A voice came from the shadows in the alley, "Looks like I've got a Judge on my tail. You don't look too tough. Soon you'll join me and help me rule the darkness."
"I dont think so. I've heard about you, and the trail of bodies you leave behind." said Anderson matter-of-factually, hand on her Lawgiver.
A tall man stepped out from the shadows, "Merely sacrifices. We all must make sacrifices in a world overrun by humans and their Judges, and Priests. And not all will become just cold, lifeless bodies, but you can become a familiar and serve me, the first human vampire. So what do you say?", his hands splayed out in front of him. They were wrapped in some sort of dark cloth or maybe leather. It was too dark to see what he was wearing but it looked like a dark trench coat and a black hat.
"I've made enough sacrifices, and Im sure so has everyone else! Your crime is murder, the sentence….death." Anderson trained her lawgiver on the strange vampire's abdomen, trigger finger steady.
"Oh. So you wanna play? Well then, let's play." Black Hat sneered and with his vampiric speed he was instantly towering over Anderson, snarling with his pearl white fangs. "You're going to have to be faster than what you were trained to be as a Judge."
Cassandra was not ready for the display of speed the vampire possessed and tried her best to keep him in her sights yet only his glinting fangs and yellow eyes were visible in the low light.
"There's no point in running, I will only hunt you down and execute you sooner or later. Personally I would prefer soon to later." Anderson said in a low voice.
Black Hat flashed around her again and grabbed her throat to lift her above the ground and against the nearest wall. Anderson dropped her lawgiver out of surprise and winced. The vampire's hand was digging into her windpipe and pinching her skin.
"I guarantee an execution will come soon," He grinned again. "but I wouldn't count on it to be mine. Of course though, you do have a choice, and I'm not gonna ask again. Join me. Or face damnation along with the rest of beings that thought they could overpower me."
Her breathing became labored and after listening to what he had to say she summoned her courage and spat in Black Hat's face.
"My loyalties lie with the law, and protection of the innocent" Anderson managed to choke out, her vision blurring at the was the first person she had encountered difficulty when trying to read.
Black Hat could feel Anderson touching his mind with hers, trying to read him.
"Ah. So you play mind tricks? I can play mind tricks too." Black Hat stepped back a little and looked into her eyes. A coldness spreading throughout Anderson when they locked eyes. His eyes burned bright but were cold as ice and she could feel her limbs becoming numb. He could see everything. His yellow irises pulsed as he stared deep into her core.
No! This cant be, I need to get out of here! She thought as fear began to coil in the pit of her stomach and slither up her spine. Her training had never involved defense against this kind of assault. She finally summed up enough mental power to break eye contract and look at the grimy wall to her right.
He'd never encountered a psychic before and she was proving to be difficult.
"Ok then. This won't be as painless as it could've been." His yellow eyes gleamed and his jaws extended to expose his entirety of jagged vampire teeth, he leaned forward to penetrate the Judge's neck. Then suddenly a searing pain lashed in his groin. Anderson had been released from his grasp and retrieved her lawgiver while Black Hat was keeled over and cursing.
"Don't fucking move." Anderson spat through clenched teeth, she was trying not to show just how freaked out she really was because it would give him the upper hand and an opening to wound and possibly kill her if she wasn't careful.
Standing above Black Hat, she pushed the muzzle of her Lawgiver into the back of his head and was about to pull the trigger when a flash of leather swirled in front of her and knocked the Lawgiver from her hands. She gasped and dove for the gun but it was too late. Black Hat drove the toe of his dusty boot into her stomach and she fell to the ground, winded. Gasping for air and covered in sweat and dirt Anderson tried to crawl towards her Lawgiver and extended a hand towards it.
"Oh no you don't!" Black Hat flashed over and kicked Anderson's Lawgiver over out of reach and grabbed Anderson's wrist and dragged her back to the wall. She managed to stand up and throw a punch but Black Hat caught her fist before it came into contact with him.
"Like I said Judge, you'll have to be faster if you ever expect to put a scratch on me."
Anderson kicked again and managed to hurt his leg. Kicking seemed to be her advantage. Black Hat threw her to the ground again. This Judge was getting on his last nerve.
Cassandra grunted when she hit the ground, still struggling to breathe after being winded. Her ribs were beginning to ache as well. Shit. Attempting to stand only resulted in having a boot fall squarely between her shoulder blades and pushed her down again, the pressure hurt her breasts and collar bone.
Black Hat leaned down and removed his foot only to grab the collar of her Judge suit and throw a punch across her jaw. The crimson blood ran out her lip split lip.
"Not a good look for you, Judge" He punched her again, pain blossomed anew, this time much higher and aimed at her nose. Now her face was swelling and the blood had streamed her cheeks. Black Hat had burst into a sinister laughter that echoed within the halls. The blood started giving off a strong scent and Black Hat leaned in closer to sniff it.
Cassandra could feel the warm liquid ooze from her injuries and drip down her face. She turned her face to the side and spat the blood at the wet cement then looked Black Hat in the eyes and squared her shoulders, ready for more.
"Is that all you got?" She said with a painful sneer, her split lip protesting with each movement.
"Oh, I'm just getting started, honey." Black Hat threw her across the ground and heard a crack from her ribs breaking further. His hollow footsteps echoed on the walls as he walked closer to where she had landed.
"Face it, Judge. It's over." As he was approaching, Anderson had swept her feet under his to send the towering vamp to the floor and after his face had come in contact to the wet cement, she was on top of him. Cassandra pulled her standard issue bowie knife and sat astride the vampire with it at his throat. The tip of the knife nicked him just under his chin a bit. Blood was dripping from a wound at Anderson's hairline, into her eyes, everything she saw was tinted red.
"It's not over until I say it's over, vampire." She spat the last word with venom and moved her free hand to wipe the blood from her eyes.
Bad move.
Black Hat was snarling and his jagged teeth were visible again. Even though the Judge's entire body weight was on top of him, he managed to sit up and overpower her weight. He restrained her by pinning her hands to the ground above her head and positioned his legs on hers so as she couldn't slip away. His heavy breath was hot on Anderson's skin.
"I've had enough of you, Judge. Time to put a stop this." Black Hat's voice was thick with annoyance. The blood from the nick Anderson had made in the skin on his neck started dripping on her chin, the cut on her lip, and a little into her mouth.
"I hope you had fun." Black Hat chuckled and grimaced, and in a split second he had disappeared.
A great weight had lifted from Anderson's chest when the vampire was gone. Her split lip still burned, by now it was swollen quite a bit and was tender to the touch. She rolled over and began to cough a bit, her breathing now slightly ragged. She felt as though all her energy was drained, her limbs heavy and sore, Cassandra lay on the ground for a few minutes before succumbing to the darkness behind her eye lids.
There was a buzzing sound in the distance that slowly became recognizable only as a person talking. Cassandra reached an aching arm up to her forehead and pressed her palm there then slowly sat up and opened her eyes. A disheveled man was shuffling away, his dirty ripped pant legs dragging on the ground. His leather jacket looked worn, greasy, and had bits of food and garbage clinging to it. The man had grey curly hair and was muttering something to himself about no money.
"Hey, you," she called to the man. He turned around with a surprised look on his dirty face.
"I didnt take anything!" he cried through his scraggly beard and began to shuffle away faster.
Scrambling to her unsteady feet Cassandra decided to let him off this time and began to walk towards the streets, towards home.
When she finally reached her building, after an hour of walking the streets, Cassandra was home. The elevator up was quiet, which was what she really need right this moment now that she was off duty, and thankfully the mega block was quiet at this hour. She scanned her hand at her door and pushed it open with her foot when she heard the lock click. Cassandra slowly shut the door and finally let her guard down. Walking over to her bed and sitting on the edge, she removed her standard issue shit kickers and followed by undressing further. Standing to look at herself in the mirror on the wall she could see all the damage taken that night. Two broken ribs, yellowish-green bruises littering her body, a broken nose, great, a split lip, and cuts and dried blood all over her face.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Cassandra?" She asked herself in a low voice then padded towards and into her bathroom for a hot shower to wash away the blood, dirt, and pain.
After the shower, Cassandra felt better, the ache in her muscles washed away by the hot water. She lay on her bed, not bothering to dress, and slept for what felt like an eternity.