitchell stood up and focused his attention to a tractor that was sitting a few yards away further into the field. He squinted his eyes and raised his arms as if he were picking it up. The tractor began to shake, and before he knew it, he sent it flying upside down and crashing to the ground “ya that’s gunna come in handy” Lauren said.

Ashley sped down the highway with her foot pressed firmly on the gas. She was on a mission. Everything was taken from her and she was tired of being a victim. She exited the highway and within minutes she was driving up to a trail hidden by bushes. She cleared the foliage and hiked through the trail. She was looking for something. When she saw what she came for, it brought a tear to her eye. Kindred’s house in the forest. Nature began to take it over and the image of Kindred’s dead body flashed again in Ashley’s mind like a slideshow. She powered through the front door and strutted into the living room. She grabbed the axe on her way in to use for bashing through the floorboards. Under the floor was a box. She opened the box and in it was a long silver gun. “Gotchya” she said as she loaded the gun and packed extra bullets in her jacket pocket.

The sun was coming down , Bon Temps was pretty this time of day. Mitchell had been practicing his abilities all day with Lauren and the group. Clayton and Warren were still gone. Kelly sat with Rachel and Kyle awaiting orders. The sound of several wolves howling at the full moon broke the silence. The group turned their heads to the sound. They could see in the distance someone was approaching. Mitchell then realized it was Traci. She strutted through the field past Tysons house and 6 wolves accompanied her. “EVERYONE GET TO THE HOUSE NOW!” Mitchell yelled. The group formed a line by Mitchell’s side “were a team” said Lauren “MMMM HA HA HA” Traci overheard Laurens remark and laughed in her face. The wolves, three on either side, sat obediently. “You broke our deal” Traci said as she starred at Mitchell.

Lauren the lite up her palms and raised her hands, but not before Traci slammed her to the ground with one flick of the wrist. Lauren couldn’t move “LEAVE THEM ALONE! YOU WANT ME!” Mitchell yelled Kyle stepped forward and Traci pointed and forced him to turn into a cat “good little shifter” she replied. “You’re wrong, I don’t want you, I want my vampire back, where is he!” she yelled “He’s not going anywhere with you” Mitchell raised his hands and sent one of the wolves flying into the forest “aah I see their back, and they have seemed to evolve yes?” Traci then ripped a piece of linen off of her cloak and sent it flying to Mitch, it wrapped itself around his writs and contained his abilities.

Rachel and Kelly then stepped forward “LEAVE HIM ALONE” Kelly yelled. Traci simply looked side to side at the wolves “dinner time boys” the wolves charged at the girls, but stopped to pay attention to a speeding car spinning mud heading their way through the field. The car stopped and Ashley kicked open the door holding the gun. Shaun then shaped back into a human “WHAT THE FUCK! THIS BITCH IS STILL ALIVE?” he said when the other wolves pay their attention to the girl with the gun “relax boys, a simple gun can’t kill any of us” Ashley walked towards the group of wolves and stood a couple feet away. One wolf began to approach when Ashley fired into it’s skull. The wolf then died immediately. “WHAT THE FUCK!” Shaun yelled “SILVER BULLETS YOU FUCK! THIS ONES FOR KINDRED” Ashley sent a bullet piercing through Shaun’s chest killing him. She then shot two more wolves and the last wolf ran off into the forest yelping. “YOU KILLED MY WOLVES YOU BITCH!” Traci sent Ashley flying across the field with one flick of the wrist.

Traci turned her head to Mitch “everything comes at a price” Traci pushed Kelly and Rachel back to the ground where they couldn’t move. She gestured her hands to the ground where Mitchell stood. A vine came through and wrapped around his leg. 5 more vines then barged through the ground gripping tightly onto Mitchell’s body, within seconds his entire torso was wrapped like a present. He was then being pulled into the ground by the vines “NOOOOO!” Lauren screamed. Mitchell was now up to his shoulders, almost completely buried. “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!” pleaded Lauren. Mitchell’s last words before being pulled into the ground completely “GET LENA! GET HER BACK!” and he was gone.

“Goodbye ladies, it’s been fun. Trust me when I say however, if I see you again…it won’t be pretty” Traci then stormed off and evaporated into a cloud of smoke. The curses on everyone were then broken. Lauren clawed over to the piece of ground where Mitchell was taken; she clawed at the dirt hoping to uncover her friend. But nothing was found.

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 8

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME! STOP! YOU CRAZY BITCH!” Lena screamed as she was being dragged out into the dark murky waters of Bon Temps. Julia and 3 other Sirens had her gripped as they came across a small rowing boat. They put Lena in the small pea shaped boat and Lena watched as scales began shooting out of their skin. Their eyes changed to a dark red color and Julia shot out her tongue which had grown a few inches and was licking her lips.

“Their going to find me! Warren is going to find me!” Lena said to Julia. The Siren swam down underwater sending her bottom fin splashing up in Lena’s face. Julia swam to the bottom, where seaweed that were as tall as a small tree, danced in the water. She ripped one out f the ground and swam to the top. When she arrived to the surface, she startled Lena “please! Just tell me what you want” she pleaded. Julia then licked the piece of seaweed with her mutant tongue and smacked it over Lena’s mouth. The weed wrapped around her mouth like a vacuum sealed package. “Now no one will hear you scream, when we take your baby”. Julia swam to the bottom to anchor the boat.

Julia then swam to an underwater cave where the Sirens have been hiding since they moved in on this little town. “SO NOW WHAT!?” another Siren yelled out “HUSH DANE!” Julia said as she pointed her jagged fingernail in his direction. There were 5 other Sirens in the cave with Julia. They answered to Dane, Scott, Brock, Wanita and Josh. Male Sirens were rare, but they are very powerful. Dane, Scott, Brock and Josh were the only Male Sirens in the area. “When are we moving in?” asked Dane “any day now” replied Julia. “I think it’s important that we call for others soon, they will need time to get here.” “Good idea Josh, why don’t you do that” Julia nodded as Josh dove into the water. “Are we sure she’s the one?” asked Wanita “Yes, I could feel it…she is the one to give birth to Pallas Athena, the one warrior that can destroy us for good, and the woman who carries her, will be sacrificed.”

Hours have gone by, and still nothing. Lauren cracked an old bottle of scotch she had since her parents passed away. She figured she would need something really strong for what’s about to come. The first glass went down in one gulp, so she poured another. The silence was broke by the sound of tires driving up her gravel driveway. The headlights shine through the drapes and drift along the refrigerator. The car door slammed shut and footsteps began in the direction of her front door. What came next, she wasn’t prepared for.

~Flashback to Yesterday~

“LAUREN STOP! WE ARE HELPING YOU WITH THIS!” Mitch screamed. Clayton came running in and shook hands with Warren, who was clearly in a horrible state. His girlfriend, and the mother of his unborn child were taken. Kelly ran in behind Clayton and wrapped her arms around Warren. “It’s so good to see you, don’t worry we’ll get her back” she whispered. Jordan kept watch incase of another Siren attack, Mitch and Warren listened as Clayton explained his plan. “Lauren, look at me…LOOK AT ME!” she turned her head to Clay with tear soaked cheeks and a puppy dog look on her face. “I have asked a friend to join us, trust me you can trust him okay?” he explained “okay” she replied as Officer Stackhouse walked into the room. “Thanks for the broken nose” he said with a smile “I’M SO SORRY! PLEASE I CAN EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!” she yelled, “I’ve seen you light up once before like that haven’t I? When that Dayna girl took me. So what are you?” he asked “I don’t even know” “well, for starters I know you didn’t kill Natasha, but I think you know who did, and you’re gunna turn em’ in. As long as you cooperate you could get out of this free of charges.” Stackhouse explained with a genuinely concerned look “HOW THE FUCK AM I GETTING OUT OF THIS! I DESERVE TO ROT IN PRISON!” she screamed, “It’s not like you pulled the trigger Lauren, he manipulated you” said Clay. After thinking for a few minutes, Laurens constant tears couldn’t stop her from saying what she had to say next “I WANT THAT MOTHER FUCKER IN JAIL!”

~Today~

When Chris walked through the door he through his pack on the ground and immediately swung around the table for a hug, when Lauren refused to even lift an arm to hug back he knew something was wrong. Chris could feel a tear hit the top of his shoulder “what’s wrong?” he asked as he brushed her hair away from her face. Lauren said nothing, just starred back into his eyes. Her hand began to light up and it shocked Chris’s hands “OW! WHAT WAS THAT!?”. Officer Stackhouse, Warren, Mitch, Clayton and Jordan stepped out of the shadows. Stackhouse had a gun pointed in his direction “what is this?” he asked “PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM! YOU ARE UNDER ARRWST FOR THE MURDER OF NATASHA FUSARO” he said as he placed hand cuffs onto his wrists “you fuckin’ bitch…YOU FUCKIN’ BITCH YOU SET ME UP! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! YOU NEVER LOVED ME! I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!” Lauren simply walked up to Chris and raised her hand “Give it your best shot” she said as she lite him up sending him flying out the front door.

Lauren watched as Officer Stackhouse drove away with Chris in the back seat. Lauren had no idea where he put the body; she assumed they would find it. It was as if the worst part of her just disappeared. She felt a huge sigh of relief. The thought of Chris returning would always linger in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t going to live in fear, her parents always told her that fear only holds you back.

Lauren entered the kitchen, where Clayton, Kelly, Warren, Jordan, Rachel and Mitch, all with their own crazy abilities, surrounded her. “Now, let’s go get my family back!” stated Warren. A knock interrupted the group; Lauren approached the door and swung it open. Her heart felt like it fell out of her chest when she saw a mountain lion sitting in front of her, it then became a not so friendly face “you guys need a hand?” replied Kyle “I owe you that much”.

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 7

Lauren somehow felt relief, even though she now knew the truth about Kyle and he knew the truth about her, she still felt good about getting it off her chest. “KYLE YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME I NEVER MEANT TO HURT ANYONE!” pleaded Lauren. She noticed Kyle slowly moving his hand over to the panic button attached to his bed. “KYLE NO! WAIT!” she yelled, but it was too late, he pressed it. Officer Stackhouse came running in and grabbed Lauren by the shoulders, she immediately elbowed him in the nose leaving it broken. He fell to the floor when Lauren’s hands began to light up.

Lauren knew she had to leave the hospital fast. She turned to run and saw police and doctors charging her way. The light then attacked, clearing a direct passage to the entrance. Clayton sat up from his bead squinting his sensitive eyes from all the light. Lauren ran past his doorway and left the hospital.

When Lauren got outside she knew she was making a mistake by running. She was too scared to stick around, so she continued to run. The parking lot was swarming with security and police officers. Officer Stackhouse was running towards the door so Lauren hopped over the staircase where she landed in the ambulance pad. She jumped inside an ambulance and the keys were in the ignition. She drove off smashing through the gate.

After Lauren ditched the ambulance she figured there was only one safe place to go. She knocked on the door. Lena answered. They immediately embraced and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jordan and Mitch in the living room. “JORDAN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” she yelled “long story” he replied when he shot out his fangs “oh…my…god…what happened to you?” she then turned her head to Mitch “AND YOU! What the hell is wrong with you?” before she had time to get any answers Warren approached “WARREN! I NEED YOUR HELP!” Warren tilted his head “what?” he asked “it’s Natasha……I KNOW WHO KILLED HER!” -  the secret was finally out.

Ashley awakens in the hospital, her chest pounding with pain. She looked around her and nobody was present. She thought at least her brother James would have visited but she realized they haven’t spoken since their parents passed away. Her wrists and ankles were smothered in cuts and bruises. She then placed a hand on her stomach where Kindred did the operation. So much hatred ran through her veins. The fact that Shaun was still out there angered her to her very core. She ripped the cords off of her chest and wrists. She clenched her teeth from the pain. “Ma’am you NEED TO STAY IN BED! YOU’RE NOT WELL!” a doctor yelled out, Ashley simply turned to him with her stern look and said “FUCK YOU”.

Clayton began packing his things to head home, Kyle was standing at his door “if you know where Lauren is, I think it would be best if you just turned her in” Clayton turned to Kyle as he swung his bag over his shoulders “and I think it would be best if you shut the fuck up” he pushed past Kyle and headed for the front desk. There seemed to be a panic near Ashley’s room. Clayton immediately ran over “is something wrong? WHERE’S ASHLEY!” the same doctor that was treating Ashley approached “your friend left…she just left”.

Warren was rubbing Lena’s shoulders as she watched her best friend Lauren drift off in Lena’s bed “how did it come to this?” Lena asked her boyfriend “We will figure this out Lena, don’t worry. Chris made her hide this from everyone, not with force, it was love that forced her to keep this secret from all of us”. Lena walked over to her sleeping best friend and brushed her hair away from her face “I just love her so much, we have to help her” Lena said “your pregnant” replied Warren. Lena starred back at him “WHAT? How do you know this?” she asked impatiently “would you just please go get a test” replied Warren “you’re freaking me out” she said “I have one in my bathroom, not that it’s necessary I think I would know if I was pregnant” so went into the bathroom and locked the door.

Clayton pulled into his driveway, he exited his car when he was greeted by his sister Kelly and his best friend Rachel “how are you?” asked Kelly “I’m good, but everyone else is falling apart” “what do you mean?” asked Rachel “Lauren’s in trouble, Ashley’s in trouble, and I feel like I need to help them” he explained “you said you didn’t want us getting involved in anything” replied Kelly “I KNOW WHAT I SAID, things have changed. I care for these people. I can’t sit around and watch them drown” he said as he ran inside. “Where is he going?” asked Rachel “he’s going to call Warren” Kelly said with a smile on her face. “I think now would be a good time to tell him what you are, Rachel”.

Lena sat in the bathroom in awe. Looking at this test, it was like it wasn’t real. So many things were running through her mind. Warren was a merman, what would that mean for her baby? She opened the bathroom door only to breeze past Warren. “Hunny what does it say?” he asked “positive” she replied “give me a minute” Lena slid open the screen door and stepped onto the back porch, she starred into the pregnancy test treating it as if it was going to change, but it wasn’t. She set the test on the patio table and walked through her garden. She had no idea what came next; she was excited, scared and happy all at the same time. The porch light came on and Warren was standing at the screen door with a smile. Lena smiled back but Warren’s smile changed. Behind Lena was a burning torch in the woods behind their house. After the first torch lit, 2 others lit after that, and 6 others after that. Before they knew, there were over 20 torches in her backyard. Julia appeared “take her” she said as several men and woman grabbed her, while screaming, and dragged her into the forest. Julia began to sing, Warren collapsed on the porch. She saw Mitch and Jordan headed for the door but she had just enough time to disappear. 

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 6

~Flashback to yesterday~

Warren held his hand against Rachel’s throat “WHY ARE YOU HERE! WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH LENA!?” he yelled. Rachel looked at Warren “there’s a reason why the war between Sirens and Mer people all of a sudden began again, this war has been quiet for more then 50 years until she came along” Rachel pointed to Warren’s window where Lena stood.

~Flashback~

Rachel stood there, the wind flowing through her long sandy brown hair as she thought. What if this doesn’t work? She had to try, something about her was not right, she wasn’t like other people. She then took the step, and fell 17 stories down an old industrial building. When she hit the bottom, blood spewed everywhere. Luckily nobody was around. She then stood up and there was brain squeezing out of a crack in her head, it immediately got patched back up inside her. With in seconds she was brand new.

“That was quite impressive” a man standing in a black suit stood across from her clapping. “WHO ARE YOU?” Rachel yelled, nobody had ever seen her heal before. “Your young, when did you leave them?” “who?” Rachel asked “your family” the man replied. Rachel was only 16 years old and she was only just beginning to figure out what she was “do you know what’s wrong with me?” Rachel asked “nothing is wrong with you, everything is right with you” the man reached in his bag and pulled out a big folder full of paper “here take this, everything you will need to help you through this will be in here”

~--------~

Warren could tell Rachel was telling the truth “when I opened the folder, there were pictures of people, men and woman who were like me, so I just picked one and packed my shit and left” Warren thought for a second “you mean Clayton?” he asked “well actually Clay wasn’t in it, but Kelly was” she replied. “Since then I became good friends with them, and when they left St. Thomas I needed to get them back” she continued to explain herself “WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH HER! WHY ARE YOU STALKING LENA?” insisted Warren “It’s not Lena I’m concerned about…it’s her baby”.

~Present time~

Mitch is standing in front of the invisible bar holding the gun, Lena, Warren and Lauren stood in awe by their vehicles. Mitch cocked back the rifle “LEAVE! I DON’T WANT ANY TROUBLE FROM YOU ANYMORE!” he was looking at Warren “LISTEN I’M SORRY ABOUT – “ Warren was cut off by Mitchell firing one round into the dirt “YOU RISKED EVERYTHING THAT MEANT ANYTHING TO ME! THIS BAR IS ALL I HAVE LEFT AND I WON’T GET INVOLVED IN SOME STUPID WAR ONLY TO LOSE MY LAGECY! I’M NOT ONE OF YOU! SO LEAVE!” Mitchell then stomped back inside his bar and locked the doors.

Lauren drove over to the hospital after getting a call from Clayton about the accident. Kelly and Rachel were already there. When she arrived she turned to enter Clayton’s room, she immediately leant down to give him a hug “do they know who hit you?” asked Lauren “yes, it was Kyle, the butcher” Lauren looked at the pile of dirty clothes he had changed out of after the crash, they were covered in red. “HOLY, IS THAT BLOOD?” she yelled frantically “no, funny thing actually, it’s paint. Apparently Kyle had a bunch in his truck and when we crashed he-“ Clayton noticed that Lauren looked like she saw a ghost “Lauren?” he asked as she ran out of the room. Lauren ran down the hallway looking into every room to see where Kyle was, she peered into the small window of a closed door and there he was, laying on the bed staring out the window, se kicked open the door and Kyle turned his head immediately “YOU!?” screamed Lauren as she threw Clayton’s paint covered shirt on his lap.

Mitch was walking around his empty bar and he collapsed into a leather booth, he reached in his pocket and grabbed the picture of his parents from his pocket. He glared at them when he had an overwhelming feeling to turn around; he was then staring at a photo that hung on the wall since they opened. A picture of Mitchell on opening day with Lauren, Lena and the whole gang starred back at him. He then realized he might have made a mistake. He then began to tear up, he remembered how he just kicked Jordan out of the car like that. A scary thought then entered Mitchells head, if Jordan ran away because of his heartbreak towards Lena, then now that he’s a vampire, Lena is probably in danger. He stood up and grabbed his gun and turned to leave when he noticed his tears that fell from his cheek didn’t quite hit the ground, they were hovering over the table. He then turned around to see all the furniture that wasn’t nailed down floating above the ground. He was confused but wasted no time, he needed to see if Lena was okay.

Jordan was running so much through his head, but the only thing that mattered and the only thing powering him through it all was the thought of getting back to Lena. Next thing you know, he’s standing on her doorstep. He takes the key that was hidden under the ceramic owl on the porch and enters the house. He crept through the house seeking his love. He saw a baby crib set up in the living room and a tear of blood fell to the ground. It only motivated him more. The sound of the front door handle turning broke the silence. Lena and Warren then came through “Hunny we have to hurry, visiting hours for the hospital are only for another hour and I want to see Clay!” Lena said as she kicked off her shoes.

Jordan wondered if they would ever notice he was in the room. Until Lena looked up and saw him standing in front of her. Warren lunged at Jordan after seeing the blood on his face. Of course no one knew he was now a vampire, he was much stronger then a Merman. He threw Warren against the wall smashing picture frames. Lena let out a scream and Jordan rushed to her neck and placed his hand around her “now we can be together” he said as Mitchell barged in the front door and smashed him over the head with the bottom end of the rifle. He became unconscious.

“I made a mistake” Mitchell explained, “I never should have done what I did, I was just filled with so much emotion and I wanted to be safe.” Mitchell told Warren and Lena about the deal with Traci. “Mitchell, you never should have gone to that witch! They always ask for something in return right? Well this time she took your powers, but you took Jordan from her! Now the deal is broken, she will be coming after you now to collect what’s hers.” Said Warren. Jordan then became conscious, he was tied to a chair by silver “LET ME GO!” yelled Jordan “NOT UNTIL YOU HEAR US OUT!” Lena screamed back “I love you Jordan, I always will, but I’m with Warren now. You disappeared and we fell In love and if you care about me at all then you will accept that!” Lena then began to cry “so you go and do this to yourself for what? For me?” she asked, “I was sick of being powerless, I saw you and Warren together and I felt weak” he replied. Lena then got on her knees and whispered, “you were never powerless, you made me feel loved, you really did however relationships die and ours just didn’t work. It had nothing to do with Warren” Jordan’s tears of blood didn’t startle Lena in the slightest “and we will always be friends no matter what you are” she placed her hand on his and began taking off the silver. Jordan stood up “I’m sorry” he said. Warren reached out his hand to shake Jordan’s and Jordan shook back “I need your help” said Warren “Join our army”.

Lauren is standing over Kyle’s bed “WHY!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?” Lauren yelled “YOU KILLED NATASHA! SHE WAS MY FRIEND! SHE WAS THE ONLY OTHER SHIFT-“ Kyle immediately shut up. Lauren then caught on “ARE YOU A SHIFTER TOO?” she asked “yes”. Officer Stackhouse was standing outside the door, hearing every word.

Critter Volume 2 Chapter 5

Sirens. They never sounded right to Clayton, every time he heard them it just brought him back to when his parents died. All he heard were sirens. The seat belt was digging into his collarbone and his arm was covered in glass. He looked to the side. Everything looked weird, the fact that he was upside down didn’t occur to him just yet. The shock was too much.  His cheeks still wet from his tears, his clothes now wet from his blood. His cell phone was ringing, but it lay outside on the pavement. The rain eventually killed the ring, now just sirens.

“ARE YOU OKAY? SIR! CAN YOU HEAR ME! YOU WERE IN AN ACCIDENT! YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY!” a man was knelt down at the drivers side door that was crushed. He yelled into Clayton’s ear but he was not responsive. His eyes wide open and pupils dilated, but silent. He came to consciousness when a drop of blood carried itself to his eye. He threw his arm to clear it away but was mesmerized by the amount of cuts on it. “WERE GOING TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE!”

Clayton then awakens in an ambulance. The neck brace made it difficult to turn, but there was someone else in the car with him. Kyle was unconscious with serious looking injuries on his legs. Clayton stared at the ceiling and passed out. He awoke what seemed like seconds later but was actually closer to 15 minutes. He was being rushed through the ER, people were shouting. Nothing really came through as actual words. Kyle’s chest was being pumped a couple of feet from him. There’s no heartbeat. The flat line that carried across the screen then rippled. He was back.

Clayton heard the automatic door slide open again “JANE DOE, LOOKS TO BE ABOUT 27 YEARS OF AGE, SAVERE TISSUE DAMAGE, SEVERAL BROKEN RIBS. SOMEONE FOUND HER LYING ON THE SIDE OF ROUTE 33” a paramedic was yelling “HOLY SHIT THAT’S ASHLEY! SHE WORKS HERE!” Clayton turns his head to the right to see his friend being rolled past on a stretcher “wait…WAIT THAT’S MY FRIEND!! ASHLEY!”

Warren steps out of bed, he can smell fresh hazelnut coffee roasting in the kitchen. Lena must be up. He begins walking over to the kitchen when he see’s Lena standing in the living room with a crib set up. She is hanging a toy story themed curtain around the crib when she notices him watching her “HEY!” she says “ok I know this may look weird to you but hear me out, this is where out baby could sleep” Lena’s big smile turned into a concerned look when warren stared back at her with a look of death “what?” she said. Lena turns around to see outside her window that same truck watching her, Rachel’s truck. Warren runs out the front door and catches up to her before she drove away. He reached in and pulled the keys out of the ignition “I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!” he took the key and sent it piercing through Rachel’s leg. She let out a loud scream. He took the key out and underneath the blood jean fabric, her skin healed immediately. Rachel grabbed Warren’s hand “I’m not here to hurt anyone! I’m here to protect her, from them!” she said “WHAT ARE YOU! WHAT DO THEY CALL YOU?”  Rachel released her tight grip on his wrist “we don’t have a name, but what we do, you already know. We can’t die. “

Mitchell hid behind the rose bush long enough, Jordan was dragged in behind the witch’s wall and he was going to find out why. He hopped through the wall and hid behind the tree line to stay hidden from the group of men. Jordan was encased in silver and thrown into a deep hole in the ground. Traci then emerged from her chambers to discuss something with the men.

They wondered off talking and Mitchell wasted no time. He ran to the hole and peered down where Jordan was curled up in a ball at the bottom. The chains has fallen off from the fall and Jordan began to become conscious “JORDAN!” yelled Mitch in a quiet whisper. He opened his eyes and turned his head towards his old friend Mitchell.

Jordan didn’t want to tell him just yet of what he had become. He wanted Mitchells help getting out, he couldn’t risk it. Mitchell threw down a rope he found coiled up in one of the men’s bags. It looked like it had recently been cut in places. Mitchell threw down the rope and Jordan grabbed it. He was stronger then usual and was out of the hole in seconds. “THANK YOU!” said Jordan “come on! I have a truck a few miles up parked in the woods! LET’S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” the two of them headed for the truck, all the while Jordan was thinking to himself how much he has changed. He killed Tyson, and other men and woman; he changed who he was to become more powerful. Then he remembered why he did it in the first place, to get Lena back.

Mitchell was driving along the highway and Jordan was sitting in the passenger seat not saying a word “okay so are you going to tell me what happened to you or am I going to have to choke it out of you?” Mitchell asks. Jordan looked at himself in the rearview mirror as the moon glared at him through the glass. He turned to Mitchell and shot out his fangs. Mitchell stared at them for a second and then slammed on the breaks “GET OUT!” he yelled. Jordan was confused; he thought Mitchell was like him, special. Jordan began crying tears of blood as Mitchell reached over opened the door and kicked him out. Jordan lay on the side of the road as he watched Mitchell take off into the night.

Lauren grabbed her purse and keys from the counter and hopped in her car. She cranked the key and drove 5 minutes down the road to her job. She parked her car where she usually parks it, and turns to walk in the front door, but to her surprise, the bar is gone. Lauren began shaking as she was stricken with so many questions “Hello!?” she yelled, she heard another car coming down the road. As it parked, Warren and Lena emerged. Warren slowly exited staring at the empty lot where the bar used to be. Lena stared at the bar and saw Mitchell sitting in the front window, he was crying. Lauren and Warren could not see anything. Mitchell wiped away his tears and stared into Lena’s eyes as he grabbed a shotgun and headed for the front door. 

A man approached Clayton's bed as they wiped off red residue from his legs. "IS THAT BLOOD!?" Clayton yelled with concern. "No actually it's paint, red paint. The man that hit you had buckets of it in the back of his truck, they exploded everywhere on impact."

Critter Volume 1 Chapter 4

When Lauren put on make up, it reminded her of her mom. When she was little her mother would lay out all of her make up on her bed and they would sit in front of the mirror and try stuff on. By age 10 Lauren was a pro. Of coarse none of this mattered because even the things she counted on to make her feel better, like putting on make up, faded after Chris moved in. The site of him began making her ill. Their relationship had become more of a tragedy then anything else, not to mention her nightmares began to get worse and worse.

Chris shot out from the doorframe and placed himself in Lauren’s mirror. “Hey hun! I have some news” he said as Lauren spun around on her chair.  “What is it?” “I have to leave for a couple of weeks, my website got another call. It’s about 6 hours North of here” Chris explained “Oh well when do you leave?” Lauren asked “see this is the thing, I need to leave now in order to get there before nightfall” Lauren was prepared for more questioning but was over powered by a feeling she had never felt before. As Chris stood up and began walking to his room, Lauren took a look at her palm. A small light was shining through.

“So I’m just throwing a few things in the car and I’ll be right back” he heads out the front door and Lauren immediately lite up the entire room sending her bed flying up against the window. Her dresser was thrown upside down and her bookshelf shattered into kindling. It was a feeling of relief. She neglected her abilities so much that they were fighting back. Lauren looked out the window and Chris was just shutting the trunk to the car and heading back inside.

The light dimmed and Lauren was able to hold her hands together to get it to stop. When she heard Chris’ footsteps coming up the staircase she ran to the door and shut it behind her. “Have a good trip honey!” and with one kiss on the cheek Chris was gone.

Today was a big step; first of all he was leaving his sister alone for the first time since she came home. Secondly, Clayton had never gone on a date with a man. When the car pulled up, Clayton hopped off the wicker chair sitting on the front porch under a light that had so many dead flies sitting in it, that it embarrassed Clayton when he saw it. He flicked the light off and ran to the car, but not before Officer Stackhouse came out and got the door for him. Clayton then realized, a chance like this doesn’t come along very often. Not with a guy like this.

After a dinner that Officer Stackhouse carefully made for the date, they got lost in conversation when Clayton reached over the table to fill his glass using the pitcher of wine, which was sweating from the heat. “So Officer-“ Clayton was interrupted “for the last time can you please call me Jason?” he insisted “right sorry! Habit I guess” Jason then looked into Clayton’s eyes “come here I want to show you something”. The two walked to his dim lite backyard where they held glasses of wine and held hands walking down the patio. There was a swinging bench that sat in the corner of the deck. Blankets were placed, as if it was planned. The two sat down. Jason looked at Clayton with the kind of look where you know something is going to happen, he went in for a kiss. The two shared a passionate lip lock for several seconds, when Clayton let go “I’m sorry, I can’t…just not right now” Clayton stood up “I’m so sorry” Clayton grabbed his coat and chugged back the wine as he got in his car and took off.

Tears fell to the leather seats as Clayton was speeding down his road. His phone rang which was thrown in the back seat after falling out of his jacket pocket. Clayton turned his head for a second to see his phone has 3 missed calls. He turned back to see a truck coming his way, the t-boned Clayton causing his car to roll 3 times into the ditch. The last thing Clayton remembered before he passed out was Kyle’s face, driving the truck that hit him.

Lena sat under her covers as she read her book while Warren finished shaving. He walked in to the room and hopped into bed. “What are you reading?” he asks, “Mitch actually lent me this book, Not Dead Yet, it’s really goo-“ Lena froze as she saw movement coming from outside her window. She ran to the drapes and pulled them back. She then stomped to the front door and flicked on the porch light. There sat Rachel, the woman she met the night before while working. She was watching her from her car from the road. A few feet where Chevy was killed. Rachel put her car in drive and took off. “Babe what is it!?” yelled Warren. Lena thought weather or not she should say anything “Nothing, sorry I thought I saw something”.

Mitch knelt to the ground with ease. He knew what he had to do to protect his family legacy. He would do what it took. Traci stood above Mitchell with her eyes closed. Her staff was then stomped right in between his eyes. The mouth of the skull at the tip of the staff slowly opened “This is your last chance to back out” Traci asked “DO IT” the skull then made a deep breathing sound as it sucked a clear flow of energy from Mitchell’s mouth. The skull then closed shut. Mitchell felt no different, but then he realized it was a lot more silent then he was used too. It was as if when he was a telepath his mind was always racing. He had an odd feeling of true humanity, and he liked it. “Now my part of the deal” Tracy took a deep breath and blew out a sparkly purple energy much like the one that came from Mitch. “Congratulations Mitch, your bar is safe. I hope it was worth it”.

Ashley couldn’t trust Jordan. She knew he was a friend, but this didn’t seem like him. She stared into his eyes and he stared into hers. She then heard a popping sound, which sent a sheet of silver thrown around Jordan’s face causing him to collapse to the floor. Ashley stood up and ran past screaming Jordan. “SHE’S GETTING AWAY!” a man yelled “Let her go” said Shaun as he looked down at Jordan “Silver him up! We got what we came here for, let’s go!”. Jordan was then locked in silver chains and strung along in the direction of the Witch.

Mitch was leaving through the Witch’s wall when he heard the sound of chains clanging and footsteps coming from down the path. He his behind a dead rose bush as he watched a group of men walk through the wall, and behind them was Jordan. Mitchells old friend, he knew he couldn’t leave him.