The Vampire Hospital
Blue scores of lightning scored itself across the windscreen as they went further towards the beacon of Opal's seeker sleeper leaving no mark to speak of. Then the whole craft started to shake like in an earthquake and Holly's hands tightened around the wheel. Shuddering was getting worse and the lightning was leaving deeper and deeper cracks. It was doubtful whether the ship could go on without shattering. Artemis had his mouth clenched as if holding back sick. Root was as rigid as statue and almost as pale while Charlie's face was turning steadily. Alpha however was polishing his blade looking utterly relaxed. Holly got the feeling that a volcano could erupt next to him and he would still carry on polishing his weapon. Suddenly like a cork out of a bottle the pushed them out into a radically different world from the one they had left.
It had obviously been a great city once. But the buildings had no glass in any of the windows, while some floors had collapsed and still others were merely dust and larger versions of the scaffolding you sometimes see around destroyed buildings. Still others, mainly skyscrapers, had fallen over completely giving a domino sort effect as a whole series of buildings had collapsed causing great mountains of concrete. The streets below them were stuck in an eternal traffic jam and although they looked largely undamaged there was one car with its top ripped off like a can and what looked like blood everywhere. But the city was far from still. For human figures were running about, destroying anything in their path and indeed including one another. Somewhere running up walls of the less collapsed buildings.
It took Holly a while to take it all in and she was speechless. When speech did return she couldn't find the words she needed. Luckily Artemis was there.
"What the hell happened here?" Oh, very fluent and graceful Artemis Holly thought.
Artemis seemed to think so too as he coughed and hastily revised his question.
"What happened to this great city of great cities?" Okay, that was too high and mighty thought Holly.
Root came through and looked out the windscreen looking unsurprised and nowhere near shocked.
"All the cities look like this now. The names are easily forgotten as they loose both inhabitants and land marks. If I were you I'd carry on after that signal," he continued pointing at the screen towards the dot that was the seeker sleeper. "That's our objective so let's get on with it. Oh and go quietly we don't want any more hassle from the vampires than need be." He added looking down at the ground.
As they flew through the destruction they saw more and more signs of it while the only light poked through the dust that surrounded everywhere like an orange fog. The seeker sleeper guided them to a hospital or what was left of a hospital. It had been cleaved in half by one of the fallen buildings. The vampire rate seemed larger here than anywhere else in the city. Typical.
When they landed they had a quick council.
"It will be faster if we split up." Said Charlie.
"I suggest we keep together." Disagreed Artemis. "Although slower our own well being is more important than speed for the moment."
"Agreed" said Root. "We also have a location giving us no need to search."
"The seeker sleeper is located in this room on the second floor," said Holly pointing at a dot in the middle of a 3-D projection of the building. "It's behind the fallen building so we'll need to find a way through."
"Right, if that's settled let's go." Said Charlie standing up.
"Hang on." Exclaimed Artemis. "We can't just go crashing in. This is Opal Koboi we're talking about. She would of thought of this and arranged something."
"We don't have time to imagine up a great big conspiracy." Said Root firmly. "Counter tactics and strategy went out the window when this war started. The monsters don't even know the meaning of strategy. Hell, they don't even have a language. How can they have a trap?"
Holly could see the firmness in Root's eyes and knew he wouldn't change his mind. Artemis seemed to notice this too as he didn't argue. But Holly couldn't help noticing Artemis whispering to Alpha as they left who nodded silently.
The journey through the hospital was tense. They moved from wall to wall keeping to the shadows and being as quiet as possible. A few vampires past but none of them saw or heard them. But they got lucky and managed to reach a point where they could sneak through the building blocking the other side of the hospital. It was like the whole building had turned 90 degrees to the left. They had to run softly with their tonfa guns drawn along the wall jumping over the doorways in their floor.
On the other side Holly said, "The room with the seeker sleeper is just down the corridor on the right."
"Hang on." Interrupted Charlie. "Where's Alpha?"
They looked around but although Alpha hardly said anything he did have a physical presence, which was not there. He had gone.
"He can look after himself." Said Root. "He'll probably meet us back at the ship he probably took a wrong turning or something but lets get back to priority 1, the seeker sleeper."
Holly however couldn't help remembering an image of Artemis whispering in Alpha's ear.
Next thing she knew however they were outside the room with the tracker in. They edged inside to find some kind of computer lab most of them unusually unbroken. The ceiling was tiled and the blood and body of many a scientist lay over nearly everything. But in the middle of the room on top of a small T.V lay something small, bloody and rusty. Holly recognized it. It was the seeker sleeper they had gone to find. They approached cautiously and Holly picked up the tracker. As soon as she did the T.V it was on top of turned and on it was a face. A face they recognized.
"Oho I didn't think you'd fall into this one," said Opal Koboi in obvious high glee. "I thought you were too clever to fall in this trap." As she said this, the door behind them swung shut of its own accord and sealed itself. "Holly I have tried to kill you before and it cost me. I shan't make that mistake again. Oh and Artemis is here too excellent and no Butler too. Tell me Artemis what is a tactician without a soldier? Nothing that's what. Commander Root too, well I've killed you before and I can do it again the others at the same time as well. And that lady in the background, don't know you never will now and honestly I couldn't care."
Charlie bristled at this and said, "So how do you intend on killing us?"
"Well I'd like it drawn out like starvation, never tried that before. But I made that mistake last time so unfortunately it's quick but painful." She added with an evil grin.
At that moment the ceiling collapsed in four places out of which came 6 vampires from each hole.
Holly was suddenly back-to-back with the other three drawing her tonfa guns. She was surprised how much they were like neutrino's, weighted but not heavy but it still made her skin crawl to touch them.
Opal was cackling evilly on the T.V saying things.
"Who should I choose to kill first? Or maybe I'll leave them to instinct. How abou…"
Her voice was drowned out as not the ceiling collapsed but the floor under 6 of the vampires did. They fell through the hole and out of it jumped Alpha.
"Now that's what I call earth-shattering results." Said Charlie.
"Never mind the clever movie quips now." Shouted Root running towards the new hole. "Leave that to the writers later."
"No, Not again" shrieked Opal. "Kill them, Kill them."
The vampires were after them needing no more encouragement. They would have killed them all if not for Alpha and his fast shooting, killing 3 and slowing the rest as they dodged the bullets. Artemis was last through the hole then followed by Alpha who was still shooting as he ran…backwards. They got to the building on its side and the vampires were catching up. Pulling out a grenade Artemis threw it, not at the vampires but up into one of the doors above him. Although the explosion was no larger than normal the building was old and crumbling. The shockwaves past right through the whole building shaking the whole thing until like a house of cards in slow motion started collapsing. Alpha over took him now not needing to shoot back. The floor before him was collapsing and the corridor stretched ahead much longer than when they had come down it. The others were already at the end hardly noticing the crumbling building behind. Alpha jumped over the last great gap to the safe corridor beyond. But Artemis couldn't make it especially with the gap getting bigger any minute. Then something nudged him inside his brain. Of course Magic. And not for the first or last time he called upon his magic to strengthen his jump at the last minute. Nnnnooooottttttt yyyyeeeeettttttt. Now!!! He didn't just jump he threw himself towards the ledge shattering the world long jump record of course no one recorded it. Typical. Artemis slammed into the wall under the ledge trying to grasp the ledge but his fingers slipped and fell……… Till someone caught him. He looked up to see the brown face and red hair of Holly holding onto him.
She grinned. "Keep up mud boy."
They were back in the ship now flying as fast away as they could. They were heading towards the sea as the best place to spend the night. It wasn't over run with vampires anyway. But as they past over the water they suddenly knew where they were. For the remnants of the Statue of Liberty poked from the sea as if claiming one final breath before drowning.
The great city of New York once one of the largest cities in the world was now no more than the biggest ruin in the world.
This might be my last update for a while. I'm getting serious writers block and I might not be able to shift it.
