Growing Wildflowers | WLW

Marigold

"Why's there a fucking hunter?" I'm shouting at Sophie, unable to move. My legs are heavy, my feet cinder-blocked to the ground as I watch the woman pull her crossbow to her shoulder, tilting her head to take aim. It occurs to me too late that she's aiming at us. At Sophie, more specifically but she's too busy pounding on the man's chest and shouting something I don't understand.

The woman pulls the trigger at the same time I dive for Sophie, tackling her out of the line of the crossbow bolt. We hit the ground hard. A sharp pressure pinches at my back and Sophie looks at me, wide-eyed as she pulls the bolt from my vest.

"Are you okay?" Her accent is strong with fear. "Gwen!" She shakes me by the shoulders, forgetting about her own 'no names' rule in the midst of her panic. "Did it go through the vest?"

"I don't..." I stare at her, letting an unbearable second pass while I wait for death; wait for the blood to pour from my mouth and ears like the man who opened the door, but it doesn't come. How long did it take for him to die? Was it instantaneous? No, I remember staring at him as he conceptualized his death. But, how much time passed? I'm still staring at the all-wooden arrow as I nod. "I'm okay," I choke, not entirely believing my own words. I'm still wondering if my heart will stop pumping when I take a step.

Sophie drags me by the vest into the cover of the building and slams me against the wall. "Don't you ever take a stake for me." She points a stern finger at me. "Do you hear me?"

I'm nodding fast, swallowing the hiccup of emotion in my throat. Whether the emotion is from my confrontation with death or from Sophie's scolding, I'm not sure.

"Good." She blows a breath out through her nose, composes herself, and nods for me to follow her. "Let's go. They've already got one of our own." She tilts her head to the walkie talkie fastened to her jacket collar. "Hunters in the parking lot. I repeat, there are hunters in the parking lot." No one responds, probably too busy fighting a guard or dodging the crossbow bolts of the hunter.

"Sophie." I jog to catch up to her long strides. "Why is there a hunter?"

"I don't know, girlie." She flips off the camera at the top of the hallway with its red blinking light and rips the security door from its hinges. "The elders might have... I don't know."

"You think the elders hired them?"

"That..." She nods in thought. "Or someone else tipped them off about where we'd be tonight."

Jamie. She knew where we were going tonight. Because of me. Is it possible... No. She wouldn't. She wouldn't put my life in danger. Unless her mom forced her to rat us out when she got home. My mind races back to a conversation I had with Liam before I really knew Jamie. He'd said something about staying away from the entire Vanderbilt family. Something about them being assholes. How far would Mrs. Vanderbilt go to get information out of Jamie? I shake the thought off and continue walking.

Sophie's walking too fast to notice my hesitation. She peers down every hallway we pass, probably checking for danger. It's surprisingly calm in these beige halls compared to the parking lot. As if the elders thought we wouldn't make it this far. Or maybe they're one step ahead of us like always. She cups her hands around her eyes to look through the window on a metal door.

Her walkie talkie crackles loud in the silence of the hallway. More hunters inbound. We're losing stamina fast.

Sophie clicks the button on the walkie. "Hold them for five more minutes. We can't back down now. For Parker." She looks at me. "We need to split up."

I'm shaking my head but before I can protest, she grabs my shoulders. "You have to swallow your fear for the good of the group."

I don't say anything, only manage a nod. Anger bubbles in my chest as we head through the last door in front of us and split into opposite directions. Swallow your fear for the good of the group. What group? The group of monsters who killed those fishermen at the docks? The group who killed those students on the beach?

I brush the thoughts off and rip the door closest to me from its hinges. My muscles twitch but I can tell this isn't the full extent of what I'm capable of. I've never used the reservoir of strength afforded to me when I turned. Sure, I used to use the uncanny speed to sneak up on victims out in the forest with John, but I never landed myself in a position that would require me to use my strength.

The room's empty, nothing but a cot in the corner and a hole in the ground. The buzzing overhead lamp makes my jaw clench. When I step out of the prison cell, I have to crouch to keep myself from doubling over.

I recognize this room. It's the same room Sophie dragged me through once she broke me out of my cell. Back then, the concrete floor had moved under my feet without me acknowledging it but now that I'm coherent, the dark brown stains and drains drilled directly into the floor send a shiver up my spine. This is the only round room in the building that I'm aware of, connected to two exits, one that leads deeper into the den of the elders and one to the parking lot. There are dozens of metal doors lining the walls, although I don't remember anyone else being held at the same time I was so... why do they need so much space for rowdy vampires? Are they planning something we don't know about?

Sophie's voice comes from over my shoulder, and I spin on her, sending my fist toward her jaw before I recognize her. She catches my wrist, her eyes locked on mine, her expression a mix of concern and warmth.

"Wait for me in a van," she orders, pulling me to my feet.

"I'm okay," I protest.

She shakes her head, gives me a small push toward the exit. "I shouldn't have put this on you. It's too soon. Don't get staked out there, okay?" She flashes a half smile, the blaring white of her teeth comforting me, as if her smile can't be faked if it's large enough. "Get out of here. I'll meet you in a sec."

I'm about to protest when my phone buzzes in my pocket. For a moment, I ignore it, deeming this the worst possible time to answer my phone. But as soon as the buzzing stops, it restarts so I rip the technology from my pocket and answer the unknown number.

"Hello?" My tone is harsher than I intend, caught up in the stress of Sophie wandering further away as I try to force my legs to carry me deeper into the room. I can't let her go in alone. We promised each other we'd be a team.

"Tell Sophie to answer her fucking phone next time." It's a man's voice on the other end, one I don't recognize. A deep British accent. I'm so taken off guard by his anger, I don't know what to say. The man releases a heavy breath. "Andrew is dead. They executed him." So, that's who I'm talking to. The man who was screaming earlier. The one tied to the makeshift hospital bed. He can feel his connection with Andrew being broken. I've been told it's the most painful experience a vampire can have; losing someone they've bonded with.

My heart sinks, leaving a shallow hole in my chest. This was all worthless. The guy who was staked in the parking lot lost his life for nothing. Same for the countless others who probably died after we made our way inside. It's as if the elders knew we were getting close and killed Andrew to keep us from getting ahead. They want us to back down. They want us to know they're always one step ahead.

I start to form a sentence when the line goes dead. I look at the screen to check if I lost signal because of the thick concrete walls but it shows the call was ended. I shove the phone back in my pocket and look around the room for Sophie, but she's gone. She somehow disappeared during my brief conversation with Parker.

"Hey," I call out, careful not to use her name, but she doesn't respond. It's quiet. The kind of quiet that screams something's wrong. I break into a sprint, heading toward the last place I saw her. I pause briefly to peer inside every room she ripped the door from, my heart hammering against my chest when a small whimper comes from somewhere deeper in the room. I pause, a lump lodged in my throat as I follow the sound to the double doors. "Hey!" I call again, this time desperately, hoping that my ears are playing tricks on me; that Sophie will emerge from the hallway and ask me why I'm shouting.

Instead the whimpering grows louder.