Drake’s terror spurred me forward. Whatever was happening, he was on the losing side of it, and based off what I was feeling, he thought wouldn’t last much longer. A fresh burst of speed had me moving faster than I ever had before. I’d have to thank the doctor for the blood he had provided me when I got back to the ship. Drake aura was drawing closer. I pulled the two pistols from behind my back and rounded a corner that should take me straight to him.
Men in tactical gear lined the dark street. Without slowing down, I started firing into their backs as I ran for the door. By the time the first man hit the ground, I was already past the rest of them. They wouldn’t be out of the fight for too long. The protective vests they wore would keep the blaster pistols from doing too much damage to them. It was better than they deserved. If I had the time, I would have killed them for attacking what was mine.
The pistols ran out of charge by the time I reached the entrance to the shop. I wasn’t sure if Maze would want them back so I tucked them into the waistline of my pants as I bent down to grab one of the fallen soldier’s assault rifles. I could hear the men on the comm, as I pried the weapon out of his limp hands. He mumbled a protest, and I slammed the butt of the gun down on his helmet. Red gore exploded from the wound, and I was reminded of just how strong I actually was. So much for not killing anyone, the jig was up.
Blaster fire erupted as I crossed the threshold and entered the building. The smoke made it hard to see who was shooting. The shots came from the direction Drake was in, but there was no way to tell if it was him firing. I didn’t want to risk hitting him so I reversed the gun in my hand and charged towards the first man.
It must have been a scary sight, seeing me appear through the smoke wielding an assault rifle like a club. It would have been an even bigger shock when the weapon hit you in the chest breaking your ribs and sending you flying across the room. Six men went down in less than five seconds. My anger drove my body at speeds that seemed impossible even for me. As the last man went down, I pulled my rage back just enough to expand my senses. No one was firing, it was time to grab Drake and get the hell out of here.
“Captain, I’m coming in?”
“Samantha?” His voice croaked and was followed by a harsh cough.
“The one and only.” I would have bowed with a flourish, but I doubted Drake could see me.
The smoke cleared enough for me to see him. He had been shot in the leg, but otherwise he looked ok. Our bond told me that he was in pain, but now that the action was over, his heart rate was slowing. I dropped the rifle I had been using and scooped him up. I slung his two hundred pound frame over my shoulder and started running back out of the building. Only one of the soldiers was dumb enough to get in my way. Instead of going through him, I jumped off the side of the building and kicked him in the head as I passed. He wouldn’t be getting up again, ever. Drake moaned in my arms, and I started to run.
As we wove through the alleys, Drake started to squirm. “If you put me down, I can walk.”
I slowed down and then set the captain back on the ground. He took a step and then fell to the floor. “Not on that leg you can’t.”
“Well as long as you don’t go around telling people you carried me, I guess that I wouldn’t mind the lift.” His face pulled into a grimace as he tried to climb back to his feet.
“I can do one better.” I started to cut my arm, and he stopped me.
“Is that safe?”
Outside of strengthening our bond, I thought it would be safe but I really had no idea. The scientists that created me didn’t seem to know the full extent of my abilities, and that meant that anything was possible. I might even be able to create more vampires like myself. I was starting to run low on energy and if the captain could walk, it would greatly reduce what I was spending. Pain was radiating out from my belly. It was almost as if someone had reached inside and tried to twist it into a pretzel. I knew that my eyes were turning red, and if I didn’t get some blood soon, I might lose control.
The hunger was a real problem. It made me weak at first and then filled me with the desire to hunt. When the bloodlust took me, I couldn’t control myself or pull back from it even when the hunger had been satiated. I’d killed people for fun and laughed while doing it. That wasn’t me, it was like there was something else inside of me that took control and wouldn’t relinquish it until its sick desires had been fulfilled. That couldn’t happen here, not now, not when I was finally free.
“I’m not sure if it’s safe, but I can’t carry you all the way back.” I watched Drake’s face with growing concern. We needed to hurry.
“So you’re saying I’m fat.” He laughed, obviously trying to make light of our predicament.
I moved my hand in a manner that said so-so. It was a joke, the man was in great shape. Something I had noticed while my body pressed against him on the couch.
Drake started laughing as he got the joke. “Do it.”
I cut my arm and let the blood drip into his wound. I smeared it around the charred skin. Drake let out a grunt, but otherwise he seemed to be able to control the pain better than I would have thought. It struck me that this was a man that was used to being hurt. There had to be a few stories there, and I hoped I’d be with him long enough to hear them. The wound started to knit itself back together, and Drake stood testing out the leg. His first few steps came with a limp, but it faded as we moved back into the station.
“You’re going to put Doc out of a job if you keep this up.”
“It wouldn’t be wise to fire him, Richard is very important to me.”
Drake waved his hand in the air as if he was dismissing the thought. “It’s just an expression. What it really means is that what you can accomplish with your blood almost makes what he does unnecessary.”
“Oh.” The last thing I wanted was to become some kind of blood cow. My blood might be able to heal them, but I was going to choose how and when I used it. No one was ever going to force me to do something I didn’t want to again.
“Don’t worry, the doc isn’t going anywhere unless he decides to leave on his own.”
Drake had skipped right over my fears. As if the fact harvesting my blood could make a lot of credits for them didn’t even occur to him, which made me feel a little better, but I still needed to know something. “And what about me, Captain? Will I be leaving soon?”
“Well I have an idea about that, but it’s probably better if we talk about it back on the ship.”
The sound of sirens approaching the building we had just left reached my ears. The captain was right about one thing, we needed to get out of here and fast. If they locked down the station before we could leave, it wouldn’t be a good thing. I was supposed to be trapped in stasis still. If the scientists found out I was awake and out of the box, Drake and his crew’s lives would be forfeit.
We started moving in a direction that would lead us back to the safety of the main strip and eventually back to our ship when the man in the white robe stepped in front of us. He pulled a large staff from behind his back, and the ends sparked to life as electricity arched along them. He moved into a fighting stance, and his eyes shone with religious fervor.
“It’s time that you met your end, abomination.”
He extended one hand, and I was flung ten feet back and into a wall. The force of the blow rocked my body. I might have cracked a rib. Drake was lying on the ground next to me unconscious. Our bond told me he was still alive, but the sight of his limp body brought the rage I had just suppressed back to the surface. My hands curled into claws as I pushed myself to my feet. I felt an involuntary snarl escape my throat. No one hurts what is mine. This man was going to die.
CHAPTER 13
SAMANTHA RIPLEY
The power that slammed me into the wall faded, and I felt my ribs snapping back into place as I hit the ground. Drake was still breathing, and his heartbeat was steady. I hoped the blood I had given him was enough to heal him. The man in front of me moved forwards with a
purpose, red energy crackling from both ends of his staff. It wasn’t just electricity, and that had me worried.
His white robes stood out in stark contrast to the dirty alley, and the scar on his face let me know he was a fighter. He had called me an abomination, so he had some idea of what I was. How in the hell had he found me, and just who did he work for? Thoughts about him continued to jump through my mind as I prepared for a fight.
I didn’t have any weapons except for Maze’s empty pistols. That wasn’t going to do much good. The staff had me worried but not as much as the energy he had used to throw me against the wall. That and I was already weakened from saving Drake. We started to circle each other, each of us looking for an opening to strike. I thought the man would try and end things quickly, but instead, he started talking.
“You know your kind is truly the filth of the universe,” the man in white spit out as if the sight of me truly made him disgusted.
It was hard for me to keep my eyes focused on his. Every time he spoke, my eyes were drawn to the scar on his face. “So a white robe and a scared face somehow make you better than me.”
He laughed. “I got this removing the head from another one of your kind.” His eyes glittered with passion only a zealot could feel. “Now it’s your turn to die.”
“I think you’ll find I’m harder to kill than you expect.”
He lashed out with his staff. There was no better time than the present to find out just what that energy would do to me, so instead of dodging out of the way, I blocked the strike with my arm. Pain erupted down the entire right side of my body. Damn, that thing packed some punch. My right side was numb, but I could already feel the tingle of sensation as my nerves were coming back to life. There was no way I was going to be doing that on purpose again, but at least I knew the risks going forward.
“How did you like the taste of my holy fire, bitch?” The man in white grunted as he swung his staff again.
I jumped back from the blow easily enough. Now that I knew what the staff did, I could take my time killing this man. He had to pay for attacking what was mine. “It kind of reminds me of bad coffee. You know the shit I’m talking about. They have it at every crappy office job, like the employers think providing shitty coffee is something you should be grateful for. It’s the stuff no amount of cream and sugar could fix, not that the office has anything but packets of more crap to drop in that sludge. Your staff kind of felt like drinking that, but I’m over it.”
He screamed with rage and swung the staff towards me again. This time I ducked under the blow and rolled forward. I came up behind him and started to attack when his power threw me backwards again. I only stumbled back a few feet. Either he was getting weaker, or he was trying to set me up for something. I had a feeling he had blown his wad on the massive amount of power he tossed at us to start the fight. This last blast barely had half the force. If he was getting tired, I might be able to end this quickly. There was no way I was letting this scum kill me when I was finally free.
The fingers on my right hand started to spasm. It didn’t feel great, and I felt the rage pushing me to let it out. For now, my control held, but if he hit me again, it wouldn’t last. I rushed at him, swinging out with my left hand. He used the center of his staff to deflect the blow, but nothing happened to my arm. So only the ends of his staff were a danger. I feinted a few more strikes, barely moving faster than a human. I wanted him to spend his energy while I conserved mine.
He flew at me his staff spinning like a tornado. I used my left hand to push him away when I could, otherwise I ducked and circled away from him. My right hand finished twitching, and I flexed the fingers. I was back in action, but he didn’t know it yet. I kept circling as if my right side was still out of commission and then I waited for my opportunity.
It didn’t take long for him to over extend himself. He was arrogant and angry. That never made for a good combination, at least not when you were fighting for your life. I spun around his staff, and his wild blow hit the ground where I had been standing. Before the sparks had even finished crackling, I had yanked the weapon from his hand. The red energy it issued died as I held it. That was interesting, but I didn’t have time to figure it out now.
The man looked shocked at what had happened. He cast his power out at me, but this time it wasn’t strong enough to do more than stop me from moving forward. When the power holding me in place abated, I swung his staff at him. He took the blow in the belly, and I heard the snapping of bones as he flew into the wall behind him. That was payback for Drake. I tossed the staff down on the ground I was going to end this my way.
Stalking towards the man, I let a smile play over my face. “Tell me friend, does the alley floor remind you of the taste of that coffee I was talking about?”
The fear in his eyes filled me with a certain sense of pride. I liked seeing this man on the ground before me. He was broken and ready to die. His next attack brought with it more questions than answers, but if I was lucky, I’d be able to rip enough of his memories out before he died to have a better idea of what was happening. He cast out with his power again, and this time I just used my strength to push through it.
The fear on his face turned to determination, and he extended his hand out to me. The power that had been trying to hold me back vanished and I almost stumbled forward. Before I could catch my balance, his staff flew past me and into his outstretched hand. The red energy flowed across the tips as soon as it touched him, and he swung out, catching my left leg. I fell to the ground, and the staff hit me again in the stomach. My whole body was numb, there was nothing I could do.
He stood over me. “And those assholes thought this would be hard. You’re nothing, except a stepping stone to greatness for me.”
His staff started to descend again, and then I heard the shot. His head jerked back as the plasma bolt hit it dead center. The blast sprayed his blood and whatever was left of his brains against the alley wall behind him. He fell to his knees. The staff slipped from his hands and the red power that made it so dangerous winked out. His lifeless corpse fell onto my chest, and there was nothing I could do to move it. Somehow, I managed to turn my head enough to see who had shot him.
Drake was staggering back to his feet with a pistol in his hand. Once he found his balance, he tucked the weapon back into the holster on his thigh. It was a hell of a shot considering the state he was in. I was starting to see why his crew respected him so much. He dragged the body forward off of me, trying to keep the bloody mess of the head away from me. The weapon should have burned the wound closed almost as soon as it fired so I wouldn’t be in too much danger of drawing attention when we walked back to the ship.
Drake looked down at me. “Finally it was my turn to help you.”
He extended his hand to help me up, but my arms still wouldn’t move. I tried to speak and found that my voice worked just fine. “His weapon did something to me, I won’t be able to move for another couple of minutes.”
Drake moved away from me and picked up the weapon. My neck had started to work again so I could track his progress. He picked up the staff, and I was pleased to see that it didn’t burst to life with that same red energy. He kept the weapon with him and then looked back at the body of the man he killed to save me. Our bond told me he was calm as he scanned the alley around us. I wondered if he was thinking of a place to stash the body.
Pain ripped through me again as my body started to wake up. I don’t know what in the fuck that staff did, but the effects were immediate. How many more of those crazy fuckers were out there? I hoped this wasn’t going to turn into a thing. The last thing I needed was to have a bunch of white-robed bastards chasing me down every time the ship docked.
As my body finished shaking, I looked up into two beautiful steel blue eyes. I was so focused on the eyes, I missed the hand Captain Drake extended to help me up. I felt the blush bloom on my cheeks as I looked away and took his hand. Once I was on my feet, Drake tossed the man’s weapon to me. I
moved the weapon around, appreciating its perfect balance. I still wondered how the man activated it, but that was a question for later.
Drake started walking forward. “Let’s get back to the ship before we run into any more surprises. I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more.”
CHAPTER 14
CAPTAIN DRAKE
Max was dead, at least I was pretty sure that he was. Although, I wouldn’t put it past that slimy little man to have found some way out of escaping death yet again. That just seemed to be the way it worked for him. Lucky isn’t a word I would use to describe many people. In fact in my experience, luck didn’t seem to exist. Hard work and determination is how I earned every credit I had, that and surrounding myself with the best people the verse rejected. That being said, Max seemed to live a charmed life, and I wondered if somehow I would be seeing him again someday.
Not that my life wasn’t feeling exceptionally blessed right now. It was like I had my own guardian angel. Of course she came with her own problems. Just who was that bastard in the white robe? He packed a pretty stiff opening salvo, but he didn’t have the stamina to be a real contender.
Samantha had saved my life twice in the last day, and I had saved hers once. One more time and we would be back to all square, but at the rate things were going, I figured to pretty much be in her debt for the rest of my life, and that brought me to right back to my plan. It was risky, and I had to find out what Max dug up first, but there was no way I was shoving her back into the box. If this was going to work she would have to willingly climb back in the box herself.
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