CHAPTER NINE PART ONE

Groggily, I blink my eyes and try to clear my vision. Voices fade in and out as unfamiliar faces flash across my vision. They flicker like a strobe light. "Gemma wake up," a familiar voice urges. I pry my heavy eyes open and look up. I see my group chained to the walls all around me. Thick bindings fasten their ankles and wrists. I'm in a similar state. I'm bound to a metal chair in the center of the room my wrists and ankles shackled.

Like a flashing picture, my mind quickly fills in the blanks. The dosed food, unconscious friends, and running into the golden-eyed man. The pain in my head hits me fast, and I let out a moan. I can feel the sting of a cut near my temple. It seems to have stopped bleeding.

Quincy looks relieved, taking in my appearance. "Oh, thank you. I thought you might never wake up, and we'd all be eaten by cannibals,"

"Technically, we still could be eaten by cannibals," Paul mentions. Beatrice lets out a squeal. I look around taking in the cement walls with no door. How did we get in here? "Where are we?"

"We're not sure we've all been up for a few hours, but no one has come in. Were you able to get in contact with The Eye?" Fletcher asks, looking hopeful. I shake my head, "No, as soon as you were all out, they all came after me." Their faces fall, looking distraught and grave, "I told you she didn't," Savanna chirps. I ignore her comment, I struggle against my bonds, but they won't let up no matter how hard I pull. "We're going to die in here, aren't we? They're going to kill us, right?" Beatrice begins whispering gibberish to herself.

"Can someone please shut her up?" Duke begs. "No one is going to die. Just remember your training. The people who took us may have the upper hand, but they have no clue why we're here let's keep it that way," Fletcher assures as he tries to regain control of the room.

Savanna snickers, "What are we doing here? Especially in this town of all places, you would think the Eye would've learned their lesson after what happened years ago. But, instead, they send us here, giving trainees the assignment that no one wanted. Missing persons case, that's bullshit." What does she mean? Fletcher sends Savanna a look that silences her. What is she talking about?

The shape of a door starts to glow against the far wall distracting me. The grey wall within the door shape turns translucent. Several figures step through the opening as eight people enter the room. Only two I recognize, the first as the man from the diner who hit me and the second as the golden-eyed man who accosted me in the street.

"You didn't tell us that one of them was bleeding," one of the women mentions as I catch sight of their eyes, and when I do, fear spreads through me like a mighty fire. Three of them are vampires, their eyes appearing bright red at the sight and smell of my wound.

"That be on, Abe," Golden Eyes replies, looking at me. The man Abe looks only slightly guilty, "I had no choice; she was putting up a hell of a fight, and wouldn't eat Sandys tainted food." Golden Eyes crosses his arms, "Doesn't mean you need to hit her with a glass bottle over the head." Abe looks down, trying to appear guiltier.

"Very well, Abe, you may go," one of the female vampires instructs. He leaves with a nod, not sparing us a second glance, yet he stops at the vampire that told him to go and nods in respect, "Lady Seraphina." He makes his way past her and scurries out the door. I get a good look at this Lady Seraphina, she looks like a model with bright red hair and piercing green eyes. Almost otherworldly.

"You're my kind of girl," a woman in her twenties resembling a goth princess approaches me. With long dark hair and wearing all-black clothes, she smiles playfully. "Let us out of here!" Beatrice yells as she fights against her restraints. Goth princess smiles tauntingly at Beatrice, "Or maybe this one is more my style."

"Enough, Rose, Ward, do we know what they're doing here or who they are yet?" Lady Seraphina asks. Rose backs off at the woman's insistence and moves to stand beside another girl her age who looks like her twin, etched from head to toe in grey.

The man, Ward, also a vampire, shakes his head, "No, not yet, but I'm sure Sandy will have some answers for us." Sandy eases her way into the room. "Did I hear my name?" Ward gestures for her to enter the room. Just behind her, her daughter appears carrying a long stick.

"Which one would you like me to hex?" Sandy asks, looking at all of us. "Him," the last vampire who had not yet spoken breaks his silence as he points at Fletcher. Sandy looks to Ward for the final say and, with his nod, approaches Fletcher. We all start to fight against the chains to stop them from torturing our Professor. "Leave him alone!" Savanna shouts.

Lady Seraphina looks at us, "She will not cause him any physical harm," she says, trying to reassure us. A vampire trying to keep me calm, the injustice. Sandy kneels and holds out her hand. Mina hands her the staff. Sandy begins to chant, "Asha rasha bushing toma bish!"

She touches the staff to Fletcher's head and then backs away from him. "Ask him anything; he will answer truthfully."

"Who are you, and what are you doing here? Be specific," Ward orders. Fletcher shakes his head and struggles as he fights against the compulsion, "My name is Edward Reece Fletcher, and I'm a hunter. I've been sent here by The Eye to assess the situation, I was approved to bring eight students along since no one else would accept the case for fear of its location, they are all just Infiniteye trainees," he reveals.

A gasp draws my attention to a woman standing in the corner of the room as she turns to the man beside her. My view of them is blocked as they stand away from the light, "What? Edmond, it's been ten years they were supposed to leave this town alone?" She places a hand over her mouth, feeling, dare I say, emotional. "Alice, it'll be all right; we knew this day was coming," he holds her hand in his.

"They're young still; they don't know any better. They were taught to think that people like us are abominations," Alice cries. My mind registers his words, making me beyond confused. "Let us out of here, you monsters!" Savanna yells. "Monsters, huh? Scarlett, I think we should show them what monsters look like," Rose says, turning to her twin.

"Enough! Edmond, Alice, what do you think we should do with them?" Ward questions. The couple looks at each other, almost having a silent conversation just with their eyes, "They're kids still; they need to learn the truth of what they're fighting. The truth about The Eye and their lies," Alice answers.

"They're from The Eye; maybe they have news on Henrietta," the man, Edmond, looks around at us as he steps into the light. I gasp. In that instant, my blood runs cold, craning my neck to get a better look at them, and my eyes widen in shock. I glance over at Savanna, it all suddenly makes sense, this town, the very one we're in is the one where my parents supposedly died.

Even worse than that two of these people, Alice and Edmond, they are my parents, or they used to be. The realization petrifies me. I'm sure that Fletcher and Savanna knew about what this town would mean to me and the danger of coming here.