"And your jacket," Conner said.
The guard handed this over too. Conner slipped it on, and beckoned the girls closer. "Let's go."
They filed past him and stopped when they reached the compound. The entrance locked, but the card Conner had unlocked it, and they were able to go inside. Conner didn't know what to expect and was surprised when he heard people screaming and saw men and women running all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off. He had no idea what was going on.
He turned to Harper, Brittney, and Heather. "What the hell?"
"I don't know," Harper said.
"Well, let's get busy," he said.
They raised their guns and went further into the fray. Soldiers ran past them, looking frightened for their lives. Most of them didn't even look at the four.
About a quarter of the way to the first wing, a group of soldiers stopped them. These ones didn't look scared at all; they looked grim and serious. They were all carrying semi-automatics.
"Back to your cells," one of the men called out. "If you go now, we won't kill you."
Conner never hesitated; he jumped forward, closing the distance quickly. He grabbed the man and snapped his neck, just as the others started firing. Brittney and Harper both ducked down, avoiding the bullets. Heather didn't move, and the bullets slammed into her. She took several in the chest, and like Conner, she bled green, demonic blood.
She leapt on one of the men who'd shot her, her talons ripping into his flesh, and her teeth tearing at his jugular. Conner might have been disgusted if he wasn't full of so much rage from his kill. He turned to the others, preparing to jump another one. Then a bullet grazed the side of his head, and he crumpled to the ground, seeing no more.
TWENTY
When Harper saw Conner collapse, his blood running freely from the scalp wound, she let out a long scream, nearly dropping her weapon.
"Harper!" Brittney screamed. "Don't you dare!"
Apparently her need to go to Conner had shown on her face. Harper felt torn, but in the end, she kept her stance, aiming at the man who'd shot Conner down. If he was dead, he was dead. They all knew they were putting a lot at risk by coming in the first place. She aimed carefully, her vision growing sharp.
Then she shot the man in the chest. He fell down, crying out. Blood pooled around his mouth, and dripped down onto the ground. It was the first human Harper had ever killed, and she thought for a moment she might be sick.
Now wasn't the time, though. She heard gunfire coming from the other soldiers, and from Brittney. Heather had leapt to another guard and was attacking him with all the ferocity she could muster.
She swiveled her gun around, aiming at another guard. He took a shot at her but it missed by inches -- she felt it zip through the air near her face. She couldn't go into shock right now. She took aim again, and fired. The bullet struck the man in the arm, and he dropped his gun, cradling his injury.
There were still three others. Brittney took one out with a bullet to the head. Heather attacked another, her mouth dripping blood. It ran down her face in streaks, and she looked positively terrifying. Harper watched her for a minute before lifting her gun and spinning around. She didn't know how she knew men were coming behind her, except for her intuition.
"Drop them!" she called out.
The men who were approaching saw her fierce look, her make up, and the dead soldiers at their feet. They dropped their weapons and held up their hands.
"You're going to take us to the cells and unlock them," Harper said. "Now!"
"We can't," one of the men said. "We're not authorized. We wouldn't be able to get in."
"Then leave," Harper said. "Before you get what these men got."
They hesitated a moment, but when Brittney and Heather flanked her sides, their eyes widened in horror, and they turned, fleeing.
"Great," Harper said. "How are we going to get in?"
Heather shook her head, letting out a low growl.
Brittney shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted.
Harper turned to ask Conner and remembered that he'd been shot. It hit her all at once, and now that their lives weren't at risk, she dropped down beside him, feeling for a pulse. There was one, and it was strong. She let out a sigh of relief, and then took a look at his head.
The bullet had just grazed him, she saw. She put forth all her mental energy, and then shook him, screaming out with her mind at the same time for him to wake up. She didn't know if it would work until he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Thank God," she said.
Then Conner kissed her, and it was a fierce, bitter kiss that tasted of fear and adrenaline and death. She would later have dreams about this kiss, dreams where he kissed her and then collapsed in her arms, dying.
He didn't die, though. He got to his feet, and grabbed a gun from one of the dead soldiers. Heather grabbed one as well.
"You," Harper said, to the man she'd shot in the arm. "Are you authorized to go into the cells?"
The man glared at her, and Conner stepped up, hissing down at him. "If I kill you, it won't be pleasant."
"Yes," the man said, "I'm authorized."
"Get up then."
The man got slowly to his feet, cradling his injured arm. "You're going to regret this," he said. "There's too many of us."
"Guess we'll have to even up the number a little," Heather said, her voice hard and callous. "Now, take us to the cells."
"They're rooms," the man said. "Hospital rooms. Don't you know what we're doing here? We're curing the disease of vampirism. We're turning them back into real men and women again. You're stopping something that could save thousands. Maybe even millions."
"There's no cure," Brittney said coldly. "This is just an excuse to experiment on people who've done nothing wrong."
The man glared at her. "They're vampires," he said. "Not cute little bunnies. Do you have any idea what they can do?"
Harper stepped forward. "Do you have any idea what we'll do to you if you keep talking?"
She didn't think she'd ever felt so angry in her life. She'd been forced to kill a man, and for what? So this sniveling soldier could try and make them feel guilty about stopping something that was hurting scores of innocent people? They were innocent. None of them had chosen to become vampires.
"Fine," he said. "I'll take you."
He started walking in the direction of the first quarter of the compound, cradling his bleeding arm.
The area he led them to had no cells. There were rooms, but these rooms were empty. He walked past them, heading towards a room near the back. They followed, keeping their guns raised.
When he opened the door in the back, Harper realized they'd been led straight into a trap. There were over a dozen soldiers there, all holding guns that they aimed at them the moment the door opened.
"Drop your weapons," one of the men said.
"We'll kill you," Conner called out. "We can do that, you know."
One of the men stepped forward, his gun aimed straight at Harper's head. "Would you, incubus? You and that harpy? While I've got these two humans in my sights? I imagine they'll bleed a lot more red than you."
Conner said nothing.
"You see, I have the Sight," he said. "I can tell what you are -- and what you aren't. Their makeup doesn't fool me. These two aren't demonic. They can be killed. Now, drop your weapons or the girl dies first."
"Don't do it," Harper said.
The man fired a shot right over her head. "Drop them!" he said. "You're outnumbered."
Conner dropped his weapon and put his hands up. Heather did the same. Brittney cursed loudly and then put her gun down as well. Harper was the only one left with her gun, and she thought of blindly shooting into them, trying to take out as many as she could at once.
But it wasn't the right time; her intuition told her that, and she put her gun carefully on the ground.
"Good," the man said. He turned to another of the soldiers. "Take them to a room," he sai
d. "Lock them in the restraints, and close the door. We'll deal with them later. Who knows what we'll find in their blood?"
"We'll kill you for this," Conner promised.
"I don't think you're going to be killing anyone for a long time," the man said. "Now! Take them!"
The man he'd been speaking to stepped forward and grabbed Harper. He whipped her around, clasping her hands behind her back. The others stepped forward and took hold of Brittney, Heather, and Conner.
The rest of them flanked them, keeping their guns level at their heads. They were led back down the corridor they came through, took a right turn, and entered the first quarter of the compound where there were dozens of locked doors.
Harper let out a low curse.
The soldier holding her gave her a rough shove. "That's enough of that," he said. "You have a dirty mouth, girl, but we'll fix that."
"Don't you dare touch her," Conner threatened.
"Be quiet, incubus," one of the others said. "You'll get what's coming to you, too. Don't you worry."
"I'm not scared of you," Conner said clearly. The man brought his gun up and pistol-whipped Conner in the exact spot he'd taken the bullet. He let out a scream of agony and anger.
"Now shut up," the man said.
"You can lock us up," Heather said. "But don't think you're going to win this. We're stronger than you. We'll be eating drinking your blood for our morning juice."
The man holding her let out a sigh of disgust, and tightened his grip on her wrists. "Shut up," he said.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Heather said.
He ignored her, and nodded to one of the men who had his gun trained on them. "Open the door," he said.
The man hurried forward, taking out a key. He began to unlock the deadbolts. Before he could start on the second one, a voice interrupted them.
"Now, what do you think you're doing?"
The man turned slightly, looking at the intruders. Harper felt her heart fill. She recognized that voice. She would recognize it anywhere. She turned her head slightly and saw Alec striding forward.
His eyes were black, and his expression stony. Following him were Samuel, Sarah, Chloe, and Wren.
"Halt, or we'll kill them," the man holding Harper shouted.
Alec leaped on him, knocking him away from Harper. Before the others had time to register what was happening, he'd ripped the man's throat out. His face was messy with blood and Alec looked wild and feral.
The men started firing, and Sarah and Samuel both morphed into their animal forms and began attacking.
At the same time, Chloe and Wren jumped one of the men who was too slow to raise his weapon. They overpowered him and Chloe grabbed his gun. She began shooting. Brittney twisted quickly, aiming a blow at the man who'd been holding her. It struck him in the nose and he stumbled back, raising his weapon.
"Not a chance," Chloe said. "That's my girlfriend, jerk." She took off the top of his head with a well-aimed bullet.
Harper dove to the ground just as a bullet flew over her head. She grabbed one of the dead men's guns. She wasn't that good of a shot, though, and she threw the gun to Brittney instead. Brittney caught and cocked it, and aimed it one of the men.
"Don't move," she said.
They had quickly gained the advantage and the men left alive seemed to realize that. They all held up their hands.
"Mercy," one of the men said. "We were just doing our job!"
"I told you I'd enjoy killing you," Heather said. She grabbed the man, kissed him, and then snapped his neck. She threw his body away and turned to Wren. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I could ask you the same," he said, with a ghost of a smile. Heather leaned over and squeezed his hand. He stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes, and then to Harper's surprise, the two of them kissed.
"Is it really the time?" Alec demanded.
They pulled apart. "Well, seeing as we could die any moment," Wren said. "Yeah, I suppose it is the time."
Harper glanced over at Alec. She felt the insane urge to do exactly the same thing. But then there was Conner at her side, putting a hand on her shoulder, turning her towards him.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Are you?"
"Yes," she said.
"Then let's take this place," he said. He turned to one of the men who'd dropped his weapon. "You're coming with us," he said, "but first I want you to unlock this door."
The man hurried forward and unlocked it. Harper glanced inside. There was a hospital bed, and bars on the small window. There was also a variety of medical equipment. She felt sickened. This is where they'd kept Alec? Where Jeffrey currently was?
"Get in," Alec said to the rest of the men. "All of you."
One at a time, they filed into the room.
Alec slammed the door shut and locked it. "Now," he said to the man, "Conner's right. You're coming with us. You're going to unlock all the cells."
"And let out all the vampires?" the man asked. "Are you serious? They'd rip us apart!"
"And what you're doing to them is so much better?" Alec demanded. "You have a choice. You can do what we say, or you can die. But before you die, I'll turn you. Let them experiment on you for awhile."
The man's face paled. "You wouldn't," he said. "I've heard of you. You're the one who refused blood."
"I'm off that diet," Alec said. "And I'm very, very thirsty."
The man paled even more, and nodded. "I'll open the doors," he said.
"Good man," Conner said. "Now move!"
Together, they began to move from cell to cell, opening the door, and then lifting the restraints holding the vampires in. Most of them were too weak to even walk. Alec talked to them in a soothing voice, promised them their freedom, and left them there to recover.
Some of them were strong, though, and angry. They joined the group as they went through each cell, freeing the men, women, and children who were being held captive.
It took nearly two hours to make it through all the cells. Several times, they were attacked by guards, but between them and the vampires, there was no real threat. Soon the compound was littered with bodies.
They went to the lab last. The door was locked this time, but they could hear people inside.
"Unlock it," Alec said to their prisoner.
"I can't," he said. "The lab requires a different key. They designed it that way so if there was an escape... or an attack... the lab wouldn't be at risk. None of us can unlock it."
Conner stepped forward and pounded on the door. "Let us in!"
"They won't," the soldier said. "And you can't break through. It was built to resist the strength of vampires."
Brittney aimed her gun at the lock.
"I wouldn't do that," the soldier said. "If you try and shoot it, it'll create an explosion on this side. We'll all be dead then."
Brittney lowered her gun. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"You don't," the man said. "You're going to have to take my word for it."
Brittney scowled and raised her gun again.
"Don't," Harper said. "He's telling the truth. I can tell."
Brittney nodded, and stepped over to the man. "Then you're no good to us," she said. She struck out suddenly with her gun in hand, the butt of it connecting solidly with his temple. He fell forward on his knees and then collapsed.
Immediately, a half dozen vampires jumped forward, their fangs gleaming.
"Don't," Alec said. "You don't want to do that."
One of the vampires turned to him. "Why?" she asked. "These men have kept us prisoner, feeding us blood, and experimenting on us. The pain... I thought I'd go insane from the pain! Why shouldn't I kill him? Why shouldn't I drink his blood?"
"Because then you'll be no better than him," Alec said. "And once you start killing, it's hard to stop. Trust me. It'll start with this man, and then you'll get the craving for it, and you won't be able to stop."
The woman hesitated. "They made
me into this monster. Perhaps it's their comeuppance that I kill him, and all the others too."
Several of the vampires cried out their agreement.
"No!" Alec said. "No. This is not who you are, any of you. They might have made you into monsters, but you still have the chance to be human again."
"Are you talking about the cure?" one of the men asked. "Because that cure is useless. All it did was hurt me."
"No," Alec said, and lowered his voice a little. "No. I won't lie to you. There is no cure for vampirism. None. You're going to be undead for the rest of your lives. You'll crave blood. You won't age. You won't be able to go out except at night. But listen to me. You can keep your humanity. You don't have to do this."
The woman who'd first spoken shook her head slowly. "What if that's not good enough?"
"It has to be," Alec said. "Phoenix is full of vampires. Killing won't solve that, it'll just spread the problem. You can't kill them. That's where it'll start. Then you'll go on killing, and institutions like this will pop up everywhere as the government tries to get rid of you. You'll shepherd in the era of bloody battles and death. Is that what you want?"
The woman frowned. "No," she finally said.
"Then be human," he said. "Be as human as you can."
The woman slowly transformed back into her human self. She looked as though she might cry. "What kind of life can we have?" she asked. "We should let them kill us. All of us." She turned to the others. "Let them kill us," she repeated. "Let them end this here."
"No," Alec said. "You can have lives, fulfilling lives, and still be vampires."
The woman shook her head.
"I can teach you," Alec said.
Another vampire behind him nodded. Harper watched him change back into his human self. "He's right," he said. "He can teach us. He can help us. What's your name?"
"Alec."
"Alec, stay with us when we're done with this," the man said. "Stay with us and help us."
There were murmurs of agreement.
Alec opened his mouth to say something, and Harper dreaded what it might be. Would he agree to stay in Phoenix and take care of the vampires? Would this be the last time she saw him? Her heart felt like it might burst from her chest.
A Phoenix Never Dies (Afterlife Book 6) Page 10