Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright, No one can hurt you now
Come morning light... You and I'll be safe and sound
-Lyrics to 'Safe and Sound' performed by the Civil Wars and Taylor Swift
Crimson Bonds Part 34
Ian ran as fast as he could, just like his mom told him to.
Even injured as he was, he made neither heads nor tails to which direction he was soaring... he just knew that he had to go forward in his zigzag around the terrain obstacles and not look back or he would lose his nerve to leave her and Uncle Duo behind.
Finally, when there was a notable shift in the placement of the sun in the sky based on where the shadows of the trees were falling, the young Vampire materialized. Panting from the fatigue caused by the blood lost from the deep graze running along his right arm, his gold-and-blue eyes widened at his view from the peak of a cliff that was high enough to overlook the range of Virginia's towns below.
Suddenly, there was a whole new fear setting in for Ian. He had no idea how he had managed to reach that secluded spot. Now he was in the middle of nowhere without a way to find his way back home.
Caught up by the emotions of everything that had happened, the boy bit his bottom lip when he began to quiver. Tears shimmering his gold-and-blue eyes, he whimpered and sat in the middle of the clearing to pull his legs close to his chest. Pressing his face against his bent knees, he was finally able to let out the sobs that he had been holding back and prayed for help to arrive.
* * * * * *
"Is that everyone?" Midi asked in a breathless rush as she headed into her living room. The children and partakers of the hide-and-go-seek game were all gathering for a head count following their being called back to determine that everyone was fine.
But as soon as the 'little mother quickly gazed over the anxious faces pacing and waiting around, she knew that they were several short of having the whole family together. Trowa moved for his wife and rested a hand on her arm, informing, "I just got back with Fiona and Cai. Heero, Wufei, Charles and John are out looking for any stragglers looming around outside." Swallowing roughly, the Clan matriarch nodded vehemently to calm her growing nerves.
No sooner had the pair huddled together in a tight hug did Chang and Yuy flash through the front door to materialize in the living space.
Frantically gazing over his children, the scaly Infected let out a deep sigh of relief as he pulled the newest arrivals into his arms and kissed the top of their heads. Trying to not alarm his charges, he headed for Barton with a deep frown and gripped his cousin's arm to lead him out into the hallway, far enough away from the others that they couldn't hear.
"That's all of them? No sign of anyone else?" Wufei whispered urgently to the emerald-and-gold eyes locked on him.
Gripped in the cold hand of panic, Trowa shook his head, "No." He looked from one cousin's distraught face to the other as he asked, "You mean you couldn't find anything out in the woods?"
Heero growled under his breath in frustration, "No. And it's not like Duo or Anna to not respond to our calling for them. Charles and John are still combing the area." Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed, "At least it looks like all of the kids are accounted for."
Already distracted, staring out the back patio window to the stare at the forest, Wufei corrected in a ghost of a breath, "I counted the heads. We're one short. Ian's still out there somewhere." There was no missing the harnessed uneasiness in his voice. Sanity was a hard thing for the immortal father to hold onto when he was missing not only his wife, but one of their sons as well.
Leaving his wide-eyed brother and cousin behind, Chang moved to the back patio to try and get a fix on where his older boys were searching. He had to do something to keep himself from coming undone with the tension clouding everything within his being.
Before his thoughts could darken on him, Charles's voice shouted from the northwest corner of the woods. "DAD! GET OVER HERE! WE HAVE SOMETHING!" Not needing to be told twice, the scaly Vampire surged forth in a blur of himself with Heero and Trowa bolting off just behind him.
Coming to a halt just short of the creek that ran the perimeter of the mansions, Wufei found his sons standing around a patch of grass of raised roots. In John's hands was a folded up pole of metal that he opened up to reveal the net that it webbed out to be. And just as quickly, the elder Vampires looked every bit as terrified as the younglings. "Hunters," the former soldier gritted through his teeth.
"One that I can definitely account for," Charles commented. Pointing to the pristine grass, he said, "She came up on Ian behind the roots that he hid under and threw that trap over him." He took a deep breath and pointed in the opposite direction, continuing, "Anna then Uncle Duo came here... most likely to step in and help him, but..." Mouth opening and closing, he failed to work his voice as his eyes misted over.
Heero did not realize that he was unconsciously panting, or that he had swayed on his feet until Trowa reached over to hold a steadying hand on the middle of his back.
The thought of anything happening to Duo was bad enough... but Anna and Ian being the clear victims of a Hunter as well made the scenario that much more shattering for the Original. Though the earth didn't so much as shift from a breeze, he felt like it was opening up to swallow him whole.
Quickly closing the distance between them, Chang gripped his boy's shoulders tightly to force their gazes to lock. Fighting to keep the emotion from his tone, he said softly, "I know that tracking what happened here is not easy since this is our family involved, but you are the only one here who can see what you see and we need to know what happened if we're going to be of any help."
Drawing a deep breath, he admitted, "We're all struggling to keep ourselves together. That can lead to rash action that might set us back. From this point on until the whole family is together again, we take everything one step at a time, starting with this."
That was the old warrior to have come out of him. Feelings be damned, the only thing that mattered was moving forward to the correct plan of attack. It may have been a bit cold, but there was a means to an end thanks to the logical thinking it produced.
Solidifying his resolve, Charles swallowed roughly as his eyes dried. "Right," he nodded firmly, clearing his throat.
A sad smile curling his lips, Wufei patted the back of the redhead's neck and took a step back. "Now, what came next, son?" he inquired sternly.
"Mom and Uncle Duo fell," the young Vampire replied without hesitation and a lot more clarity, gesturing to the place at his father's feet. "Right there, side-by-side." Turning back towards the roots, he murmured, "That was as far as I got before you got here." Carefully moving towards his brother's hiding place, he lowered himself to his knees and inspected the almost nonexistent indentations for the rest of it.
Reading the ground, Charles followed the path left behind as he stated, "Ian was the one to draw that Hunter's blood that I found. It was only a drop, but enough for me to get a picture of her. Somehow, he managed to get one up on her when she went back for him."
In complete awe, he blinked and shook his head, "He went for her." Turning and spinning as if in a dance along with the shifts in the dirt to reenact the assailant's frantic moving, he missed the captivated stares following him. Then, coming to bring himself at the nearest tree trunk as he smacked his hand against it, the redhead determined aloud, "The Hunter slammed herself here to jolt him and he fell..."
Head raised, his gold-ringed eyes grew anew as he breathed, "Over there."
Walking fast ahead of himself, Charles lowered himself once more to brush away a patch of tall grass and dug a hand into the soft soil he exposed. When his trembling fingers came back up, they were tainted with a mix of dirt and crimson streaks that had begun to weep into the earth.
"It's Ian's blood," he breathed, skin lightening with the dread that had set in. "She got to him."
Somehow holding onto the soldier in him, Wufei hurried by his eldest son's side, insisting, "What then?"
Pointing off to the east to the trail that was clear as day to him, the young Vampire replied, "He ran that way on his own." He turned away towards the thicker shadowed part of the wood as he walked in a clear set of footprints back to where his loved ones had fallen, adding, "Someone else came out of the forest from that direction before they knelt beside Mom and Uncle Duo with the Hunter right behind."
Arms opening as he stood at the edge of his mother's nearly invisible imprint, Charles gazed back to his father with a deep frown. "And there is nothing to go on for any one of them after that. It's like they vanished into thin air."
His still heart sinking all the further at that, Heero trained his face to not show the battling emotions in him as he pressed, "Is there anything on the last being that moved in? Can you see a clue of any kind to what they may have been?"
"No," the redhead responded, his focus shifting all around to solidify with himself that he did not leave anything out. "There's no other blood for me to go on, or even a shift in footing that might lead to how four beings just disappeared."
Satisfied with that, Chang announced, "Ian is our priority, then. More than being the witness, he's out there somewhere alone and injured." Gazing out to the direction that Charles had pointed as the way his little boy had run, he whispered, "And the poor thing is likely scared out of his mind." There was a crack in his voice as his calm, calculating exterior slipped to give way to the father in him.
Yuy rolled his shoulders back with a firm nod. He understood the dilemma that his brother was in, torn between his worries between his wife and the son. For himself, the Original wanted to find his husband and sister at whatever expense... but they needed to concentrate on finding the one who managed to get away and needed them right in that moment while they could still do something for him.
Alone, hurt and lost, Ian had to be looked after first. There was no argument against that.
Setting his cobalt-and-gold eyes onto the boys, Heero told them, "John, you head back to the house with Trowa and let Midi know what's happening. Try to not get the other kids involved until we're back and are able to find out more from Ian."
Hesitating, the dark-haired Infected swallowed roughly. "Just promise me you'll come back with my little brother," he requested brokenly. "Mom and Uncle Duo are bad enough, but if anything happens to that little guy..."
"We're coming back home with Ian," Wufei vowed solemnly as he reached John to squeeze his shoulders with a scaly arm. "I get that you want to help us search for him, but Midi is going to need your help with the others." Resting their foreheads together, he stated, "And I need to rest assured knowing that you're here to protect them since we have no idea if the people responsible for this will come back."
Barton smirked, "That's right. I may be a strong Preventer, but I might need some backup. I'll even have you take the first watch if you like. That's not something I normally give up."
John eased a bit over being able to serve as an aid to the family somehow. His predecessors were right, after all, in there being no guarantee that they were not out of danger. With his father, brother and an Original away to look for Ian, there needed to be a firm stronghold remaining behind to look after the rest of the Clan.
Respectfully bowing his head to his Latin Uncle, he said, "Alright. I'll break out my weapons and keep the perimeters clear." Trowa grinned in appreciation and stepped aside for his nephew to charge off ahead of him for the estates.
Offering one-armed embraces with his cousins, Barton sighed, "Good luck and be careful." He centered on the Mimic, stating, "I'll keep my mind clear so that you can send your thoughts to me. As soon as you're in range to send your thoughts, let me know Ian's okay." Wufei nodded shallowly in appreciation before the Original darted out of the woods.
"Lead the way, Charles," Heero told the tracker when only the searching party remained.
More than happy to be off and after his little brother, the redheaded Infected faced the east with his sight set on the path. Becoming a blur of himself with his father and uncle right behind him, he pushed himself onward as fast as his strength would allow.
* * * * * *
A groggy moan was the first thing that Lucie noticed to confirm that despite the blackness that consumed her, she was awake. Peeling her eyelids open with a few blinks proved to be a bit of a challenge, but her vision cleared once she was able to keep them up.
Noting the IV flowing clear fluids into her right arm and the white walls of the room she was lying in, the Hunter recognized it to be a part of Doctor Berg's laboratory. Instead of the main area looking more like a torture chamber for her Pet, it had been converted over to appear more like a private hospital suite.
There were even vases filled with incredible flowers lining the counters. She hated flowers.
"I thought that you may have considered it a bit much, but I couldn't help myself," Septum chuckled deeply at his entering through the sliding glass doors. Gesturing to the bouquets, he shrugged, "After your successful capture of that second Hybrid and Anna Yuy-Chang, this was the least I could do so that I could show my appreciation."
Aisley smiled, but snorted to herself, 'Just so long as that is only the start of your repayment for my efforts.' Groaning when she attempted to sit up on her own, she tolerated the Boss's hands on her so that he could assist in bringing the top half of her bed to sit her up while propping the pillows at her back for better support.
Elevated, the beauty was able to catch how pale and sickly her skin was where it was not covered by the light green medical gown she wore. Hardly a surprise since she had lost consciousness after that little bastard managed to sink his fangs into her.
Millers shook his head, "You're lucky that you didn't lose more blood than you had. Berg almost had to resort to a transfusion." He reached out to run his fingers over the bite mark in her shoulder, but changed at the last second to tugging the edge of her gown's collar to conceal it instead.
Funny, he considered. He was strong enough to control the fate of the two most powerful creatures to ever exist... and yet he still could not find the nerve to pursue the Hunter he had been infatuated with for years now.
Grateful that he had not moved to touch her, certain that in her weakened state she would show her repulsion, Lucie gave the scientist a tired grin to act as though she had not caught onto his original intent. "Thank you for the flowers," she said with a sugary sweetness that dripped from the words. "They were a wonderful surprise to wake up to."
Clearing his throat, Septum ducked his head. "I'm just relieved you're alright and can enjoy them," he replied. Peering back up at his associate, he stated quietly, "I simply have to know... how in the world did you manage to take down a Hybrid and a Vampire after one of them bit you?"
"Neither of them bit me," Aisley replied. Trained on her employer's face for his reaction to the rest, she explained, "One of the Irish bloodsucker's kids got me after the fact."
His eyes widening and jaw dropping, Millers fell into the chair beside the bed and stared at her in disbelief that he had heard her correctly. "O-one of her... kids?" he repeated hesitantly, like he thought that he must have misunderstood and just said something that was as ridiculous as it sounded coming from him.
After all, Vampires were incapable of breeding.
Smirking, Lucie snickered, "Oh yea. We have a lot to talk about."
* * * * * *
In the holding cells, such a silence resonated that a pin drop would have echoed off the corridor walls had one fallen.
Solo and Anna stayed in the furthest respective corners of their attached 'rooms' while Duo and Celeste did the same in theirs across the walkway. From their vantage points, all four captives were able to see each other clearly thanks to the translucent walls between them.
With nowhere to hide, the reunited immortals could only huddle themselves into some nook of privacy as they dealt with their new situation in their own way. For the Hybrids in particular, it was especially numbing to be back in the presence of their twin... whom they both had thought they would never cross paths with again.
At odds with his reaction to being reunited with the brother he was convinced had died at their last encounter, Maxwell occasionally glanced out of the corner of his eye to confirm that Solo was, in fact, there. Every so often, he spotted the blonde half-breed doing the same thing to him. On those rare occasions that their violet-and-silver eyes met, they quickly glanced away again without further acknowledgment.
The only one of the four who seemed the least interested in checking out their cellmates was Anna. Never breaking from the tight ball that she had made of herself, the redhead stared out at nothing while her vision occasionally shimmered. Reaching up, she discretely wiped at her tears with a sniffle.
Finally, unable to sty silent any longer, Celeste sat up in her bed and walked to the wall that she and Duo shared to get as close as she could to the Infected sealed away in the block diagonal to her own. She unconsciously rubbed at the twin bite marks that lined up perfectly with each other on the inside of her wrist.
Millers had seen the videos to know how to force Solo to take away the transportation ability he had bestowed upon her. With nowhere to go now, the only wise thing to do was to try and make nice with the neighbors.
Recalling the name that the Hunter had used for the Vampire, she called nervously, "A-Anna?"
Duo and Solo's heads spun so that they were focused on the Hispanic Companion. Slowly looking over at her, the Irish Infected looked genuinely curious to what she might have wanted to say.
Relieved for the silent word of encouragement from her, Celeste reassured, "You're worried about your son, Ian. I saw him get away. He was hurt, but I know that he escaped. He ran just like you told him to."
"Ian got away?" Anna breathed, her eyes widening as they blinked away the last of her tears. For the last hour, she had been silently wracked by the fear of what may have happened to her sweet little boy after she lost consciousness. Just knowing that there was a chance for him was enough to give her the hope she needed.
At the nod that the Companion gave in response to her question, the Siren whispered, "Wufei will find him." Facing her grinning , nodding little brother across from her, she smiled and stated without any doubt, "Wufei will find Ian. He'll move Heaven and Earth to do it if he has to."
She bit her lip, murmuring as her focus drifted once again, "I just hope he finds him before dark... Ian's still scared of the dark."
* * * * * *
The distant howl of a wolf from the woods had Ian jumping in his hidden cave deep in the side of the massive, tree-covered hill that he had taken shelter in. Through the mouth of the space, he could tell that the sunlight had all but faded.
And he hated the dark. What he wouldn't have given to have been back home with his Mom and- "IAN!"
Gasping, the boy's head shot up at what sounded so much like his Dad calling him. He scrambled for the cavern's opening, straining his ears for any sign that he had not imagined the cry. After a long stillness that was only filled by a breeze, he sucked his shaking bottom lip in and began to turn back into his temporary haven.
In mid-step, the young Vampire froze when he distinctly heard his father shouting, "IAN!" Not only was the voice not dreamt, it was much closer this time. Then came his name again, yelled out just the same but by Charles and his Uncle Heero as well.
Welling up instantly. The child darted out in a blur of himself to head out for them. Just before leaping up to throw himself around his scaly parent's neck, he cried, "DAD!"
His own arms automatically clutching his son close, Wufei let out a sharp sob of relief and buried his face in Ian's shoulder. "That's my brave little Peanut," he snickered brokenly through the tears running down his face. Pressing and holding a kiss against his charge's cheek, he whispered, "Got you now."
"And not a moment too soon with night falling," Charles smirked, only just keeping his overwhelming feelings in check. Gently running a hand over his little brother's head, he complimented, "You did real good, kiddo."
Yuy descended on his nephew to pat his back as the last of Ian's trembling subsided. "Let's get you back home..." he suggested. "...get you safe and sound for the night."
Sniffling, the boy murmured, "'K. That sounds good." His rescuers chuckled deeply at the sentiment.
Already having had inspected the deep graze in his son's arm, Wufei tilted his head away as he said, "Here. You'll heal faster. I can carry you back as you get your strength back." Fangs growing in, the child gratefully sank his teeth into the scales at his Dad's collar bone and took a few sips.
Just as he was promised, Ian saw the world he had lost himself in flash by him in the next breath of existence as he was protectively lifted back where he belonged.
TBC...
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