Alex and Autumn came with me to Forest Park. I showed them the body of the old elder… the strongest of all those beneath the city, except for Hunger herself. Now he lay equally as dead as her husk of caverns beneath the city.

  After a few minutes of explaining what I needed, the two went to work in the fading darkness of the night as dawn approached. They both vibrated with an internal power that hummed into existence. A buzz pierced the area as they both let loose a still unexplainable psychic power that changed physical material into something they could consume. I watched for minutes as Alex and Autumn’s forms shifted slightly, back and forth as they hovered through the air above the pooling corpse.

  Alex and Autumn’s physical appearances rippled like an old holographic card. One second, they were themselves, and the next, they were something different. It went like that the whole time they fed on the elder's body. Red crimson streams of intangible energy lifted from the remnants of the ancient shifter’s body, feeding the women as the body slowly dissipated.

  It was amazing how much they could consume without stopping, filling their hunger, and stuffing their reserves with power in a way, I'm sure no monsters had ever done before.

  There were differences, though. Alex was only converting the blood. I could tell because when I looked at the corpse, I saw that as the flesh and muscle disintegrated, all the particles shifted into a reddish energy, wafting over toward Autumn.

  It couldn’t be understood with a human mind. I think a lot of what I was witnessing was only possible through the feelings I got through the knowledge and power of the Primeval nature of my body. But I was certain that Alex was still only consuming blood, but Autumn was consuming both blood and flesh. However, neither of them consumed the bones. Not like Hunger had done in that vision.

  It begged the question… why was Autumn different than Alex? Was it a choice on Alex’s side to not become even more monstrous, and stick solely to blood, or was it that Autumn had become something different than her creator?

  However, once they were finished, all that was left was a large area, maybe thirty yards in diameter, that had random bones scattered and strewn about. I did my best to gather the largest of these bones and sling them over into a body of water in Forest Park. They sank to the bottom of the pond, never to be seen again… hopefully.

  After their assistance, they both returned to Alex’s apartment. Autumn had calmed, especially after the feeding frenzy, and was quietly thankful that we had been reunited. She was also extremely thankful and respectful toward Alex. It was a strange dynamic to watch between the three of us.

  However, the link between Alex and me was… harder to understand. There was still the same bond of extreme connection we had forged over the short burst of time, but it was all… twisted up now beyond explanation. I knew Alex must think she might become second fiddle now… but that just wasn’t true. But even I couldn’t deny… this was going to be tough to navigate. The timing of everything… the complications with the curse, Patrick, and everything that followed had really fucked up the small life I had formed with these two.

  I knew that Alex and I would have a long conversation very soon… but for now, it had to wait. Alex took Autumn back to the apartment, walking under the first rays of sunlight, back to their safe haven. That’s when we split up, and I began hunting down Autumn’s family with my senses.

  I stood just on the border of the tree line, watching the empty home, waiting. Carter and Eleanor were gone, Frank, Jane… nobody. The massive family property was empty and desolate. There wasn't a single soul left… they had all gone out somewhere.

  In just a few short minutes, I had located them all with waves of pulse from my Primeval senses. They were all close together and moving in vehicles. They would stop in certain locations across the city, get out, and move around on foot. They moved in unison, all vehicles moved, and when they got out, all people moved in groups that reminded me of when I saw them out on a hunt. They were hunting for something… searching for someone. For Autumn.

  I could feel an intensity in them, not just Eleanor and Carter, but even Frank and Clara. It was something so profound that I could feel it through my senses as the waves of pulse rolled over them and came back to me. The thought of their sweet Autumn out there alone and afraid in a dark world, twisted and changed by dark powers, left them shaking with purpose.

  I stayed in the woods by their house, waiting for their inevitable return. I did monitor them closely, however. Making sure that they did not veer towards the apartments where both Alex and Autumn had returned. They couldn’t see her yet, because I had to prepare them for her. I had to help her… after I had let her down already… putting my head in the fucking sand and focused on the things of Death. I had to do this for her.

  There was one point where it seemed like Carter and Eleanor were getting close to Alex’s downtown apartment, heading towards that side of town. But eventually they turned back. Not even thinking of the anthropophagous vampire… elder… primeval… whatever she was, apartment as somewhere Autumn could be. Martin must not have told them about her apartment. So that meant that he must really be struggling with the shift in the hunger the monsters felt now.

  A little while later, as I stood in the darkness of the tree line, headlights cut through the trees as I watched them coming down the long road, cloaked in the veil of treetops. It was daytime now, but the shadows down this road were thick enough to blot out most of the light in certain areas. The lights did glance over my figure, but it was nothing that would give me away. I was just another tall, dark figure in a sea of tree trunks, camouflaged by the greenery and foliage.

  The black SUV rolled steadily into the driveway, followed by Frank's truck, and followed by a third vehicle I didn't recognize. It was a large lifted truck, all black paint, blacked out windows, and even black rims. It looked like something I'd see more often back home in Texas, but here it was. I could sense the people in it, but I just didn't recognize them.

  The black SUV pulled up and into the garage, leaving the big door folded open behind them. Frank and Jane pulled up in his old rusty truck just outside the garage. The large jacked-up truck pulled up beside Frank, and a whole slew of people got out. It was a much older man with a dark-haired wife. Three girls with the same pitch-black hair got out of the truck, all looking obviously related. The older man walked up calmly to Carter.

  “We'll find her, son, we just have to keep on looking. We won't give up,” he was trying to lift Carter’s spirit.

  Carter nodded in exhaustion, his face tired and strained, his dirty blond hair disheveled from fear and anguish, and a five o’clock shadow sat on his face with a haggard appearance. Eleanor was a ghost of her former self, not saying anything, only walking inside and leaving everyone else out by the cars. She was silent… and alone. She didn’t look as rough physically, but she looked pale and colorless. It seemed like she just didn’t care about anything else other than finding Autumn.

  I saw Jane and Frank give each other a worried glance, watching Eleanor walk away silently into the house. Jane, surprisingly, was the one who stepped off and went inside after her. I could sense Jane meet her in the kitchen, Eleanor already pouring a glass of wine, so just to feel something other than all the pain she was feeling at the moment. Jane tried to hug her, to talk her into a better mindset, that this wasn't the end. It wasn't over, and they would find Autumn, no matter how dark it seemed right now.

  I shifted my attention from them quickly, turning my gaze to the garage. Allen and Eloise stepped out, still lingering in the SUV that Carter and Eleanor had gotten out of. She looked like she had been trying to calm him down. His animalistic side slipped, not able to control it like she could with this increase of hunger. She just seemed to naturally keep her shit together, while Allen was struggling. Or maybe it was just how hard everything was hitting him with his sister. The werewolf curse was always straining at the edges, and now was the perfect time for the beast to find a chink in his armor. Especially while pushing so much more hunger to consume flesh as the wolf.

  All they knew was that Autumn was out there in the world, transformed into some kind of vampire. They just wanted to find her, they all did, and make sure that she was all right, and not turning into some kind of monster that they would have to put down.

  I could sense it. They feared that she would become something they would have to hunt down for the greater good. I knew that was the thought playing in the back of all of their minds. Would they have to kill their own daughter… sister… friend? Would they find her, only to discover that they had to put another monster down? It was unspoken, but written across the silence between words.

  What would they do exactly if she turned into something unrecognizable? If she began to slip into the power and pull of the creature, and she took lives from the world, if she became everything that they swore to hunt down and kill, could they do the right thing? It was the worst-case scenario, but I knew it haunted their minds.

  Allen and Eloise started moving towards the door inside the garage that led to the inside of the house. The strangers I didn't know also headed inside, except for the old man. He stood with Frank and Carter. I heard the door close behind me, and I made my move.

  I melded with the shadows, flashing across the distance in a silent streak. My new Primeval body, more attuned to the power of both Annihilation and Death, made this kind of thing instinctual. I appeared on the other side of the large jacked-up truck. Silently arriving close to them. I had been focusing inward to try and conceal my power and presence. I didn't sense any Wicklows present, though I did sense a familiar tone in a few of the unknown people with them.

  I tried to be careful just in case. With the Wicklows, you never knew exactly how far they could see, and what exactly they would feel. These people might be similar.

  Wreathed in shadows, I stepped out from around the truck, making my presence known to them. I didn't want to scare them, so I tried to direct a little bit of my aura in their direction, so they could feel awareness as I approached.

  Carter turned to face me pretty quickly, but not with a reaction like he was afraid. Almost like there was recognition in it. The older man, however, reached for a gun holstered on his back where Carter usually kept his blade. I thought it was a strange place for a gun… but whatever.

  Carter spoke out, trying to break the tension before things escalated for them. ‘Wait…”

  His face was unrecognizable up close, the tired anguish and grief zapping his life away. His eyes were dull, and he carried bags beneath them. It was the embodiment of defeat.

  Frank spoke out first in total disbelief, “Sam…” He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was astonishment, like he couldn’t believe it.

  “Sam… you’re alive?” Carter seconded, just as in disbelief as Frank.

  No one moved for a second. Everyone just stood in place, observing me and taking in the surroundings. No one knew what to believe anymore.

  The older man looked even more wary at the mention of my name. His stance relaxed, but his grip never released from the gun at his hip. He looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle inside his mind, like even if I was who they said I was, he didn’t believe it. They all must’ve really believed Alex about what she saw.

  Carter walked slowly toward me. I'm not sure what he was going to do. Right as he got to me, he grabbed me tightly and hugged me, pulling me in as close and tight as he could. He gripped me in a way that was frantic with need, like I could help him, or at least, he prayed I could.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “She's gone, Sam …she's not here anymore.” His words were heartbreaking. The defeated words of a father who’d lost his daughter. The one thing he was supposed to protect more than anything else. His girl was gone… dead… resurrected as a monster… and fled. He just needed to find her and make sure that, in this new life she had, she wasn’t alone. That she would be safe.

  “I know,” I said to him. “But I know where she is…”

  Carter pulled back from me to look me in the eyes. There was a sharp need to ask where, but he could sense I came here for more than just leading him to his daughter.

  “Maybe we should go inside…” I suggested.

  Thankfully, they all agreed, and we entered their home. They got me inside as quickly as possible, trying to pry the information out of me without hesitation.

  I had spent the whole day with the Chasse’s after that, speaking about all the things that I had been involved with during our time apart. I spoke vaguely about the pits, not giving too much information to them so they’d remain safe in their ignorance. I did talk about my power growth and that it was linked to when Alex thought I died, but I didn’t tell them the truth. The simple fact was that they didn’t need to know about it. Those were my problems. I stuck mostly to the curse and what had happened with Autumn since the transformation. I pretty much relayed everything Alex and Autumn had told me themselves.

  It felt weird, telling a story about times when I wasn't even there. I was dead in the ground… or in the fields, I guess; regaining a body born of a Primeval heart.

  After a few hours of explanation, they were all caught up, and we were going over the last few tidbits of info that had led me to their house once again.

  “So… Alex was injecting Autumn… just in case the curse won out,” Eleanor spoke her understanding out loud. She wasn't angry about it, she just said it factually.

  “I don’t think she did it more than once. She said she knew that it wasn't going to end well. She only did it as the last line of defense. She didn’t want her life to be snuffed out by Peter Grimwood… just like hers was stolen from her so long ago. But to do it… it took a lot out of Alex. She never wanted to make another.” I tried to explain the gravity of what Alex did, and that it wasn't just something she did that meant nothing. Alex had sacrificed something inside of herself to do it… and she was changed.

  They all nodded, understanding, if only partially, that Autumn should be dead. What Alex did only gave them more time with their daughter, and they couldn’t hate her for that.

  “She’s different, though… not just some vampire. Not even another anthropophagous vampire like Alex. She’s kind of…” I searched for the right word. “New…”

  Frank shifted in his seat at my words. He seemed unsettled by something, but wouldn’t speak it out yet. He glanced at Jane, who didn’t look back, only listening to my words.

  “New… like how?” Chris asked.

  I thought about how I should say this, choosing my words carefully.

  “Alex wasn't just a special kind of vampire when she injected Autumn with her blood. She was down in the pits with me before that. I killed something down there. Something with power like you’ve never seen. It was an elder… but the elders were… that was just another name for them. It held a fraction of power from something far older than itself… that's what made it an elder.”

  “Like what?” Wayland asked about Hunger, though he didn’t realize it.

  “Something that… you really don’t need to worry yourself with. It’s dead,” I assured. “All the rest of the elders have a piece of this same type of power. That’s what sets them above the rest of the monsters in this city. That’s how they control… make the rules. They have the power to back it up.” I tried to paint a picture for them. “When I killed that elder, that piece of power went into Alex. She was changed in ways you wouldn’t understand, but you’ve seen how she can walk in the daylight, right?” I asked.

  Carter nodded, but didn’t say a word. Almost everyone else in the room mirrored his reactions.

  “Autumn doesn’t have that same level of power in her, but she’s a similar version of what Alex has become; a lesser version. As far as I can tell, at least. They are very similar, but different too.” I remembered their feeding habits and how Alex was still only consuming the blood with her strange psychic method of feeding. “But even without that relic of power inside of her, Autumn is… extremely powerful. She can do shit you wouldn’t believe unless you saw it. Not to mention the increase in hunger. Do you know about that, yet?” I asked Carter.

  “Yes,” Carter nodded. “Martin’s made me aware.” Carter motioned across the room to his old friend. “He stayed far from us for a while, hunting for Autumn on his own. He says it’s the worst he’s ever felt. Even worse than when he was brand new.”

  I looked at Martin and waited to see if he’d say anything… but he didn't. He just stayed silent, but was always present. I could tell he was struggling to be here… but he had to be. He wouldn’t let something happen to the family because he couldn’t control himself. He had to make sure they were safe.

  Martin stayed away from them all in a way I had never witnessed with him. Before, he was warm and elderly, like a grandfather guiding his newer generations along with his sage wisdom and advice. Now… he was like a strung-out half-brother or something. It was still him, but you could see the look on his face. His dark face was weary with constant bombardment. The hunger gnawed at him differently, and he was struggling. He was holding himself at bay… obviously, but he wasn't as cool and composed as usual. But… even I had to admit, I had no worries that he would slip with the Chasse family. It was hard to explain… but I just knew.

  I think a part of it was because he knew about Charles’ death. I just hoped he didn’t realize yet that I had killed him. That would be… complicated.

  Eleanor sat closer to the edge of the padded sitting chair as she asked, “Is that something to do with you? The change in their hunger?”

  I looked over at her and saw the wonder and confusion in her eyes. She still saw me… the guy she used to think of as a son in some ways, the one who saved her life… trading my own… but there was something else in her eyes now. It wasn't fear, but it was as close to fear as you could get without losing the connection we shared. I think it might have had something to do with my new existence… this Primeval body. The only thing truly human left in me was my mind and soul. Everything physical, even if I looked completely human, was, in fact, Primeval. I couldn’t blame them for feeling the way they did about Annihilation in the flesh. It was probably something instinctual that even they didn’t understand.

  I nodded, but didn’t say more. I hoped they would understand what that meant and drop it.

  “Alex and Autumn aren’t just normal supernaturals like Martin. Even though their hunger has grown with the rest, they’re… more controlled. Alex is… unyielding in her mental control, and with her behind Autumn, she’ll learn that same mentality. But… as you can imagine… she’s scared.”

  “Scared of what… of who?” Elanor asked like a Ford-tough momma-bear who was ready to throw down at the elementary school because a bully was messing with her kid. She actually stood up, ready to fight something, if only I would point her in a direction. She didn’t care who it was; she just wanted her daughter back.

  I took a slow breath, not for myself, but so it wouldn’t come off any other way than the truth of it.

  “Of what you will think of her,” I said it to Eleanor, but it was directed at everyone. Before they could even begin to protest and say everything I knew they would say, I said, “But… we talked, and she’s not going to go running off. She wants to come home… she just needed me to come here first. Kind of… prepare the way… explain as much as possible so it's as easy for her as it can be.”

  “Of course, we want her back. After everything that happened with the curse… we just need our daughter back… vampire or otherwise. It doesn’t matter what she is,” Carter barely choked out. “We just… I just… need her!” Tears overflowed his eyes, and he started to break down again.

  Eleanor moved to him quickly, wrapping him in her warm embrace. She didn’t say it, but the tears streaming down her face were all that was needed to show just how much she felt the same. These were two parents brought to the edge, yet again, only wanting their family back, no matter how the world had damaged them.

  I knew this… all of it. There was no need for me to say or imply any of this again, as we had already spoken about similar things throughout the day. The Chasse family probably all thought I had become some kind of asshole for saying certain things I had said in our time together. But I was doing it for a reason, almost drawing it out of Carter, Eleanor, and all of them, airing their thoughts in the open… spoken out loud. I was doing that so Autumn would hear… because she was near. I needed her to hear directly from the source… feel their pain and need for her.

  I had already heard their footsteps from out in the woods. Alex and Autumn were here. I think once Martin had shown up, heard the story, and understood how Autumn and Alex were bonded, he must have reached out to her. I saw him on a cell phone texting, so I figured it was Alex.

  Mine, Jane’s, and Martin's heads shifted ever so slightly as we all heard words whispered from the woods.

  “She’s ready. We’re coming in,” Alex said from the cover of trees.

  What happened next was something I felt like I shouldn’t have been a part of. Not because I didn’t feel welcome, but because of how raw and emotional all of this was for their family. Not only that, but it hit me harder than I was prepared for. Once it happened, I felt like I almost faded away… like I existed in the house… but didn’t at the same time.

  They came to the door, opened it, and entered the house. I almost felt like I was watching a silent movie play out. The reunion was soul-shaking. Seeing Carter and Eleanor break down in tears over seeing Autumn… their daughter… it was hard. Watching Autumn return… see her face when she wrapped her arms around her mother, and Eleanor’s arms around Autumn… it was… I don’t know. I felt ashamed… oddly enough.

  Eleanor even wrapped Alex in a squeeze so tight I thought the redhead would have to pry Eleanor off her. She let her hug her, though. It was foreign for Alex to have a human touching her, but it was something she handled well. She usually puts so much distance between herself and humans, so this was all new to her again. She used to actively campaign against me being so close to the Chasse family; now look at her. It wasn’t her doing, but she was being drawn into them. When everything else they tried had failed, it was something Alex did to save Autumn. Sure, she wasn't the same Autumn she was before, but it was still her at her core. Alex saved her… not me. That hit me… and it made me take a step back.

  As I stood in a dark corner of their house, I felt shame wash over me. The thought of this being my family… and this being the moment I came back to them to show them all that I was okay, played across my mind. Watching them all accept Autumn, knowing what she was, knowing there would be problems they’d have to sort out… but beyond willing to face those problems together; it made me feel like I had failed somewhere… a long, long time ago. Why had I been so scared of how my family… my real family would react?

  Sure, there was a time when I stayed away for their safety, but now… I was just hiding. This could have been what happened when I went back. Or it could have been the opposite. I’d never know… unless I got the balls to go back… just like Autumn did.

  I gazed around the room and took stock of the surroundings. I saw Autumn sitting on the couch, looking completely unchanged as she sat in her parents' house. It was her outer appearance that struck me for a moment; her brown eyes matched dark brown hair that hung down to her mid-back. Her muscles were the same size as before, but somehow seemed stronger as the striations in her exposed arms were visible as she twisted her arms around people for hugs. The monster waited just beneath the surface… waiting for the hunger to overwhelm her. But… I knew it wouldn’t. Even this stronger hunger had dispersed across the city. She had it under control.

  Seeing everyone else just so thankful to have her back… I wanted that. I wanted this to be my family… to see my mom and dad, my twin brother, my sisters… Vicky and Caydee; I wanted this to be them. More than ever before… I wanted to go home. I felt like… I felt like I could…

  Alex spoke quietly with Martin. I could hear them speaking about the changes in the hunger’s intensity, and how they are adapting. They stayed further away from the rest of the family, giving them distance for multiple reasons.

  Carter and Eleanor sat on both sides of Autumn, just thankful to have her in their arms again. Clara, Wayland, and Frank were filling chairs around the couch, giving her space and not wanting to bombard her, but also taking stock of her. They were watching to see if they could notice the changes. They knew it was her, but they also knew they would have to treat her with a different regard, at least until this all became normal for them.

  Jane sat near Frank, but she wasn't looking at Autumn. She was looking out the window. It was dark outside, the moon sitting high in the sky above the tree line. Her jaw was clenched, and she looked like she was sensing something.

  I glanced out the window and quickly sent a pulse of my senses into the tree line behind the house. Nothing was there. I sent it again, feeling the vague outlines of trees, bushes, and the few stray animals. Other than that, though… nothing. I glanced back at Jane, her tall, muscular frame looked tense amid everyone else's ease. While the rest of the family looked inward with thanks and hope at not completely losing Autumn, Jane was in a completely separate world.

  Randomly, Jane’s dark eyes shifted from the window. Her shoulder-length black hair shimmered in the moonlight that crept in through the window. As she turned, she met my gaze. She jolted just slightly as we connected eyes, not expecting to see me staring at her.

  I stared into her eyes for a moment, trying to convey that I knew something was up, and then I motioned with a nod to follow me outside to the back patio.

  I steadily and silently moved out of the living room, through the kitchen, and out the back door to the covered patio. I walked all the way to the end of the table and sat down at the single seat at the end. My back was turned to the woods where I knew she was staring before. I wanted to watch her eyes as we talked to see if there was something out there she kept focusing on, or if this was a more internal thing she was focusing on, and just mindlessly staring into the woods. My intuition, however, told me it was something in the real world that I couldn’t sense.

  As silently as Jane could, her tall, muscular frame exited the house, and she walked under the covering of the patio. She moved like a predator… slow… steady… and fatal. She wasn't looking at me like prey… but she was moving with a certain swagger that told me she was priming her inner beast.

  Everyone else was too distracted with Autumn to notice us both slip away, and in the seclusion of the backyard, I asked Jane a question.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jane clenched her teeth… and began.