CHAPTER 11: FINDING SAMUEL 2

The thin long steel of the black gates are about nine feet tall and end at the two white pillars at each end of the gate. The top is pointy and the both ends of the gate have cameras at the top. The fields of plain and smooth grass can be seen to stretch meters away from the entrance with stony walls on each side to create a path.

Rachael, Elma and Bryan stop at the gate and horn but no one responds. Elma notices one of the cameras and points at it, "They may have to see us before we get inside," she says, "I don't trust this place. There is something about it that feels off," Bryan says.

They come out of the car and the vampires signal each other as they walk towards the gate, Elma and Bryan attempt to open the gate with their strength but they scream as their hands burn against the steel.

"Fuck. It's silver," Elma laments, "But the gate is black," Rachael says, "No shit. They must have painted it," Bryan says.

"Wait. If they painted a silver gate black then they probably did it to keep out vampires. This place is definitely owned by hunters," he says. They share a gaze as they realize that Samuel could be in danger.

Elma jumps high enough to reach the camera on the fence and smashes it, "We have to ram the bloody gate," Elma says as she rubs her burnt palms together.

"Have we not learnt anything about storming into hunter's territory?" Bryan says, "Don't be a pussy Bryan, you are a vampire," "Exactly. A vampire who is about to step into a mansion filled with all the things that kill vampires," "Samuel would do the same for you," "No, he wouldn't," Bryan argues.

Rachael watches the two vampires as they argue back and forth about entering the mansion. She understands their argument; Elma is a close friend to Samuel and Bryan is just an employee and so his relationship with Samuel is different from Elma's.

But she doesn't have to contemplate what she wants to do, Samuel is more than an employer to her and she is more than an employee to him.

She gets into the car and revs up the engine, ending the discussion between the vampires as she reverses the car and drives forward into the gate and forcing it open.

"Well, she has done it," Elma says as she walks behind the car but Rachael does not wait for her, she drives off into the compound leaving the vampires behind her.

It is for the best, if they are really in a hunter's compound then having them close by will only put them at a disadvantage.

Hopefully, whoever owns this mansion will not be so keen on hurting other humans.

She drives down the path and goes through a garden; the garden is built around the tarred roads so you can drive through while admiring its exquisite glow, there are small trees on both sides of the road and rectangular shaped leaves far behind with little colorful flowers sticking out of them.

Rachael drives through the small garden before the view of well trimmed lawn appears before her eyes, stretching at least 20 feet before stopping closing to the front of the mansion.

There are three black jeeps in front of the mansion, so she knows that someone is definitely around, she parks beside one of the cars and steps out.

The sun hangs like a background design over turquoise mansion, brightening its colors and hiding the darker sides of the gray roof. A circular shape of the road goes around the front of the mansion and disappears at the sides.

She searches the pigeon hole of the car and finds a semi-auto which she tucks in at the back of her jeans.

The front of the mansion has four pillars holding a small balcony of the upper floor while the width of the front makes the mansion look bigger than it is.

She enters the mansion and finds herself walking in a large hallway with white walls, she hear voices and footsteps at the end of the hallway so she pulls out the gun. She isn't accustomed to guns so it's no surprise when her hands get sweaty.

Two men run past her without noticing the intruder as she hides behind a pillar before she follows them quietly, tiptoeing like a hovering ghost.

She walks as slowly as possible behind these strangers but her noiseless movements comes to an end when she feels a hard object smack the back of her head and sends her into a world of unconsciousness.

"Rachael, Rachael" her black hair covers her vision and a gentle breeze blows it away from her face. She sees a plain field of grass and mist before her eyes.

"Rachael," a figure hidden in the mist calls her name. She recognizes the field; this was where she was when she died.

Am I dead?

She asks but the figure before her ignores her. The figure jumps out of the mist and reveals a half decomposed face as it stretches to grab her.

Rachael screams to life as she opens her eyes to see herself in a room filled with different faces.

Some are familiar and others are not, "Hello, Rachael" a familiar face calls out to her, a face she never expected to see again.

Elena welcomes her with a glass of water as she sits up on the leopard skin couch she finds herself.

Opposite her is Kate Martin-Tremblay who relaxes on the couch as she sizes up her niece, "How did you find this place, Rachael?" her dark eyes are fixated on Rachael like she would devour her. Rachael may be her niece but she remembers that it was because of her involvement with those vampires that her family lost Marcus.

It may not be her fault but she played a part in it.

If they had done things the usual way, things would have probably taken a different turn.

She waits for Rachael to finish the water and stares intensely at the young woman.

Rachael is shocked. Her heart races as she has no time to understand the dream she just had, if that was even a dream. She opened her eyes to a perplexing welcome as she sees Elena, Kate and a few strange faces she sums up as their hired guns.

If these two are here then the mansion most likely belongs to the Tremblays. She is glad with her decision to leave Elma and Bryan behind. There is no telling what they would do to them after what happened the last time they were together.

She knows the Tremblays won't kill her and so she drinks the glass of water offered to her with one question in mind.

"Where is Samuel?" she asks, ignoring Kate's question.

Furrows appear on Kate's face as she scoffs at her niece who is trying to be difficult, she removes a semi-auto and places it on the table glass table between them.

"I will ask you again. How did you find this place, Rachael?" she asks as her gaze grows more intense.

Rachael recognizes the gun and yet she refuse to be threatened, on the outside at least.

Inside, she is terrified but she holds Kate's gaze. She has faced werewolves and vampires, not as much as the experienced woman before her but if she can survive that she can hold eyes with this woman, "I know he is here," Rachael says.

"He is dead," Kate says. "Impossible, you can't kill him," "And why is that?" "Because he is…" she pauses as she realizes something.

If Kate doesn't know why she can't kill Samuel then she doesn't know what he is.

Elena hasn't told them what he is. Samuel is still alive.

"Because you just can't. You have to give him to me before it is too late," Rachael says, Kate giggles, "Too late? He and his brother caused the deaths of our men and the head of this family. Your mother and your uncle died because of them," she says furiously.

"I won't be surprised if they had a hand in your father's death," she adds. Rachael knows Kate has a point. Samuel admitted to causing her father's death. Her mother died in an attempt to rescue her. And there is Marcus, even if she knew him for just a short while, he died while fighting Dracula.

These are truths that she cannot deny.

"It is already too late,".