I was glancing around the club, looking at the sights, when my eyes fell on Cindy as she danced. She was looking back at me, giving me a smile. She was amazing. The way she danced, the way her clothes fit her, wow. I couldn't take my eyes off her. My usual guilt settled in, but I still looked her up and down, giving her a playful thumbs up. She knew I was watching, and she didn't seem to mind. She actually gave me a small wave. Was it my imagination, or was something happening a little past friendship?
My heart stopped for a second. Was it possible?
I felt a set of eyes on me. I turned to see Alicia looking at me. In that one moment, she knew what was going on, and I knew she knew. Sibling communication.
“You got the hots for Cindy,” she stated.
I opened my mouth, but didn't say anything. My face was turning red, but I think the glow from all the lights hid that.
“Alicia, don't tell her.”
“Well, why don't you?”
“Because we're friends.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“I don't know. It doesn't really matter.”
“Dammit, Alex. Why haven't you told me?”
“I don't know. I thought she was hot in middle school. But what the hell are you supposed to do about that? We've known each other since we were five. It's too weird.”
She shook her head, like she was disappointed in me. I was surprised.
“What's on your mind?” I asked.
Before she could speak I noticed something past her on the other side of the club. I saw a woman that I recognized with her hand on a guy's hip. She was leaning into his ear, whispering. Whatever she was saying, he liked it, as he was all smiles.
It was Victoria.
The gorgeous redhead that tried to squeeze the life out of me. The woman who threatened me right in the middle of the club the last time I was there. The woman who asked me what I was.
“Alex? What are you looking at?”
Cindy sneaked up on us. She put a hand on my shoulder and slowly swayed back and forth.
“Hi guys. What's going on?”
I was distracted enough to put a hand on Cindy's hip. I didn't even give it a second thought as her hand was on my shoulder. I realized what I did and quickly pulled it away. I think the red on my face was noticeable that time.
“Sorry.”
She smiled. “Accidents happen.”
It didn't even dawn on me that she didn't remove it herself. My eyes were still locked on Victoria. I saw her take the stranger's hand and start to walk away.
“I'll be right back,” I said.
Cindy followed my gaze and noticed who I was looking at. “Ah! The redhead! So you do like her?”
“No. Just need to talk to her.” I looked at Alicia. “And you two stop fighting and make up.”
“Don't forget. I owe you a dance.”
I kept my eyes on Victoria. I had to push my way through some people to keep up with her. I saw her look back at the stranger a few times with a flirty smile on her face. A far cry from the woman who confronted me in the middle of the club all those weeks ago.
My heart sank as I saw them head through a side exit door. I knew that door led to the alley next to the club. I only wanted a minute of her time, to see what her problem with me was. My thought was she was psychic, and knew I was different. But after we had our chat I'd have to reenter the club through the front and push my way through everyone once again.
I threw open the exit door and walked outside. Quite a difference stepping from a club to the night air. I wiped some sweat off my head. I was actually a little creeped out. The alley was dark. I could only see light coming from the mouth of the alley, near the front of the club. Who knew what was lurking in the shadows.
Then I remembered. I had demonic powers. What the hell should I be afraid of?
I heard a noise behind me about twenty feet away. I froze every muscle and held my breath. A quiet noise which slowly got louder. It sounded like a man moaning. I thought it was in pain for a moment. Then I realized it sounded like sex.
I took a few careful steps down the alley. The moaning grew louder, followed by what sounded like sucking noises that chilled me to the bone. It just didn't sound right.
The moaning was coming from behind a large dumpster. The first thing I saw was a pair of legs sticking out from behind the metal bin. Then I saw a shapely ass in a pair of jeans straddling someone. The moaning hit a new level, and I knew it had to be sex. But something was still wrong in the back of my mind. Maybe it was the simple fact that it was in an alley, or the fact that I saw only clothes, and no skin. But I had to keep looking.
I recognized her from the back as Victoria. She had her mouth clamped on the guy's neck she'd taken from the club. I could see his face, and he was in heaven. His eyes were shut and his legs shaking. Victoria didn't make a sound, which was odd to me.
I saw a stream of blood flowing down the stranger's neck.
“Hey!” I shouted. “What are you doing?”
Victoria whirled around. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.
Her eyes were a bright red, throwing light across the alley. Blood dripped down her mouth onto her chin. Two large fangs stuck out of her mouth, about a half inch longer than the rest of her teeth. She licked the blood from her lips with her tongue, a motion that scared the shit out of me.
I didn't have time to react, although I admit I have no idea what I would have done anyway. One second, I was standing there watching her sitting on top of the stranger, who was either unconscious or dead. The next second, I was slammed up against the brick building behind me. She had one hand wrapped around my throat, and I was a few inches off the ground. I had trouble getting air.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she said. Her long teeth made her speech slurred.
I was a split second away from vanishing when some bright lights hit us from the front of the alley. She dropped me to my knees. We both turned to see an unknown number of silhouettes approaching us. I heard a whoosh through the air and heard it stop right above me where Victoria stood. She fell to her knees next to me, and I could see the arrow sticking out of her chest. My jaw dropped. I had no clue what the hell was going on.
“Hello?” I called, still trying to catch my breath. “What's going-?”
I never finished. I was hit with a tazer, the worst pain I ever felt in my entire life. My body shook uncontrollably for a few seconds while the juice flowed through me. Then I collapsed next to Victoria.
I heard voices before I drifted into unconsciousness.
“...Are we clear?...”
“...Is he human?...”
“...Check his pulse...”
“...Help me lift her...fuckin' bitch...”
“...Too bad we can't fuck her first...”
“...Don't touch that damn arrow!...”
Then I was out.
Chapter 19
I have no idea how long I was unconscious. The first feeling I had when I opened my eyes was claustrophobia. I was in total darkness in an uncomfortable position. I tried to sit up and hit my head.
I was in the trunk of a car.
I tried to twist from my side so I could lay on my back, and felt someone next to me. My hand touched a breast, then an arrow.
Victoria.
I drew back quickly, although I had nowhere to go. I couldn't see her, and that scared me even more. I held my breath to see if I could hear her. The only thing I could hear was the sound of the moving car I was in.
Then I heard voices. Very close. Had to be the people in the car, the ones who killed Victoria and tazed me.
“Did you see that bitch fall like Iraq?”
“Yeah. Good shot, Jones.”
“Thanks. Look, are you sure she's not gonna go for our throats when we get there?”
Laughter. “This is your first time, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She ain't gonna do shit, as long as you don't pull out that arrow. Once their hear
t is pierced, there ain't nothing they can do except die.”
“What about the guy? He had a normal heartbeat, right? That means he's human?”
Silence.
“I feel bad, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just don't tell Bachner. He hates it when people get in the crossfire. Hell, the guy was probably working for the bitch anyway.”
“She is hot though, isn't she?”
“They're all hot. Doesn't make them any less dangerous.”
“Put some music on, man.”
“Sure.”
Sounds of heavy metal mixed in with their voices. I couldn't hear what they were saying.
I stared at the darkness where Victoria was. I knew nothing about her. The first time I met her she threatened me. Now I knew she had fangs and drank blood. She tried to choke me.
I could easily vanish and leave the trunk, but I felt we were going fast. That didn't sound like a safe plan.
So, Victoria and I were partners.
I simply had to get the arrow out of her.
I took a deep breath and felt around for it. I grabbed it with both hands and pulled up. Instead of moving the arrow, her whole body came up instead. I felt sick to my stomach. I had to pin her down with an arm under her breasts and yank the arrow with my other hand. It moved a few inches. It made a sick, sloppy sound. I pulled a few more times and finally felt the arrow loosen from her skin.
She moaned in pain. I was shocked as hell, but had enough awareness to feel for her mouth with my hand. I felt her bloodstained fangs.
“Shhh,” I said.
She took a few deep breaths. She winced and I felt her cover the hole in her chest with her hand. I pulled my hand away.
“Thank you,” she said. “What's going on?”
“We're in a trunk. Hell, that's all I know.”
“Alex.” I somehow wasn't surprised she remembered my name. “When they get to whatever remote place they have in mind and open this trunk, they're gonna try to kill us. Now, I know you're not human. And you probably have a good guess that I'm not either. We can take them. Question is can you mentally handle that?”
“Do...you mean kill?”
“I hope not. I try so hard not to kill. I only kill when my life is in danger, when there isn't any other option. But now might be one of those times.”
“I don't think I can.”
“Okay, fine. You stay out of the way then.”
The ride got rougher. We definitely weren't in the city anymore.
“I'm bleeding bad. Getting weaker. I need blood.”
I didn't say anything, just scooted further away from her. I could feel something warm and sticky all over my hands. I knew it was Victoria's blood.
The car slowed to a stop. A series of car doors opened and slammed shut. The ride was over.
“McGee, help me carry the bitch. Jones, drag the guy in the woods. Heins is on his way now with a shovel.”
“Why do I gotta dig a fuckin' hole?”
“Cause you're the new guy.”
Victoria tensed up. “Heins.”
Obviously she knew the guy.
“Alright guys, let's get this party started.”
A key hit the trunk lock and turned. The light from the moon and a few flashlights rushed in to replace the darkness.
I didn't even see Victoria move. There were three guys peering in at us. Then she had her fangs buried in someone's neck.
There were a few startled screams as Victoria took her victim to the ground. I was still climbing out of the trunk when she jumped to her feet and swiped at the chest of another guy. Her hand was no longer a hand, but a long talon with dangerous looking claws on the end. Blood sprayed from the man's chest onto Victoria.
I climbed to my feet in time to see a truck pulling up not too far away. Three more guys jumped out, armed with crossbows. One guy had what looked like a damn flamethrower.
“Victoria!” I screamed.
She looked up. Two crossbow bolts whizzed through the air. Victoria was already moving at a speed that I could barely see. She moved a few feet to the right. The bolts struck a tree next to me.
The distraction was enough for the last guy from the first car to stab her in the shoulder with a wooden stake. Victoria yelled in pain and fell to one knee. She slugged the guy in the stomach so hard he flew back and landed right next to me. His head bounced on the bumper of the car.
But she was hurt. She pulled the stake from her arm and dropped it to the ground. There were three men out of the fight, but three more standing fifteen feet in front of her. Two were trying to reload their crossbows, but one pointed a flamethrower right at her.
I finally made my legs move. I ran toward Victoria. I don't know what I thought I was doing. Being the hero? Being the brave guy trying to save the woman? Just being stupid? I could do amazing things. Talk to ghosts and demons. Move into their worlds, which let me turn invisible and move through solid objects. But I wasn't fireproof.
So I thought.
I pushed Victoria out of the way as hard as I could. As she tumbled to the ground, I heard a jet of flame heading right at me. I didn't have time to vanish.
I felt the fire engulf me. I screamed, because that's what you were supposed to do when fire hit you. I felt it dancing up and down my skin. It made me itch, it even tickled in certain spots. I felt the cool night air blow through the holes in my clothes the flames were leaving behind. But there was one odd thing.
I didn't feel any pain.
I looked at my hands. The flames were beautiful, a wild mix of orange and blue that flowed across me. Then the fire vanished into my skin, like it was moisturizer.
I looked at the three men still in front of me. They had forgotten all about Victoria. Their eyes were locked on me.
I glanced down at my clothes. My shirt was almost completely burned away, except for some scraps. My bluejeans were now black.
He squeezed the trigger on his flamethrower once again. The fire embraced me. It felt like a hot shower. I screamed, not in pain, but rage. It didn't sound like a normal scream. It was demonic. It's hard to believe that sound was coming out of me.
They were trying to kill me. They dragged me away from the city, with the intention of burying me in the woods. The cold harshness of that fact settled in, and it infuriated me.
These were not good men.
And they would pay.
I laughed as the flames tickled me. They were terrified, and I sucked in their fear like a baby does milk. I felt myself growing stronger.
I looked through the flames to see two crossbows aimed at me.
I vanished. The bolts passed through me harmlessly.
“What the fuck-”
They didn't have the chance to finish. I reappeared right as my foot was headed into Flamethrower Guy's balls. His eyes bugged out of his head and he fell uselessly to the ground. The guy on the right tried to swing his crossbow at me. I vanished and felt it pass through me. Then I grabbed it out of his hands and vanished again. I couldn't make it vanish with me, but it fell to the ground. I timed a hard headbutt to his nose. He didn't have a chance to stop it, as I reappeared just inches from his face.
Victoria was up again. She was at my side in a second. She grabbed the guy on the left by the neck, lifted him from the ground, and reared back her fangs. She froze, though. I followed her gaze to what she was looking at.
There were two more trucks driving down the dirt road toward us. It was my first chance to get a good look at where we were, and I didn't recognize it at all. We were definitely in the middle of nowhere. It was a large grassy field, with a thicket of trees right behind us.
“That's Heins,” she said in that slurred speech.
Three minutes ago I wanted nothing to do with any of this. Now, I was confident. “They don't have a chance.”
She dropped the last guy to the ground. He started crawling away. Victoria looked at the damage we'd done. Blood everywhere. People moaning and bleeding on the grass.
“You're probably right. But let's go,” she said.
She ran into the woods behind us, with me right behind. It became dark as the moon could no longer reach us. Victoria slowly outran me. She didn't have any trouble seeing in the dark at all. She weaved her way in and out of the trees and bushes without missing a beat.
Then suddenly, I didn't have a problem seeing either.
The darkness faded away. It was replaced be a dull gray, like it was dusk instead of the middle of the night. I could see everything too.
My first experience with night vision.
That still didn't stop Victoria from creating distance between us.
“Hey! Slow down!”
“I already am running slow.”
I heard a whoosh right by my ear. A crossbow bolt lodged into a tree as I passed it. It missed me only by a few inches.
I risked a look behind us. We were being chased. At least five people. All were carrying a crossbow or a damn bow and arrow.
I vanished. Instead of running around trees and bushes, I started running through them. I didn't get tired.
I could see the trees clearing up ahead. What I didn't see was Victoria standing still where the ground stopped on the edge of a drop that was about five hundred feet to the raging river below.
I saw her at the last second. I panicked and reappeared, hoping she could slow me down. She turned in time to see me on top of her. We collided, and over the edge we went.
I felt a quick, sharp pain in my back.
I was disoriented as hell, but saw her hand flash by my face, and I reached out and grabbed it. I kept her from falling. My arm felt like it pulled from the socket. Somehow, I was still up on the ledge. Victoria grabbed my arm tightly and looked up.
The river slowly started to get larger.
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