THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS - BWS

ten

It took me a while to fall asleep after William left. What he last said echoed in my head in a loop of nonsense.

'You're gonna have to do much better to keep her safe when they find out what she is'

What could he have possibly meant by 'what she is'? Was he scared of what creatures would do to me when they found out I was a Hunter? Well, I was perfectly capable of handling myself. But it wasn't just what he had last said that kept me awake. It was our entire conversation, from his insistence for me to leave the country to the vague comments he made about my lack of knowledge about where I was or what was 'under the city'. Of course, as curious as I was, I spent a bunch of hours searching the internet for anything I could find on Bath and what was supposedly under the city. Apart from maps of the underground tunnels I was roaming the night before, I hadn't found anything. My guts were screaming at me that there was something off about the whole situation. About William, about the case, about the very reason I was in Bath. And I needed to find out what.

When the sun was up and high in the afternoon sky, I decided then was the perfect time to pay Dr. Stoker a visit. Well, not him personally but his place. Whatever he was hiding was most likely there. Or at least I was hoping to find something that would lead me to it. It was past two in the afternoon, he had to be at the hospital at this time.

"Come on Deedee, we're going on a little adventure," I told her as I grabbed my car keys from the table.

By the time we arrived at William's manor, I was covered in sweat. Wearing black leggings in 30° weather was not a good idea. I thought it was supposed to be cold and rainy in the UK? I parked a few streets down, and Dee and I made our way to the gates on foot. I let out a frustrated sigh at the sight of the giant gates. There was no way I could climb them.

"On to plan B," I told Dee as I started walking around the block. Fences twice my height circled the property, and there wasn't one crack in the brick walls. I had to make a decision, and I knew Dee wasn't going to like it.

I crouched in front of her and she looked at me with her big blue eyes.

"I'm going to climb," I said and she barked in discontent. "I know, and I'm sorry you can't come, but I can't carry you."

She barked again, louder this time.

"I'll be very careful, I promise— and I won't be long. I'll be out before you've noticed I'm gone. I just need to find what he's hiding, okay?"

The deep growl that escaped her throat indicated that she wasn't happy with my plan. But I had no other choice. Rick was soon going to lose it, and I needed to get out of the city before he came and got me himself. But first I needed to know what William was hiding, and I also needed to take care of the creature. And something was telling me that the two were interconnected.

"I'll be quick— stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

I gave her a kiss on the nose and turned to face the ten feet tall brick wall in front of me. I swallowed as I looked up.

"Don't let me fall to my death," I prayed to the Heavens.

My blade tucked into the waistband of my leggings against my lower back where it always was, I started the climb. It was a lot harder than I had anticipated, and by the time I made it to the top, my arms were shaking, pearls of sweat dripping from my forehead. And as I passed one leg over the wall to start my climb down, I felt the blade move and didn't have time to catch it before it fell, barely missing Dee in its fall. A string of swear words left my lips. I was weapon-less, and I had almost killed Dee. I drew in a deep breath to gather my focus, and climbed down with the grace and agility of a rhinoceros.