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Hunted
Jul 26, 2011 18:04:30 GMT -8
Post by Peyton Schindler on Jul 26, 2011 18:04:30 GMT -8
Peyton was pretty satisfied with the vacation she had set up. Everyone else seemed happy as well. It was too easy to set it up. All she had to do was send her father a letter asking for him to offer the school an all expenses paid trip to the family resort in Switzerland.
Hunter Schindler was a push-over when it came to his daughter. He was always so guilty because he hardly ever saw her, so he gave her anything she asked of him. It was nice.
At the timebeing, Peyton was walking around the corner of the hotel with Rani. The vacation was great for her because she could relax and get to know people better.
"So, did you know that Christian Hale was here?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Peyton could have sworn that she saw Rani's face twitch. Only for a second though. "Yep," was all she answered with, staring at the snow where she walked.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No... I'm just stressed."
"Over what?"
"Nothing?"
"Um..." Peyton didn't get a chance to say anything else. At that moment a black car whizzed by on the road.
She froze in her tracks. It's just a car, she thought. Why am I so paranoid?
But then the thin white letters on the back of the car became visible.
"Rani, we have to go. Right now."
"What are y-?" Peyton grabbed her arm and pulled her off toward the hotel. The car was now slowly cruising around the perimeter of the resort. It was difficult to tell if it was actually going to pull in. There wasn't time to find out.
She dragged Rani to her and Jade's room very quickly, her protesting the whole way. Jade would probably be out with Jared somewhere. She hoped that she was safe with him.
Peyton shut the door behind them when they got there. "Peyton, what's going on?" Rani demanded.
"I'll tell you in a minute. I have to make a phone call."
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Hunted
Jul 26, 2011 20:04:51 GMT -8
Post by Alex Rivern on Jul 26, 2011 20:04:51 GMT -8
He had to admit that his apartment in California was nice. V.H.O.N. went out of its way to make sure he stayed there, so they paid for everything. Alex was enjoying it.
Until he got a phone call. He jumped as it rang, grabbing it off the table.
"Hello? Peyton? Is everything all right?" He spoke quickly, some of the words blurring together.
"The car is back, Alex! Please. I don't know what to do." His heart pounded wildly in his chest now. His worst nightmare was coming true.
"Is it on campus?" he asked.
"We're not in Portland anymore. The whole school went on a ski trip."
"Peyton, where are you then?" He was starting to panic now.
"Um... S-Switzerland."
"You can't be serious."
"I am." Now he was really panicking. Alex paced the floor, running his free hand through his hair. This couldn't be happening.
"I... I have to get on a plane. Right now. This is a thirteen hour flight, Peyton. I need details now." He paused, squeezing his eyes shut, running plans through his head. He needed to get there sooner. Faster. "How close is the car, Peyton?"
"Um... I don't know. Last time I saw it, it was circling the resort."
"That's too close," he whispered. "Peyton, I can get there in nine hours I think. Do you think you can hold up?"
"I hope so," she murmured. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. In nine hours a vampire hunter could kill everyone on that resort, go to a restaurant, get some icecream after, then still have time to kill about fifty more vampires.
"I wish I could talk to you on the plane, Peyton. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I-I'll be fine, Alex. Don't worry about me," she said quietly.
"Wait. Can you still do that telepathy thing? Where you.. say stuff in my head?"
"Oh. Yeah, I can."
"Update me while I'm in the air. Please. I'll die of anxiety." Alex was already in his room packing a few things in a duffel bag, light enough for a carry-on.
"I will. No problem."
"Thank you so much," he murmured, shoving his knife in an undetectable pocket in the bag. V.H.O.N. knew how to keep secrets. "Are you afraid?" he asked her in a whisper.
"Um. A little. I don't know. I just want you here."
"I'm sorry. Don't worry, Peyton. I'm coming as fast as I can."
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too. I'll see you... soon, Peyton. I promise." He hung up, and resumed packing. It didn't take much longer.
Alex grabbed his keys off the hook and jumped in his car. Soon he was speeding around the corner.
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Hunted
Jul 26, 2011 21:01:54 GMT -8
Post by Rani LeBel on Jul 26, 2011 21:01:54 GMT -8
Peyton hung up her cellphone and flopped onto her bed. Rani was still standing, oblivious to all.
"What's going on?" she asked again.
"Do you... know what V.H.O.N. is, Rani? Or V.H.O.W.?" A memory repeated inside her head. It was when Christian first met her, or rather Mikayla, in the Bloodheart. Next time you see a car that has four letters, V.H.O.N. or any other letter at the end, run. Don't go near it. Don't talk to the driver. Just run.
"Um, yeah, I have. Someone warned me not to go near cars marked like that. I don't know what they are."
"Vampire hunters," Peyton murmured.
"What? I thought those were only in movies."
"Nope. They're real." Rani sat down on the bed opposite her.
"That's what you saw outside, didn't you? You saw one of the cars."
"Yeah."
"Who were you just talking to?" she asked. Rani was all ears now.
"Um. A friend."
"A boyfriend, perhaps?" Rani added with a smirk.
"Uh..." Peyton sighed then. " This is kind of a secret, Rani. You can't tell anyone."
She grinned. "Of course I won't."
"You don't understand. He's my boyfriend, yeah, but... he's a vampire hunter, see? So, it would be pretty bad if anyone found out." Rani stared at her wide-eyed now.
"What? That doesn't make any sense at all. You can't date a vampire hunter, Peyton, because if you haven't noticed, you are a vampire."
Peyton frowned. "I know. But he's different now."
"He knows that you're a vampire?"
"Yeah."
"And he's coming here, isn't he?"
"Um... yeah."
"You do realize that you're bringing in a vampire hunter to get rid of another one."
Peyton groaned. "It's really complicated, Rani. Just don't tell anyone."
"Okay. I won't. What's his name?"
"Alex Rivern." Rani froze, remembering something else that Christian had said. And stay away from Alex Rivern. You're too pretty to have something happen to you.
"Um..." Rani said. "O-Okay."
"What?" Peyton raised an eyebrow at her.
"Someone told me to stay away from him as well."
"Who is this 'someone' that you keep talking about?"
"Christian Hale." Rani frowned. Peyton told her her secret. Maybe it was time to confide in someone.
"Oh really?"
"It's a long story."
Peyton glanced at the clock on her phone. "Well, we have about nine hours to kill."
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Hunted
Aug 19, 2011 20:55:22 GMT -8
Post by Peyton Schindler on Aug 19, 2011 20:55:22 GMT -8
Once Rani had started talking, it was hard for her to stop, Peyton could tell. She went on for about two hours. It was a long story, but Peyton was glad for some distraction. She couldn’t help the anxiety that the current events were causing to her. It was maddening, really.
Rani finally came to a stop. She was staring at her hands, which were clasped together so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. “So,” Peyton began, “you and Christian, huh?” She smirked at Rani.
“I guess. Well, not me. Mikayla.” Her eyes turned a dark shade of green.
“I’ve always wondered who that Eves girl was. I just expected her to be, you know, an actual person.” Rani sighed, and Peyton noticed the green fade into a deep blue.
“Peyton, what am I going to do?” she moaned. “I think he‘s in love with me, and he doesn’t even know me!”
Peyton frowned at her situation. It certainly wasn’t a good one. “You’re just going to have to tell him. The sooner the better.”
“What if he hates me?” Rani whispered, her head in her hands.
Peyton came to a sudden realization then. It was almost obvious now. “You… you love him, don’t you, Rani.” Then she noticed little tears in her friend’s eyes.
“I do,” was all she answered with.
The next hour was filled with bitter silence.
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Hunted
Aug 20, 2011 21:07:27 GMT -8
Post by Rani LeBel on Aug 20, 2011 21:07:27 GMT -8
Rani had never felt so miserable in her life. All she wanted was to change the subject. So after a long time of quiet, they made small talk for a long time. It was mostly stuff about how things were at Westbrook, or things like their past, before going to school.
It was nice to talk about stuff that just wasn’t about drama or some other issue. Sure, pretty much everyone Rani knew, including herself, had some sort of problem that could be life-altering, but that was okay. Right?
For now it had to be.
“I think Alex will be here soon,” Peyton piped into her thoughts. “The plane should be landing.” Rani hadn’t realized how long they had been sitting in that room. Had it already been that many hours? She checked her phone. Four missed calls. Two from Jade. One from Melanie. Another from Jared.
Everyone must have been looking for them. Suddenly, Peyton’s phone rang. She picked it up, jumping off the bed, nearly yelling, “Alex?!”
Rani heard the voice on the other end of the phone. “Alex? What are you talking about, Peyton?”
“Oh. Hi, Jade,” she answered coolly.
“Where are you? And where’s Rani?”
“She’s with me. Nothing to worry about.”
“Are you busy?”
“Yes.” Peyton’s words were short and clear.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go out to dinner with Jared, Melanie, and Damien. You two can come if you want.”
“No thanks. We’re okay.”
“Um. All right. See you later, bye.”
“Bye.” Peyton hung up by pressing a button on her phone, and flopped back onto the bed. Rani was about to say something when Peyton’s phone rang once more.
“Um, hello?” She was much more hesitant this time. Rani also couldn’t hear the speaker’s voice this time. After a few minutes of her listening, Peyton said, “Okay. See you soon.” Then, she hung up again.
Rani waited patiently for her to tell her what was going on. “Alex is at the airport. He’ll be here in around ten minutes.” Rani nodded and sat quietly still. She still wasn’t too sure about this whole “vampire hunter” business. Could she trust this Alex Rivern? She trusted Peyton, didn’t she?
“He said that we had to stay in here until he called me again.” She frowned, and Rani could tell that she didn’t like to wait around in the sidelines.
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Hunted
Jan 14, 2012 22:12:48 GMT -8
Post by Alex Rivern on Jan 14, 2012 22:12:48 GMT -8
Alex had never been to Switzerland before, and he had to admit that the idea of it had never come to mind. Why would he ever even go there? He shook the thought away, because now he was working at the job he knew how to do best.
When he drove up to Schindler Resort in his traditional black car, Alex couldn’t believe that Peyton’s family owned the place. He had heard about wealthy vampire families who could afford bodyguards and mansions and would even go so far as to get involved in human politics. Maybe Peyton’s family was like that.
He could feel the cold weather sinking in through his windows, like an irritating reminder of reality. Alex didn’t really know what he was getting into. He didn’t even know how he was going to pull it off. It was hard enough keeping the Committee off his back without directly attempting to cease an investigation. If he was lucky, maybe this vampire hunter wasn’t too bright, or was new at his job. Alex had to admit that sometimes he would abuse his high position in the institute, but only so far as to maybe get a few favors, things that were too small for the Committee to notice. This was so different. This was big, especially since they already believed that he was losing his touch.
Was he losing his touch? At his height, Alex was among the most respected vampire hunters in the country. People knew him wherever he went. Now that he knew Peyton, he was so much more distant to the people he once knew very well. Things were changing in his life.
Now, Alex parked his car along the fence that encircled the resort. The gates were open. As soon as he had walked in, he saw the car that Peyton had told him about, and fortunately, the man that he was seeking out was standing right beside it. He wore a long heavy coat and appeared to be talking to someone on the phone. Maybe he hadn’t gone inside yet.
“Excuse me!” Alex called, once he was within shouting distance. “Sir, may I speak with you?” The man spun on his heel, quite alert, and stared at Alex with a flustered expression. Alex stopped in his tracks. The man was all too familiar.
“Alex, is that you?” the man said. Alex nodded, not replying. The man seemed taken aback as he hung up his cell phone. “I haven’t seen you in years! I’ve called a couple times, but you never pick up, so what’s the point anyway?” The man chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.
When Alex didn’t respond, he eyed him carefully. “You all right? You seem a little stiff.”
“Yes, I’m… fine, I suppose. Nice to see you again, Genie.” Alex managed a faint smile. The Committee had put his best friend on the Westbrook Investigation. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was done on purpose.
Maybe it would be easier this way, though. Friends did each other favors. “What brings you to Switzerland?” Genie asked.
“Um, vacation. A friend recommended this resort to me.”
“The Committee gave you a vacation, eh? What I’d give to be in your shoes. They’ve been working me to the bone for months. Exhausting, I tell you. So who’s this friend?”
“They, uh, go to Westbrook,” he blurted out. Wrong move, Rivern, he thought bitterly.
“What a coincidence. The entire school flew down here.”
“They did?” Alex feigned surprise, hoping to cover up his last mistake.
“Yeah, you’re friend didn’t tell you?”
“No, he uh… didn’t mention it.”
“Hmph.” Genie paused for a moment, probably tying together different pieces of his story. Alex had to think fast to distract him.
“So, um, what’re you on assignment for?”
“Oh, the Committee wanted me to keep an eye on that Westbrook Academy. There’ve supposedly been strange reports and observations. I was patrolling them for a bit when they went on a school-wide ski trip, so I thought I’d tag along. Just to be safe.” Alex nodded.
“Okay.” An awkward hesitation arose. “Listen, Genie, um… why don’t you head back to Portland?” His friend raised his eyebrows. “I can keep an eye out while I’m here, and that way you won’t miss anything that’s happening down in Oregon.” Genie seemed to be thinking it over. Alex’s heart was pounding as he held his breath. This had to work.
“Sounds like a good idea, I think. I hate this weather here, and you always liked to work at all hours. I’ll never understand your addiction to this job, Rivern. You work harder than anyone in the institute.” Alex managed another grin. This was going to work. “Well, I’ll let you have your job, Alex. Thanks for the help.” They shook hands and Genie made his leave. Alex did remember that about him, the way he despised the winter.
For the first time after years of isolation, Alex began to understand the importance of friendship. Friendship came with knowledge and power and connections, things that kept him alive in this dangerous game. If he were to keep on the good side of the Committee, he would have to stay in touch with Genie. A crisis had been averted, for now.
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