They were getting their asses quite literally beaten after rushing to the Old Chapel all those months before. Perry had taken out Will when they first got there since no one was really paying attention to them. But even that would soon be proven irrelevant.

They were captured after that and they were only saved when Danny came bursting in with half her squad of athletic girls, ready to kick ass and get back their friends. It was marvelous, their union to do good, uncaring of the seriously screwed up rally Danny must have put on to tell them vampires had been kidnapping the girls and they had to attack now or lose them all.

Laura would have giggled at that if things were different. But they weren't. Nothing was.

The blinding light had been loving and kind, beckoning all the students in the room to come towards it. To cherish it.

It wasn't until Carmilla came swooping in just before Laura walked into the giant chasm in the floor, grabbing the nape of her neck with a strong hand and flinging her back, that they were saved. But Laura knew they weren't. She knew because the vampire carried the one thing she should never possess in her hands.

She had that stupid sword.

The Dean was at their throat in no time flat; turning into a murder of crows and diving and clawing at Carmilla. The vampire fought her mother off easily with that sword that glowed with radiance, the radiance of Carmilla's soul.

Eventually the Dean lost her strength and turned back into her normal form, helpless as her daughter butted her in the face with the hilt of the weapon.

It would have been fine if that was all that had happened. It would have been okay even if the Summer Society and the Zetas were getting their asses kicked in the background. As long as Carmilla was alright, everything would be okay.

But it wasn't okay, Laura found as Carmilla looked back to her after the blinding light.

She said some quip, the only thing Laura heard over the rumbling and shouts of fighting all around her. It was if Carmilla and her were the only two in the room, the brunette's eyes brimming with tears after witnessing Ell, but looking away from her once love to look at her...

Then she jumped. She jumped into the chasm with the sword over her head, hitting it home in the beautiful light.

She had saved them. She had sacrificed herself, the damn hero of the story, to save Laura.

But it was for nothing. It was all for nothing.

The light still rose after moments of disgusting laughter from the Dean, her arms rising over her head as she screamed that 'The God had Risen!'. The once dead vampires, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, rose again after dust particles and their ashes swirled and coalesced. Will's eyes scanning the scared students for none other than Perry, though LaFontaine stood between them.

They came in droves, those damn vampires.

They had no choice but to run then. But they couldn't as the vampires barred their paths at the Dean's command.

The God had risen, Carmilla's death meant absolutely nothing, and then-

Laura, clad in a dark brown tank top with darkened cargo pants, gasped as she tripped over something large, snapping her out of her memories, and she would have thought it was a root and kept walking if not for the thing feeling... squishy.

Recovering, she looked round and looked in horror at a girls body half covered in leaves, which is why Laura didn't see her at first, and obviously dead for some time. Squatting down, she gave the girl a once over.

The golden patch on the girls chest identified her as a sister from the Summer Society though Laura could not recognize her from her face. Not that the girl had many identifiable facial structures to help with the recognition anyways. She had obviously been out here for weeks, probably getting caught by Will's hunting party of demons and vampires the bright light had spit out after it rose into the air above the university.

Regardless, it wasn't Danny, thank god, and Laura let out a breath before bending down slowly.

You've done this before, she thought coldly, running a hand over her hair pulled tight into a pony tail, trying to will herself into the action. You have to search her pockets. She could have weapons or at least a map.

Laura let out a slow breath before sucking in air to hold in her lungs. Slowly, she placed her combat boot next to the girl's corpse and started rifling through her many pockets. Good thing about Summer Society girls was that they always wore useful clothing to keep all their gear in.

Trying not to look in her eyes, or get too close for fear of the smell, Laura's efforts rewarded her with a small pocket knife and something wrapped in aluminum foil; hopefully, the girl thought, it was food. It wasn't easy finding animals she could hunt with the little knowledge of combat she had, and she was seriously hungry. She placed the aluminum in her own pocket and wiped her hands on her cargo pants. All she had to do now was-

The hair on her bare arms rose and Laura's senses pricked as she heard the brush stir behind her; a twig snapping under something heavy. She went completely still, her eyes looking down to see if the pocket knife was a flip trigger or if she had to personally flick the blade outward. It probably wouldn't save her if it was a vampire or demon, but a zombie could be taken out if she was careful. All the stupid things spit out by the God-Light, why did it have to be zombies?

Her breath came out in huffs as she slowly moved her left arm as slowly and concealed as possible, pulling up the small blade out of its holder. Just one clean shot, she pleaded. I still have to find Danny and the others. I still have so much to do. God, please don't let me die now.

Mustering up her courage, Laura turned swiftly, dropping her bag of supplies to be more nimble on her feet, but stopped dead as she took in the enormous sight in front of her.

Hunched over in a predatory stance was a giant black cat. It's red orbs looked straight into hazel and its tail flicked quickly, telling Laura it recognized she had looked at it, and if she dare look away, well... game over.

Laura could see the muscles rippling under the inky coat as he bent lower to the ground as if ready to sprint. The demon would be on her in no time at all and only a few seconds later a strong jaw would pierce her throat to disembowel her. What could she possibly do against a killing machine like that?

Clutching the knife in her right hand, Laura raised her left in a defensive gesture so that when the cat attacked the weight would be pulled to her left arm so that her right could swing hard into a neck or skull. What was she even thinking? If this thing decided to attack she'd be dead before she knew it.

Pink shot out of the cat's mouth as it licked its jaws, and Laura gulped, knowing that meant-

Blackness clouded her vision before she could even let out a scream. Laura felt her left arm catch the weight, but it did nothing for her shock and she felt herself go tumbling down without warning. The thing was on her chest now, crushing her with its immense weight, and all Laura could see was those muscles of its shoulder stretching and pulling as its sharp claw raised into the air. It's back legs were scratching across her thighs and its huge paws were on her chest.

Oh god!

Closing her eyes, she tried to find the will to raise her right hand, try to attack the thing, do something before she died. Laura let out a cry when the giant paw came crashing down on her forearm, effectively pinning her to the ground; its claws digging into the dirt.

It wasn't going to end like this, she thought as she looked up into blood orbs with her teeth bared in a snarl. It couldn't end like this. She still had to find Danny. She still had her dad. So much more to do. God, she had to find a way to bring Carmilla back and end this nightmare!

The feline on top of her, made itself larger blocking out Laura's view of the sky, making it impossible for her to even kick out her legs. She could do nothing but wait for this thing to stop playing with her and just end her life.

As if the cat read her mind, its head raised higher into the air before crashing down with its mouth wide open, presumably for Laura's neck. She closed her eyes tight, her breath stopping in her throat, her body going limp as it waited for the death strike.

Please, not like this!