That evening.
The sky hung like crushed velvet, a deep indigo that still held the memory of daylight at its edges, stars beginning to pierce through the darkness like silver claws breaking skin.
Even though it was relatively warm, a campfire was set up and the brothers, Helena, Shawn, Nina, and Marcus were gathered around it.
"Why didn't you tell us about trial by human before?" Helena asked both Nicole and Marcus.
"Well, I thought Marcus would have demanded it himself." Nicole explained. "Turns out he just wanted to see a fight to the death between your lovers."
Marcus sighed. "I wanted to see more passion in the fight. It would have led to better sex later on between these three."
"Amen to that." Damien said sipping his beer.
Helena sighed. Not at the thought of a threesome between her, Stephen, and Shawn, but at how the fight had become too serious and bloody.
"We must focus on what's ahead." Nina said.
Helena nestled against Damien on their shared blanket, her shoulder pressed against the solid warmth of his chest, his arm draped possessively around her waist.
The firelight danced across his sharp jawline, casting his face in amber shadows that made his eyes gleam like a predator's in the darkness.
She traced idle patterns on his thigh with her fingertips as they both gazed into the hypnotic flames, momentarily at peace despite the tension still lingering in the air.
"Nina is right." Nicole said. "Where is this boy you mentioned?"
"Ray." Shawn said.
"We haven't heard from him in weeks." Stephen added.
"Not only did we not hear from him." Helena said. "We didn't even think about him with all this going on. And he is one of my best friends."
Helena started sobbing but both of her lovers hesitated before walking towards her. Luckily, Marcus was there to save the day.
"Hush now." He gently hugged Helena. "We'll find your friend."
Nicole cleared her throat clearly having been wanting to get to Helena first as she was the mother.
**
Harry had a pistol out.
They had just finished making love in front of Jenna.
Jenna and Ray laughed. "What kind of roleplay are we going for now?"
Harry didn't return their laughter. He didn't even crack a smile.
Jenna and Ray exchanged frightened glances.
**
They were in Damien's Impala but Helena was driving while Nicole and Nina were in the backseat.
"Hey, hey, slow down." Damien pleaded from the passenger seat.
"No time for that." Helena half-smiled.
She was extremely worried about Ray but luckily found his location via her magic powers. Although, it took a while almost as if a cloaking spell was being used to hide Ray.
"You're going to kill us all!" Nina screamed at the top of her lungs.
Nicole was surprisingly silent.
**
Harry made them put on handcuffs behind their backs while both laid down on their fronts on the massive bed.
"Harry I know you like being a top." Ray said looking behind at his boyfriend. "But this is going overboard."
"And why am I handcuffed?" Jenna asked. "You know I like to watch."
Harry snickered. "You guys still think you're in control here."
He was waving the gun like a madman, the black metal barrel catching the dim light as it sliced erratic patterns through the air, his finger twitching dangerously against the trigger while his eyes burned with an unhinged gleam that neither Ray nor Jenna had ever seen before.
**
Helena slammed the Impala to a halt in front of the abandoned warehouse, tires screaming against cracked asphalt. The building loomed before them—a hulking silhouette of rusted metal and shattered windows that gaped like hungry mouths in the moonlight.
Faded graffiti crawled across its concrete facade like neon scars, while chains hung limp from padlocked doors that hadn't opened in years. The air around it felt wrong—electric and thick with the unmistakable copper tang of blood magic.
"Ray is definitely inside." Helena said getting out of the car."
"Are you sure?" Nina asked.
They were running behind her.
Helena and Damien slammed open the colossal front door of the warehouse. The fluorescent lights inside turned on automatically revealing only two figures on metallic chairs, in the center of the vast room, with weird helmets on. There were tubes connecting their helmets to a single machine.
Both Ray and Jenna had their eyes and mouths closed. As if they were dreaming.
"Jenna?!" Damien exclaimed in shock.
She was the last person they expected to find here alongside Ray.
There was a third chair and a helmet with a tube sticking out from it was placed there.
"I've got an idea." Nina said.
She was the smartest one in the group with a Masters in Computer Science.
**
Harry was tired of Ray's bickering so he knocked him out cold with a whack to the head with his gun.
"What are you doing?" Jenna tried breaking free but even her supernatural strength was nothing against these handcuffs.
Harry was busy trying to unbuckle his belt. "Oh, how I cherished this moment, Jenna."
"What are you talking about?" She lifted herself and was reclining at the bed now facing Harry directly.
The handcuffs didn't budge.
Harry had finally unlocked his belt and was going for the zipper on his pants.
"You're not gay?" Jenna asked.
"I'm bisexual." Harry declared with a devilish grin on his face. "But it's been a while since I fucked a girl. That too, as sexy as you."