I helped Alex carry a large bag of weapons from his room, despite insisting that I had enough for all of us. My weapons were 'pretty average, minus the crossbow,' according to him. He got a well-deserved glare in return for his comment. He hadn't yet seen the back of my car and would not be laying his hands on any of those weapons for that attitude.

"Just a warning," I said as the elevator doors shut behind us. "I have family coming with me, too."
He pressed the button for the ground floor. "What family?"
The crazy ones. "Two cousins. Twins."
"I see. What are their names?"
"Florence and Alfie. This is their first hunt and they can be... a handful."
"I bet I can handle it."
"Do you have any siblings?"
He frowned. "No."
Poor, poor man. "Then you definitely can't handle it."

The twins exchanged a nervous glance as I returned to the car with Alex. He filled the boot with his belongings in silence while I got into the car. I knew I couldn't make Florence move, so he was stuck in the back. I'd warned him of her temperament before leaving the apartment block.

Florence craned her neck to see through the rear window then spun around in her seat as the car boot slammed shut. "Who is that?"
I shrugged as I started the engine. "Alex Arwood. His dad's been taken by the witches, too. He's helping us and we're helping him."
She half-laughed and hushed her voice. "Do you always come out with fit men when you enter strange buildings? And can I come next time?"
I didn't need to check to see if Alfie had rolled his eyes. "No. I normally come out with demon corpses and a long list of injuries."
Florence huffed as Alex strapped himself in the backseat. "You're no fun," she whispered.

Alfie shifted closer to the window as Alex smiled. "Hi," he said. "I'm Alex."
"Alfie," he replied with a frown. He wiped his glasses with a scowl; he was suspicious, just as I was. Alex seemed pleasant enough, but the moment he compromised our hunt, he'd be left behind. My family was the priority.

Florence smiled and stretched out her hand in the back as I drove off. "Florence Elizabeth Mullein. It's lovely to meet you."
I turned a corner as Alex gently shook her hand. "Seatbelt, Florence," I warned.
My cousin cocked her head, ignoring me. "How old are you, Alex?"
He met my eyes in the rear-view mirror as if asking for help. I left them to it. "Twenty-three," he answered her.
She still didn't buckle in. "I see. I'm eighteen. You know, an adult."
Alex nodded awkwardly. "Congratulations?" Alfie snorted beside him, still engrossed in a book and evidently willing to pretend Alex was not sitting beside him.

I pulled out onto the main road and sped up, shifting from gear to gear. The roads were more dangerous now and Florence still chose to ignore me. "Flo, your seatbelt."

She didn't listen. Again. She stretched herself over the backseat to talk to Alex. Apparently he couldn't here her from less than a metre away. "Do you do much in your spare time?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Uh... I hunt? Play music, sometimes, I guess."
"A musician?" She gawked at me with doe-eyes as I angrily mouthed seatbelt.

She smiled, dimpled cheeks rosy. "Alex," she said. "Are you single?"

I slammed on the brakes as the car in front of me came to a sudden halt at a red light. Florence squealed as she fell backwards, hitting the dashboard. Shockingly, the airbag didn't burst. I would have fumed if it did.

Instead I smiled, staring at nothing but the road ahead as I drove on when the light turned green again. Florence, without a word, sat back in her seat and fastened the seatbelt like I had told her to. When I glanced at the rear-view mirror, I noticed Alfie covering his grin with the pages of his book and Alex frowning as if wondering to ask me to pull over and let him out while he had the chance.

***

Around ninety minutes into the eight hour journey, we stopped at a roadside American diner for some lunch, much to the twins' enjoyment. Florence slotted herself in the booth on the plastic red bench beside Alex, while I sat down next to Alfie.

When the food arrived, Florence asked, putting down the menu, "Where do you get the money from? As a hunter, I mean. Mum never told me."
Alex looked at me to answer, though I knew she was asking him to make some form of conversation. After the hour and a half of putting up with her in the car, I imagined Alex had had enough. "Hunters get paid by the Order," I explained. "As long as you provide evidence you've been hunting, you get paid a wage for that month."
"That doesn't sound very efficient," said Alfie. "How do you know everyone's being genuine? What if there's some jobs that need doing but no-one's willing to volunteer?"
"When you move up the ranks, your orders become tighter," I replied, cutting my burger in half. "Average hunters do any job they please for a low wage. Sentinels get more than anyone but just about every hunt they do comes directly from the Council. They live to serve them."
"Would you ever become a Sentinel?" Alfie asked.
I shrugged. It was unlikely. "You need to be nominated as a General for that, and they get the worst jobs anyway. Normally the ones average hunters won't volunteer for and Sentinels believe themselves above."
"Plus, you'd have to do your trials twice to become a Sentinel." Alex forced a laugh, dusting extra salt on his fries.
"Twice?" Florence's eyes widened. "Just how hard are these trials?"

Alex and I shared a look. I couldn't name a hunt as hard as the trials I faced the year of my initiation. The training was brutal enough but the trials were a whole other level of nasty. I got particularly unlucky on my second trial that took place on the cliffside of Oblivion's Watch. The sea was rough, the sky heavy with thunder and rain, and I almost drowned.

The twins couldn't know that. It was law and custom to keep the nature of the trials a secret to those not yet initiated. You had to prepare for every possible scenario to become a true hunter of the Order and you could not do that if you only trained for one situation.

Besides, if they knew what they were getting themselves in for, they may have given up before they even started.

"They're hard," Alex said. I took a sip of my drink, keeping quiet about them. "You've got to really train before requesting an attempt."
Alfie rested his elbows on the table. "What if you fail? Can you try again?"
"There's the humiliation of it all. We're a prideful bunch. But, as long as you can, there's nothing stopping you from having another attempt."
The twins frowned at each other. "As long as you can?" Florence echoed. "What does that mean?"
Alex opened his mouth. "It means—"

I nudged his leg. It meant young hunters never forgot the moment their life hung by a thread to reach their dream. It meant teenagers lost limbs or faced permanent physical damage trying to join the Order. It meant that children often died to live up to the legacy their parents laid down for them.

Alex cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from mine. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

By whatever miracle was sent to me, the twins didn't argue, and tucked into their cooling food without another word on the deadly trials they would soon face if they chose to follow in the footsteps of their parents, uncle, myself and the long list of Lupine hunters born before them.

***

Night had fallen for hours when the twins fell asleep a few more hours into the journey. Alfie had finished his book and was slumped in his chair, while Florence had her head pressed against the window, brown hair blanketing her sleeping face. For once, she looked peaceful. I wished I could have slept as well but we needed to keep moving. The dark wasn't helping matters. It was barely late evening, but the breath of Winter had caught the country already, shedding early darkness over the roads and distant hills.

Alex's chatter grew when the twins fell quiet and tired. He asked about home, my family, and the twins. I was careful about what I gave away. Dad said that any attempt to get to know someone was a risk in itself and I should be cautious, but Alex seemed innocent enough to let him know I had a dad and a brother, but Diana's address and Ollie's name was kept concealed. When he asked about my mother, I told him her name was Emily. That was all I would say on the matter.

"Nothing else?" he pushed.
I kept a straight face, watching the road. I never asked them about it, but the Council told dad this was a confidential matter. We were not to discuss it in any form with anyone outside the family, if possible. "I miss her."
Alex's face fell. "Me too."
"What about your family?" I asked.
"Just me and dad nowadays. My mum..." He sighed then forced a laugh. "Being a hunter isn't the safest job in the world, is it?"
"No. But I'm sorry. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier."
He huffed and sunk into the seat. "No. No, it does not."

I blinked rapidly to keep my eyes open. How I longed to be the twins napping without a single worry. It wasn't late, but the long hours of driving had worn me out.

Alex's voice wasn't loud, but it still made me jump. "You said this is their first hunt."
I cleared my throat, conscious of how tired I was. We would have been there by now if not for the excessive traffic we had been stuck in since setting off from the diner. Now we were almost four hours behind. "I did."
"But this is quite a big one, if what we think is correct."
"It is," I said with a sigh.
"Then why bring them?"
"It wasn't my choice," I admitted. "My aunt is persuasive."
Alex chuckled, dimples lighting up. From the look of his eyes, he was tired too. Red rimmed the edges and the dark irises were glassy. "You mean she ordered you."
"No-one can order me to do anything."
"I don't think that's true. You're a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?"
I scoffed. The twins had insulted me enough in the past day; I didn't need him joining in as well. "I follow the code and show respect to my father and aunt."
Alex snorted. "You mean you do as you're told?"
"I..." I gripped the steering wheel tightly, numbness spreading throughout my fingers. I strengthened the grip further, sighing in relief as I felt the leather digging into my skin again — I wasn't falling asleep just yet. "I can have fun if I wish."
He grinned. "I don't believe you."
I glared. "I can."
A shrug. "You'll have to prove it."
A dare. A challenge, even. "Maybe I'll show you one day."
He raised his brows and leaned back into the leather. "Then I look forward to it."

My eyes blurred and I yawned. I needed coffee... and a lot of it.
Alex yawned as well. "You're tired."
"So are you."
"I'm not driving a car."
"I'm—" I yawned. "...I'm fine."
"And if you fall asleep at the wheel...?"
We would crash. We would prolong the hunt. We could potentially die. I'd be stupid to carry on, even if I wanted to push to get the meeting with Leopold Hopkins over and done with. "I'll find somewhere."
"Good." Alex's stomach grumbled. "Let's hope they have food."

It only took another ten minutes for Alex to spot the sign for a quaint hotel on the roadside and I pulled in right away. Alfie stirred awake as I found a parking space and frowned at the flickering green open sign on the doorway.
His voice was hoarse with sleep. "Are we staying here for the night?"
"We are." I unbuckled my seatbelt. "Flo, come on."

She snored quietly. I tapped her arm. "Florence, wake up." She didn't move.
Alfie sighed and unscrewed his water bottle. "I've got it."

Before I could say anything, Alfie dumped half the bottle's contents on her head. Florence's eyes shot open. She coughed and spluttered, making Alfie cackle hysterically.

"What was that for?"
"We're staying here for the night," said Alex.
Her jaw dropped, eyes lighting up with desire. "We are?"
"All of us are," I reminded her.
She huffed. Her dream was spoilt. "Then let's go before I fall asleep again."

We lugged an overnight bag to the reception of the hotel, Alfie grumbling about the pouring rain as we stepped inside. The interior was dull, dingy and depressing as if the owner had forgotten it existed and abandoned the ancient receptionist behind the broken desk to hold the whole thing together. It wasn't anywhere branded that I recognised and trusted, but a local hotel housing fifty or so guests was better than a freezing car parked up somewhere.

I met her with a smile. "Hi. We'd like two single rooms please for Erika Lupine. Just one night."
She tapped on her keyboard as she took down a few details and held out two keys dismissively. "Checkout at eleven. No breakfast provided."
Alex's face fell. "Do you have no food whatsoever?"
She shrugged. "Vending machines are by the laundrette."
He sighed. "That'll do, I guess."

I nodded thanks at the receptionist and turned back to the others to hand Alex a key. "Do you mind sharing with Alfie while Florence stays with me?"
Alfie raised his brows. "You'd leave me in a room with a stranger?"
"I wouldn't leave him in a room with your sister. Who knows what she'd put the poor man through."
Florence blinked, snapping into the real world. "What was that?"
I held up our key. "I said we're heading to our rooms."

We left the reception to brave the rain once more in order to reach our rooms. They were side by side on the second floor – numbered 204 and 205 – at the top of an unstable-looking set of metal stairs. I was careful with my footing. The steps had little grip, as Florence found out.

The metal clanged as Alex caught her by the crook of her arm. "You alright?" he asked.
She nodded, cheeks visibly pink even in the dark. "Yeah. Thanks."
Alfie snorted from behind me. "Clumsy, much?"
She scowled. "It's easy to fall down these stairs. Why don't I show you?"
"Florence," I warned. "Be nice you two."
"I'm always nice," hissed Florence.

Alfie feigned a cocky smile as Florence pulled herself up the remaining steps, green eyes fixed on her brother. As she reached the top, she made sure to dig her elbow into Alfie's stomach, making him grunt but giving no other response.

I didn't bother to say anything.

"Can I have the key, Erika?"
I handed Florence the key with a sigh and she stormed into the room, slamming the door behind her. Alfie held up his middle finger.
"Please can I also have the key?"

I gave him the key and watched the second door shut. He would be muttering to himself in that room and Florence would initiate a rant about her brother's 'good-for-nothing smart mouth' that humiliated her the second I entered our room. A pair of bloody dramatics is what they were.

Alex cocked his head. "What just happened?"
"They're both moody and Florence got embarrassed. They bicker a lot. But I haven't seen them in months. They might be worse now that they've left school."
"Hang on. You haven't seen them in months?"
"Look, I don't need a lecture," I snapped. "Least of all from you."

I headed for the door, only to be hounded by Alex.

"Hey, hey." He gripped my arms and turned me around. When he saw the disapproval written on my face, he let go. "I didn't mean to criticise. It just surprised me, that's all."

I opened and shut my mouth, making no sound. Diana knew why I was never home; dad needed my help too much and it was his choice to keep on the move. Sometimes I insisted we went home – for birthdays and Christmas – but I would often go alone. Guilt gnawed at me every time I came home late and Ollie was getting sick of it. We were growing more distant by the day.

"I was the only child in the family to be taught how to hunt from a young age," I admitted. "My dad refused to take the twins on a hunt and my brother doesn't even know what we do."
He frowned. "Why? What does he have to gain by keeping him in the dark?"
"I've asked that question a thousand times. Dad says it's for his own protection but..."
"But you have doubts?"
I checked over my shoulder and nodded. "I have doubts."

I let out a sigh. Ollie was fifteen now. From the look of it, dad was never going to invite him to join the family business. I feared he may not have had it in his interests to even tell him what we were.

Alex laughed. "Look at this." He held out his hands, cupping his palm to fill them with rain. "We're getting soaked out here talking all sad. Why don't we track down those vending machines while the twins chill out?"

I smiled. I hadn't even noticed the rain soaking through my jeans until he mentioned it. "A healthy dinner of chocolate and sweets. What could be better?"

***

There were two vending machines exactly where the receptionist said they would be; one for snacks and the other for drinks. Alex was discussing his options on the way there, debating whether to choose a savoury or sweet snack, eventually landing on the difficult choice of a chocolate bar, which shattered his heart in two as it wedged itself between the shelf and glass of the vending machine.

With a frown, he hit the machine. Then again. I stepped forward, holding a bottle of lemonade at my side.
"Do you need any—?"
"I've got it!"

He backed away and charged at the machine like a bull. It rocked but the sweet would not budge. He slapped it, hit it, punched it, all the while muttering to himself and asking why nothing was working. I slowly raised my leg as he was distracted and kicked the glass hard with the heel of my boot.

And it shattered. The whole glass casing... shattered.

My eyes widened and Alex froze as he heard the trickling of glass on the wet concrete. "What did you—?"
"Let's just go!"

I snatched the chocolate bar and rushed away from the scene, ushering Alex to move. I'd leave a note at the reception on the way out, but we had nowhere else to go if we were kicked out at this time.

"One second." 
I shook my head in disbelief as Alex began stuffing his pockets with other snacks, even filling his jacket to the brim and zipping it up to his neck.
"Alex."
"I have a feast!"
"And soon to be a criminal record so let's go."

I shoved him in the direction of the stairs, tutting quietly at his breathless laughs as the dozen packets crumpled in his hands, some dropping out so I had to catch them. It was then that I suddenly realised I was travelling all the way to London by car with the only company being three immensely immature, oversized children.

We turned a corner as Alex reached into his jacket to pull out one of his chocolate bars. He tore the packet open with his teeth and took a savage bite.

Mouth full, he rolled his eyes at my expression. "What now?"
"You're an animal."
He covered his chocolate-filled mouth. "A hungry one."
"We had a huge dinner."
"And no tea. I'm starving."

I shook my head and almost tripped over something.
"Watch it," said Alex.

I looked down at the source. It was a young girl less than half my height, dressed in a knee-length blue dress, holding a countenance of fear.
"Sorry!" I exclaimed. "I didn't see you."
Alex let the chocolate bar fall to his side. "Are you okay? You look frightened."
Her blue eyes glazed with tears. "Mum? I... I don't know where my mum is."
Alex softened his features and bent down to her height. "I'm sorry. We'll help you find her if you want us to."
She flinched and glanced at me. I shivered as the wind picked up. "Yes please."
I nodded. "Okay. Where did you last see her?"
"By the pool."
By the pool? I frowned at Alex and hushed my voice. "This hotel has a pool?"
"She was last by the pool," the girl said again. "I need to find her. Please."
"Don't worry," Alex assured with a smile. "I'll check at the reception to see where your mum is staying while Erika here will take you to the pool."
I would? There was a hint of a smile on the girl's pale features and all remnants of her tears seemed to vanish. "Thank you."

Alex stood and leaned in close to quieten his voice. "Are you alright taking her to the pool?"
I didn't have much of a choice apparently. "Yeah. No problem."
"If she's not at the pool, bring the girl to the reception and we'll go from there, okay?"
"Alright. I'll see you soon."

With a short goodbye to Alex as I handed him his sweets, the girl and I headed for the pool. She insisted on holding my hand to lead me and I found myself shivering as we walked, feeling slightly ill as we got closer to where she claimed the pool was. It was wrong to question the girl's authenticity. Why would a little girl lie, after all? But I couldn't help wanting to get this reunion over and done with as fast as possible. I grew colder with every step, and shuddered as I glanced over my shoulder and Alex wasn't there.

Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 4 and found some insight on the Order's structure. Don't forget to vote, comment and share if you liked what you read!

Thank you for reading,
- Caitlin xx