Beasts of Pennsylvania - | The Nature of the Beast |
24

Charlie raced downstairs as quickly as possible to the holding cells in the basement. He ran so quickly, he passed by the cell Anderson remained in. He didn’t realize it and his attention was taken off of Anderson when he heard the voice of another.

“What could you possibly be looking for in a time like this?” A feminine voice spoke. Charlie turned to his right, finding Marina sitting in a chair with a bored expression on her face, and a cigarette in hand. His lip curled at the sight of her, not expecting she’d be the one he’d find down here. He didn’t bother hiding his distaste for the woman. Charlie could admit that he at times was annoying, whiney, and maybe even bitchy. But deep down, he believed there was no one as annoying, whiney, and bitchy as Marina.

“Nothing of your concern.” Charlie spat.

“I was just trying to help! Also, why aren’t you upstairs defending the compound and fighting off those mutant freaks?” Marina asked, pointing above them.

“Because, I need to find something. And, why aren’t you up there fighting them?” Charlie asked in an irritated tone. She then scoffed at him.

“Because, I pay very good money to get my talons done weekly and I am not going to mess them up for something as little as this.” Marina responded in an obvious tone. Charlie bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t believe her. Their situation wasn’t little. In fact, for the first time in a long time, he was terrified of what the outcome would be.

“We’re at war, Marina! This is much more serious than all of the disputes we’ve had over the years with witches and ghouls! I am in danger, you are in danger, and The King is in danger!” Charlie exclaimed but Marina didn’t budge, knowing of the situation they were all in. She simply didn’t care.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think you are worth ruining a perfectly good set of nails!” Marina exclaimed. Charlie huffed.

“Well then, what about yourself, huh? Or Dean?” Charlie asked. Marina pouted her lips as she sat there in thought. She didn’t want anything to happen to herself nor to Dean. While she knew she didn’t like Dean, romantically speaking at any point in their time together, she did grow fond of him despite him not showing much interest in her. She could recall very few times Dean actually let her in and let her see who he really was. She knew that Dean was someone worth fighting for.

“Who’ll watch Anderson?” Marina asked, seemingly agreeing with fighting in the war. Charlie frowned before taking a few steps back to find Anderson in one of the holding cells. Anderson sat with a bored expression, waiting to be noticed. Charlie opened his mouth to speak to him when he heard footsteps headed their way. He quickly sped over to Marina, took her in his arms, sped the two of them behind a corner of another hallway, and covered her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet. She rolled her eyes at him but allowed it. Charlie listened closely, trying to make out voices, breathing patterns, footstep patterns, anything. Whoever was approaching them made sure to be dead silent, letting Charlie know they were experienced. Charlie mentally prepared himself before speeding over and tackling the first individual he saw to the ground.

“Ow, Charlie! That hurt!” Davina grunted from beneath Charlie. Catrice, who formally stood beside her, snickered.

“At least it wasn’t me.” Catrice spoke. When Charlie realized the person beneath him was his dearest friend, he didn’t bother getting off. He instead wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Davina gasped softly, not expecting Charlie to hug her. She then patted him lightly on the back a few times with one of her hands, but used the other to wedge between her and Charlie.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You’ve missed me. Please get off of me, now.” Davina begged. After a moment, Charlie complied before helping her up off of the floor.

“The next time you sneak off for any reason at all, you let one of us know, alright?” Charlie asked. Davina let out a laugh, not taking Charlie seriously.

“Got it, dad.” Davina joked.

“I’m serious, Davina.” Charlie said firmly, using her first name instead of one of the nicknames he made up for her. Her eyes caught his, seeing just how worried he had been. Charlie then let out a sigh. “You sure know how to put Dean and I through hell.” Charlie said, trying to lighten the mood. Davina let out a chuckle before giving Charlie a smile and wrapping her arms around him, properly hugging him this time.

“This is sweet and all, but haven’t we got something to do?” Marina asked in a slightly annoyed tone. The two pulled away, turning to face Catrice and Marina.

“Yes, we do.” Catrice agreed before turning to Marina, making the blonde raise a brow at her. “Dean has ordered me to gather up who I can to help defend the compound. I was hopeful that you’d help us, Marina.” Catrice then said. Marina shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, whatever. So long as I don’t lose a talon, I’ll do it.” Marina said, making Charlie roll his eyes. “We still don’t know who’s going to watch over Anderson.” Marina reminded them. Charlie then approached Anderson’s cell. Anderson watched as Charlie wrapped a hand around one of the steel bars, making him tilt his head at the beast before him.

“You don’t want Davina going with Vincent, right?” Charlie asked. Anderson stared up at him for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“I’d prefer it.” Anderson replied. Charlie remained silent before grinning widely.

“Great!” Charlie exclaimed before using his beast-like strength to rip the cell door off it’s hinges. Davina’s eyes widened. Despite spending quite a bit of time with the beasts, she had yet to see such strength be displayed. She clicked her tongue, realizing it was best she managed to get on each of the co-leader’s good sides.

“No, we are not-” Catrice started but Charlie cut her off by tossing the cell door in another direction, making her then let out a heavy sigh.

“Can I trust you to help us just this one time?” Charlie asked as Anderson approached him. Anderson stared at him for a moment before his eyes drifted over to Davina. He still felt it was necessary to do the ritual. But he knew the young woman didn’t want to choose that path. His eyes then landed back on Charlie. His mind became blocked off from anybody but him, giving him the opportunity to communicate what he couldn’t say out loud. The ritual must be done, Anderson thought. Charlie bit down on his lip before letting out a sigh and holding his hand out. Anderson smirked before shaking Charlie’s hand. Charlie knew he couldn’t make his beloved friend do this, and he wouldn’t make her. But he needed Anderson to believe that in this moment. The five of them took off down the hall, ready to defend the compound.

“Where are you going?” Niklaus called out as he struggled to fight off a mutant. Dean had begun heading out of the room already, but stopped for a moment when he heard Niklaus’s voice.

“To find the bastard that started all of this.” Dean growled before exiting the main room. He took off down the halls, beginning his search for Vincent. For the first time in a long time, he felt a fiery, burning rage within him. One he couldn’t put out. He was enraged Vincent would come after his people. He was enraged that Vincent un-consensually experimented on not only his beasts but other supernatural entities to fulfill his selfish, inhumane desires. And above all, he was enraged that Vincent was after the one person he was truly concerned about during this time; Davina. He had yet to understand why. He wondered if it was because she was the only human in this battle and wanted to protect her. He also wondered if it was because he knew Jackson, Charlie, and all of the beasts he cared for could take care of themselves. And of course, he wondered if it was just because of the alliance. He realized as he angrily searched throughout the place, that it was none of the above. He wouldn’t consider it was because he felt something more for the young woman, though. Eventually, Dean finished searching inside the mansion and exited out of the same door Davina arrived in earlier. When he entered the courtyard in the back of the mansion, he wasn’t expecting to find Sasha, Brayden, and Xavier currently in battle with some familiar faces. He stepped forward, gaining the attention of those around. Their enemies acted quickly and used their abilities to hold the beasts perfectly still with a painful, agonizing spell of some sort. The three beasts cried out, feeling the effects from the witches abilities.

“This is nothing personal, Dean. I’m sure you understand that.” Claudia spoke while Talia, Sabine, and Tabitha continued their hold on the beasts.

“What has he offered you?” Dean inquired through gritted teeth, knowing Vincent got to them.

“The safety of my coven in a city with the highest energy of them all; Salem. You know how us witches crave infinite power. There’s magic all throughout the city. But of course, after the Witch Trials, witches haven’t been allowed back into Salem. Vincent has offered us a place there with the protection of genetically modified witches.” Claudia revealed. “But my window is only open until the sun sets.” Claudia continued. Dean looked around, realizing the sun had almost set and that Claudia was running out of time.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, you see. Perhaps you’ll call your beasts off and let us through?” Claudia inquired, raising a brow to him.

“Through to do what?” Dean asked. Claudia then let out a small laugh, tilting her head to the side slightly.

“To retrieve Davina, of course.” Claudia responded. Upon hearing that, Dean’s breathing pattern became irregular. The rage had settled for a moment, but now returned.

“You knew her mother. You knew her when she was a child. You’d really give her up to that man?” Dean inquired, his eye twitching as he narrowed them at Claudia.

“Backstabbing, conniving, untrustworthy,” Claudia spoke, reminding Dean of the night they both met for the first time, how she used the same word to describe her kind, and now, herself. “beings.” Claudia finished. Dean inhaled sharpy before parting his lips to speak once more.

“I think you left out a few words.” Dean said, making Claudia hum in response.

“And what would those be?” Claudia asked.

“Foolish, forgetful, and inferior.” Dean said lowly. Claudia raised a brow at him before he sped over to her, slicing her throat open with his talons. She brought her hands around her throat in attempt to keep the blood from spewing, but ultimately failed. The sounds of her choking on her own blood and then falling to her knees made the witches let go of their hold on Sasha, Brayden, and Xavier. The witches were too in shock to process what had just happened. Sasha took advantage of this. With the snap of Sasha’s fingers, the three remaining witches started gasping out for air, eventually dropping to their knees, and lowering their heads.

“Chimera.” Talia wheezed out, lifting her head up to reveal her reddened face.

“What’d you call me?” Sasha asked in a harsh tone.

“Chimera. A creature that possesses the ability of two of the first six.” Talia continued. Sasha frowned, tilting her head in confusion. She wanted to ask more, but blood began to pour from the eyes and nose of Talia. Not long after, the three witches fell to the ground and the beasts could feel death lingering in the air. Xavier snickered.

“That was a little violent, even for you, don’t you think?” Xavier asked, nudging the arm of Sasha.

“It wasn’t intentional...” Sasha said, her voice trailing off as she spoke. She brought her hand up to her face, feeling something cold dripping down her lip. She lightly touched her lip, then examined her hand, finding crimson blood now staining her skin. Brayden wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her, though he himself and the others were deeply concerned.

“We’ll figure out what this means later, alright? Right now, we need to find the girl so that Vincent doesn’t get to her first.” Brayden said. Sasha let out a sigh before nodding her head. The three turned to their King.

“Charlie and I assumed Vincent had already gotten to her. We now know that isn’t the case and that she’s somewhere around here, which means she’s safe for the time being. We’ll head to the main room and come up with a plan there.” Dean spoke. The beasts nodded their heads in agreement before following him inside. They reached the main room to find his beasts all resting on the floor. Blood soaked just about every surface of the room and you could see what was remaining of deceased entities scattered along the floor. There were some that remained alive and well, however. It brought relief to Dean knowing he didn’t lose everybody. Niklaus let out a grunt as he stretched his limbs, cracking a few bones here and there.

“There were about fifteen genetically modified beasts in here when I left. Where’d they all go? Dean asked as he approached Niklaus while he was stretching.

“You’re looking at them.” Niklaus answered, motioning to the parts scattered all along the room. “At least what’s left of them.” Niklaus continued, patting his stomach a few times. Dean let out an amused huff.

“You ate your own kind?” Dean asked.

“Didn’t taste too great.” Niklaus replied. Dean shook his head at him and for the first time since knowing one another, and gave him a friendly smile. One that Niklaus returned almost immediately. The two then shook hands. A moment after, the door to the main room flew open. Almost immediately, Dean’s beasts reacted. Sasha, Brayden, and Xavier sped over taking hold of the individual that opened the door, and tackled him to the ground.

“Ow, ow!” Charlie screeched loudly, his voice echoing throughout the main room. “It’s me, guys! It’s me!” Charlie exclaimed.

“Coast is clear?” Catrice asked from inside the hallway, where she and the others remained hidden in case there was an enemy when they entered the room.

“It’s safe to come in, Catrice.” Dean called out to Catrice and whoever else was hiding in the hallway. Catrice peeked her head inside to double check. While she did so, Xavier lowered himself down onto the back of Charlie, while the other two released their hold on him. Charlie began kicking his feet around, struggling, and screaming at Xavier to get off of him. Xavier sat there, laughing, with no intentions of getting off of him any time soon. Catrice called the rest of Charlie’s group over. Davina, Marina, and Anderson followed after Catrice. The moment Dean spotted Davina, he wasted no time approaching her and embracing her tightly. Davina didn’t say a word either as she wrapped her arms around his middle, pressing her head in the middle of his chest. They both knew neither of them had to say any words. She knew he was worried about her. And he knew she was safe now and not in the hands of Vincent. After a moment, she pulled away to look at him. Dean fought the urge to brush the loose strands of hair out of her face. Davina, however, didn’t fight her urges. She gripped ahold of both of his shoulders, sighing in relief that he was in front of her again. Marina glared at the two of them, feeling jealousy take over her body. She wondered how Dean was able to look at Davina in a such way despite not knowing each other for long. She’d been trying to get Dean to look at her like that for so long. She accepted in this moment that it’d never happen. She could see something was going on between the two of them. After a moment, Dean and Davina pulled away from each other but remained side by side.

“Alright, everybody’s here? We’re all good?” Charlie asked as he straightened out his shirt that got wrinkled when he got tackled to the floor. Xavier had gotten off of him not long ago, but he was still very displeased with the young beast.

“For now, but Vincent intends to be here when the sun sets to take Davina.” Dean spoke. Davina frowned, having just learned this. Dean could feel her growing anxious but didn’t mention it. He did however lean close enough to let their hands brush against each other. He wasn’t sure if it’d be of any comfort, but he hoped it would. Little did he know, it did.

“We obviously can’t let that happen.” Anderson said, glancing over at Charlie, and reminding him of their deal. Charlie averted his gaze, knowing he didn’t intend to follow through with it.

“Alright, so what’s the plan, My King?” Brayden asked, making all turn to Dean. Dean thought for a moment before coming up with a decent plan.

“Niklaus and I saw what exactly we’re up against. I’m thinking we’re going to need all the help we can get. Davina, contact the organization and have them get here as quickly as possible. Charlie, gather up the rest of the beasts. Niklaus, gather up your ghouls.” Dean said as the three immediately followed orders. “We’ll take this outside. That way we’ll know when our enemies are coming.” Dean continued. Catrice, Marina, Anderson, Sasha, Brayden, and Xavier then started heading outside. Charlie led the beasts out and Niklaus did the same with his ghouls. Dean waited in the main room with Davina while she finished contacting Victor. Once she was finished, she shoved her phone in her pocket.

“Done.” Davina said as she tried to leave, but Dean’s hand on her wrist stopped her.

“I know you can defend yourself. But, please. Stay by my side the entire time.” Dean begged in a grave tone. Davina stared up at him for a moment, never once averting his intense gaze on her.

“I saw a banshee today. I was gone the entire day because she called me away to inform me that somebody dies tonight. And Catrice said that usually means a human...” Davina said, letting her voice trail off. Only when tears started prickling in her eyes did she avert them from Dean’s eyes. Almost immediately, he placed both hands on her shoulders, and lowered his head closer to her height. She then looked up at him.

“I won’t allow it. I promise you. You will not die tonight. Do you trust me?” Dean asked in the same, grave tone from before. Davina blinked a few times, unsure of how to respond. Because for the first time since meeting him, she felt what Jackson promised Dean she would feel. For only a moment did the word ‘love’ cross her mind as she thought of how she felt utterly safe around him. It quickly went away when Dean spoke once again.

“Do you trust me, Davina?” Dean repeated in a more firm tone. Davina swallowed a lump forming in her throat before nodding her head.

“I trust you completely.” Davina answered truthfully, making Dean feel relieved. Dean stared at her for a moment before nodding his head and removing his hands from her shoulders. The two exchanged one final glance before heading out of the main room to exit the mansion. Unbeknownst to either of them, in the foyer, their enemies waited for them. Due to not feeding properly, Dean’s hearing was impaired and he didn’t hear either of the two enemies enter the mansion. The moment they both stepped into the foyer, all hell broke loose. Dean was tackled by genetically mutated beast and ghoul. Davina pulled her gun out of her jacket pocket, ready to assist Dean, but once the gun was in her hand, it was kicked out. Davina winced and held onto her wrist before spinning in the direction the kick came from, finding Al leaned up against the wall.

“Hello, darling.” Al said, a bit of his southern accent kicking in as he spoke. Davina immediately narrowed her eyes on him, making him laugh. “Miss me?” Al teased, making Davina let out a scoff.

“You know I didn’t.” Davina growled, making Al pout before speeding behind her and wrapping his arms around her throat. She began gasping for air as he pulled her up off the ground, never once loosening his tight hold.

“This all could’ve been easy, darling. If you had just came along with Vincent and I, we wouldn’t be here right now, killing all of your friends. ” Al said, lowering his mouth to her ear. “They all could’ve been safe. We wouldn’t have touched them. You did this to them.” Al continued as Davina struggled in his arms, trying to wedge her fingers between her neck and his arms.

“Although, I will say. That friend of yours the other night at the club. The one who knocked me out? The one that didn’t hesitate to defend your honor?” Al said, letting out a laugh, and then pressing his cracked lips to the shell of her ear, making her shudder. “I still would’ve killed him.” Al whispered, sending chills down Davina’s body. Not a moment after Al was torn off of Davina. Immediately, she dropped to her knees, wheezing heavily, and crawled away from Al. When she got a few deep breaths in, she looked up to find Al now lifted up off the ground with a familiar, tatted hand gripped around his neck.

“Oh, you would’ve? How about I let you down and you give it your best shot?” Jackson growled before dropping Al. Instead of doing so, Al backed away with frightened eyes, unable to tear them away from Jackson. Jackson then approached Davina while Lucian helped Dean with putting down the mutant. Davina let out a small laugh when Jackson knelt down in front of her.

“What’s so funny?” Jackson asked in a gentle tone. Davina just shook her head and smiled.

“Just happy to see you.” Davina said before throwing her arms around his neck. He smiled as he rubbed her back with one of his hands. The two stood up while Dean and Lucian finished up with the mutant. They then made their way over to Davina and Jackson. They all glanced at each other before their eyes trailed down to Al, who remained on the floor. He panted heavily as he stared up at Jackson with wide eyes.

“What’ll we do with him?” Davina asked.

“I think the choice is yours.” Dean replied. Davina stood quiet for a moment before shaking her head.

“He may have been horrible to me, but it’s not up to me to decide his fate. One of you can do it.” Davina said. Lucian then turned to Dean and Jackson.

“May I?” Lucian asked. Dean and Jackson gave Lucian a concerned look when they spotted the smirk on his face but nodded their heads anyways. Lucian then turned around and went to a closet on the far wall. They watched him search for something for a few seconds before he pulled out a golf club. Immediately, they all knew what his intentions were. Davina watched with wide eyes as Lucian steadied the golf club, swinging it a few times to test it out. Al began begging that they have mercy on them. Lucian only let out a laugh before extending his arms back and swinging the golf club as hard as he could. Jackson covered Davina’s eyes with his hand before she could watch Al get decapitated. She could hear his head rolling across the floor, making her shudder like she did before. She didn’t want Jackson to remove his hand and see what happened to Al, so Jackson, who was reading her mind, turned her completely away from Al’s head and body.

“Was there not a less violent way to kill him?” Davina asked Lucian as he cleaned the end of the gulf club with a handkerchief.

“There certainly was, Miss Davina. But this was much more fun.” Lucian said, giving her a rare, sadistic smirk. Davina wondered where she’d seen that smirk before. The glint in his eyes gave it away. He got that sadistic look from Charlie. He did turn me, after all, Lucian thought, making Davina’s eyes widen slightly. She then turned to Jackson.

“Why’d you do that?” Davina asked, wondering why he covered her eyes in the first place. Jackson shrugged his shoulders before giving her a smirk.

“I am a gentleman.” Jackson smoothly replied, making her smile. Dean’s hand on her arm caught her attention.

“Come on, we need to join the others.” Dean said as he gently pulled Davina towards the door, Jackson and Lucian following afterward. Dean opened the door to reveal the entirety of his beasts and the entirety of the ghouls fighting genetically modified beasts out in the courtyard. The four glanced at one another before heading down the steps into the courtyard, ready to defend the compound and do what it takes to keep Vincent from taking Davina.

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