A/N: In the picture is Oliver.

Zane's pov

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Marlow?"

She looked at me and nodded. "I'm sure. I was thinking of taking a break from our search and getting some rest instead. You guys don't have to go out tonight, you know."

"But we want to," Paul answered. "Plus, we might grab a snack while we're out."

Marlow smiled and said, "Very well, just be careful. Let me know if you find anything."

"We will," Jasper replied.

I gestured to the others and went out the back of the house with the group following me. I glanced up at the dark sky and changed to my Nightstalker form. I looked back at the others to see them do the same.

"Alright, gang, just because Marlow isn't with us doesn't mean you get to slack off. Split up and search everywhere," I barked at them.

They nodded and we all took off running into the forest, splitting up as we went. After a short while of looking around, I met back up with the others in a small clearing.

"Find anything?" I asked.

They all shook their heads in reply. I growled slightly in frustration.

"Damn it, why is it so hard to fi-"

I was instantly cut off by a strong scent in the air. I sniffed at the air, noticing the others do the same. It smells like blood with a little bit of another unfamiliar scent mixed in.

"That smell. Let's follow it. I have a feeling we'll find our trespassers."

I darted past the trees, hearing the others behind me as I followed the scent. This must be it. Finally time to find our culprits.

Jeff's pov

"Well that was fun. Did you see the way those girls begged for their lives? It was priceless!"

I laughed a bit at the memory, hearing Jack beside me sigh. "Yeah, I know. I was there too, Jeff. Let's hurry and get home. The smell coming off you is making me hungry."

I glanced down at my blood soaked hoodie and said, "You could've eaten while we were out, you know."

"I wasn't hungry then."

I rolled my unblinking eyes and continued walking. Jack suddenly stopped, causing me to pause and look back at him in confusion.

"We're not alone out here," he quietly said.

As it grew silent for a moment, I could hear something back behind us. Sounds like we're being followed.

"Jeff, run."

I'm not usually one to run from a fight, but I can make an exception this time considering that it could be one of those creatures following us. I quickly took off running with Jack right behind me.

As I ran, I could still hear the noises behind us. In fact, they actually sounded like they were getting closer. I soon saw a blur of movement in the darkness ahead of me and instantly stopped.

Looking around, I could see movement all around us. Aside from the sounds of movement, I could now also hear low growls. I quickly grabbed my knife, seeing that Jack already had his scalpel in hand.

"We're surrounded. We've got no choice but to stand and fight now," I told Jack.

"If we can even see what we're fighting."

"Damn it, all I've got is a lighter. That won't be enough light to see shit."

"Use it anyway. It's better than nothing."

I dug into my pocket and pulled out the small lighter, flipping it open and pressing the switch. I held out the small flame, seeing small glints of gold colored eyes in the dark.

The creatures around us started making unusual chittery noises alongside the growls that came from them. Their movements seemed to slow down as they began to close in on us, sometimes moving toward us before backing off.

Are they trying to trick us or something? I kept a careful watch all around me as they seemed to circle us. A sudden movement from one of them caused me to turn my attention to it. But right as I did, something tackled me from behind, catching me off guard and sending me to the ground.

My lighter was knocked out of my hand and I quickly scrambled to pick it up again. Turning it on, it gave me enough light to finally see one of the beasts in front of me.

With a thin, black, furless body, it walked past me, its lips peeled back to show a mouth full of sharp, glistening, black teeth. I stared at it for a minute, watching as it snarled at me.

Once I was back on my feet, I backed away and back over to Jack, quietly asking, "Did you just see that thing?"

I noticed him nod slightly. "Yeah, looks like we found our Nightstalkers."

"Jeff! Jack!"

We turned upon hearing the voices, seeing a bright light coming this way. The low growls ceased and were replaced by more chitters and whimper-like noises. There were a few swift movements past us and then everything became calm and quiet.

We lowered our weapons as the light grew brighter until Masky and Hoodie came into view with flashlights in their hands.

"Man, are we glad to see you," I told them with a sigh of relief.

Masky tilted his head slightly. "Why? Did something happen?"

"We saw the Nightstalkers," Jack said, earning gasps from the two boys. "We'll explain once we get back home. It's not safe here."

They both nodded their heads and led the way as we headed back to the mansion. At least now we know exactly what we're up against.

Marlow's pov

I was watching a movie in the living room when I heard the back door open and close. I turned my head and smiled upon seeing the boys.

"Welcome back. How'd it go?"

They remained quiet and looked at each other with frowns on their faces. I narrowed my eyes and stood from my seat.

"What happened?"

Zane took a deep breath and stepped forward. "We found a couple of our trespassers. And...they got away from us."

He hung his head down, causing me to yell, "What?! They didn't see you, did they?!"

The boys immediately turned their gaze to Paul, who shrunk back nervously and said, "W-Well, they may have caught a glimpse of me."

My eyes widened. "Paul! You put all of us in danger! You can't let anyone see you and live!"

"C-Calm down, Marlow," Paul quickly stuttered out. "They aren't normal people. There's no way the public is going to find out, I swear."

"He's got a point,"Oliver quietly interrupted. "The two guys we saw didn't look normal at all and they smelled of human blood."

"In a way, they're like us and that Rake creature," Jasper calmly stated.

Zane crossed his arms. "Besides, they would've been dead if those others hadn't shown up with those bright lights. We were forced to flee or else we really would've been discovered."

It grew quiet as I approached Paul. I raised my hand, causing him to tense up and shut his eyes. I smiled slightly and placed my hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked at me in confusion.

"S-So you're not...mad?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No. We all make mistakes. I'm just glad you're all safe."

He then smiled and Zane suddenly asked me, "What are you going to do, Marlow?"

I grinned at his question. "I'm going to protect my pack, of course. You guys mean the world to me and I will fight for you're safety. We'll go out every night to hunt down these intruders. You found them once, we can find them again. And this time, they'll be lucky to leave with their lives."