~BOOK 5/PART ONE~ Paranormal: Too Close To Home (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

I was reading over a few pages from a book Rhett gave to me when I heard footsteps rushing towards me.

"Link!" The human screamed, "You've got to see this!"

I looked up from the piece of literature and watched as my friend ran into the room, a worried expression spread across his face and his laptop resting in his arms. "I was looking for Halsey, because, well, it's been five hours and she hasn't come back from 'running away', so I put her face into my facial recognition software and this is what came up." He turned the laptop around to reveal Halsey sitting in the center of the screen. A lackadaisical smile was plastered on her face; her arms, legs, and torso tied down to the chair she was sitting in. It was evident that someone was filming her. The only question was: who?

"How do you feel, Hals?" An unfamiliar voice sounded off screen.

"I feel amazing," The stoned girl replied, allowing a laugh to slip past her lips.

"Want to say something to Link, or your parents, or maybe Brent?" The same unrecognizable voice inquired in a somewhat teasing, mocking manner.

"Fuck them." The words rolled off her tongue with ease, making her smile grow even more. "I don't need them. They don't care about me, and I don't care about them."

"No, Halsey, the other thing. Tell them the other thing."

The hybrid's head rolled forward, her eyes locking with the camera lens and the corner of her lip curling up into a smirk. "What other thing?"

"You know..."

"What? That you're going to kill me if they don't quit trying to stop your plan?" She mused, her enthused gaze traveling up to the person standing behind the camcorder. "I thought that was a joke." My blue-haired granddaughter giggled at the threat as if it weren't real, like she wasn't in danger.

"This is no joke, Halsey, as much as you want it to be." The camera zoomed in, the person behind it stepping closer to her. "Tell your family to back off, or I will."

"Well I kinda just did, and so did you. I mean, there's not much more to explain." And with that, the video cut out. The screen went black and I slowly met Rhett's equally concerned gaze.

"We have to show this to Rachael and Patrick," I immediately stated, getting up from the arm chair I was sitting in and tossing the book down behind me.

"What then?" He argued, as if informing them about this was a bad idea, "We have no idea where she is, and once we tell them, they'll definitely try to interfere with the demon."

I scoffed. "Well I can't just keep this from them either, Rhett. She's their daughter, for crying out loud."

"Call Kenya," The human suggested.

"What's Kenya going to do? She's not looking for this demon - the demon's looking for her."

"She's one of the only people that'll probably find her in enough time; Halsey could be anywhere. Plus, she's got a hunter by her side, so they'd protect her, especially now that Rachael robbed the girl of her powers."

"A hunter..." I rubbed my chin, remembering Rhett mention a hunter associated with Kenya before, "...Lynn?"

"Yeah. She specializes in hunting demons and witches; I'm sure they can handle finding Halsey."

"Yeah, I know who she is. I just...she's my granddaughter, Rhett. I feel responsible for her, and letting someone else save her-"

Rhett closed the laptop. "You're not really thinking of exposing yourself to the paranormal community again, are you? You know they know what you did, and you know they still haven't forgiven you for it."

"I know what happened; I couldn't forget if I tried, but Halsey was right. I hide in this house, away from the world and away from people like me. God, if it wasn't for Rachael, I wouldn't have known that Halsey existed."

"Halsey wouldn't exist period if it wasn't for Rachael," He replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Maybe we should go out and look for her." I scratched behind my head, looking in the direction of the front door. If I left, I would be in the real world. This house was my safety net, and if I stepped outside...I didn't really want to think about that. I could get hurt. Halsey could get hurt, or even worse, killed.

"Link, you know I'm here for you, but I can't back you up on this one. This isn't your war to fight. It's theirs; I'm sure they've gotten this message."

"Maybe I should make it my fight."

"No, Link, no. N-O."

"Rhett we can't live in this house forever!" I snapped at him, growing restless and anxious, "Sooner or later, we're going to have to get out. Besides, I promised Rachael I'd keep her daughter safe, and I suppose it's time that I paid Natalie a visit too."

My companion heaved an annoyed sigh, shaking his head. "I never understood why you became so attached to those girls, Link. They're not even related to you."

"Natalie is, she's just lost. And Rachael, she stood by me even though I messed up her life." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "For that, I'll always have a place for her and her family in my heart."

"Link, you shouldn't go out there. They're going to tear you apart." They being the witches and wizards and other paranormals in the cold, harsh world I'd distanced myself from.

"I'll be okay, Rhett. I need to do this." I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Keep in touch with me, will you? Also let me know if you find out anything else. The world doesn't stop spinning, you know." He rolled his eyes and turned away from me, obviously upset with my decision. I heaved a sigh and straightened the front of my shirt out, assuring myself under my breath, "I need to do this. Yeah, I need to." And with that, I closed my eyes and snapped my fingers, disappearing into thin air.