“No, I never saw her while I worked on it. My job was to build the lab, get stuff ordered and in place. I worked the design of it and did some counter installs, supply stocking and machinery calibrations. I never actually got to work there, though. They used to lead us through this tunnel to access it, never through the main entrance so we didn’t know exactly what it was buried under. We had our assumptions, but no one was allowed in with cell phones or any way to know the exact coordinates. This leads to a garage bay where they kept tinted passenger vans to transport us in and out. They were windowless. We couldn’t see out at all. Top secret.”
He was obviously uncomfortable talking about it, as though he had kept a little secret that he would now be killed for telling. I wanted to laugh, to tell him that it didn’t matter anymore. Those kinds of promises didn’t count in a vampire apocalypse. I doubted it would be of any difference to him, though. It was cold comfort to me. Either way, it didn’t matter what his reason was to have kept this from me. Just that he hadn’t volunteered this information had me seething. Someone had taken great pains to keep this city a secret.
“How far is the garage with the vans?”
“Not far.” He mumbled something else, but I couldn’t understand him. I shrugged and briefly glanced behind us to make sure we were not being followed. I was sure they would realize we had escaped fairly soon, if they hadn’t already. I turned back and ran right into Christian’s back. He reached his arm back to steady me, but his face was focused ahead of us. I peeked tentatively around his shoulder to see what he was now staring at.
Elijah.
Not just Elijah, either. Eleven other people stood their ground, blocking our way, weapons drawn and ready. I sucked in my breath before I stepped beside Christian, hoping Elijah was still on my side.
“Elijah?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but his face grew hard as he glared at Christian. I took it the vampire was a bigger threat than I was. I took the moment to flick my eyes to the others standing beside him, fanned out into a V shape.
I wondered who they all were. I studied every face, but one kept me glued onto hers a lot more than the others. The lines of her face were sharp, her thin nose petite and perfect. Long red hair draped her shoulders on both sides in thick, tight braids. It wasn’t the fact that she had a gun pointed in our general direction, but her eyes, blue like sapphires that gleamed in the obnoxious fluorescent glow above our heads that drew me to her.
I knew those eyes. I had laughed, cried and hugged the girl behind those eyes many times, over many years. I knew every freckle on her face, every line that crinkled between her brows. I had heard her laugh many times and braided that very shade of red hair too many times to ever forget it. I knew her face as well as I knew my own features.
Sarah.
“Sarah?” My voice sounded dry and scraped from my throat like sandpaper. Could it be her, or was my mind playing dirty little tricks on me after my near death experience? “It’s you, isn’t it?” I watched her flinch when her name spilled from my tongue, her eyes glowing brighter as they filled with unshed tears. I took a step forward, unaware of the uncertainty flaring up in not only Elijah’s eyes, but the rest of the group, too.
“Stop where you are!” Her voice echoed in the tunnel, bouncing off the walls and vibrating in my chest. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot.”
I froze. I felt Christian touch my hand and pull me back a step. A knot formed in my throat, and I wasn’t sure what was going on. Flashes of her smile and laughter rang through my head, making me dizzy and making me search her face for any sign of recognition.
“Elijah?” I asked, my voice squeaking. “Are you going to kill us?”
He did not move or answer for what felt like an eternity. Slowly, he shook his head, his messy hair falling slightly over one eye. I prayed to see the spark of his smile once more, the genuine friendship I thought he had offered me but had so unexpectantly rescinded. I wanted his friendship more than anything right now.
“No.” Elijah motioned the others to stand down, and they obeyed without any questions, without any hesitation. I watched as they lowered their weapons and tucked them away. Relieved, I glanced at Christian. Confusion swam across his face as it did on mine, too. I waited for Elijah to make the next move. I wasn’t going to push it, not with twelve warriors staring me down.
Feral vampires had nothing on these twelve humans. I would have rather faced a hive of snarling, snapping jaws than ever get into a showdown with these twelve. I waited, apprehensive to make any moves, afraid it would break the fragile, still atmosphere. I even held my breath, afraid it would be enough to disturb the moment.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long.
Elijah huffed out a breath, and the eleven bodies behind him relaxed even more. Even Sarah, who had been ready to pounce, walked on over to peer at me, staring at my face as though she wanted to memorize it. I wanted to reach out and pull her close, squeeze the air right out of her. The joy I felt at finding her again was unbearable, and my arms ached to hug her. But I waited. Was it fear or apprehension? I didn’t know. But I was relieved beyond words when she reached out and pulled me close, giving me the tightest hug I could ever imagine.
I prayed this wasn’t a dream.
“April!” She stepped back, holding me out with her arms. “I never thought I’d ever see you again!” She stepped back in for another firm embrace. I let her tears fall and soak into my shoulder as she quietly wept.
“Me neither!” I laughed, and we both let our chuckles evaporate the last of the tension. “Wait,” I said, studying her curiously. She smelled different, and the power radiating off her skin felt akin to my own. “You’re a hybrid, aren’t you? You’re different, like me−I can’t believe it!” I was so ecstatic, letting the surge of excitement fill me with such happiness.
“Yeah, and look at you! Wow! You sure are pretty bad ass yourself.” She finally let go and stepped away, still smiling widely. “I heard you gave Elijah a nice run for his money.” She winked. I glanced toward Elijah, who waited beside her. Surprised he wasn’t upset, I gave him a tentative smile. This felt like home. Like the family I was missing all along.
“Are you going to let us go?” I asked him.
He shook his head. My face fell at the gesture.
What?
“No, I’m not going to just let you go.” He sighed deeply, like he was letting a weight off his own shoulders, too. “We’re going to join you and leave this inferno.”
I smiled, stepping forward to give him a hug. I couldn’t believe it. It was more than I ever could have imagined that I would find down here. “Really?” My tears were streaming down my face now, but I hardly felt them. “Are you sure?”
He laughed, and the others joined in behind him. “Am I sure? More sure than anything! We’re tired of this tomb, it’s time to go.”
I nodded, wiping my face with my hand, not caring if I smeared it with dirt. I wanted to go home, the faster the better.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, beaming. But his smile faded as another voice disturbed the air around us.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Fourteen heads whipped around in the direction we had come, gaping in horror at who was approaching. Sure enough, the leader of the city of Vida stood smirking at us, as though we were nothing but fools.
“It’s over, Katrina. We’re leaving. We’re done with your rules.” Elijah weaved his way forward to stand in front of us as the group drew weapons once more. His glare narrowed at her, but she didn’t even flinch at his daggered look. I stood weaponless, feeling naked without anything but my fists. But I was emboldened. We could take out this skinny bitch, no problem.
“Oh, Elijah. I had such high hopes for you. You can still change your mind, you know. Come back, lead the city with me. Be the ultimate leader.” Her eyes flashed an angry red, like metal and car lights. I blinked to make sure I hadn’t seen this illusion, but it remained. Her eye
s were glowing crimson, like a feral’s, but brighter.
What’s this?
“No. I’d never join you, Katrina. You know that. You’ve always known that.” He shifted, his gun still at his side as he watched her for any sudden movements. Apparently her appearance had been disturbing to him too.
She snarled, laughing as she stepped a little closer. A ripping, rubbery sound emanated from behind her as large, black leathery wings unraveled, ripping her shirt until it lay dangling on her thin shoulders. Her skin morphed into an inky black sheen and her fingernails grew into sharp, thick talons. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Elijah,” she snickered. Her words dripped with sarcasm as her mouth twisted open, showing a set of perfectly sharpened black teeth.
Oh crap.
I stepped back, knowing that what I was seeing was more than I’d ever thought possible. She was a frightful sight, her long hair so utterly human but her red eyes, fangs and wings made her unreal, like a thing of nightmares, a demon in the flesh. What was she? Some sort of shape shifting horror?
“What the hell is that?” I yelled, taking another step back, right into Sarah. She gave me a knowing glance, slipping a gun into my hands as she turned back to the abomination before us. The shock in her eyes told me a thousand things. The twelve warriors had never laid eyes on Katrina like this. She had lain in their midst hundreds of nights and they had been none the wiser.
“I am the queen of all vampires, my dear.” Her glowing eyes flashed again, giving the room a slight strobe light appearance. I held up my gun, steadying my aim between her eyes. “You can’t kill me child. I am not as fragile as you are, human.” Katrina hissed, snarling as her rows of razor sharp teeth grinned back at me.
It made me cringe and my blood run a thousand degrees of cold. I glanced at Christian, who was now armed with a sword, given to him by one of the warriors. At this moment, I was glad to have him, Elijah, Sarah and the others at my back. If I was going to die it would be with dignity alongside such amazing people. I gripped my gun, my knuckles turning white as I stared down the wicked witch of the western underground.
“Some things change.” I let off a shot but watched in horror as she jumped so fast that she disappeared for a moment and then swooped down, disarming me and smacking Elijah, sending him flying into the brick wall of the tunnel. Sarah lunged, shooting off her own gun as she attempted to evade Katrina’s talons. She almost did, but the sound of her shriek as the mutated woman slashed her shoulder with her long, pointy fingers made my blood run even colder.
“Sarah!” What the hell was that thing? How could we stop her?
I emptied my gun in her direction, though she kept dodging and flitting across the room, flying and dipping, turning and changing her course until my chamber clicked empty. Her cackling laugh echoed on the cement all around us as she picked us off one by one, knocking others to the floor and slashing at some. She was strong, but I watched her movements, memorizing them for any weakness.
There had to be one. There always was, right?
I ran over to Sarah and, she shoved her sword at me, attempting to slow the bleeding from her shoulder. A bright red gash interrupted her perfect skin, soaking her clothes with the bloody mess. “Take it! I can’t wield it now.” She gritted her teeth as she flung it toward me.
I mouthed her a “thanks,” hoping to keep the demon witch from returning to her and finishing the job. The others were scattered all around, some fighting, some on the ground and a couple unmoving. I squeezed the hilt of Sarah’s sword, attuning myself to its balance and shifting my legs to counter it. I needed to get close enough to do some damage but not too close. She was razor sharp on all edges, and avoiding them would be best.
Come a little closer, just a bit. Come on, you freak!
My mind was focused, though the fatigue and the wear of the past few days were already crawling back into my bones. I didn’t need much, just one strike to incapacitate this bat. Just one, come on, take the bait darling….
Chapter Twenty-One
Breathe Again
Rye
MIRANDA TUGGED AT his sleeve, the echoing screams making her eyes grow wider. He had heard it too, his walk turning into a fast run toward the commotion ahead. They had finally found where April had headed. Sneaking into the hive had not been too difficult, even though subduing the human guards had been easy, too easy. Something was not right. Why put a trap like a horde of feral vampires to keep them out if they were not going to protect their entrance very well? Maybe their guards were distracted. Maybe something had happened. It could mean only one thing.
April.
She must have gotten out somehow, if she had been trapped down there all this time. Only she could cause such a ruckus to make all the guards disappear. It made Rye smile at the thought. She was amazing in so many ways. If anyone could escape this underground fortress, it would be her.
Once again, slipping through the underground city had been fairly easy. It was nightfall outside, and the ferals were probably swarming all over the place now. But here, it was a silent tomb. Everyone was most likely sleeping, if they kept in time with the hours above, it looked to Rye like they did. He and Miranda barely saw any humans during the whole trek through the underground warehouses. It was astonishing how much was down here. It literally was an underground city, with every need that could ever surface, met. The greenhouses were vast and beautiful with bunches of trees and plants. The large indoor pool made it seem as though the entire hotel above had been transplanted below. Room after room of stockpiles from canned food to endless rows and boxes of clothes filled the storage areas to the brim. It was breathtaking.
How this could have been built without the knowledge of the entire world was beyond him.
Luckily he had spotted April, but she had been so far down the catwalk, following a man, she had not heard him call out to her. By the looks of it, they were trying to seem inconspicuous, walking softly and sticking to the darkened corners. Try as they might, Rye had almost lost sight of them in the enormous boiler/engine room. The noise there was deafening, and the lack of security made it easy to weave through the forest of machinery. Staying in the shadows, he tried to predict which way April and her companion had gone. He’d closed his eyes and thought of her. If he were April, where would he hide?
Luckily, the misshapen pile of debris which partially covered a door caught his attention. It looked somewhat out of place, like someone had shoved the pile to one side to get to the door. Rye glanced at Miranda, who gave him nod. They agreed it was the most logical place to go.
Through the metal door they went, still mystified at the lack of resistance they had met. Upon entering and making their way down the tunnel, echoes of screams had vibrated against the brick walls and metal ceiling. The haunting shrieks coming from the far end of the tunnel made the skin on his arms prickle with gooseflesh. He couldn’t even make out where they were coming from yet. The dimness of the neglected lighting here made it impossible. Even the darkness seemed to swallow them up as the tunnel progressed. The only thing leading them in the right direction was the yelling and screaming echoes which slowly got louder.
In full sprint, Rye didn’t wait to see if Miranda was still following behind him. His gut told him April was there, maybe the one screaming, for all he knew. Whatever was attacking her and her companion was hurting them badly. He had to get there now, if not minutes ago. Pulling out his swords while running was not easy, but he did it, ready to pummel whatever came into view.
Slowing down as he approached, he wasn’t prepared for what hovered above a group of warriors, all swinging swords and shooting their guns upward, toward a darkened blur that shot across the roof of the tunnel. It had black wings and snarled with a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth. Otherwise humanoid and female, it was vicious-looking. Its red eyes flashed brightly and its talons dripped with crimson blood. Roaring, its screech bounced on the walls, making his ears ring and surge with pain. What the hell was that?
&nbs
p; Rye ripped his eyes away from the creature to locate April. She was perched over another woman with long red hair who was bleeding buckets. He watched as she accepted the sword from her fallen comrade and crouched away, ready to jump and strike at the flying abomination. If she failed, it would slice her into a thousand strips of blood and gore. He couldn’t let that happen, he couldn’t let her sacrifice herself like that.
He sprinted forward, his swords swinging with the momentum. He wouldn’t make it on time, and that realization hit him like a thousand darts in his chest. He could see the flying woman diving down, snarling and smirking at April, ready to take her talons to April’s soft skin. His legs were on fire, burning with the effort of his full on dash to get to her.
In what felt like slow motion, he watched as April jerked her sword down, faking her path of destruction as she rolled to her right, tucking her body into a ball as the creature fell for the false move. Jumping up and now behind the winged horror, April brought her sword down, effectively slicing through one of the creature’s wings.
An unnatural scream filled the air, making most of the soldiers collapse to their knees, holding their ears from the agony. The woman took to her feet, swinging her arm to backhand April so hard it sent her flying backward into the mud, the sword slipping out of her grip. Disarmed, she would not stand a chance against that thing one second longer. Without wasting another moment, Rye dropped one sword, gripped the other with both hands and pushed off the ground behind the monster. He pulled his arm back and arched his sword upward and toward her neck.
It met its mark, sending her head plummeting to the floor and the headless body, writhing behind it, sprayed a fountain of dark, reddish green blood. It jerked and spasmed across the mud as its lone wing thrashed and twitched. Finally, it fell in a heap, right on top of April. Rye hurried to toss the creature off of her.
The demon’s body was surprisingly light, but he could feel its ferocious muscles under the humanoid skin withering away as its blood drained into the mud, making it black and sticky. It stuck to his boots and soaked his pants as he reached over to April and cradled her to his chest. She had been knocked out by the hit she had received, leaving her unconscious with a bloody claw mark where the woman’s talons had sliced into her cheek. It stood out across her perfect skin, bleeding and bubbling with a green ooze that seemed to be festering before his eyes.