The ink of midnight settled over the city, held at bay by the street lights. She walked down the streets, her heels echoing around the empty street. Her black silken hair spilled over her dark dress. Her electric blue highlights the only colour that stood out. She was walking home from a party, one of those inane high school parties. She never really enjoyed them but always hoped that going would mean that she would feel something. But every party ended the same, in sheer disappointment. She hadn't felt anything for a while now if she was honest, she felt dead inside.
She was brought out of her stupor by the sound of footsteps following her. For anyone else, the footsteps would have been too quiet to hear, but for Jade they were sharp and focused. She knew walking around this part of town was dangerous for most, but she knew she need fear nothing. As the frequency of the footsteps increased, she allowed a smirk to stain her usually impassive face. She kept her pace steady as the stranger neared her.
The stranger caught up to her just as she entered the stream of light from a streetlamp. As he reached out his strong hand and clasped it around her upper arm, she allowed her smirk to widen. She heard the goose bumps rise on his skin at the contact with her deathly cold skin.
"You should be wary of what walks in the night" she allowed her cold voice to penetrate the silence that encompassed the night.
The light above the both of them flickered and Jade took this as her cue to act. She twisted her body and seized the man's arm with her free hand. With unnatural speed and strength she flipped the man over her head and made to throw him on the ground. Her kohl rimmed eyes blew wide open when the man twisted in midair and landed solidly on his feet. A small gasp escaped her lips as the man used the momentum to throw her against the wall. Her reactions should have allowed her to recover before she connected with the wall, but the shock of the man's action froze her mind. She was slammed hard against the wall and the air spilled out of her.
"What the fuck?" she wheezed out as she made to push herself up.
"What, you expected no-one would suspect what you are. I'm here to kill you vampire" the man calmly stated.
The throw had knocked Jade's senses lose, but she had faced much worse in her time. She let her calculating, cold blue eyes take in the man that she had deemed unthreatening. He stood underneath the street lamp and it bathed his long, black leather coat in a dull light. Even through his coat it was clear that the man was very muscular, but that didn't concern her, no human could ever match her for strength. It was his eyes that unnerved her; they were a cold, calculated shade of grey that were levelled straight at her. She could tell that they held no fear.
She forced her trepidation to the back of her mind and let out a low growl. Her pearl white teeth barred to show two fangs slowly forming in her mouth. She sprinted forward with inhumane speed. Her eyes, perfectly accustomed to seeing at these speeds, caught the slight twitch of his lips and sent a shiver down her spine. Finally the first time she felt something, but her jubilation was short lived. Another person suddenly jumped from the top of the street lamp and blocked her path to the man with a blade. She swerved at the last second, earning a cut on her upper shoulder.
Jade swivelled to face the assailant. She felt a slight burn on her shoulder and looked down to see the cut on her shoulder bubbling. She had never come across this before and for the second time that night she felt something, unfortunately for her it was fear. She also noticed that the blade had sliced through her dress, exposing the strap of her bra and the slight top of the lacy black cup. She lifted the tatter of fabric in her hands and let it slip through her finger.
"You may have some unnatural advantages, but we have a few of our own too" the man explained in a calm demeanour, as he and his accomplice advanced on her.
"You know, I really liked this dress. You're going to pay for ruining it" she snarled.
Before either of the two attackers could blink, Jade pounced upon the newer assailant. The attacker was encompassed in a cloak and Jade made to rip it from her. She held back her full strength and began strangling the assailant with her own cloak. The other man advanced on her, now with two blades held in either hand. The sharp point of a blade was plunged towards her heart, but before it could get closer than a couple of inches to her, she released the cloak and darted behind the man. She was hoping for a respite but a silver blur shot towards her, slicing a few errant hairs from her heads. She watched them fall lifelessly towards the ground.
Looking up at where the projectile had come from, she was met with the sight of a now uncloaked figure. Before her stood a woman clad in battle attire. She wore a skin tight crop top that exposed her toned midriff and three quarter length trousers that hugged her legs. She also wore a belt that had weapons stored on every available inch. She had shoulder length brown hair that framed her alert green eyes. Jade was momentarily shocked at the girls youthful appearance. But she was dragged back to the moment as the large man sliced at her stomach.
She was barely able to move back in time and the blade slice through the thin layer of fabric that covered her mid section. She let out another low growl as she tried to think of her next move.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were just trying to get me naked" she taunted, although it was all just a front as she was trying desperately to think of a way to win this fight.
"Your kind is a plague on this world and need to be eradicated" the stunning young woman screeched at her. She made to charge at Jade but was stopped when the man extended his arm.
"Don't let her taunt you, remain calm and we will win" he instructed her.
In the brief pause in the conflict, Jade's eyes settled on a warehouse across the street and a plan formulated in her mind. She knew she was at a disadvantage out in the open, but in an enclosed dark space she could regain the advantage she would normally have over any human.
"You have to catch me to kill me" she let the words slip from her mouth and she sprinted off in the direction of the warehouse.
She could tell they were following by the sound of their feet slamming against the concrete. She threw herself through a window, sending a cascade of broken glass towards the ground. She pressed herself amongst the many boxes the lined the high shelves in the ware house. She listened for the telltale sign that her attackers had entered the house. As a sliver of light banished the darkness for a split second, Jade knew they had entered.
"You're either really brave or foolish, chasing me in here" Jade allowed her voice to echo, hoping to disorientate them.
"You think this is meant to scare us, we've fought hundreds like you before and we'll fight many after you" the man's voice banished the echoes of Jade's.
Jade was thrown by the man's calm nature, and it began to irk her. She listened intently for the sound of their heart beats and was shocked to hear them beating steadily. Whenever she hunted prey, it always amused her to hear the erratic heart beats of pure fear before she finally killed them. But devoid of that feeling now sent her mind into overdrive.
She clamped her hands over her ears as a loud metallic tang echoed around the deserted warehouse. She collapsed forward placing her head on the cold metallic shelving, wishing that she could feel the cool metal against her skin, anything to distract her from the piercing pain in her mind.
"You see, scum, you strength becomes your weakness under the right circumstances" the lady gloated, slamming her blade against the metal shelving again.
Jade hated the pain she felt, and no longer cared what she did. She sprung for the girl hoping to take her down and cease the mind numbing pain she was causing. She knew it was a desperate attempt, but the pain was driving her to the edge. Plus no-one called Jade West scum and lived. Her fangs barred, she landed atop the girl and pinned her to the floor, sending her blade skittering across the floor. Jade let a devious smirk plaster her face and made to lunge for the girl's neck. The girl bucked beneath her and Jade crashed back onto the floor herself. Normally such a feeble move wouldn't have shifted her, but it had been a few days since her last feed and she was weaker because of it.
The girl had lunged for her blade once again and stalked towards Jade. Jade used her speed to flee from the girl and around a set of shelves. Her dead eyes widened in shock as she came face to face with the man.
"Vampire's, so predictable" he idly commented, as he swung one of his blades towards her. She hastily dodged around him, hoping to get behind him, but was sent flying when he shouldered her sending her flying into a set of shelves.
The muscles the man had did their job, sending Jade crashing into the shelves with such force that they began to rock violently. Jade had crashed head first into a crate and was momentarily stunned, but her last sight was of the man's eyes widening in shock. The metallic shelves groaned in protest as they rocked back and forth, their contents fighting against the movement. The crates battled furiously to be free and the shelves crumpled under the movement. Crates began to rain down to the floor spilling their contents in waves around the warehouse.
The man dashed to the side seeking refuge behind another set of shelves. Jade was not as fortunate and was buried under mountains of items and crates, the sheer weight of the crates snapping bones in her body. While it wouldn't kill her, without feeding she couldn't heal herself and flee. After what felt like an eternity, the warehouse fell deathly quiet after a metal ring ran wild and fell against the floor.
Jade shrugged what she could off of her, and piles shifted either side of her. Her right wrist was broken but she struggled through the pain. She had wished for a long time to feel again, but now she was regretting it. She managed to free her torso by struggling wildly, but she could not muster the strength to free her legs that were pinned under three large crates. It was then that she heard an unnerving chuckle fill the air.
"Time to die parasite, not even the undead can survive without a head" said the peppy little woman, approaching with her blade out by her side.
Jade watched her carefully as she approached, eyes never leaving the blade that held her imminent death. She admired the way the moonlight reflected of the blade and lit up the room. She noticed the man appear behind the girl and watch with a grim determination as the girl took her place above Jade's side. Jade wouldn't beg instead she forced herself to glare up at the girl and fix a snarl on her face. The blade silently rose through the air and began to sing as it was brought down. Jade screwed her eyes shut and wait to feel the taste of cold steel on her neck.
"HALT!" was what she heard instead of the sickening crunch of metal on bone.
She opened her eyes to be met with the blade a mere centimetre from her neck. Frustration marred the girls face as she slowly withdrew the blade. Jade looked for the source of the commanding voice. Her eyes blew open when she finally located the man, or should that be boy.
"Shapiro!" she spat with disdain.