by Unknown
“You’re right.”
We traveled northeast toward the Palace. The woods were eerily quiet. No birds chirped, no squirrels ran about and no bugs hovered. Though the forest floor was covered in leaves and pine cones, the trees were far from barren. Sadly it’s the perfect setting for a scary, predictable movie where you know the action is coming so you’re waiting and anticipating it. I was waiting for it, preparing for it as I ran with Kellan. The climax was just around the corner; I felt it.
We made it to the Palace with no obstacles.
“Should we go inside?” I asked moving quickly onto the porch. I pressed my back to the siding and peeked in the windows for any activity though I didn’t hear anything but the creak of the wooden beams below us settling.
“It’s a catch twenty-two. They could be in there waiting, could have set traps or they maybe didn’t. Even though we’re exposed, I feel safer out here.” He thought it through detail for detail I could tell.
I nodded and hopped over the railing. I heard the tiniest click upon landing. I looked back just as Kellan whipped out a gun.
“It wasn’t me,” he warned.
I suddenly heard the whoosh coming right for me. I dropped flat on the ground stomach down forgetting the many sensitive weapons I carried. The dart shot straight into the wood deck beside me, the same sort found in my mother. It reminded me of what needed to be done and assured me I was dealing with the same bastards. Kellan started firing into the expanse.
I was back on my feet in one swift motion. I began tossing the few bombs I’d set off with my bad reaction to the direction the dart flew in from.
“Run! We have to run!” I raced into the forest at top speed. I didn’t have to look back to know Kellan was behind me.
They’re called silent grenades because they explode at an energy frequency beyond what a human and most animals can hear. But not vamps. Over a mile away I heard the high pitched explosion. I was also conscious. If I outran it, then they could have outrun it too. We kept running. I had no sense of direction; I was just running. I stopped when I ran into Kai. He took one look at my panic stricken face and knew.
“Which direction?” he asked.
“I set off a bunch of bombs back that way when a dart shot at me,” I explained pointing in the direction we fled. I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting but the tree branches absorbed most of the light leaving the woods somewhat cavernous.
When my eyes were coming back down I caught a figure on the limb of an old oak tree. The eyes pierced me shooting a chill through my already cool body. When I settled in on them, I knew why. My breath caught and my pulse quickened. Kellan followed my eyes, Kalel and Kai copied. She hesitated. She knew what this would do to her daughter; Mel would be equally devastated but either way loss was inevitable. It’s either her mother or me.
Kai withdrew a gun and shot the laser right at her. He missed and caused the branch to be sliced off by the beam. She jumped and disappeared.
I took off without a word or explanation. I could deal with the killing of strangers attempting to murder me in cold blood, but not the imposed death of my best friend’s mother. I couldn’t destroy her world like mine.
“Leka!” Kalel called from behind. I ignored him and kept traveling back to the clearing, back to the Palace. I was ready to face the other assassins. I was mentally prepared to eliminate them all except for Melinda Hartford. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to cut out Mel’s heart like that.
I heard the shots fire and whip through the air. More than one assassin was shooting; they were flying past me in both directions from my sides. I yanked my necklace off cutting off my shield. I whirled the necklace by its chain in circles parallel in front of me. The laser bullets discharged in my defense in all directions, even up. When I caught a body flopping to the ground from a tree limb above me; I knew I was doing something right but I felt the familiar surge of guilt. My serum wasn’t welling though which spoke volumes for me. I was either gaining control or felt no anger; I chose to believe the first.
The firing abruptly stopped which should have clued me in to the mischief. I kept going idiotically and ran straight into the trap. My feet hit the ground with my tread, I spotted the cabin ahead but was suddenly flung upwards and spun in a web of nets that scored and burned my skin. Smoke rose from my body, proof that I was indeed being torched in some fashion. I cried out in pain which caused the usually graceful brothers and Kellan to triple their speed and triple their pounding on the forest floor. I heard their steps approaching right as the gun was cocked.
I was spun in a tight hammock tied to two trees. I hung like a pig ready to roast over the fire on the spindle a solid twelve feet in the air. My head bobbed in every direction searching for the villain. Within I was fighting to activate the necklace whose chain I clung to in my hands. Mind over matter proved difficult. It’s like searching for an exit when you’re engulfed by flames so high you can’t see as you’re being burned alive.
My fingers were gaining centimeter by centimeter on the string but it took all my strength. My temperature had to be scorching as my skin was burned below. My clothes miraculously weren’t shredding, no doubt on purpose by design thank God, but my arms, chest, neck and legs were offered no protection against the ropes.
I saw movement out the corner of my eye and froze. I breathed a sigh of relief to see Kellan. The moment I got sight of him I heard a multitude of guns cocked all around me below. Face up to the sky and entwined to my neck, I was blind to the action below.
“What’s going on?! Tell me something Kellan. Distract me from this pain!” I cried via thought to him.
“Don’t worry babe. Stay calm. We’ll save you. They’ve all gathered here. There are ten of them now. The guns are pointed at you so don’t do anything stupid please.” Even mentally he was choked up. He was a pillar of strength for me but internally I could tell he was a mess.
Ten against one because I only saw him. Kalel and Kai had disappeared. The net was getting closer to my bones. I felt my skin being scored off with the criss cross of a Christmas ham, the end was near. I felt the slice of my first vein and saw the red spot on the white net stretched over my right hand.
“I can’t die,” I thought. These pendejos killed my mother. They might as well have murdered my father too since his pain, the grief they inflicted, weakened him before his transformation. They’ve demolished my world and my death would please them more. But they wouldn’t take me alone. Kellan was below me in the line of fire. If I went; he went. I would rather suffer a million strangulations than to allow him to be tormented as I have.
It’s always about finding the strength, the gumption and willpower within to persevere. I was ready to gather all I had left in me to protect him. I could be taken just as long as he lived on.
As I stretched and pressed my fingers up the chain I felt the skin scraping off my hands. I bit my lip trying to hold in the scream I longed to release. My body was sending up a smoke stack to the tops of the trees by now. I pushed outwards on the web further baking my arm, but it was worth it as I finally gripped my charm.
This was it. I had no plan, only the prayer two could win against ten trained fighters. The laser activated and sliced the material freeing me with one swift flick of my wrist. I plummeted to the ground below but landed on my feet. The moment my feet planted on the dirt I began swinging. I had to start moving immediately because if I saw the chunks of my flesh I felt sliding off my body, I would be immobile and the strength I mustered to overcome the pain mentally would subside and cause me to fluster.
It didn’t stop Kellan from crying out. I chanced a look at him. Tears were falling despite the angry determined expression on his face. He rapidly began yanking out weapons and shooting all around, but never took his eyes off me. He might as well have been defenseless since he didn’t focus on anything else but me. They’d broken him. By hurting me they hurt him in the worst way possible.
I knew right then and there the impossib
le fight was left to me. Kellan was in pain and that affected me. I can suffer as long as he doesn’t. It was only then that I felt the serum fill my mouth. They’d angered me.
It was one second, one glance at him but it was the weak moment they needed to surround us strategically. I spun around to find us in the center of their circle, their single target in the game of darts.
I stood with my feet shoulder width apart, bowing my head to collect the mustard seed of determination remaining and to send up a quick prayer. I made myself a solid mark as I clutched the gold rope of my necklace and prepared to fight til the death. I lifted my head and as if right on cue, they started falling from the sky. One by one then two by two they dropped behind the assassins. Officers armed with the weapons I recognized from the warehouse fell to my rescue. The last five to surround us were the ones I sought before: Kai, Kalel, Gabi, Rafi and the High Authorities mentor to me: Auggy.
It happened so fast that the assassins became disoriented. They didn’t expect to fight such as war over one vamp. Alliances are common in our world, but armies are limited to the army, Bladangs and three other camps, two of which reside in Europe. No, they expected to take me out and collect. Instead it seemed we would collect them; it seemed.
The war cry sounded and bullets flew giving way to sheer mayhem. I withdrew my dagger, my skin flaking and crisping in the movement. I was afraid to injure the wrong vamp with my laser beams and would have to bear the pain a little longer. I wasn’t irresponsible nor did I have a desire to murder ruthlessly. I only wanted to protect what I had left. I heard screams, felt wind as everyone caved in on the circle; I was the prize and the lure. They all were fighting to either kill me or protect me.
It was a first hand look, the same experience of a soldier at battle for his country. You’re fighting for more than your life; you’re fighting for principle, for freedom, for a cause greater than you with a bigger impact than you could ever have fathomed, or so you hope. Not all wars have a purpose. Mine did. We were fighting for justice.
An opportune moment arrived. I jabbed the knife straight into his heart stopping him dead in his tracks. His eyes bugged out in shock for when I peered up at my victim a swarm of feminist pride shook through me. The vamp that attacked me in my car, that shot me into a window and covered me with shards of glass was suddenly at my mercy. Sadly, I had none for him. I withdrew my dagger and in half a blink ended his life with a single slice of my necklace at his throat.
I stepped back as his head fell and Kai turned towards me. He looked between the fallen vamp and a burnt, half fleshy zombie looking me. He beamed with compassion and pride for me. I feebly smiled back but stopped when I locked eyes with her again; the only vamp I didn’t want to see – Melinda.
I froze in place, torn by the option to kill her or not. She had the same contemplative glare. My peripheral view showed plenty of fallen vamps and one prepared to off her. Fear set in as I made my fatal move.
“Stop!” I yelled sending my hands in a furry of painful waves to protect her. While I protected her for my best friend, she hesitated because of her but chose to complete her mission rather than secure that which means so much to her own.
Time stood still. Everything slowed dramatically as in the movies. My life flashed before my eyes. I saw the blood bath surrounding me; I felt like one of the few survivors of a serial killer gone mad. It took me back to the gory scene of my mother’s death and then my father’s crazy indulgence in the holding cell. I looked to Kellan who was running towards me yelling what I couldn’t make out. That’s when I realized my hearing had disappeared. Everything had faded out except my vision; it was all paused in this moment.
Suddenly he hit me; he knocked me to the ground kicking the breath out of me as my back thudded against the dirt floor. It took me a millisecond to feel the pain. Strong pain surged in my chest and left shoulder. Kellan was a fury of cries over me. Then I noticed the blood covering his hands. He pressed on my chest. I winced, gasping for air. I finally felt the life draining from me. She shot me. My eyes darted straight ahead to witness the massacre imploding. Like a machine gun, knives, lasers and bullets sent her riling in every direction. Her eyes never left me. She deliberately shot me and showed no remorse.
Mel; I could only think of Mel. Not us both. She can’t lose us both.
Chaos; flurries of movement engulfed me. I felt the hands all over me. I wanted to shout at them to stop hurting me, but I couldn’t find my voice. I couldn’t even find Kellan in my thoughts. This was it. I felt the dark cloud descending upon me; the weight of the world crushed me as I went under just as I had on my birthday. But it wasn’t my birthday or anesthesia; this was death. It felt like death.
Chapter 27
I heard them moving around me. I heard their muffled whispers; familiar voices yet my mind couldn’t place them, it couldn’t place anything. I felt foggy, but that means I felt, that I was alive. Like numbing cream wearing off, I slowly began to feel my body again. The first thing I noticed were my hands. Both at my sides, they were being held by another.
“She’s waking,” I heard him announce.
The feeling gave way to soreness. My muscles felt weak, but my skin, it didn’t hurt. I must have healed. I felt my blood coursing through my veins, but wait. It’s being pushed, almost forced at my inner thigh.
My eyelids fluttered. At first I couldn’t focus. For the first time since becoming a vampeen, my vision was blurry. I began to blink profusely trying to take it all in. The room was full, jam packed with those I loved. The last one I thought about was the first one I clearly saw. Clasping my right hand with a red nose, bloodshot eyes and looking very disheveled was Mel.
“Poor girl. Lost both parents, nearly lost her life and all she cares about is making things right with her best friend,” said a familiar voice; only one problem. A quick look around proved no one had spoken. The flood gates poured open and I suddenly heard a room full of murmurs.
“What’s going on? She’s freaking out.”
“I wonder if I should go put a soothing hand on her and try to calm her down. She’s breaking a sweat; very unusual.”
“Oh Leka, I’m so sorry this has happened to you.”
“Dang. Everything happens to this girl.”
I shook my head vehemently, closed my eyes and cupped my hands over my ears. I knew I had stunned everyone with my abrupt panic attack. I was scared. The voices didn’t leave; they didn’t silence with my ears plugged.
“Stop!” I yelled.
“Oh God she’s turned into her father. I don’t know if I could kill her like we did him.”
“She’s lost it. I knew it would be too much for her.”
“Even as a total basket case she’s beautiful and yet I don’t think she’d ever believe me.”
I began shaking my head back and forth and humming to try and drown out the noise; to quiet the buzz that was so quickly overwhelming my sanity. I felt two strong hands caress my cheeks but stop my movement as well.
“Lexi,” I recognized that voice as Kellan’s instantly. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him.
“There’s hope after all. She’s conscious and respondent.”
“What’s wrong with her? She’s acted strange in the past but never quite like this.”
Abruptly Kai’s voice broke through the crowd. “You hear us.” It was a statement more than a question. Everyone shifted their attention to me entirely.
“I… I don’t know,” I stuttered.
“Can she hear me? Oh God I would definitely have no privacy then.”
“What are the odds? We all did donate blood to her. I suppose it’s possible but highly unlikely to derive such a side effect.”
“If she hears thoughts like them, then she’ll know I have a fondness for her. She’ll tell Gabi; they’ve bonded.” My eyes popped open in shock straight at Rafi. “Ay dios miyo! It’s true then. You can hear my thoughts. You can’t… Please don’t…”
I couldn’t stop shaking my he
ad and wincing. They would come two or three at a time and I couldn’t understand a word of it; then they singled out and I heard more than I wanted. It was as if they were talking in my head yet it sounded like I was in a crowded room. Had I been human I would have accumulated a massive migraine by this point.
“I’m sorry but can everyone go?” I scrunched my forehead, furrowed my brows and buried my head in my knees bent up towards my chest covered by a thin sheet. I was shutting down. Whoever said it, or I should say thought it, was right; this was too much. I tried my best to ignore the new comments echoing from all over.
“Kalel,” I called as everyone trickled out the door obeying my wishes. I could handle one mind at a time and I felt he would be my best resource.
“I will never be number one in her life. She picks every one over me including my own brother. It’s enough to make me go mad.” I chose to ignore the dig obviously coming from Kai.
“I’ve put up a block. You shouldn’t hear me. How many voices did you hear?” I lifted my head to the empty room; silence.
I glanced around and saw it looked like a bedroom but there were several monitors on my right. Hooked to a tall metal pole was a bag of blood draining down a tube that led down and under the sheet. I tossed the sheet away from me to reveal an IV in my inner thigh. Seeing my skin reminded me of my burns, but studying it, I seemed to have healed. Looking down the shirt I recognized my panties and bra but not the t-shirt. It was a bit big and long, almost to my mid-thigh. It dawned on me right as Kalel explained.
“It’s out version of a hospital gown since IVs always go in our largest vein.” He motioned to mine.
“I didn’t think vamps got IVs,” I bemused still trying to absorb everything. It was nice to have a moment of peace.
“We usually don’t. You were the third Dr. H has ever administered,” he smirked.
“Why are you smiling like that?” I was cautious yet curious.
“In the less than two months that I’ve known you, you have turned my world upside down. You scream drama though you don’t intentionally bring it.”