-Crow's POV-

I nearly jumped out of my skin as the loud claps filled the hallway and echoed all around us. It was almost amusing how on edge I was in this situation. I held Noah's hand tightly for comfort as we slowly turned the corner. My heart fell into my stomach as a familiar figure came into view.

"Miss Munro?" I asked with astonishment. I could also see Sadie behind her, with her back straight and without her glasses. She looked incredibly different without them, she looked confident and less like she was trying to follow fashion trends. I would've labelled her as one of the popular girls in my school, if I hadn't met her a few weeks ago.

"Just as I'd hoped!" Miss Munro exclaimed and clapped her hands together. She was standing in the middle of a long corridor, one of the only corridors which held bright fluorescent lights. The lights were torture to my eyes, but the pain was only a nagging feeling in the back of my mind s I tried to piece together what was going on.

"You were the one experimenting on humans?" Aldrich asked with shock. "Why would you do that?" I didn't know what 'that' was, because there were a lot of things I wanted to know the reasons for. Miss Munro had given us a tool to find where she operated. She wanted us to come here, on our own accord. If she was the one in charge of the humans, what relation did she have with Murdoch? And why would she send Sadie out to attack us?

"Well, yes, technically." Miss Munro nodded her head and shrugged as she began to walk backwards and down the hallway. "I was working on the project for years, not before Bertrand of course, but I had always been fascinated by the link between humans and vampires."

She walked through a set of double doors which were being held open. Sadie cocked her head to the side and watched us expectedly. I had the feeling that we were meant to follow, but I stopped myself. I turned to Aldrich and Geppetto, motioning them forward. I would be far more comfortable fi they were the ones leading this group and conversation. I doubted their common sense, but they had survived long enough in the world of vampires for me to figure that they must know something useful.

I stayed with Caio, Noah, Sawyer, and Haven as we let the adults go ahead. Caio was slightly behind us, but only enough to stop anything from taking us by surprise. It was strange, considering Sawyer and Noah were probably the most powerful of us. Caio was the one who knew how to fight.

I was still very tense from the ambush outside, but it filled me with a strange confidence. I believed that we could handle ourselves in an even situation, which this most certainly was not in any form.

We followed Miss Munro into a large room which was as cold as a fridge. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was probably due to the chemicals and liquids which were stored in many glass containers around the room. There were also several bags of blood strewn across the many polished surfaces.

"Did some spring cleaning since I was here," Noah muttered to me. I snorted, because he still managed to joke, even if we were in a life-threatening situation. I didn't miss the fact that he was holding onto my hand a little tighter. I knew that this wasn't the room which Bertrand had used to experiment on him, but it felt almost identical. The atmosphere was filled with a thick fog of suffering and madness.

There were at least eight people in the room, all of which watched us silently. There were some who were shaking from fear, and others who stared at us, seizing us up. It was clear why. They were being defiant to whatever experiments they were going to be put through. Understandably, they didn't want any part of this.

"And, that fascination excuses experimenting on humans, how?" Aldrich continued. He seemed especially angry with this new revelation. I suppose I could understand from his perspective. Sawyer's mother was a human, he must feel quite strongly about the safety of them, at least I hoped so. I knew that he loved Sawyer's mother when they were together, and sometimes I Felt as though he still did.

"Well, experimenting on them and then forcing them to attack vampires," Geppetto corrected. I assumed that he would have no issues hurting humans, especially from what I'd witnessed of him.

Miss Munro chuckled as she moved over to what I recognised as more vampire detector. "There must be sacrifices made in the name of science, my dears. After all, most of the inventions and discoveries have come from great places of sacrifice. Take vaccinations for example, you took a bit of infection from a person, the recipient may be slightly sick in response, but then that builds up their immunity."

"In what way does that relate to sticking vampire blood in humans?" Haven asked heatedly. I could sense her anger building, almost simmering over. "I took history GCSE. Just because there was progress then, doesn't mean there's still room for it now, especially when it comes to vampires and humans. That stuff-" she pointed to the tables full of chemicals, "-kills."

Miss Munro nodded her head, looking almost sober. "Yes, it's very unfortunate that we haven't quite figured out the correct variables and quantities." She rested a hand on her chin. "But no matter now, you're all here."

I cursed aloud as more footsteps came through the building, thundering closer and closer to us. There were several doors in the room, each of them were probably the target of at least one other person. We were being surrounded by superhumans.

"Okay, we're going to skip the whole conversation, fighting thing." I put my hand up. "What's your real intention, and why do you want us here?" I had already heard enough of the villain talk from Geppetto, Bertrand, and Murdoch.

"I'm doing it for the sake of science, my child. It's all I've ever been devoted to." Miss Munro exclaimed and gestured widely to our surroundings. "I told you back at the meeting, how devoted I am to the art of science." Then at least eight superhumans entered the room, capturing us in a tight circle.

"I didn't know that devotion led to insanity," Noah commented. His shoulders had tensed, and I was certain that he wasn't thinking through his words. "Why do things always have to come down to physical fights? Why can't we just have an art competition, and the best ones walk free?"

Miss Munro gave a loud and booming laugh. "The arts are a waste of time, and it doesn't have to be a fight." She looked back over her shoulder at us. "It would only be considered a fight, if you were to resist."

"I'm pretty sure we're resisting," Sawyer commented quietly.

That was all the superhumans needed to attack us. Their first target was me, which I found to be very inconvenient, as I tried my hardest to concentrate on Noah and Haven. I wasn't the best fighter, but I did notice that some of the superhumans were clumsy in their actions. Supreme strength didn't always equal grace. It made sense for them to target me, as I was probably the weakest of the entire group, but we were still slightly outnumbered.

Caio was having a blast fighting the superhumans, and he killed two without any remorse. The further into the fight we got, the more people became a part of it. Soon there were around twenty superhumans attacking us.

I tried to keep a hold of Noah, but the crowd and the constant dodging and punching caused me to lose track of my surroundings. Which meant I got the fright of my life when a very sharp pain came into contact with the back of my neck.

My body crumbled to the floor. I was faintly aware of Noah screaming, "Crow!" My entire body felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time. I didn't know what was happening to me. The only time I had felt like this was during my first few days of becoming a vampire, when the thirst was eating at me.

Noises became so loud, it felt like they were coming from inside my mind. Lights and colours danced in my vision, so much I didn't know if I was losing my mind or not. All of my joints felt like they were on fire, my muscles contracting painfully. I couldn't even scream from the pain.

My upper body was moved, but I couldn't make out by who. A face was above me, but the features were too blurry. Something warm was running down my face which I assume were tears that were building and falling rapidly.

"What's...on...him?" I could barely make out the words of the person above me. They were angry, I could feel it. I didn't know how that was possible, but it helped me regulate my own emotions. I compared them, analysed them. My heart was beating like a hummingbird's wings, as though it was fighting to keep its rhythm.

"Panicking..." Another voice said, but this voice was harsh and angry. I didn't think it was directed at me in any way, but I was slowly slipping. My mind was forgetting the situation we were in, and who was around me. Each time a worrisome thought came to me, such as remembering we were in the middle of being attacked, I jolted and tried to come back to reality, with a sense of desperation.

Then I was warm. It didn't feel like a fire I had felt earlier. It was warm and comforting and real. The colours in front of my eyes turned to darkness as I felt myself being hugged. "Come back to me, sweetheart." I didn't know who was calling me sweetheart, but I felt like that wasn't the appropriate word. "Come back to me."

My hands began to move on their own accord. They travelled up the arm of the person holding me and gripped the jacket they wore. The familiar scent of mint and coffee filled my nose like a punch to the face. I gasped and coughed into Noah's chest.

"Crow?" Noah asked with panic. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay? How is he okay?" He must've been asking someone above me.

"His DNA ensures that he was able to withstand the chemicals," Miss Munro said, her voice full of pride. "I knew it!"

"His DNA?" Someone else asked. "How? He's just a vampire."

"No, no, don't you get it?" Noah asked the person with an almost desperate tone. "It only works on the offspring of humans and vampires. We were asking about Crow's father earlier." He gazed down at me, his eyes met mine, twinkling with worry and hope. "His father must be a vampire."