My eyes shot open to the same place where I had been standing just before Death had transferred me to the in-between. As soon as I appeared, they all saw me in only seconds. I was standing there in the middle of the blood-sprayed grass.

  “Sam,” Autumn had broken into a sprint from beside Eleanor. She ran feverishly to me like I’d disappear again; her dark hair whipping in the wind as she ran.

  I tried to step back as she slammed her full weight into me, softening the blow as best I could, for her sake. Her scent hit me a second after she did, filling my thankful lungs to the brim with her intoxicating aroma. The smell was a welcome distraction from everything that had happened; an anchor to bring me back to the normal world after seeing different dimensions, Primevals, and learning of things that made my world feel small and insignificant. She felt so fragile in my arms, like the things I was bound to could break her without warning. Just being near me could kill her. The blade I held just outside of the physical world could kill everyone in the immediate area if I let it slip out. I felt something in that moment that I couldn't put my finger on.

  “Sam… I thought you were gone again,” she said, relieved and a little shaky. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and wouldn’t let go. She was clawing at me to get her hooks in so I couldn’t vanish another time. If I did, she planned on going with me. “Are you okay? What happened? We thought he’d killed you…”

  “I’m okay,” I assured her, “promise.”

  “What happened? How are you here? Charles said he thought Peter sent you to another dimension,” she struggled with the reality of the idea. “He said it was a place like… a hell,” her voice shook slightly at the thought.

  I looked around at all of the carnage and death that littered the grass outside of the Chasse home. Everyone was slowly picking themselves up, totally exhausted from the massive battle that I had missed in my time away. They all looked like they had been fighting for their lives, but they came out on top. When I looked at how many bodies lay at their feet, and how small my adoptive family was compared to the horde, it was hard not to be impressed with their abilities.

  “It looks like you guys went through your own hell here,” I said to Autumn, who was still buried into my side like a parasite holding on for life. I could feel her breath flowing across my neck as she huffed from fear and exhaustion. “What are we going to do with all of these bodies? This is… a lot.”

  “I think I can manage that,” Shelta Wicklow spoke as she approached Autumn and me.

  “Shelta… I’m sorry about Annabelle,” I offered my sympathy.

  “How did you…? She said you were supposed to be there, but you never came…” She was confused but knew I still played some part.

  “It’s hard to explain, but she wasn’t wrong. We did see each other one last time, just like in her vision,” I explained.

  “How?” she asked.

  “Maybe we should save the details for later,” Frank said as others slowly made their way to me. He wrapped his big arms around me, only slightly hesitantly, “It’s good to see you, kid. I was scared there for a while you wouldn’t come back from whatever he did to you.”

  “Can’t keep me down,” I tried to lighten the mood now that the danger was over.

  They all looked like they were easing themselves back towards me. I think the power and feeling that I was putting off before had them all in the same state of helplessness that I felt in the presence of Death. But they knew me, and once it was over, they knew I was the same Sam they came to trust.

  “Frank’s right,” Carter said. “Let’s clear these bodies and destroy any evidence of what happened here before daybreak. We can’t let our normal rules fall to the wayside. If we leave any evidence, we might be exposed.”

  Carter and Eleanor came to me quickly, hugging me tightly like I had just come back from the dead. Eleanor almost wouldn’t let me go, just as Autumn still hadn’t. Autumn had shifted her grip to my arm but kept a tight hold on me. It made me laugh on the inside, and I can’t say that I didn’t love to feel her skin against mine again. After that place Peter sent me, it felt like forever since I had felt close to her.

  Though the depth and infinite scope of the universe weighed on me. In this small strip of grass in their backyard… I felt… I felt like I was losing them. They were small… weak in comparison to the things I had just seen; the things I had just learned: Death… Primevals… Annihilation… it was too much. I had to cut it out for now. Focus solely on the smells around me, the feel of Autumn’s hands on my skin, and their voices speaking to me.

  “What happened to Peter? Did you kill him?” Carter asked, slightly worried and already planning the next battle out in his head.

  “Peter’s not coming back,” I assured everyone. “He’s been dealt with… for good this time.”

  Shelta was quick to ask, “How can you know that for sure?”

  “Where did you go, Sam?” Martin asked me as he and Alex approached the group. They were both covered in blood, most of which had spilled down out of their mouths. “We all saw you appear out of thin air right beside Peter, and then you both vanished just the same. Now you're back again…” Martin was beside himself in disbelief. Lines creased his forehead with strained thought.

  Charles approached with his female friend, “How can you be certain he is gone? You’ve killed him before, correct? Why will this time be any different?” The silver-haired vampire was intrigued by questions. He looked excited but in need of answers. I think he was hoping to meet and speak to me again since I was unexplainable in his mind.

  “Because I didn’t kill him,” I said to them all.

  Shelta looked up at my face, “What do you mean, Sam? How do you know?” She was nervous about it all.

  “The one that gave me this,” I looked down at my raised hand, “thing inside of me. I think he used me as a bridge to pull Peter somewhere else, sort of like what Peter did to me. Peter sent me to the place where he gained his power… that hellfire dimension. So, I think, the thing,” I guarded them all against the truth, “from the fields did the same thing to Peter. I didn’t move us between worlds; the entity was moving me. When I touched Peter, he brought us to a place… and he killed Peter. I saw everything… he’s dead, and he’s not coming back.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “So, it’s over,” Kayla said from behind Arthur. “He’s really dead?”

  I nodded, “He’s gone.”

  She was silent at my words, but her eyes gave away the complex array of emotions she was feeling. She felt like her father had been avenged, and maybe now she could relax and find peace. Kayla leaned her blonde hair over into Patrick’s shoulder. Patrick placed his hand on the side of Kayla’s head in a comforting manner. Through all of the loss and tragedy, they finally found each other. It was a shame that it took all this to do it, but I was actually happy for them both. They seemed… connected in a way that couldn’t be easily broken.

  Patrick was beaten and bloodied, just like the rest of the hunters. He got right down in there with the rest of them and defended his family from those fiends. However, I eyed him intently for a second as he held Kayla. Memories of the vision Death gave me flashed in my mind’s eye. The meeting with Peter… the green hairbrush. It weighed on me… but now wasn't the time. Peter was dead, and his threat and power with him. I’d deal with that later. Looking at Patrick... he truly didn't seem like a threat to Autumn.

  “Thank you, Sam,” Arthur spoke only those few words to me before walking away from the group. He wanted a moment to himself.

  Everyone eased a little at my words, finally able to accept the fact that Peter was actually gone this time. No coming back, no attacking the family again on a hunt, or in their own backyard. The hatred that fueled his mind and power burned out with him.

  “So, these hunters are connected to many kinds of creatures,” the woman standing beside Charles spoke out loud. She eyed me intently from where she stood.

  “Yes, Kate. They are resourceful and good allies to have in this world. If you would keep this secret for me, I would most definitely appreciate it… and I would owe you,” Charles spoke to her as he led her off away from the group, through the twisting piles of corpses.

  “You can’t expect me to act like I don’t know these hunters exist, or that man there... He has dark power flowing from him… I know you feel what I feel. If I go back to the pits and they find out… they’ll kill them and me,” the same woman from Martin’s parking lot replied.

  She looked about my age, but with a flat look like she had no emotion about anything. I recognized that look; it reminded me of when I went numb to just get things done back in the beginning.

  “Look at him, Kate,” Charles motioned towards me. “You saw how strong Peter was at the end. Even you didn’t have the strength to kill him. Sam did. Sam loves this family of hunters, and if you go against them… you’ll be going against him.”

  “What am I supposed to do, Charles? You can’t keep things hidden from the ones down below for long. How would we even explain William’s death?” Kate looked over to the man who slipped in and out of that ghost-like form, now lying dead in the dirt. “How will we explain his death. He was the strongest of all three of us.”

  “Don’t go back. Let me return alone. I’ll talk with the elders and tell them what they need to know,” Charles told her.

  “You think you can deceive them?” Kate asked.

  “I have before,” Charles admitted.

  She was silent for a moment. “How?”

  Charles looked back at me again, “When I was sent up with Mercy and Phineas, it was Sam we were ultimately looking for. You remember the beast that killed all those people across the city over the last few years? They were leaving bodies everywhere, even attacking vampires…” he tried to revive her memory. “The thing that hunted the very vampires that ruled the city; it was him. He killed Mercy and Phineas on the same night. I was there for it all, but I had no control over any of it. Sam is no foe to the innocents of the world. He protects this family, my friend Martin’s family. So, I lied to the elders to keep these people safe,” Charles admitted. “It can be done, Kate. You just have to trust me.”

  Kate looked hesitant but willing, “You'd better know what you’re doing, Charles. I have people I care about, too, so I won't let them become collateral damage.” She shook her head as she wiped some dried blood flakes from her face, “I won’t return with you. You go by yourself and spin whatever web you need, but if mine or my friends' lives are in jeopardy, I will tell the truth of what happened here.”

  “You won’t have to, Kate. I’ll tell them Peter killed you as well. They’ll assume you to be dead. You can disappear, start over somewhere new with the ones you love.” Charles looked over to Shelta, “I can get you a veil… get you far away without anything able to track you.”

  Shelta looked like she understood what Charles was asking, and nodded.

  “You would do that for me?” Kate asked in shock at Charles and Shelta. She seemed shaky in her voice, like this meant more to her than she could put into words.

  “Yes, if it means protecting my own friends and family, we will help to set you free,” Charles offered. “If the Elders ever figured it out, they will most likely assume you are dead, killed by me and my friends… just like Mercy and Phineas. Either way, it’s a win for you.”

  Kate looked like tears were brimming over her eyes for a moment, which was strange since she held herself in a mighty and aggressive stance. “Thank you, Charles.”

  “The only way this will work is if you truly disappear,” the silver-haired vampire warned her. “You must take the utmost care not to be seen by anyone. Return to your loved ones and take them to a new place, far from any connections to the supernatural world. I will take care of the rest.”

  “I will,” Kate agreed quickly as she began backing away.

  I felt a vibrating hum in the air as Shelta began to do something with her power. She didn’t do it for long, but she directed something at this woman named Kate. A faint shimmer ran across the space between them, and then it was over.

  Kate looked back to all of us, “I’m sorry for the pain you all have felt from that twisted soul. He really seemed to hate your family. But you have nothing to fear from me. I wish you all well,” she said as she bounded powerfully away from the carnage and into the darkness of the trees. In only seconds, she was gone.

  I worried for a moment at this quick turn of events. What if she caused problems that led the elder creatures of the pits back to the Chasse family? She could lead them to any of my friends that I cared for.

  Charles could see something in my eyes as I watched the fleeing supernatural woman, “Have no fear, Sam. I know what she truly cares about, and now that she has their safety, she will never be a threat to us. She, like many others, was only in service to the elder creatures of the pits due to the threat of losing her loved ones. Most of us are tied to them only to keep our own families safe. With her death, she is free,” Charles hoped I’d believe him.

  I nodded, remembering the woman’s face in case I ever saw her again.

  “Let’s get this place cleaned up,” Carter motioned back towards the bodies. “Sunrise is coming, and we can’t have this graveyard out in broad daylight. We’ll all sit down inside and talk once we’ve handled these bodies. I know we all have questions, Sam,” Carter said.

  I nodded. “I do too,” I said, wondering what all led to the fight we were now attempting to hide from the world.

  Everyone nodded, looking at all of the work that needed to be done. Even though I would be picking up and moving disgusting bodies that dripped blood and fluids of the otherworldly creatures, I was glad to be doing it with the people I loved.

  The strange feeling lingered while I walked among them. It was starting to become clearer. I think it was... a detachment. A feeling of how vulnerable and fast all this could be swept away by the things I had just faced. I tried to force it down or cast it away. I didn't want to be a part of that bigger world right now. I just wanted to be here... with them.