Ravenport: Luna's Awakening

by Alistair Jones

  “Unless you want to get out and push sweetheart, no.” Miguel spits tersely out of the side of his mouth, his foot pushing the accelerator down towards the floor.

  Sakura blinks at that response and instinctively looks up towards the roof of the car and spots a sunroof. She smiles slyly. “On second thought, I have a better idea.”

  The vampire starts to stand, pressing her hand to the sunroof and starts to pry it open. Miguel double takes and reaches a hand over to her stomach, grabbing her. “What the hell are you doing? Sit down!”

  Sakura grumbles as the sunroof’s design made it impossible to open it all the way. Growing impatient, she slams the butt of her sword into the glass, shattering it and rendering it inoperable. When the hand touches her, she barks down towards Miguel’s concern.

  “JUST STEER! I’ve got this!”

  Sakura’s upper torso pops up through the remains of the sunroof, facing the SUV. Looking up, there were three passengers in the other car; Vanille, the battered guy she’d tossed who was driving, and a third, bigger guy. He had a pistol not unlike Miguel’s own magnum. Sakura’s short hair blows wildly in the wind, but luckily none of it was blocking her vision. She brings her hands up and points her palms out from the car. She channels wind from them, as she had so many times before, but this time it was a continuous stream of it. After anchoring her feet on the two seats of the car, slowly but surely, the car started to gain momentum away from the SUV. The larger guy with the pistol starts to take aim at Sakura, firing several shots that graze past her head.

  “SOME DODGING WOULD BE NICE!” Sakura shouts, wincing as the man’s aim seemed to be improving with every shot.

  Traffic swings wildly out of the way as the two cars fly by in relatively close proximity, Miguel taking the suggestion and beginning to weave back and forth. With Sakura channeling her wind, the compact car pulls away, eventually putting a few car lengths of distance between them. But as the chase progressed, the buildings became less and common, and traffic all but disappeared.

  The shrill cry of a police siren cuts through the rush, pulling out from one of the alleys they’d passed seconds ago and aching to join the chase. The red and blue flickers of the emergency lighting instantly catching Miguel’s attention. His eyes narrow.

  “Shit.”

  Quite suddenly, the SUV slows down just a bit as Vanille’s head pops out from the sunroof. Unlike Sakura, she pulls herself completely through the top of the vehicle and stands on it with balanced ease. Vanille points her hand down towards the oncoming police cruiser and waves goodbye towards it. A broad line of orange sears itself into the road, and a moment later, a slithering line of fire erupts beneath the police car. The law enforcement vehicle is engulfed in flame and sent a few dozen feet in the sky, spiraling a few times before landing with a hearty crunch on it’s top, spiraling and sparking itself to a stop.

  The wide commercial road they were on slowly shifts down to a small highway that doesn’t stray too far away from the much larger road running parallel to it. Gunshots whizz over Luna’s still crouched head, impacting the dashboard and one even ricocheting painfully off of Miguel’s metal arm. At that he growls, lowering his head while keeping his eyes on the road. He reaches down into his holster and pulls out his magnum and barks over the blustering wind.

  “Luna! Take the wheel!”

  The werewolf in question spent most of her time in the fetal position with her eyes closed, everything being a little too crazy and a little too loud for her liking. Her hands are pressed against her ears, folding them shut against her head. When her name is called, her eyes snap open and look up towards Miguel.

  “Wait...what!?”

  “TAKE. THE. WHEEL! If we don’t fire back, he’s going to hit me!”

  Luna’s heart sinks. “I...I don’t know how to drive!”

  Miguel turns an eye back towards her in disbelief. “Aren’t you eighteen? How do you not know how to drive!?”

  Luna rises up from her seat. “Shitty parents, remember!?”

  Miguel sighs exasperatedly.

  “C’mon Luna, I need you here!”

  The werewolf shudders as she starts to sit up, but a bullet passes right by her head and hits the radio, damaging it. She slinks back down, whining loudly. “I...I can’t! I’m scared! I’m gonna get shot again! I don’t want to be shot again!”

  Miguel goes quiet for a moment as he thinks. It takes a few moments before he speaks again, but when he does, his tone is friendlier than it was before. “Have you played any video games that had driving? Fast driving?”

  Luna perks up a little bit at that mention, nodding a few times. “Ye-yeah, sometimes!”

  “How good are you at them?”

  “Uhm...decent I guess?”

  “It’s just like that, okay?” Miguel continues. “There’s no more cars to dodge. I just need you to keep the car straight and keep your foot down on the accelerator. That’s it. And don’t worry about the bullets. You are a werewolf. If you tanked a shotgun shell through the stomach and didn’t die, you’ll be okay here! It’ll hurt, but you can do it!”

  From above the car, Sakura’s voice rings out. “I can’t...guys, I can’t keep this up much longer!”

  Luna peers at Miguel’s pleading face for a moment and looks introspectively. This whole situation was scary enough without the gunshots flying by every so often, but...she hasn’t been much help in this entire chase. The last couple of situations she’d been in, she was okay as long as she was on her feet, but with guns...and cars..everything was just out of her control. Sakura had the windy thing, and Miguel was doing a good job but if they caught them...the fire would make short work of Miguel, not to mention herself. Sakura might be okay, but she was getting tired. She had to step up, guns be damned.

  Luna nods decisively. “Alright. I'm ready!”

  Miguel turns on cruise control and slides out to the side, while Luna pulls herself forward, the entangling of bodies forcing Sakura to briefly widen legs outwards. While no one at is the wheel, the car sways from side to side. “Whoa, whoa whoa, what are you guys doing down there!?”

  It takes a moment for the two bodies to detangle, but Luna takes the front seat, grabbing the steering wheel and stabilizing it. She calls back up towards Sakura. “I’m driving now!”

  “What!? I thought you just said you couldn’t drive!” Sakura yells, her hands growing tired of channeling the vampiric gusts. Vanille peers at Sakura’s technique and mimics it, leaning forward and rooting a foot against the SUV’s sunroof, blasting fire from her hands. The SUV was no longer losing ground, but instead, rapidly approached them.

  “I can’t, but that’s okay! Trust me!” Luna says.

  Sakura smirks. “Sure, that’s as good as reason as any I guess.” She speaks up a little louder. “But if we crash, I’m blaming you!”

  Miguel manages to get to the backseat and sweeps away some of the shattered glass from earlier. He looks back towards Luna and points towards the footpedals. “Quick lesson! The left fat one is the brake and the right skinny one is the accelerator. Press down harder to do one harder. Mash the accelerator. And when you do, snap that little lever there.”

  Luna looks down towards her feet for the pedals and presses her digitigrade foot down on the accelerator. The overworked engine growls with displeasure at being pushed so hard. Spotting the lever that Miguel mentioned, Luna snaps it back off, deactivating the cruise control. The sky had brightened up to a dark blue now, the stars and the moon no longer seeming as bright as they once did.

  Vanille takes aim at the small car now that the roads were mostly clear, starting to summon up another ball of flame in her palm. However, the fierce winds whipping around her made pyrokinesis unsteady, and she grimaces as the flames whiff out of existence. She turns to point at the road beneath the compact car, lighting it up orange like she had before.

  Luna slams her foot down on the accelerator as hard as it would go, the engine pushing to the limit. From underneath the hood emana
tes an orange line of heated lights, the very concrete threatening to turn molten beneath her. Almost immediately she cranks the car to the side, dodging the pillar of fire erupting next to her. She gulps as she concentrates on the road ahead, and every single time another line of orange appears, she slips to the side. The SUV chasing them keeps on them, dodging similarly to avoid running into the flames.

  After a dozen or so attempts, Vanille gives up, cursing underneath her breath. Luna cranks her head back to look at Vanille after a few tense moments of anticipation, sighing as she settles back into a high-speed chase. Miguel smiles at Luna’s steady hand and brings his magnum up to aim. As he does, he sees the SUV headed for another collision course with the back of the car and crouches down.

  “Brace for impact!”

  With a shocking crunch, the SUV slams into the car again, severely wrecking the backside of it and causing Luna to wrestle with the car’s steering wheel to keep them straight. Sakura’s winds cease as the effort of it all took far too much from her to sustain any longer.

  “Keep her steady boy! I’m going to make a house call.” Vanille confidently exclaims, calmly walking over the top of her vehicle. The SUV’s greater speed keeps the two cars almost locked together, to the point where it was pushing the smaller car forward. Sakura shakes herself from the mild stun of the crash and pulls herself up through the broken sunroof. Her crimson arm blade reappears again from over the top of her wrist as she looks raggedly towards Vanille. The younger vampire visibly pants from her earlier efforts, though she drops into a battle stance, her weapon at the ready.

  Vanille’s hair blows magnificently in the wind, like a fast paced hair commercial. “Aww dearie, you don’t look so good.”

  Sakura’s steely eyes glare back, but she snorts at the small talk. “Better than you’ll look in a minute.”

  Vanille laughs softly. “Now now, is that any way to speak to a colleague? Mercy me, I can’t help but wonder why Scar hired a second assassin when he’s got me. Wonderful, wonderful me.”

  “The things that he does...that you do...aren’t right. The lives he’s ruined, the drugs he’s smuggled in, the vampires that he chews up and spits out, the girls he kills and eats and ALL of the things you burn because you are a sick puppy who does what your master says, without a second thought. You two are...scum. There’s no better word for it..”

  Vanille’s jesting demeanor vanishes, replaced with a flatline expression. “You are right, girl. This isn’t a game. It’s business. And that’s the cost of business. You should know that.” Vanille smiles wide, showing off nearly all of her teeth. “Tell me, do you feel anything when you work? The rush, the elation, the excitement of the kill? That last moment before they dance before the flames when you get the light of life leave them...do you feel it? Or are you as passionless as oh so many others in our field?”

  Sakura winces as she’s taken aback by Vanille’s true nature. “I didn’t choose this life Mrs. V. I did it because I didn’t have a choice. It was this or die. It’s always been this or die. Every single damn place I go...it’s the same! Everybody wants everybody else dead, and I just end up doing it because it pays the bills. And I hate it. I hate doing it. But you know what?”

  Sakura points her blade towards Vanille. “I’ll make an exception for you.”

  Vanille’s grin slowly weakens as she sighs. “That’s a real shame. I thought I might be able to ignite your passion, but I see you’ll be another quiet death. I’ll make this quick…” Vanille reaches inside of her pants and slips on black leather gloves over her hands. “...but not painless.”

  Sakura steps down to the trunk of the car and swings her blade towards Vanille, who easily leans to the side. The older woman slips an arm underneath Sakura’s blade arm, elbowing her hard in the side and forcing the younger vampire back. Vanille steps from her vehicle to the battered compact car. Sakura keeps her footing as other vampire approaches, swinging her leg out in a spacious roundhouse kick. Vanille raises arm to block it and throws a right hook, which is met Sakura’s free arm. The two vampires trade physical blows, though as many times as Sakura swings her blade, Vanille's evasiveness allows her to slip past nearly all of them.

  Thankful that Sakura was now out of the way, Miguel leans up over the top edge of the back seat and draws aim, but the big guy with the gun fires at him again, forcing him to duck. The bullet strikes another part of the dashboard, puncturing it. Luna tenses due to the shot, but keeps the car steady. Being pushed this hard by the SUV was making the car want to spin out, but she’s wrenching the wheel in whatever direction kept them straight.

  “Do you want me to like, dodge or something Mr. Morales?”

  Miguel slowly peeks back up towards the shooter and fires off a few shots of his own, shattering the windshield of the SUV. “No! Keep it steady, you don’t want to throw off my aim!”

  Luna gives a quick salute before focusing on the road again. In the distance something looked to be shining off of the headlights of the car. After a few seconds, it became apparent that it was a sign..and a few more, Luna could read what it said: ‘Highway Closed, Bridge out.’

  “Uh...guys?” Luna remarks, driving straight past the sign and the last exit of the highway. The compact car crashes through two small wooden barricades meant to prevent drivers from heading any further.

  Luna’s remarks fall on deaf ears as the explosions from Miguel’s Magnum make quick work of the enemy gunman, the man falling to his side in his seat, his chest growing red with blood. Just before Miguel could start to target the driver, a heavy *WHUMF* catches his attention. He leans out of the broken back window to look cautiously to the dueling vampires on the roof of the car only to see Vanille was getting the upper hand in the battle. She had her arm around Sakura’s shoulder and locks up her blade arm, using the opportunity to knee Sakura in the face several times. Miguel sinks back down into the car proper and aims his magnum about where one of Vanille’s feet were planted and fires, blowing a small hole in the roof.

  The bullet pierces straight through the elder vampire’s foot, causing her to scream in pain. Sakura pulls her hand back and drives a fist into the side of Vanille’s face, knocking her off balance. Seeing an opportunity, she steps forward and grabs Vanille by arm, pivots and bodily throws her off of the car and into the windshield of the SUV, shattering it into nonexistence. The larger vehicle finally backs off, it’s driver swerving from left to right as Vanille struggles to regain her senses.

  Sakura smiles and steps back onto the roof of the car. “Luna! Sword!”

  The werewolf grabs the sword out of the front seat and holds it up so that she could grab the hilt. The katana slides out of the sheathe, the blade a glimmering silver. In a single practiced motion, Sakura drags the blade across her thumb, cutting it wide open and spilling her own blood across it, turning the blade dark red, just like before. She poses with the katana, angling the edge of it to where she wanted to cut. Finding the appropriate direction, she focuses on her blade, and in a very quick swing, a thin and powerful wave of red energy flies outward and into the SUV, cutting cleanly through the engine block. The strike would have easily removed Vanille’s legs, but upon seeing the attack coming, she nimbly swings herself up and backflips onto her feet just before the energy hit.

  Now deprived of vision, a working set of wheels, and an engine, the SUV finally spirals out of control. Just before the car spins out, Vanille shoots jets of fire from her hands and leaps high in the sky. Once she gets several stories up, she raises her hands above herself and begins charging what looks to be a massive fireball, it’s brightness illuminating the road and the sparse forest around them.

  Sakura’s pupils shrink. “...That’s...hardly fair.”

  Miguel stares, flabbergasted.

  “Uh, guys…?” Luna chimes in, the werewolf sounding mortified.

  “WHAT!? Things are getting a little hot right now!” Sakura says, sliding herself back down into the sunroof for better balance.

  Luna wh
ines terribly as she points ahead. As per the sign, the bridge did look to be completely out, as only the barest of a ramp upwards suggested where the bridge once was. Below that seemed to be quite the fall, and the river beneath it looks to be quite active, even this cold in the winter.

  “Th-th-the bridge, it’s out!”

  Sakura turns around and grimaces at the quickly approaching lack of road. Miguel finally tears his eyes away from the swelling fireball and back towards Luna, sliding his gun back into his holster.

  Luna starts to panic, her foot easing off the accelerator and seems about ready to try to stop. Miguel’s right-hand clasps her shoulder reassuringly.

  “Drive.” Miguel says plainly. “Put the pedal to the metal and just do it!”

  “Y...yes sir!”

  Luna follows directions and forces the car to go as fast as it could, careening towards the bridge ramp. Vanille starts to descend back to earth, and just before she hits the ground, she throws the bus-sized fireball directly at the ramp. The inferno traveled quickly, scorching the ground as it came close to contact. Sakura panics as the heat becomes unbearable nearly instantly and summons the last of her strength to fire a concentrated burst of wind to help the car speed up one last time.

  The miniature sun detonates on the ground, engulfing the entire bridge ramp in flames, but only just after the small car had left it. The ensuing explosion knocks the car off balance, the whole vehicle flipping evenly through the air. The car manages to make it to the other side, tires touching down so hard that the undercarriage of the car sparks wildly against the ground and continues speeding off.

  Vanille sticks the landing, tucking herself into a combat roll and getting back to her feet. She hisses at the near miss and turns around, calmly walking back down the highway.

  Chapter 15

  Stranded

  Smoke billows out of the hood of the compact-car-that-could, now having gotten away from its pursuers and things seemed to be winding down. A sickening scraping sound rolled through the car every few seconds as the steering wheel got less and less responsive. The long stretch of still closed road didn’t have much on it, but as Luna drove, a small abandoned gas station appeared, covered in snow nobody cared to move.