The Ancient One

Chapter 20

Once Kristi drifted off, he gently extracted himself from beside her and went to find his uncle. It took a while, since he didn't know the place well, but he finally found him in a room with several tables and lots of bookshelves.

"Uncle Jake?"

"How is she doing?" his mom asked.

"She's asleep, but she's doing good, I think. She seems a little stronger, and I think she's kind of accepted Stefans dying."

"What do you want, Sam?" Uncle Jake asked.

"You're a vampire hunter, right?"

"I was, but I don't think I am anymore, for several reasons."

"Did you guys just kill them, or did you capture them, when you hunted vampires?"

"It depended on the vampire. If we knew anything about them before we got to them, the decision would be based on what we knew. Older ones, we tried to capture. Young ones, usually not. Why?"

"Did you ever capture a wild one?"

"No. We only just became aware of them, and they are really tough," Jake replied, remembering his only tousle with one.

"Is there a way to capture one?"

"Why would you want to capture one?" Sam knew he was curious where this line of questioning was headed.

"I think it'd be good for the scientists to study their blood. Would you be able to try and capture one, if I could find where one was?"

"Sam, you are not going into vampire hunting. It is way too dangerous, and besides, your mother is already upset enough with me. I'm still not sure she believes all of this."

"You could say that again," she replied.

"Anyway, how would someone who's dating a vampire be able to live with himself being a vampire hunter, even if it's only wild ones? There's a really big problem with that picture." His phone chirped then, and looking at it, he had a concerned look.

"What's up?" Sam asked, although he knew it was none of his business.

"It's Mark. He asked me to come help him," he said, and as he was typing his reply, which Sam was pretty sure wasn't very nice, there was another chirp, and he stopped. "I can't believe this, but he said he's captured a wild one. What are the odds, considering you just asked me about that?"

"Can I go with you, just to see it?" He couldn't believe his luck, if his uncle would even let him go. This was his chance, if things worked the way he wanted.

"Absolutely not!" Jake said.

"Why not? If it's captured, it should be safe. I've been around vampires quite a bit, and even been attacked by them, including wild ones. None of them have been as much of a danger to me as the hunters have, and I'm really curious."

"Amanda, it's your decision. I can't make that call," Jake said.

"Kristi might not be happy to find you gone when she wakes up," Amanda said. Sam knew she was trying to use psychology to convince him, but this was for her, and he had to do it.

"We talked about it, and she'd be okay with me going. She would like to test their blood, too." He hated lying, but he felt he had little choice.

"Jake, will he be safe?"

"My general belief has always been that no one is safe when a vampire is in the area, even if they're captured. This is a wild one, which is worse than the regular run of the mill vampires, so no, I don't believe it's safe."