What Lingers Beyond That First Step

Twilight fell upon the streets of Belleville, New Jersey; casting long angular shadows that stretched out to the edges of the city. They all seemed to lead towards an abandoned warehouse, with wooden planks in place of windows and a barbed wire fence to keep the public out.Somewhere from within the dark desolate building a groan echoed, followed by old hinges squeaking in protest as they were forced to move.

Mike exited the closet he had spent the night in and scratched his head as he examined his surroundings. He knew that outside the last scarlet rays of the sun were sinking into the horizon; night was fast approaching. He bent down to pick up his duffle bag and hoodie, throwing them both on in incredible speed before making his way to the floor office. He came to a stop at the door and lifted his hand to rap his knuckles against the old wood.

Moments later it swung open and the tall figure of William filled the frame “What time is it?” He asked stretching out his long limbs.

“Dunno, but the sun’s just set,” Mike replied with a short shrug. William nodded his head then ducked back into the room, emerging again with a jacket and his bag. “Where are we going to look tonight?” Mike questioned as he followed William through the warehouse.

“I don’t know, I’m slowly losing faith in this search,” William replied solemnly.

Mike stared at his best friend with wide eyes, it wasn’t like him to just quit. Quitting was something William had frowned heavily upon, even before he was a vampire. “We can’t just give up now, this plan of yours is the only hope we have against Brendon,” Mike stated quickly.

“But it’s been a month Mike, there’s no telling how powerful Brendon’s become. Not while we’re here anyways. Wouldn’t you rather spend the rest of our time with Courtney?” William asked as they walked down an alley, starting their journey through the city.

“I’d rather spend eternity with her William. We could still have that. Brendon’s going to hunt us before he targets the hunters, we still have time to find the Four and save the day. We can rectify our mistakes with this,” Mike urged his friend to see the light once more; to have faith in their quest again.

William didn’t respond verbally, he just nodded once before lowering his gaze on the debris upon the pavement they walked on.

“Did I hear that you’re searching for the Four?” A voice grunted.

Mike and William looked ahead, to a shadowy alcove, where a single spark flickered as the speaker lit a cigarette. “What’s it to you?” Mike retorted defensively.

“Nothing really, but you might like to know, they’re not in their state,” The voice spoke before stepping away from the wall. He was dressed from head to toe in black. Black ripped jeans, a black t-shirt under his leather jacket and black sneakers to complete the look. He straightened up and smirked at the pair as he flicked his greased black hair out of his pale face.

“And you would know this how?” Mike questioned slowly, knowing perfectly well that this could be the one they were really looking for.

“Because I watched them get on a redeye out of the state,” The stranger laughed.

“You’re Gerard aren’t you?” William spoke slowly.

“Indeed I am, and who might you be?” Gerard smiled coyly.

“I’m William, and this is Mike. We’re looking for the Four in hopes of fixing a mess that’s taking place in Chicago.”

“And you’ve come to Belleville?” Gerard asked, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“We heard that you could help us find them actually,” William said casually, easily falling into his old manner of taking control.

“Oh, you did?” Gerard raised an eyebrow intrigued.

“We know you’re the one who brought them here to get rid of Bert. Surely you can find them again,” William said with a gesture of his hand.

“If I can, what makes you think I’ll help you out?” Gerard quipped.

William faltered, that didn’t work with his plan. “Because Brendon is just like Bert and he’s not going to stop at Illinois. He wants to dominate, and he’s cunning enough to succeed. The Four will get involved eventually, we just prefer to be alive when they do,” Mike answered quickly.

Gerard was silent after that, the wind blew through the alleyway and ruffled their hair; but none of them moved to fix it. After a moment Gerard nodded, “Alright, Mikey and I will go to the Four. I can’t say for sure if they’ll come or not, but we’ll be there. Where can I find you?” He asked as an afterthought.

“Oh,” Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen. He scribbled down the address to the Hunter’s hide out. “Don’t lose that, or we’ll get killed,” Mike chuckled a bit as he handed it to Gerard.

“Gotcha, you kids better run home then, I’m sure you’re tired of being away from home.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Mike nodded in agreement. With that Gerard walked away, disappearing into the night. Mike turned to William, “Ready to go home?” He asked.

“Guess so,” William sighed and with that they teleported themselves back into the living room back in Chicago.