Darkest Before the Dawn

The world blurred above him, colors and shapes blending into each other like a beautiful picture. He dimly realized that a groan was emitting from his chest, his head lolling from side to side. The pain he felt was unbearable. Every inch of him cried out in agony, his body feeling like a thousand pounds as he tried to lift himself off the cold pavement. Penelope, his mind screamed, you have to do something, you fucking moron!

A morped voice interrupted his clouded thoughts, speaking mockingly into his ear, “And what do you propose to do, Jared? If she didn’t already distrust you before, she really will now. How cruel of you, selling her out for just a couple of bucks and an empty promise…Well, how could she even rely on you anyways? You’re just some looser that sells her her mother’s crazy pills.” A merciless foot kicked itself into Jared’s side, the force of it making his tense body slide a few feet away.

The voice chuckled at the pain-stricken look on Jared’s face and continued, “I guess you could be of some use. You did have connections to some very important people.”

Jared’s eyes managed to crack open and look confusedly at Beckett. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He croaked out, wincing at the sound of his own voice. Was it always that loud?

Beckett sprang up, a twisted grin etching itself on his face, “He speaks! Tell me, how long have you been spying for the hunters? Months? Years?” At the shock on Jared’s face, he only grinned wider, “You weren’t as sneaky as you thought, Jared. You really should be careful with who you trust. They might decide to backstab you, as you’ve done tonight.”

“Fuck you!” Jared spat out feebly, blood and spittle flying from his mouth and onto the other man’s face.

Beckett leaned towards him suddenly, grabbing his neck in an iron-tight grip. “I would be kinder to the person who decides your fate. You have what I want, and you will get it for me.” He suddenly smashed Jared’s head against the brick wall behind him, his grip tightening on his neck. Jared’s fingers clawed at the man’s gloved hands, clawing into the soft material of the white gloves. “Do you understand, Jared?” Defeated, Jared nodded rapidly. The small amount of fight he had in him had left.

The creepy smile came back and Beckett stood up dusting off the imaginary dust off his suit. He turned on his heel, saying loudly, “Come. You need to feed desperately.”

†Δ†

“Ugh, why can’t we just go out to eat? I’m fucking starving!” Penelope groaned, falling back onto the couch. Dust flew from it, covering her from head to toe in filth. Shocked, a weak cough escaped her lips as she stared disbelieving at the couch. Disgusted, she flew off of it, patting off the dust that had managed to seep into her clothes. Her head whipped over to see Andy and Joe hanging off of each other, giggling like little school girls.

“Did you see the look on her face,” Andy panted, looking over to her only to stop laughing immediately at the death glare she pointed towards them. He shot back up, his laughter turning into unconvincing coughs, and he punched Joe in the side. “Not cool, man.” She had to give them props though; they could keep a straight face pretty well.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, the sound echoing throughout the warehouse. Instantly, the two boys found something to occupy themselves with, abruptly becoming fascinated with a weapon or a piece of paper. Penelope stared questioningly at the boys, an eyebrow quirking up. She stiffened, feeling a presence in the room. Slowly she turned around just to have the breath be knocked out of her. She’d seen him before. But where?

The man was leaning up on the doorway, one foot crossed over the other as he stared at her, his head tilted to the side. She couldn’t help but let her eyes roam over him, the feeling of nostalgia washing over her. She could feel her own eyebrows knit together in confusion, her mouth gaping open as if she had something to say.

The poker face was suddenly replaced with a sly smirk, and the man drawled out a malicious, “So…This is the infamous Penelope.”

“C’mon, Pete. Why don’t you go make a shake? You look a little…”

“A little what? Scary? That’s what I’m supposed to be, ‘Trick. Remember? I’m the monster.” ‘Pete’ suddenly pushed off of the doorway and stalked towards her, a mocking look on his face as he studied her. “So…This is the one Beckett’s going ape shit over. Did you know, when a vampire gets pissed off, he only gets more deadly?” Suddenly, she was pinned to the brick wall by her throat, her feet dangling two feet above the floor. Her hands gripped the man’s arms, twisting around. Despite how pissed off she was beginning to get, fear over rid her anger and she found that she couldn’t do anything but try to get free.

“What are you really doing here? You may have the other guys fooled with a bat of your eyelashes, but you don’t fool me,” he snarled out, his face scrunching up and his fangs poking out. If this were a movie, she’d laugh at the cheesiness, but this was real. And it was really beginning to freak her out.

“Pete!” Someone cried out. It took all three of them to pry him off of her and when they did, she fell to the floor, gasping for air.

“What the fuck is your problem?” She shouted weakly at him, feeling at the bruises that were already starting to form on her neck with shaking fingers.

He glared at her, suspicion in his eyes, “You are. How are we supposed to trust you when we don’t even know you? It could have been a set up!”

Patrick stared cautiously at Pete, his words as calm as his expression, “Does this look like a set up?” Suddenly, he reached for Penelope’s shirt to pull down the collar and show the scars Beckett had given her years ago.

Suddenly, Pete went still. His eyes stared at the spot on her neck, only making the tension in the room thicker by each passing second. Time stretched out, and what was only a total of maybe ten seconds, felt like an hour as the four looked at each other, waiting to see what would happen.

“He marked her,” Pete stated more than questioned, the lividness suddenly cooling inside of him. His face began to relax slowly, the feral look becoming less animalistic, and his fangs disappearing slightly. A stunned look took place instead, and he stepped back in shock, a single hand running over his hair. Suddenly, he seemed to get ahold of himself and he sent another glare towards her direction before stalking off towards what she presumed was his room.

Joe let out a shaky laugh and said nervously, “Well, that was interesting…”

Pete helped her up slowly, asking if she was hurt. Numbly she shook her head ‘no’, and shuddered when she thought of the look Pete had given her. As if he truly despised her. Even she knew that wasn’t a good thing.

Patrick pulled her aside by her shoulder. “Hey, do you mind if I speak with you?”

She nodded, not resisting when he lead her over to the guest ‘bedroom’, still shaken up.

After he shut the door, she said a casual, “What’s up?” knowing that what he had to say wasn’t good. Patrick didn’t talk much; when he did it was always serious. She’d only been there for a day, and she even knew that he was a man who dedicated everything towards his ‘work’.

He took a deep breath before starting. When he did, his words were nervous and rushed. “Look, I’m really sorry you had to go through that. He gets really…Moody. I promise that we won’t let him do that again. I know that you don’t really like it here-“ at seeing the look on her face, he didn’t give her time to interrupt, “-but you have to know that the only time you can see your family again is to get your clothes and other things. William probably had the whole place monitored and is waiting for us to show up.”

She bit her lip, knowing what she was about to ask would be immediately denied. “Do you think they could stay here with us?” This time she didn’t give him time to interrupt, continuing on rapidly, “I know that you don’t think that it’s a good idea, but they aren’t nearly as safe now as they would be. Here, William wouldn’t have anything to threaten me with.”

He sighed dramatically, one of those ‘patient-but-not-so-patient’ sighs, and said with sympathy, “Penelope…That’s not a good idea. It’s not just the Dandies who want us dead. If some other group attacked, they would be completely helpless, and they’d be killed.”

Even she could hear the desperation in her voice as she pleaded, “Please, Patrick. You don’t have any other way to keep them safe? If they stay, they’re dead. If they come here, they’re dead. They’re all I have left.”

He looked away from her face, guiltily looking down at the ground for a few moments. Finally he gave and he mumbled, “I guess I could find a way out for them. I’ll call my connections. But for now, you’re going to have to wait. He’ll be expecting us to go sooner rather than later. I’ll have Pete take you to go shopping.”

She frowned and wearily said with hesitation, “…Pete?”

Seeing the expression on her face, he said an apologetic, “He’s the best fighter out of all of us. If you get attacked, he’ll be your best bet.”

“Great,” She groaned sarcastically, “Can’t wait.”