by Alexia Purdy
The plan was simple: sneak our way into the opposing hive, set off explosives to shake them out into the daylight to rid us of the mutated feral vampires first, then we could pick off the remaining hybrid ones more easily. I was sure that I had a severe disadvantage with the last part. I was to find an injured hybrid with Rye and interrogate him on the location of my family. I was hoping it would be easy to get one to talk, for where we were going was not going to be an easy feat to get through. Their headquarters were located in the infamous Stratosphere tower. The entire casino and citadel was theirs. I hadn’t even thought it possible that there was anyone else in the city but me and my family, assuming it was just another abandoned building. But apparently, the bowels of it were filled with feral and hybrid vampires alike.
Blaze described how the mutated feral vampires were used as guards to every entrance but they were still sensitive to the sun and could only be used for this at night. The only thing they hadn’t been able to genetically alter in the feral’s DNA was their deadly kryptonite, the sun. Hence, the reasoning behind our daylight attack. Miranda had already shown me that the hybrids could walk in the daylight hours but something occurred to me as Blaze ranted on and on about which entrance Rye and I would take while he took on the front entrance, assuming the brunt of the attack.
My eyes went up to his face as my hand waved for his attention. He stopped his speech and waved at me to spit it out. “So, are you also as immune to the sun as I am? I’ve only seen Miranda out on semi-cloudy or rainy days.” I was certain that something was off. He was a vampire and I had too-easily dismissed this question when Miranda had joined me. But it had made me wonder–why didn’t they fill the streets like regular humans had in the bright Vegas sun and just live like we all did before the outbreak? With the exceptions of the feral vampires of course, they could have lived normal lives if the sun wasn’t an issue.
The answer dawned on me before Blaze even answered back. “We are somewhat immune to the sun; we do not burn to ashes like the wildlings do if we step outside.” He sighed, rubbing his temple as though the tension of talking about the plan had worn him out to the point of causing a headache. “But it is quite uncomfortable to walk under clear skies with the hot burning sun beaming down on us. We burn more easily than you do. It feels like being boiled alive. Quite uncomfortable, as you might guess.” He shrugged and ended the subject at that.
“And what do I do once we are inside and discover where they’re hiding my family?” My palms were sweaty as he continued, directing me to regroup with Rye and Miranda before attempting to rescue my family. I nodded, knowing how anxious I was going to be when the time came. I hoped that we made it that far, I hoped that we weren’t going to be ambushed the moment we stepped into the dark underground of the enemy hive. I was also wondering if they had messed with the DNA of the feral vampires. What else had they been tweaking in their labs? I shivered as I thought of the hordes of things they could have been concocting the entire year I had lived in oblivion in the quiet mountains.
I longed to return home now. I ached for the sway of the trees in the wind, the scent of pine and mulch scattered throughout. The air down here was stale and recycled, making me feel even more claustrophobic with nothing but concrete all around and above me. This tomb made me feel deader inside than I had felt in a long time. I hoped that once my family was released we could return to our bunker in the mountains, alone and safe once more.
The image of home brought me back quickly, realizing that it would never be the same. If this hive, one that had no ill intentions toward me, found us so easily, who’s to say that any other hive that was less honorable wouldn’t come my way? Especially after this battle, I was sure that my presence would be quite well known afterwards.
I shuddered. That supposed I survived this encounter at all.