Hi! This is my attempt at a rewrite of my 2013 Lost Boys story, No Rest For the Wicked. It's currently still up if any of you would like to go back and reread the older version! Basically, I was rereading it and thought the bones were really good, but some editing and plot changes needed to be made. So I've decided to take it on again! Hopefully this goes well, I've got my fingers crossed that you all enjoy the rewrite as much as you did the original! xx.

So, I'm starting with the same background info as last time - Lucy agreed to Max's plan, and they're married. Michael and Lucy are full vampires, but Sam remains human.

It was a god-awful decision for Taylor to hitchhike in July.

It really couldn't be helped, as she'd overslept and missed her flight after spending just a little longer than anticipated at the bar last night. She'd promised not to beat herself up too much over it, no matter what her mother or Michael said to her - it was her going-away party, and, for Christ's sakes, she was allowed to have some fun.

The rest of the Emerson family had gone on ahead of her, her mother abruptly packing their things and forcing them into the car the moment she found out about her husband's affair. It was a wonder Sam and Mike didn't have whiplash - within a matter of hours, their family had gone from whole to broken. But Taylor adapted quickly and well, she always had been that way, and opted to stay in Phoenix to finish up cosmetology school.

She'd only been separated from her brothers for two months, but, as time went on, letters from Michael, her twin, had more than dwindled. He went from sending her pages - records of his day, her family, and pictures of Nanook - to nothing, all in the span of just a few weeks. As Michael's letters stopped coming, Sam started to write her fervently, his letters urging her to come to Santa Carla under the guise that it was just 'so fun here,' and he 'couldn't wait to share it' with her. Then, her mother hadn't called in three weeks, except to mail a copy of the airline ticket.

Something stunk about Santa Carla, and hesitant as Taylor was to leave her life in Phoenix behind, she was anxious to be with her family. She wasn't sure if it was nerves, anger, or some kind of sixth sense, but her stomach ached with unease.

On the road beside her, cars zoomed past, but no one had picked her up for miles. Luckily, the flight she'd missed had been at 6:45am, and her last ride had been an exceptionally fast driver - the sun was just beginning to set, and she was already in Fresno County. She was additionally thankful that she'd had the idea to mail her belongings ahead, as an oversized tote was easier to manage while walking than a full-sized suitcase. She'd chosen her flimsy sandals so she could take them off on the plane, not so she could walk along the highway in them, and they were starting to make her feet very, very sore.

Like a literal beacon of light in the distance, she spotted a payphone up ahead - the first roadside one she'd seen in miles. Rejuvenated, she hurried towards it.

Taylor had called earlier in the day from a car phone, staring at the number Sam had printed at the bottom of the last letter. The address, too, was different - they'd moved out of Grandpa's house, it seemed, and in with Mom's new husband.

Seriously, what woman would get re-married without her only daughter present? It made Taylor's blood boil to think of it - seriously, Taylor hadn't even met him, and now this Max was her new step-father? The whole thing was strange, so unlike the mother she knew in Phoenix, but then again, that Lucy had been fooled and cheated on and left out to dry in the rain. Taylor knew that affairs took a toll on women, that they could drive them to make crazy and rash decisions - maybe Max was one of her mother's?

When she had called from the car phone, around noon or a little after, no one picked up. She'd left a message, telling her family that she'd missed her flight but she still planned to be in Santa Carla by that night, conveniently leaving out how she planned to get there. Taylor found it odd that there'd been no response yet, but, then again, her family had no way of reaching her.

She quickly dialed the unfamiliar number, mentally noting that she'd have to stop at a gas station soon and ask for directions to the address from Sam's letter. The line didn't even ring twice before a gruff voice answered.

"Taylor?" Michael huffed.

"Hello to you too, Mikey." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Mom!" Mike yelled, angling his face away from the phone before turning back to speak into the receiver. "Where the hell are you?"

"I left a message a few hours ago. I missed the plane." Taylor reminded him. "I'm calling because I'm in the county, I'll be there in a few hours."

"Taylor Emerson, this is your Mother." Lucy's voice came over the line. "You don't have a car! How did you get here?"

"I walked some of it, I rode some of it..." Taylor swallowed, deliberately leaving out the word 'hitchhiking.' Her mom sounded so different, so much harsher, but maybe that's because she hadn't heard her voice in weeks.

On the other end of the line, Taylor could hear Lucy fuming. A male voice in the back piped up: "Relax, darling, what matters is that she's almost here now, and she's arrived safely." Taylor shuddered involuntarily - that must've been the infamous Max, listening in on their conversation.

"What are you near, Tay?" Michael sighed. "I'll come pick you up."

"That's not necessary - "

"Taylor."

"I'm near a Shell station in a little town called Turk." Taylor half smiled - at least, she figured, she'd get to see her brother finally.

"I'm on my way."