Sorry it's been so long, guys. Here's two chapters as an apology! 3
~12 hours, 14 minutes, and 36 seconds later~
"Oh my god," I breathed. The once magnificent city of Chicago lay before us in ruin. Mike and I shared a disbelieving look, unable to fathom how the city had gotten so bad.
There was debris everywhere; most of the buildings looked like bombs had been set off inside them.
Mike set the car in park, sending me a 'be careful' look before getting out of the car.
Everything was eerily still; the only movement was of John pulling up beside us.
It looked as if the entire city had been completely abandoned, but the four of us knew better than to believe that.
The late afternoon sun glinted off of the few windows that were still intact, casting eerie shapes onto the ground.
"Where is everyone?" John asked in a whisper, scared to break the blanket of silence surrounding us.
"When Matt said that vampires were everywhere, I didn't think he meant that everyone was a vampire," Mickie said, glancing nervously at the setting sun.
"Don't be ridiculous," I started, probably sounding more hysterical than confident. "When the vampires showed up, everyone probably left. There's no way the entire city of Chicago was turned into vampires."
"Thank God for that, because otherwise, we'd have an even bigger problem."
It took a minute for my brain to register that someone else had entered the conversation, but once it had, I turned to face the speaker.
"Matt!" I ran to him, hugging him tightly. After a second of him not reacting, I pulled back, thinking maybe it wasn't Matt after all.
"D-Dodger?" He asked, as if he didn't believe I was standing right in front of him.
I grinned, shaking my head. "What other 5'6" tattooed redhead would be tackling you?"
He returned my grin eagerly, picking me up and spinning the both of us around.
"What are you doing here?" He asked after returning my feet to the ground.
"We're here to help, Matt," Mickie threw in, coming to stand next to me.
A confused look settled on his face.
"Help? With what?"
"The girls saw your broadcast, man," Mike clarified.
"Y-y'all fight vampires?" He asked, eyes wide.
"Well...yeah. What else would we be doing here?" I asked.
"I just...I never would have expected you four to have to deal with them. Just wishful thinking, I guess."
"You look like you've had it rough," I said softly, pointing to the lacerations across his face.
He nodded, letting out a sigh.
"It's been...well, after what happened to Amy, nothing's been easy."
I rolled my eyes, sure it was just some needless drama.
"What happened?" Mickie asked, glaring at my uncaring expression.
"She got bitten," he stated, a note of regret in his voice.
"Well...that can't be all bad," I reasoned, thinking about vampires' special abilities.
"It wouldn't be," he confirmed, "if Orton didn't have complete control over her."
I felt my jaw drop.
"What?! How?!" I demanded.
"Apparently, when a girl is bitten, the vampire who turns her has total control over her mind and actions."
Yeah. Like that's not sexist at all.
"So...there's no chance of saving her?" Mickie asked.
"None...unless..."
"Unless?" I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.
An eerie wind blew. The sun- now barely above the horizon- was covered in thick, black clouds.
"Unless you kill me."