Darkness Comes This Way

by Pixie Lynn Whitfield

  He nodded in agreement. After another awkward silence, Draven’s eyes grew wide as it all sank into place and he finally understood everything.

  “But she wants to kill you now!” he suddenly yelled. Draven felt as if he had made a friend out of Thomas in the last hour and a half, even if he had entered by punching him.

  “You need to tell her this, or she’ll destroy you.”

  Thomas shrugged.

  “That’s just fine with me. I can’t live like this forever.”

  ***********

  Zarah was lying in her bed, watching boring reality television, when she smelled Draven coming down the hallway. His heavy boots echoed loudly on the tile, and she frowned.

  Standing and running over to the door, she opened it, catching him just as he started to pass her door. He stopped when he saw her.

  “Where were you?” she asked, eyeing him curiously.

  For a few minutes, he remained silent and only stared at her intently as if he were lost in thought. Finally, he just smiled and shook his head, starting to walk away again as he answered.

  “Nowhere. Don’t worry about it.”

  Sixteen

  “Mom is gone?” Zarah asked in a choked whisper, tears stinging at her eyes. She looked closely at Thomas, and suddenly narrowed her eyes when she noticed a difference. Gasping, she brought a hand to her mouth.

  “You’ve been fully turned!”

  He nodded and pulled her into a tight hug.

  “Mom is gone. Dad has left. It’s just us now, Zarah. I’m going to protect you, I promise.”

  Zarah woke the next evening and rolled over in her bed to stare blankly at her alarm clock. She let it blare with its annoying buzzing for a few seconds longer before reaching over to shut it off, letting her arm dangle lazily from the side of her bed afterward.

  The dream had made her wake up. Anger and hurt consumed her as she remembered Thomas’ words those decades ago…

  “You broke your promise, big brother,” she muttered out loud as she kicked out of her covers and stood to get dressed.

  After she was ready, she heard a knock on her door. She knew it was him before she opened the door.

  “Hey,” she greeted casually. He smiled shyly and nodded in response.

  Zarah grabbed her gun and holster, attaching it to her hip as she headed out of her room behind him. She had also placed a large knife in a leather pouch on the other side, and grabbed a shoulder holster and another small pistol hanging beside her lightweight, black knit duster jacket on a coat rack near the elevator.

  “Did you make those?”

  She was slipping on the black fingerless gloves he’d been messing with on her counter a few evenings before. They matched her jacket perfectly. A brief nod was all she allowed before she stepped up to the elevator.

  “Zarah,” Draven began, sounding a bit soft-spoken and nervous.

  “About last night… I’m really sorry I pushed you like that.”

  She held up a hand to stop him from saying another word.

  “No, don’t be sorry. It’s fine. Sometimes I need to be pushed, I guess. You did have a right to know a little bit…and it was wrong of me to be so rude. It just…hurts…to talk about that stuff.” Zarah looked down at her feet and shuffled them out of anxiousness.

  “I understand,” he replied.

  She looked back up at him, meeting his eyes, and forced a smile.

  “Zarah! Draven!” Nathanial’s voice suddenly cut through the quiet hallway. They turned to see him coming at them with a big grin on his face.

  “Come with me, please. I’d like to speak with you both in my office before you go out.”

  Zarah and Draven exchanged looks with each other, shrugging curiously, before following Nathanial to his office.

  “What’s going on?” Zarah asked once they sat down across from his desk.

  Nathanial leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head comfortably.

  “I have a specific mission for the two of you tonight.”

  They remained silent, waiting for him to continue speaking. Zarah had a bad feeling creeping through her body that she couldn’t shake. Almost as if her nerves were trying to warn her about something. Trying to shake the feeling away, she focused on Nathanial.

  “The both of you are to bring back a Rogue captive for questioning.”

  Their jaws dropped and eyes widened at his command.

  “What?’ they both asked in unison, alarmed.

  Nathanial frowned and leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk in front him in a firm grasp.

  “You two will do as I say. Bring one back here. Alive. I want to question it. Now go.”

  They stood and left the office without argument. In silence, they headed to the elevator again and left The Compound. When they stepped out into the night air, they glanced at each other warily as they approached Draven’s car.

  “This isn’t right, Draven.” He revved the engine and put it into gear, reversing out of the parking spot, heading out of the garage and into the street with caution.

  Draven stared straight ahead at the road lost in thought. Zarah was right. Something seemed a bit odd about it, but he wasn’t going to question the motives of his boss. Maybe Nathanial had a plan behind this that would help them along in the end, and if they found a Rogue that was easy to question, they could get more answers. He glanced briefly at her to see her turned in the seat, staring at him with worry and silent questions. Those beautiful, big eyes glowed against the dash and it brought back the memory of his conversation with Thomas.

  Half-Fallen, half-Vampire.

  “Two halves…one known as ‘good’, one known as ‘evil’. It’s who she is. Always torn between the two. It’s the result of the swirling colors in her eyes. Though we don’t really know the true nature of Fallens really…but naturally, they’re associated with the light side, while the vampire is associated with the dark.”

  “And what about you?” he had asked Thomas with a smirk. “You were born from the same mother.”

  “Yes, but I lost all of my light when I went Rogue. Hers cured her.”

  Zarah reached over and lightly touched his arm, getting his attention again.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I said, are you okay?” she said, looking concerned.

  “You seem distracted.”

  He forced a smiled and nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just do what Nathanial asked. He apparently has some sort of plan that we aren’t aware of.”

  She swallowed and nodded before leaning back against her seat and staring back out the window again.

  *********

  “Zarah! Behind you!” Draven screamed.

  Zarah quickly spun around in time to see a snarling Rogue flying at her. He had jumped from the roof of a low-lying nearby building in the back alley that they were standing in. They had been fighting another male Rogue, trying to subdue him enough to get him captured, when Draven had warned her of the incoming attack.

  She was knocked backward into a brick wall, which stunned her momentarily before she regained her footing and began fighting. Throwing a hard punch, she connected with the Rogue’s jaw first with her right fist, and then threw up her left leg to put a kick into his stomach. It sent him to the ground as he growled and screeched. Just as he was rising to come at her again, she yanked her pistol from her holster and fired a round into his shoulder, causing him to let out a howl of pain and grip his arm. The silver would certainly hold him back for a while; it wouldn’t kill him until she struck a bullet into his head though.

  She made a quick glance back at Draven to see him still struggling with the other. Pointing her gun in that direction, she shot that Rogue in the leg once she was sure she had a clear shot. Draven looked at her in shock and relief. He had been fighting to hold a grip that he hadn’t managed to get to his own gun. The Rogue in Draven’s grasp fell to the street in pain, reaching for his leg with a yelp.

  “No
w the question is, which one do we take, and which one do we kill?” Zarah asked, looking at Draven. He shrugged, still holding the one by his shirt collar.

  She looked at the Rogue that she had shot in the shoulder seeing that he was fighting against the poison and about to come at her again. His lips were pulled back, fangs bared, eyes glowing in rage.

  Zarah took another glance at Draven with her eyebrows raised.

  “Cuff the one you have, we’ll take that one.”

  She turned in time as the other rabid prepared to jump at her again and fired a final shot into his head.

  Seventeen

  “Well, did you manage to capture one?” Nathanial asked when he looked up from his desk to see Zarah and Draven standing in the doorway of his office.

  Zarah nodded solemnly.

  “He’s strapped down in a chair in an empty office. We also had the nurse inject him with a mild sedative when we arrived.”

  She thought about the drive back to the Compound. Draven had put the Rogue into the trunk of the car after tying up his legs and locking his hands together with silver cuffs. The gunshot wound in his leg had healed with the bullet intact, which was good for them because it meant the silver poison would remain in his system for a while. It didn’t slow him down on the ride back, though.

  The entire drive had been a bit noisy.

  Kicking and muffled screaming had echoed through the trunk and into the interior of the car. Zarah kept turning her head to look at Draven in exasperation, who was obviously grinding his teeth and clenching the steering wheel as he sped back to the Compound. Tying up the Rogue’s legs hadn’t done much good really. He still managed to kick with his feet, and ended up denting the the trunk and busting out a tail light.

  Needless to say, Zarah knew that Draven was in a bad mood after that ride.

  “Alright then, let’s go have a chat, shall we?” Nathanial grinned. He stood from his desk and grabbed a gun on his way out of the office. Zarah and Draven led the way to the room where the Rogue was being held. She kept her hand near her pistol, ready to take any necessary action.

  When they all entered, they were faced with the Rogue struggling to no avail against a number of silver chains and cuffs in a heavy, metal chair in front of a table. His eyes darted wildly around the room, taking in each Guardian, before landing on Zarah. His hair was long, black, tangled and shaggy. She felt nauseous as she eyed him over and saw a little dried blood crusted at the corner of his smirking mouth. When his dark red eyes wouldn’t move from her, she shuddered and turned her head. Draven noticed and stepped protectively closer toward her, keeping a hand near his holster as well.

  “What’s your name?” Nathanial spoke to the Rogue, stepping forward. Zarah shut the door to the office but remained behind her boss and partner in the corner of the room.

  He stared at Nathanial through narrowed eyes and snarled.

  “Why in the hell should I say?”

  When he snapped and began pulling at his chains again, causing the chair to scrape a bit on the floor, Nathanial walked over to him and grabbed him by the back of his hair. With intense speed, he slammed the rabid’s face into the table. Zarah jumped as he shouted in pain and the metal echoed throughout the small space of the room.

  Draven and Zarah exchanged brief glances of worry before turning their attention back to Nathanial and their captive. This was very unlike the behavior of the Guardians, and the two of them were a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

  “Your name, Rogue. I’d like your name so that I can be a bit nicer and address you properly. Wouldn’t you at least like that?” Nathanial growled near his ear, still gripping his hair.

  “Jackson,” he finally stuttered out in gasp. He inhaled sharply and tried to sit up straighter when Nathanial released him.

  Nathanial grinned. Zarah swallowed back her fear and shrank back further in the corner. His grin seemed so…chilling.

  “Well, here’s the deal, Jackson. My two Guardians here have been trying to solve quite the unusual mission. You’re going to tell us all you know. We may just let you live if you cooperate freely. If you don’t, I can kill you,” her boss said, continuing to smile as he loaded the gun in his hand before placing it on the end of the table in the Rogue’s view for intimidation.

  “I’m not saying a word. I don’t know anything.”

  Before he could continue, Nathanial lashed out furiously with a roar and connected his fist with Jackson’s jaw. The Rogue spat blood on the floor and turned back with a loud hiss.

  Jackson looked vicious then.

  “I think you will.” Nathanial said calmly, pointing at the gun as a reminder of the deal.

  After a few long minutes of being lost in thought, Jackson finally nodded.

  “Only if you’re serious about letting me go.”

  “Okay,” Nathanial agreed with a smirk.

  “Zarah, Draven, go ahead and pull up some chairs.”

  She looked to see two chairs similar to what Jackson was strapped in near the door. Quietly, following Nathanial’s orders, she grabbed one and sat near the table, but still as far away as possible. Draven did the same, sitting near her. Nathanial grabbed a stool and sat closest to Jackson, looking highly amused by everything.

  “So, Jackson, start telling us what you know,” Nathanial commanded.

  The Rogue looked cautiously around the room at them and his eyes landed on Zarah again.

  “It’s you. You’re the one aren’t you?” he suddenly spat out.

  “What?” she asked with a frown.

  “The one with the cure. We’re all hunting you, you know. Some boss man we call ‘The Commander’ wants you. He says that he can create a cure if he just gets to you. The man is a genius. He’s already made us intelligent obviously…that happened years ago. He refuses to tell us how he did that though,” Jackson rambled. He talked fast.

  Zarah narrowed her eyes but refused to respond, crossing her arms over her chest.

  When he didn’t receive a response, Jackson smirked and licked his lips.

  “So, it is you…”

  “Enough.” Nathanial growled.

  “Tell us about what happened with the Guardian that was left tortured and injected with rabid poison in front of the building here. His name was Mitchell.”

  “I had no part in that. I’m a loner!” Jackson yelled, suddenly frightened for his life. Zarah almost snorted out loud. He wasn’t that much of a loner; he’d been fighting with another when they picked him up. She kept that to herself though. Apparently Draven wasn’t going to say anything either.

  Nathanial continued the questioning.

  “What do you know though?”

  “Some members of the Commander’s Army ambushed him. The Commander has been creating experiments to make us more advanced creatures…some extra additions, I think. It’s to my understanding they haven’t exactly been working. The experiments have been dying off after a certain time period. They were very unusual. The Commander wants to create them to make us ‘equal’ or more superior to Guardians or something like that. If successful, your weapons would no longer be very effective in fighting us,” the Rogue explained, sounding slightly confused. The silver was starting to control his system more, and it was beginning to exhaust him and slur his speech slightly.

  “But from what I hear, all that stuff is just for show. For fun. Nothing The Commander is truly serious about yet anyway. His main focus is this girl,” Jackson added.

  “Hm,” Nathanial said, thinking.

  “Mitchell came back to life, well sort-of, after I shot him in the head. He had to be shot a few more times before he was fully terminated,” Draven said as he joined the conversation. Jackson looked at him.

  “Look, I’m being honest. I don’t know much. All I know is that they want her,” Jackson said with a snarl.

  “In fact, she has quite the nickname among our kind. I don’t know how it was picked up, but her body count may have something to do it.”

  “W
hat would that be?” Zarah asked with interest.

  “Angel of Death.”

  Draven froze and tried to keep his features emotionless. Surely the Rogues couldn’t know her family secret? And if they did…that would mean that it was someone very close to her trying to harm her…

  No. It had to be a coincidence. Just as Jackson stated, it had to have something to do with her famous Rogue body count.

  Zarah snorted, oblivious to Draven’s tensed up reaction next to her.

  “Funny nickname,” she muttered.

  “Well,” Nathanial started as he stood, taking the gun in hand. “If you have nothing else to offer us—”

  Draven and Zarah jumped up together as Jackson looked at them all pleadingly.

  “No! No! You said you would let me go free if I talked!” he started yelling, begging. Zarah had seen instances before where Rogues had pleaded for their lives, but this was a situation that she actually wished she could let this one go. They had captured and tortured him…it wasn’t in their code. This was wrong, and the sinking feeling in her gut made her feel wretched.

  “Ah, Jackson. I said that I would let you go. I didn’t say anything about ‘free’. I’m letting you go as a Rogue…meaning I’m releasing you of this life,” Nathanial said with a mischievous smirk as he pointed the pistol at him. Jackson let out a choked sob. Zarah noticed how young he looked…he had to have only been around seventeen or eighteen when he was turned vampire, a bit unusual since most wait until they’re twenty or older for the turning process. Perhaps he had been bitten as an innocent human to start with. Time seemed to slow as Nathanial’s safety clicked off.