by Peter Glenn
Anti-vampire.
“Ugh,” I groaned. There was only one way this would end if they caught up to us. Badly. I spun and turned my attention to Charmaine. “We’ve got to get you out of here. And fast.”
“What’s going on, Damian?” She shot me a quizzical look.
“No time to explain.” I grabbed her arm and started to pull her toward a nearby alleyway. “We can visit your husband in a few minutes. Right now, we just need to get you out of the way.”
“I have a right to know what’s going on,” Charmaine insisted. She came with me, but reluctantly.
The entrance to the alley was only a few feet away. If we could duck in there before the protesters got too close, maybe they’d be too scared to follow us. It was a slim hope, but it was something.
“Protesters,” I whispered as I pulled her onward. “Not the good kind.”
Recognition dawned on her and she sped up. We made it around the corner right as the first shout from the group rang out, shattering the night air.
“Vampire!” the shrill voice shouted. Even from this distance, I could feel the hate and vitriol of that single word.
Great. Just great. They’d recognized her somehow. Was her face plastered all over the news, too? It was the only thing that made sense.
“Damn it,” I said. “We’ve got to run.”
Charmaine nodded, and we booked it down the alley. I expected her to far outpace me, but I was actually going faster than she was. Had the effects of my blood run out already, or was she trying to stay with me?
“Go!” I spurned her. “Get out of here. It’s you they want.”
“I’m going as fast as I can!”
The second option, then. Apparently the effects of human blood didn’t last long. Well, hell.
“Vampire!” the chant came again. “Get her before she kills again!”
I craned my neck to look behind me. Several of the protesters had followed us. Perhaps six at most, which was better than ten but still a lot. Most of them had ditched their signs in favor of speed, and there was a wild anger in their eyes.
Fortunately, I didn’t see any weapons on them. That would make things a little easier if they caught up to us. I really didn’t want anyone to come to harm if I could avoid it, even if they were prejudiced little punks.
I ran around another corner, and Charmaine followed. I tried to judge our lead as I sped down the next street. It wasn’t much, maybe half a block or so, and I felt like they were gaining on us. I was still moving slower than normal. Most likely, I was still suffering slightly from blood loss. Which meant our chances of losing them entirely were slim.
The protesters appeared once more, tearing around the corner and coming into full view. They were definitely gaining on us.
My heart pounded in my chest. I had to think fast. If we couldn’t outrun them, I’d have to mount a defense. Not that there was much around here to do that with, either.
“Get behind me!” I yelled at Charmaine, practically pushing her at the same time. “I’ll try to hold them off while you run for it.”
I know what you’re thinking. Very brave of me. But really, it was more stupid. I was clearly outmatched.
“I’m not leaving you,” Charmaine uttered.
She stared down the protesters with a hardened glare and took up a fighting stance. It was heartening, but I knew she wasn’t much for combat. Not with her squeamishness. And I didn’t need her getting in the way.
“Very gallant of you, but you need to get out of here before that crowd gets too wild. I’ll call you when it’s safe. Now go.” I shoved her again for good measure.
Charmaine took one last look at me and patted me on the back, then bolted down the street. Meanwhile, I turned to fully face the protesters and got into a fighting stance, holding my hands out in front of me.
I thought briefly of using Grax’thor, but I didn’t want to kill anyone here. Not this close to a police precinct. Besides, if any of them died, it’d only look worse for her husband and magnify the vampire hatred.
No, I needed to disable them and stop them, but make sure they all lived to see tomorrow.
My menacing stance made the group falter slightly, and I saw them slow to a halt maybe five feet away. One of them in the back somehow still had his sign, and the others raised their hands and got ready to fight.
“You’re protecting a criminal,” the lead protester said. She had a knit cap on her head and was wearing a thick red jacket.
“Nope,” I countered, shaking my head. “She’s done nothing wrong.”
“She’s a vampire!” another of them shouted. This one was wearing a ski mask and looking every bit the criminal themselves in a dark trench coat. “What more proof do you need?”
“Yeah!” the call echoed through the crowd. The guy in back with the sign hefted it in unison to accentuate the remark. I could make it out now. It had a cartoon Dracula in the middle with a red circle around it and a line through it. Very original.
“Sorry, but you’ve got it all wrong,” I told them. “She’s vegan, and her husband was framed. You’re looking in the wrong place.”
I tried to keep my voice stern and level, but the cold and threatening faces of the group made that difficult. If I didn’t de-escalate this group fast, there’d be blows exchanged. And with me not at the top of my game, I was a little worried. I’d probably live through whatever they could dish out, but damn, would it hurt.
“Lies!” Knit Cap cried. “Get out of our way before we make you!”
I doubled down on my attack stance. “Not going to happen.”
The first punch came so fast that I barely even saw it happen. Ski Mask lunged forward, aiming his fist at my face. I managed to duck backward just in time for it to sail through the spot where my head had just been.
I recovered fast, slamming the side of my hand into his kidney with a satisfying thwack. Ski Mask grunted as he tumbled to the ground. It’s true what they say, kids. Kidney punches hurt like hell.
Everything after that was chaos. The rest of the group rushed me almost all at once, and it was all I could do to protect my head from the numerous blows rushing at it with my upturned arms. Blow after blow connected as I sat there, taking the punishment and looking around in vain for an opening to fight back.
I felt more than saw one of the buggers try to rush past my guard to the right to get past me and stuck out my leg at the last moment. They tripped and fell head-first into the ground with a loud thud. I gave their back a swift kick and heard them grunt, but they stayed pretty still after that.
Another guy with a green sweater got a little too close then, and I used that to my advantage. I ducked under his lumbering punch and jabbed my own fist into his sternum. Green Sweater flailed and collided with Sign Guy, both of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs and screams.
Most of them would probably get back up at some point, but with four people on the ground, I liked my odds a lot better.
I shoved outward and backed up a few steps to get some distance between me and whoever was still standing.
Panting and with sweat threatening to blind me from the exertion, I took stock of the battlefield. Knit Cap was still standing, as was another gentleman wearing a gray hoodie. The look of wild anger I’d sensed in them earlier had only grown during the short melee.
For my part, I had suffered several blows to my arms, and my left side would be littered with bruises in the morning, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I’d been through worse.
“Don’t suppose you want to call it a draw?” I asked the last two people standing. After felling four of their buddies, I figured it was worth a shot.
Knit Cap and Hoodie glared at me in response, then advanced.
“Heh.” I shrugged and stuck up my fists. “Guess not.”
Hoodie reached me first. He sent his fist flying at me in a wide arc, aiming for my injured side. Smart move, but I was faster. I turned and let his fist fly past me, then grabbed his ar
m and used his own momentum to send him hurtling toward the ground.
Knit Cap was more patient. She watched me for a minute, throwing out feints but keeping her distance. Her wiry frame bobbed and weaved back and forth as she danced in front of me. I got the impression that she was an amateur boxer or something.
A trained fighter, then. Great. Just what I needed.
She came at me with a low thrust, and I careened backward, but not in time to ward off the full blow. Her fist connected with my stomach, and I felt pain radiate out from the center of the impact as the wind got knocked out of me.
I staggered just a little more than I’d intended, and she followed up her lucky hit with another jab at my left kidney. This punch connected with more force, and I almost doubled over from the intensity of the pain.
Like I said, getting hit in the kidneys hurts like a mother.
Knit Cap came at me again with an uppercut, but this time, I moved out of the way in time. Which was a good thing, as that blast probably would have knocked me on my ass.
With one hand cradling my injured side, I danced around the cramped street, looking for anything I could use to keep Knit Cap and company off me. I spotted something metal glinting out of a nearby pile of trash and kept it in mind as I weaved around, moving slowly toward that object.
Green Sweater got up at this point and lunged at me again but was no more successful than the first time. I slammed my fist into his back as he sailed past me, and this time I didn’t think he’d get back up for a while.
Still, it had been enough of a distraction that Knit Cap’s next punch caught me unawares. Her fist smacked into my cheek and stars swam in my eyes as I was forced backward once more, reeling from the blow and forced away from the prize in the trash heap.
A rough hand tried to grab me from behind, so I spun, fist at the ready, and swung as hard as I could. I heard someone scream and the sound of ribs cracking as Sign Guy stumbled backward, reeling from my blow.
I gave him a swift kick to the head as he fell, to force him to the ground and hopefully keep him from coming back for another round.
Knit Cap came for me again, then. I dodged forward and to the right a bit, angling closer to that metal object I’d seen from before. She swung hard again and again, but I managed to keep just out of her reach.
I knew I didn’t have long, though. I could already feel my strength fading.
Searing pain rocked the back of my head a second later as I felt something slam into the base of my neck. I tumbled to the ground, barely able to keep control long enough to make sure my arms were out in front of me.
My chin smacked into the pavement anyway and skidded across it, leaving bits of skin behind as blood poured out of the wound and onto the wet ground.
“Not so tough now, are you?” Knit Cap sneered.
I spun around to see both her and Ski Mask looming over me. Both of them looked to be in far better shape than I was.
“Pfft. I’m just getting started,” I fired back.
I swiped at Knit Cap’s extended leg and scored a blow for once. She let out a yelp as she stumbled and fell, hurtling to the ground. In the same instant, Ski Mask tried to pound his fist into my exposed stomach, coming down at me with a powerful jab.
I brought my arms up just in time to block the blow, and they took most of the impact.
Ski Mask readied himself for another assault, but before he could get far, I spun out of the way and squirmed until I was face to face with the object in the trash pile.
My heart sank, and I almost gave up when I realized what it was. It was that blasted anti-vampire sign with the Dracula on it, and the metal bit I’d seen was a prong that would let you stick it in the grass.
No matter. Beggars can’t be choosers and all. I grabbed the sign anyway and sprang to my feet just in time to move out of the way of another rush from Ski Mask.
I took the sign in both hands and smashed it into his face. The metal prong scraped across his cheek, slicing through fabric and skin and ripping it open as he howled and grabbed at the wound. Seizing my advantage, I battered him with the sign a few more times, causing a few more wounds to open up on his hands and arms as he flailed and fell backward.
“And stay down!” I scowled at him as I threw the mangled sign at his stupid chest. The corrugated plastic was in tatters, and the metal prongs were warped and bloody. I seriously doubted anyone would put it up in their yard now.
Small victory, I guess.
“Gerry!” Knit Cap squealed. She turned her attention back to me, nostrils flaring and eyes seething with hatred. “You’ll pay for that!”
I flashed Knit Cap the best grin I could manage, given the pain flaring up in my cheek. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Huh?”
Using her momentary shock, I bolted, speeding down the street as fast as I could. Which wasn’t that fast, really. I was practically limping on the left side and still reeling from the exertion and blood loss.
But it caught Knit Cap unawares, and I was able to gain a small lead on her. Hopefully, it’d be enough.
Knit Cap took off after me, but at this point, I wasn’t too worried about it. I’d given Charmaine plenty of time to get out of there, so she was safe, and even in an angered state, I doubted Knit Cap had the gumption to actually kill me.
“Come back here!” she screamed. Her hands were balled into fists as she ran. It would have been cute if it hadn’t been so homicidal.
“Na na na na, you can’t catch me!” I yelled back.
Okay, maybe not the most grown up of responses, but even though I was over three hundred years old, no one had ever accused me of being an adult.
Knit Cap howled with rage and picked up the pace.
I took a left up ahead and tried to maintain my lead, but once again, it was fading, and fading fast. Knit Cap was really fast on her feet, and in better condition to boot. But if I was right, I wouldn’t have to hold on much longer. Just another half block or so, and I’d have help I could count on.
“Aaah!” Knit Cap shouted after me as she ran on.
She was almost on top of me by this point, so she made a lunge for my midsection. I dodged to the side, and her grapple ended up being more of a shove. I stumbled around for several seconds while I worked to regain my footing while she fell face-first into the pavement.
It was satisfying in a way I hadn’t even realized was possible, but my victory was short lived. That chick was back on her feet faster than should have been possible and back on my tail before I could blink.
“Told you you couldn’t catch me!” I spat at her, tongue out.
Knit Cap roared again, but it didn’t matter. I was here. I rounded the next corner, and the familiar harsh lights of the East Precinct entrance filled my view. I ground out to a halt and stood with my back facing the lights, one hand up, empty and open, in a defensive position.
“Die, vampire lover!” Knit Cap shrieked as she caught up to me.
She laid into me with a hard punch to the gut, and I let it connect, not even fighting it this time. It would have been pointless, anyway. In my injured state, she was far too fast for me.
A fresh wave of pain rocked my core and I doubled over, clutching the tender spot where she’d hit me. She smacked me again on the left side, and I finally fell to the ground.
Knit Cap straddled my body and reached down to pull on my shirt. I heard the fabric tear slightly as she pulled. My poor Duran Duran shirt. Its fate was getting more and more sealed by the minute.
She tugged hard, and my body rose at her command. Then she leaned forward until her face was almost level with mine. She glared at me with those beady little angry eyes and raised her other hand in a fist, ready to strike.
“I told you you’d pay for what you did to Gerry, you vampire scum,” she said through clenched teeth.
My lips curled into the best grin I could manage. “Lady, I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Knit Cap pulled her fist backward, poised to strike, never taking her eyes off mine. I braced for impact. This one was really going to hurt. Just where was that help, already?
“Stop!” someone shouted from behind me, just a second before she could strike. “Put your hands in the air!”
Knit Cap froze, fear setting in as the realization dawned on her as to where we were. Her eyes went wide as she looked around to see several police officers converging on our location, weapons laid bare.
“Na na na na na,” I whispered in her ear. My voice was so low I was pretty sure the officers wouldn’t hear me. “Told you you couldn’t catch me.”
To her credit, Knit Cap didn’t deck me that time. Though I’m positive it was because there were half a dozen tasers aimed at her head, and not my snarkiness.
“Put the man down!” one of the officers demanded.
Knit Cap snarled at me, but she did as she was told. Rougher than she probably should have, but I deserved it.
My head smacked the pavement again, and my vision started to grow dark, but I could still make out enough. As I watched Knit Cap stand up straighter, arms up over her head in a silent surrender as the realization of just what she’d done started to dawn on her, it was all I could do to suppress another smile.
12
“Are you all right?” Charmaine asked me. It was about an hour later, and we were sitting on the steps outside the police precinct.
I took stock of my own injuries. Sure enough, bruises were already forming over darn near half of my body, and I had an oversized bandage on my chin that had almost bled through already. Not to mention everything ached, and my vision was still a little hazy. It was entirely possible I had a slight concussion from one of those head injuries. All I really wanted to do right then and there was down a good painkiller with some excess alcohol and sleep for a solid week.
“Never better,” I assured her with a toothy grin.
Charmaine growled. “I’m serious, Damian, you don’t look good.”
“What, this?” I pointed at the bandage, which really did need to be changed. I was hoping the nice officer from before would be willing to do it. “This is nothing.”