"I thought you said there was supposed to be two." She heard Logan's companion whisper across the room.

Currently, Obie and the vampire were standing in the doorway of a fully secured house with fourteen people occupying it. The VBV, the vampire deflecting devices, were stationed strategically around the house and blaring vociferously in the air. The rate of dispensing was slow, but surely effective as it tingled her nose and made her throat itch. Per normal, the vampire didn't have any reactions. She guessed the odor was a meekly annoying stench lingering in the air.

She wondered if Little Monster was catching onto the invisible barrier. She didn't need the baby vampire going crazy in the trunk, shaking her entire car like a love shack. Looking back, her car was parked and unchanged in front of the house. The vampire's pep talk must have been understood. It was good to know he was almost as cognitively paired as mister vampire here. It was also scary.

"Yeah," Logan replied, tensely. "There is."

Particularly, Logan welcomed Obie and the vampire with a very cold greeting. Obie wasn't his friend, therefore the cold shoulder was nothing to be outraged about. Though, Obie failed to inform Logan of her new friend.

Most likely, Logan had the perfect explanation to situate her in his plans. She was a fugitive of the Capitol who needed sanctuary. But, he wasn't given the heads up to convince his team to adopt a tall, fit and daunting young man. 

Obie technically fucked up his whole plan.

Also, she fucked with his head too.

He had to prioritize one conflict for now.

"You know what the hell I mean." The tall dark man said harshly. "A girl and her possum. Not a girl and some guy."

"I didn't know she was bringing him along." Logan defended, then tried to refocus the conversation. "Does it matter right now? We need the muscle for the journey. Mateo and Ace aren't that experienced in these streets. Percy doesn't listen to anyone. Jordel can't run. Yahil doesn't like the fight."

"But he can. The women can also handle themselves by the way." He said. "We got enough. More than we need. We took in six people already. Look where that got us."

"Got you numbers." Logan said.

"Got us nowhere. We're not on a recruiting mission, Logan." The man frowned.

"Since when we leave people behind? The chief believes the more, the merrier with what's coming next."

"I don't know. Something is off about both of them." The man stared at Obie directly. "Including the rat."

Obie rolled her eyes and whispered to the vampire. "We should have waited in the car."

Burrito moved around in her backpack like she agreed with Obie.

"Hey," she nudged his shoulder. "Are you listening?"

The vampire bobbed his head rigidly.

His ears were hers. Although, his attention was divided amongst the fourteen people who were grilling hard and unforgivingly. The vampire gave the same energy. His back straightened, chest expanded and half his body covered Obie to protect her. His blue eyes trained on each of their defensive stances. He surveyed the group head to toe as if he imagined every single way they could attack and every single way he could kill them.

"Don't. They're just scared." She interpreted.

"Scared people lead to bad things." He said lowly.

"Let's hope you're wrong."

"Hey!" A beer bellied man with a thick country accent stepped forward with his rifle. "Cut that whispering shit out. No one said you can talk."

"Who exactly told us we can't?" Obie grimaced.

"I'm telling you." He said aggressively.

Obie grabbed the vampire's arm as she felt him standing up.

"Relax. There is nothing to get worked up about." Another member confronted the man. She was a five foot five girl with beige warm skin who hadn't looked like she missed a meal in three years with her perfectly proportionate body weight. Her dark hair was tightened into a low ponytail. She had on dark blue jeans with unintentional rips where her scars were exposed. Her yellow top darkened into a mustard color, probably due to rough travels. The one object clean on her was an accessory clasped around her wrist. It was a shiny silver charm bracelet with random figures symbolizing some personal shit Obie didn't know about. She only recognized a tiny Puerto Rican flag. 

"Stay out of this, Zara." The country man seethed. "Every time you involve yourself in somethin' it always cost us somethin'."

The woman named Zara saddened at the remark and retreated into the couch. "That's not fair."

"Damn right it is." He glared. "Now, sit tight and think about those three kids you got killed at the mall instead of mindin' what I say."

"Jesus, Percy." A middle aged brown man with super dark freckles and long loose wavy hair entered the scene. Out of everyone, he seemed the most reasonable. He didn't look at Obie and the vampire with distaste. In lieu, he was unmistakably neutral with a bag hanging on his hip. A plus sign was stamped right on the side. "Do you really have to take it there?"

What kind of rough looking, country asshole deserved the name of Percy?

"Like I said...". He looked at Obie and the vampire. "Keep quiet. We don't need no more conspirators messin' things up."

"We never conspired against any of you!" A skinny "Emma Stone" type pale woman stood beside Zara. Standing together, Obie could guess these girls were in their mid to early 20's.

"It's okay, Elena." Zara tried to pull her back down to the couch.

"No! He keeps holding it over our heads like we're planning on murdering him in his sleep." Elena said angrily. Her blonde hair swinging in two short braids. "Those kids wouldn't have died if you had done your job and use that gun for once."

Percy jacked up his pants and hitting the butt of his rifle to the ground loudly on purpose. "I'll show you 'for once'. Matter fact for two."

Elena folded her fists as she stood in front of Zara, defensively.

"Calm down, Percy." The middle aged freckled man intervened again. "The mall situation was tragic. We should be thankful Logan got us out on time. Let's cut it out and give the guys a chance to talk about this."

"Talk about what?!" Percy raised his voice, casually using the tip of his gun to point at Obie and the vampire. "Them?! This ain't right. We don't know these people from a can of paint. The less people I have to shoot for, the less complicated things are for me."

"He's right." A young woman, who was standing directly behind Percy, said nervously. "We've been chased after these Suckers for a couple months now. It's not going to help if they have turned relatives. They will be on us too. Piper had a whole family we had to."

"Don't." Zara spoke up, gravely. "Don't do that to the little girl." 

In synchronized motions, their heads moved left and right in search for someone. Obviously, the person wasn't there. It was shown through the subtle drops of their shoulders. The transparent release of their breaths. They both added to the distinct relief in the room.

Unfortunately, their conflict was unresolved and held hostage by sudden silence and crossed glares.

The young woman clung on to Percy and tucked her face under his arm, nonverbally apologizing for a reason unknown to Obie. The feeling the young woman's skin pressed against his musty skin couldn't pull his malicious glare away from Obie and mister vampire.

Percy shooed her off to sit on the chair and she obeyed with one flick of the wrist.

"We been here for 15 minutes and look at how already fucked up they are." Obie whispered.

Mister vampire joined in on the tension that crowded the room with its blatant discomfort. His large hood put a dark shadow over his face, which presented his facial expressions as unclear to those observing him from a distance. Despite how he was masked, the energy exuded out of his body language and the dip of his head was readily hostile.

While Obie recognized the reasonable fear in their eyes, the vampire sought out threats and found only dangers with this group. This was a circumstance Obie couldn't teach him; knowing when fear inevitably led to chaos and unknowingly playing a role in feeding it.

She had to deescalate the situation.

Obie stood up, accidently tripping over her feet. "Um..."

In a quick second, the vampire looked up at Obie with a large frown.

"We don't want any trouble." Obie began carefully, pleading to the ones in the room who were less than unfriendly. "We're not expecting a warm welcome, especially not in this day and age. We're not even expecting to become friends. We have our own supplies. We'll get our own food. So you don't have to really worry about sharing your stuff and looking at us like we're burdens. We honestly want a chance to start living instead of surviving. From what Logan has told me, The Sanctuary can do that for us."

Percy was about to respond.

"Is that really the case?" The dark skin man, who was talking to Logan, entered the conversation. He was a tall man. Actually, he was the tallest one in the room. He stood at approximately 6'7 or 6'8. He was wearing a sleeveless tank top that brought life to his enormous bulging muscles and sculpted abdomen. The green military cargoes were large and fluffed, but Obie was pretty sure his legs filled them out graciously.

He could honestly stomp on Obie if he wanted to.

By how irritated he looked, Obie believed it was very possible.

Unlike Logan's spotty scarred up skin, the man's face was spotless. His dark skin was uniformly textured by way of its cocoa tone and undeniable radiance. The color of his eyes were irrefutably dark and structured within thin almond shapes with long lashes combating the natural seriousness of his profile. His apparent square jawline was covered by a light box beard that was equally as black as the two waist length corn rows on his head.

He was so attractive that it was intimidating to even her.

"No reason to lie about wanting safety." Obie confirmed.

"From what? Suckers? Or should I say from who, because of the Capitol?"

"Both."

The dark skin man sat his foot on the seat of the chair and leaned his arm on the top of his knee. "Why should I care?"

"What?"

"Logan explained how you became a target for the government," he started. "I can deal with the idea of the Capitol chasing down Logan for spying, because who wouldn't. I can deal with one. Rest his soul, but if Sam was found out before he died, then dealing with two Capitol targets would have put pressure on the group to go home and protect our community before they could strike. There's nothing more powerful than having knowledge which Logan has. You and your little boyfriend? You two are offering nothing, but trouble in exchange for safety. Why should I take a chance on y'all when I can leave you on the streets?"

He was right.

Logan and Sam had their contributions. Sam's dead. Logan was alive with a target on his back, therefore the Capitol was probably undergoing a secret plan to attack their community. It made sense if Logan had information on the cure,  the Capitol would go to extreme measures to assure it was theirs. But The Sanctuary was willing to take the risk by sending Logan in the first place. Bringing in Obie and an unknown man, whom are wanted by the Capitol, would be considered collateral damage.

"Because there's going to be a problem either way." She said. "If they are looking for Logan and I, what would make the difference if I come with you guys or not? They are still going to think we're traveling together."

The man refuted. "Exactly. What would be the difference? Percy's known for his bluntness, but he may be right. We don't know you."

"Seems like you don't know a couple of these people either." Obie nodded towards Zara and Elena. "Are you going to kick them out too?"

"You don't know anything about us."

"I got what I needed in five minutes," Obie said daringly. "Doesn't seem like your group is stable."

"Why join it, then?" Percy scoffed.

"We want a home."

"Look at her acting like she knows what's going on." Percy chuckled humorlessly. "Do you know what's the issue? Do you know how long we've been at war with the government?"

"I'm guessing about three years. You know...when everything started." She tried to keep her sarcasm at a minimum.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do us a favor and put your big girl panties on if you can find clean ones. This isn't about unicorns and fairies."

"Are you sure? Oh shucks, I was really hoping it was." She couldn't help it. "After spending three years of being chased by vampires, my one wish is to get a defaced horse. Maybe, just maybe I can convince that horse to take me to the North Pole, so I can jerk off Santa Klaus in exchange for an elf who I can use to make me a vibrator. Then, I can give it to you because it seems like you may need a butt plug or something." 

Obie wasn't a stranger for silence, but man...she hurt someone's feelings.

After the shock period, Percy raised his voice and stepped forward. "Bitch you think this is a joke!"

The vampire stood up, abruptly. His nails grew a bit, but she was the only one close enough to see. He folded his nails into his palms, hiding the supernatural evidence and clearly looking like he wanted to throw some punches. Yet, they didn't know he wasn't the swinging type. He ripped people's heads off.

"Woah there, Percy." The freckled man spoke up again.

Obie was standing in front of Mister vampire, hoping he'd sit back down. "Don't."

His upper lip curled in response as if he was willing to throw Obie to the side.

"I dare this motherfucker to do somethin'." Percy tried to shrug the freckled man off. "Get off me, Yahil. If he wants to get thrown down or get shot down, that's his choice."

"If you want to shut up or get fucked up, that's your choice too." Obie snapped.

"Don't say another word to me, woman. Before I really shut your ass up." Percy pointed at Obie.

She heard a girl mumble in amusement. "Percy met his match."

She heard a guy mumble back. "We should at least keep her for a day or two."

Obie pressed her hands on the vampire's chest as he advanced. Her feet slid against the wooden floors.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Percy egged on.

"Darcy, get your man!" Elena yelled.

"This is ridiculous." Zara groaned.

The young woman behind Percy was named Darcy. The fragile woman pushed her stringy black hair behind her ear. She hesitated to reach out and touch him for restraint. She jumped when Percy struggled to push freckled Yahil off of him. Then, Darcy finally took the chance to grab his waist and pleaded, "Maybe we should go upstairs."

The atmosphere changed once Percy turned in a blind rage and elbowed Darcy in the face.

The vampire stopped.

Obie didn't have to strain the muscles in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Immediately, Yahil stopped low and sat on his ankles to survey her bleeding nose.

Percy went from angry to horrified. "Get away from her!"

Yahil retreated, but stood close as Percy hugged Darcy. To her surprise, Darcy dug her face into his chest and gripped on his shirt for dear life. Percy whispered, "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't see you."

"It's okay." Darcy muffled. "Can we go upstairs now?"

"Take this." Yahil offered a pack of gauze. "Pinch the soft cartilage right above her nostrils, lean her forward and have her breath through her mouth. Things should get better in about 10 minutes."

Percy snatched the gauze out of his hand, swung his rifle over his shoulder and carried Darcy's weight on his left side. He scowled in their direction before talking to the dark skin man. "We'll be in the kitchen. Holla if you need me."

As Percy walked into the other room, the dark skin man sighed. "See. There is too much tension. We don't need any of this on the road. I think it's best if you two go."

Obie was about to speak up until Logan finally graced them with his presence.

"Cian..." Logan pushed off the wall and waltzed towards him. "They can't."

"Why?" The dark skin man, known as Cian, raised the question.

Logan looked Cian directly in the eyes. "We almost killed the girl. When I mean 'we', I mean me and those Capitol bastards. We kidnapped her without a second thought that she may not have access to the CDC. I was willing to let the Capitol crew carve her up for information just so I can get it back to you. When shit went down, she had the choice to leave me to die. She didn't. She took me to some place and patched me up till I was conscious. No one else would have done that. We don't live in a world where being nice gets you ahead anymore."

"But-" Cian was about to argue.

"I kidnapped her and lost Sam, because of it." Logan struggled to get that out. "I owe her and I owe it to Sam to make this right."

Obie's heart thumped hearing Sam's name. She hadn't heard his name come out of Logan's mouth since their argument at the house. She knew not to bring up his name again because the territory of the subject was clear. No one should cross it. Nevertheless, Logan brought it up. He risked showing his grief for the man, so she can stay. She had a hard time deciding if it was real or not. He barely showed any real emotion since the day it happened.

Conflicted, Cian massaged the back of his neck and exhaled loudly. "What's your blood type?"

Obie acted dumbfounded. "Why does that matter?"

"Because these infected individuals are drawn to certain blood types." Yahil answered warmly. "It's important so we know how much protection you two will need going forward."

"How is that possible?" Obie asked, knowing exactly what they were talking about. Logan threw her knowing look after silently thanking Cian.

"Logan will explain later. He's responsible for you two now." Cian regarded Logan specifically. "Anything happens, that's on him."

Logan nodded stiffly.

Obie remembered Logan saying the vampires were drawn to certain blood types. The negative blood types were least desired. She could quickly claim a false type, because the vampires weren't as desperate while Mister vampire was around her. Still, Obie's parents were following her. If they got the chance to confront her,  Cian will know she was O+, because both her parents were infected. The vampire could easily say he was a negative blood type, but she was doing all the talking now. He was clearly not in the mood for this.

"I'm O+." She said truthfully.

Cian responded. "Got any relatives chasing you?"

"My mom and dad."

"What about you?" He asked the vampire.

Mister vampire didn't respond. He didn't even turn his way.

Obie spoke up. "He's B-."

"He can't speak for himself?" Cian folded his arms.

"Not around people he barely know."

Logan slickly said. "Hmm. That's funny."

Obie quickly ushered the conversation on. "Can't really blame him after what just happened."

"Percy's a hothead, but a good shooter." Cian put his foot down and hiked his cargos upwards. "Don't piss him off."

"I'll try not to breathe then."

Cian looked her up and down, slowly. "Yeah. You do that."

Obie took that