t-shirt and she was still more beautiful than any woman I’d seen all dolled up. Anyway, side tracked again, we got to the elevator without talking.
We’d left the guys so they could finish their shots and get ready. But as soon as we were in the elevator we’d locked together in a warm embrace and were holding our lips to each other’s like there was nothing else in the world. I had missed her more than I thought imaginable. When we finally broke apart I couldn’t stop smiling, “You’re so unbelievably perfect.”
She rubbed her beautiful button nose on mine and smiled widely, “I’m not the only one.”
The elevator made a ding sound, “Fourth floor.” We stepped out hand in hand to the smoke and multi-coloured light. A nineties dance track that I can’t remember for the life of me bounced off the bodies dancing throughout the club.
We got halfway through the club before giving up on finding Wolf for a while and started dancing. Well, she danced, and I just kind of jumped on the spot. She stopped me by wrapping her arms around my neck and coaxing my arms around her waist. We swayed in rhythm with the music now blasting through the crowd.
I took a moment to explore the club with my eyes, the roof appeared to be made of polished marble with several lighting rigs aligned in a circle. A huge window opened up the wall to reveal the large mountain side in front of the parking complex. Judging from the light outside it would’ve been around seven.
I felt a hand fall on my shoulder, “How cool is this place?” Wolf practically shouted the sentence in my ear.
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. How do you guys make sure this place isn’t noticed?” My eye's never leaving Kate’s.
“Easy, we’re in the middle of nowhere for one, and two, that glass is a bulletproof two way mirror. No-one can see in this place.” Knowing this eased me a fair amount. Kate released me so we could dance as a group. We probably looked like complete idiots but we didn’t care, my whole body felt loose. Kate was bouncing around, whipping her hair around while Wolf was clicking his fingers. Spinning around, I was so happy, the lights, the music, the day I'd had.
Everything was perfect.
That’s when the window exploded.
Wednesday Night
The screams filled the room, people scrambled, “We have to get back to the elevator!” We started pushing through the crowd, glass still smashing as it cracked and fell from its frame. The door of the elevator slid open to reveal Jason and Steve.
Gunfire began to crack through the club, they pulled pistols from the holsters that were initially hidden by their unbuttoned shirts, “Get in here!”
We all dove into the elevator as the other two fired over our heads, the doors closed, Wolf pulled me up, “We have to go down, get to the housing.”
He hit the button before I could stop him, “There are people in there Wolf! Are we just going to leave them to die?”
I went to push the button for the top floor again and Wolf pushed me away from it, “There are people in here too! We need to help ourselves before we can help them. We’ll all die if we try to save them, I’m sorry John, but this has to be done. They’re all capable, we didn’t leave a hundred civilians up there, they’ve all had combat training.”
There was an explosion above us and the lights in the elevator dimmed. It pissed me off, but he was right, “Ok, fine, what do we do from here?”
Jason reloaded his pistol, “We get you guys to your weapons, hopefully they haven’t gotten to the housing yet, then we take the base back.” The doors slid open and I could feel the energy bouncing throughout the cavern. People were everywhere, running in and out of their houses, up the stairs, down the stairs, as I said, they were everywhere.
“Meet back here in five, Steve and I will wait here for you.” We ran to our separate houses, my door hadn’t been fixed yet, the least of my worries I decided. I barged through the door and made for my room.
I ripped open my cupboard, removed the faux-panel to reveal part of my personal arsenal. The rest was in my bed, I pulled off my tie and clipped the chest harness on while sliding my pistols into the holsters. I grabbed my shotgun and dashed back to the elevator. Everyone was waiting for me, Wolf had an AK while Kate held an SMG in her hands, “Let’s go then, what’s the next step?”
Jason gestured to the elevator, “Lift’s out of commission, which means we’re taking the stairs. I think we should hit the cafeteria first, it’s a good place to hold up and regroup with others. Then we can push them further back out of the facility.”
“Any idea who they are?”
Wolf frowned, “Hunters John, it was only a matter of time before they found us.”
Someone barged past us, he was young and terrified, “They’re coming through the far entrance!” He disappeared as the words left his mouth.
“Wolf, you want to head up to the cafeteria with Jason and Steve? Kate and I can hold it here.”
Wolf nodded and gestured for the guys to follow him as they ran for the stairs. Kate and I made for a pair of brick walls on either side of the street. Kate pushed her back against the wall opposite to mine while I kept my shoulder to the brick cover, “The hunters will have to come through the middle, we’ll have the advantage.” I peeked around the corner, there was ten, maybe fifteen more of ours coming through, “Hurry up! Head to the cafeteria, Wolf will help you from ther…”
I was cut off by machine gun fire carving through them, they didn’t get a chance to scream before they hit the floor. I looked over to Kate’s horrified face, these would have been people she knew, her neighbours and friends. “Get back Kate!” Part of the wall next to my head exploded. I pulled one of my pistols out and returned the fire, there were at least twenty of them.
I heard Kate’s SMG go off as she sprayed the hunters. I managed to get a quick look at them through the bullet hole now in the wall. They wore all black armour that kind of resembled what a modern day SS soldier might’ve looked like, full face helmets with red eye coverings.
Kate managed to drop four with her clip, I ducked back as she did. She started patting around frantically; she hadn’t grabbed ammo, “Kate! Here!” I threw her my second pistol, “Twelve rounds! Make them count!” I put my initial pistol back into its holster and checked the shotgun to see if I’d remembered to reload after its last use. Six shells in the chamber, I’d have to get in closer.
The wall was a few seconds from being ineffective cover any way. I shot around the corner and began to close the distance between myself and the hunters. I felt the bullets whiz dangerously close to my head, I was snarling and firing my shotgun at the hunters. I was trying to look scary and violent while I was just thinking how bad of an idea this was, how’d I even get in this situation?
Jumping over the bodies of fallen vampires and humans in a conflict I thought was fairly small. I had had such a quiet life, sure hunters showed up from time to time. But that was once or twice every five years. A bullet tore through the shirt under my arm to bring me back. I was in arm’s length now, being menacing.
There were three in my immediate vicinity, one in front and one on either side of me. The remaining five were another ten metres in front of me focusing on Kate, so I had these guys. I dangled my shotgun in my right hand, the guy in front on me dropped his gun. I’m guessing they’d run out of ammo on the way here after massacring these people, he brandished his knife and leaped at me.
I moved my right shoulder back, peeking over quickly to see that the guy to my right was now making his move. The front one’s knife narrowly missed me, giving me an opportunity; I knocked him back while bringing the shotgun up. Cocking it on his helmet, smashing the red eyes, I pulled the trigger, blowing the top of the left assailant’s head off.
I swung with kick-back of the blast into the final hunter’s face. Elbow first, I sent him into a small back-flip, that part hurt. Two of the other hunters had decided I was a more immediate threat now and started firing on me. One hit me in the arm and chest sending me reeling back.
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As I hit the ground I went to cock my shotgun, which was impossible, as the fore-stock was currently wedged in the head of the other hunter. I looked around desperately for something to use, I was kind of hoping Kate would take them out with the pistol before they got to me.
Pistol! I still had one left, I popped up spinning and sliding the remaining pistol from its holster in the process and resumed my charging. I levelled my gun in front of me and let loose a volley of shots into the guys focusing their fire on me, but as they dropped the rest turned to me.
My gun clicked when I pulled the trigger, I threw it at the nearest target, managing to just catch a glimpse of it wedging into his helmet as I bounded in a serpentine fashion. I could sense their fear, I launched myself toward one, tearing head from body.
I had a weapon now, smashing the head in my hand into another hunter’s, the blood spraying my face. A knife entered my back and twisted releasing a howl of pain from my lips. I spun on my feet and rammed my fists into his chest-piece which collapsed and bent as he slammed to the ground under my force.
I stood up straight and looked at the carnage that surrounded me. Something else caught my eye at the end of the tunnel, eight more hunters. I was pretty sure this was the end. I stood my ground and adjusted my collar, straightening up for my death.
That was until the