Age Is Just a Number

Beck placed the girl in a medic's caring hands and quickly made his way through the rows of cots, searching for Jess' face. It confused him. Why hadn't Jess met him outside? Everyone else had. Perhaps, she wasn't getting better. What had happened while he was gone?

But as Beck searched the rows of bodies, Jess was nowhere to be found. He asked around, but no one had seen her. Not even Elizabeth, who also searched the tent.

"This is peculiar..." she said. "You take the west side of the camp. I'll take the east." Beck nodded and the two split up.

After about half an hour of searching, they realized Jess was no where in the camp. "This is not good," Elizabeth breathed. "I shouldn't have let her go."

"Why?" Beck asked sharply. "What happened?"

Elizabeth looked at him sympathetically. "She's fallen apart again."

Worry began to throb in Beck's chest. "She was hearing the voices again?" Elizabeth nodded and Beck scratched at the back of his head. "Goddammit."

"Don't worry, Beck, we'll find her," the blond woman reassured him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Beck gave her a look before starting off in a direction, sniffing the air, trying to track down her scent.

A small whiff of it carried on the wind and Beck quickly turned to the right, finding the full trail. He followed it, outside the camp and into the distant forest. The pines loomed over him, the half-moon casting their shadows across the white snow. Beck trudged through it and disappeared into the wall of foliage.

He began to run as Jess' scent grew stronger; he was close. Finally, Beck broke through the trees into a wide clearing. His golden eyes studied it coldly. The snow was upturned and demolished; footsteps and drag marks were everywhere. The Scot-Irish bent down and scooped up a small pile of snow. Scarlett dotted it and he sniffed it.

It was Jess' blood.

A low, dangerous growl rumbled from Beck's chest as his eyes rose to the trail of footprints that led into the trees. There were at least ten bodies, possibly more, and the drag marks continued. Claw marks that even tore up the dirt under the snow.

Beck rose slowly to his feet, golden eyes flaming. The snow fell from his hand. They had Jess. The Slayers had her and he was going to get her back. Even if he had to kill everyone in his way.


I couldn't stop the screams. I'd never felt any pain like it before. The drill bit punctured deeper into my arm, the silver burning into my flesh. My muscle. My bone. Blood splattered across us both. Hands were so tightly clenched, my nails tore into the palms.

"It helps to breathe," the black-haired vampire cackled as she grinned down at me. I glared back up at her, teeth clenched so tightly, tears blurring my vision.

The drill stopped and it was yanked roughly from my arm. "You're a tough little thing, aren't you?" Selene smirked, looking over the tools laid out on the table beside us. "Let's try something better..."

I'd been chained down to a dentist's chair and I thanked God that the links weren't made of silver too. My torturing felt like hours, but I had no idea how long it'd been. Everything Selene could do to me, she'd try, and I knew the process was far from over. That vampire was too creative.

Selene turned, holding a small, silver scalpel triumphantly. She grabbed my arm as I tried to jerk away and dragged the blade across my skin, searing and slicing into it like butter. A mixture between a groan and scream broke from my clenched teeth, erupting into another full shriek as the action was repeated.

Over and over again.

By the time she was done, my throat was raw and my skin was sticky with blood, looking like stripped bacon. Selene grabbed my jaw and yanked it to her, the scalpel hovering over my lips. "You have such a pretty mouth," she hissed. "Its too pretty."

The blade dragged across one side of my lips, then the other. I dared not open my mouth; I clamped it shut so tight, my jaw began to crack. Selene looked at me with disappointment. "Why didn't you scream?" She wanted me to open my mouth, so she could probably slice apart by gums, but I just glared at her. Her full lips turned into a smirk again. "Fine," she said and shoved the scalpel into my belly.

My mouth shot open in a silent scream. Vocal chords were ruined. The pain flamed in my abdomen and I struggled against it while Selene laughed, leaving the tool protruding from my skin.


Silver-tipped spikes leered at me, daring me to touch them as my legs shook underneath my weight. The spikes surrounded the interior of the cage, making it impossible to even brace my arms against the sides to give my legs a break. Every inch of my body burned and throbbed, blood seeping through the lacerations and dripping onto the cold, iron floor. Every surface of the tiny contraption was laced—if not completely forged—from silver. It was a werewolf's worst nightmare.

I was not alone in the hell hole. Groans of pain, shuffling movements, and clinking of metal gave the other captives away. None of us would break: the reason the vampires left us in the dark to die. I knew none of the other werewolves personally, though I may have seen their faces on the field. I didn't look close enough; I was focused more on staying on my feet. If I fell any direction, I was dead.

Creaking of a door filled the large, spacious room and footsteps quietly tread down the steps. Turning my head to see who was behind me was suicidal, so I waited to see if they would show their face to me.

Slowly, the vampire—I could tell it was one by its rotten scent—came around the cage to face me. I looked up slowly into the face of Ezekiel. I nearly started back. His pale skin had turned thin and gray, black circles ringed sunken-in scarlet eyes. Black veins ran under his sickly looking skin. I noticed then that his scent actually was rotten; it looked as if he was actually decaying.

“I'll give you once last chance,” he said softly. His voice was something that had rose from the grave. “If you give us the location of Thornwood, I can get you out of here.”

Even though it was slightly unnerving, I kept my eyes on him. “What about Ivan?”

He bristled at the name of his brother. “That's not the concern right now.”

“Its not?”

“You're not in a place to be questioning me.”

“You don't seem to be in a very good place either.”

His dull eyes narrowed at me. “Do you want out or not?”

“Not if I have to sell out our leader,” I answered firmly, giving him my best defiant look even though my body ached for me to say otherwise. “If that's what you want, you might as well leave, maggot breath.”

Instead of anger—like I expected—he leans his head to the side and gives me an almost admiring look. “You have guts, Johnson. I'll give you that much.”

“And you're a confusing S.O.B.,” I said. “You with the vampires or not?”

“I'm more sympathetic. We'll leave it at that.”

“What's happening to you?” I asked.

Ezekiel looked at me dully. “I changed my diet.”

“What—”

A dull boom sounded over our heads and the ceiling shook, debris falling in crumbles around us. We looked up before Ezekiel hurried away and up the stairs, the door slamming shut behind him. The din that followed made the room echo with the shift of jumping bodies at the sound of machine guns and shouts. More debris fell.

What the hell was going on?

I wanted to move, protect myself if I could, but I could barely move without touching the spikes. The worst thing was waiting. Waiting and wondering what was going on above our heads. Waiting for my legs to give out on me and for my body to fall into the spikes.

There was nothing to live for anymore, so what was I doing really? Beck no longer loved me, cared for me. The thought that I was mentally insane and that the flash of him and that human girl was only my imagination never occurred to me. He'd left me for someone prettier, better, more sane. Just like Sean.

Without Beck I was nothing. Without Beck, my life was desolate, lonesome, and torturing. I could barely live with myself for how worthless and pointless my existence was. I'd had two mates in two years—both leaving me for someone better.

Closing my eyes, I took one final breath. That was it. I was done; there was nothing else to live for. Just as I was ready to let me legs give out, the door opened, slamming against the wall.

“Jess?”

My eyes snapped open. “Beck?” I called, wishing I could turn around to see if it was true. “Beck is that you?” Desperation clung to my voice.

Hurried footsteps. And there he was. Gore—both human and vampire—was splashed across his face and toned body. His eyes were wide, worried. Relieved. He pulled out his handgun from the holster under his arm and shot the lock off. I flinched. He looked over my holding and shouted, “Chester!”

My eyes knitted together as more footsteps approached. Chester was beside Beck in an instant, his eyes going to my half-naked body. “Jesus,” he breathed.

“Open it. Now,” Beck commanded and Chester grabbed the handle to unlatch the door and it swung open. Without the resistance of staying up and alive, my body pitched forward. Beck caught me and turned me in his arms so I could look into his face. He brushed the damp hair from my face.

“Why'd you come?” I asked hoarsely. The sense of survival had fled, leaving me drained.

He looked at me quizzically. “Why wouldn't I?”

“Because of that girl,” I answered, finding it harder to keep my eyes open.

“What girl?”

“Um, guys,” Chester said from above me somewhere. “We'd better get our asses out of here before they get roasted.

Beck shifted me in his arms and rose to his feet effortlessly. Chester began to undo the locks and bolts and chains and shackles from all the other prisoners. Many could barely walk out on their own and Chester and Beck did all that they could do with their hands already full.

We climbed the stairs into the main part of the courthouse—the haven the vampires had taken over during the war. I was already slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness, my eyes feeling like heavy lead. The horrible sounds of war were still audible though.

Beck raced us out of the courthouse. My body got that all-too-familar feeling of weightlessness. “Beck...” I mumbled.

“Hmm?” He was walking again and though his footsteps were hurried, we seemed to be out of immediate danger.

“Were you really...with that girl?”

Even though I was about to drop off, my mind felt clearer now that Beck was back. The voices had resisted; through all my torturing and now they were silent. I only hoped they stayed that way.

“What girl, love? There was no girl. Only you.”

“You brought her back...” I murmured. “You were carrying her...”

“She couldn't walk. But do you really think I'd do that to you?”

“I don't know...I just...”

“Shhh,” Beck said, lifting me so he could kiss my head. “Rest.”