The vampires convene in the main foyer, all talking at once.
"Silence!" Lyriz emerges from the crowd and they part to give him more space to address them all. "The power has been restored and the blood supply is intact."
"But what about the outside?"
"Yeah, how far does the blackout go?"
Lyriz holds up his hands. "We are assessing that right now. Believe me, it is unlikely that the mission is threatened. Those places tend to have their own generators, too."
A scream is heard from the back of the room. The crowd parts and a fire is seen enveloping the wall, swiftly extending toward the vampires. At that exact moment Jade walks in with eyes just as hot as her surroundings.
"What have you done?" Lyriz shouted.
"I haven't even started," Jade coldly retorted.
The vamps run from the inferno. Jade outruns the flames and begins chasing down targets in her wake. They were panicking from the fire and Jade recently fed…a lot. So she has a great advantage.
But these ones were insignificant. Less than nothing. She would snap their bones like toothpicks, leaving the broken behind for the fire. They were in Jade's way, standing between her and the real prize. But their leader was at the forefront of the retreat.
"Hey!" Cook wad dragging his partner whose chest was red into the lobby of Schneider Memorial. An orderly runs up with a gurney and helps Cook lift him onto it. They begin rushing down the hall.
Cook holds Rob's bloody hand. "What's going on?" asks the wounded cop.
"You're in a hospital. It's going to be alright, hear me?"
Rob gives a half nod. "Okay," he breathes through his parted mouth.
"Rob, don't talk. Just focus on staying awake."
A young, sandy-haired vampire flees from the pack and escapes the mansion. He runs into the alley and comes across a dead end. Standing there is a man with long, dark hair. He is dressed in black with a matching duffle on his back.
For a second, the deserter forgot everything and fixated on the sweet smell coming off the human standing in front of him. He approaches eagerly, sensing the fresh blood coursing through his veins. The vampire is actually taken aback when the long-haired stranger pulls a gun on him.
"You can't be serious," the vampire smirks.
The man gives him a scrunched face "Really? Can't get more serious than a gun pointed at your fuckin' face."
"You think that can stop me?"
"You think you bloodsuckers scare me?"
That wasn't the answer he expected. But he shrugged off the overconfident flesh feast.
"Well, I'm not allergic to lead, pretty boy."
The gunman raises an eyebrow "Who said anything about lead?"
A deafening shot rings out and the vampire rapidly decomposes on his feet. He begins to falter but he has already vanished into a cloud of bloody embers before he could hit the ground.
The human steps over the pile of ashes and walks to the alley's end, looking in the direction of where the vampire ran from. He eyes the mansion engulfed in flames.
"So, that's where you came from."
He puts away his gun, digs through his bag and pulls out an odd-looking rifle.
"And God would unleash a purging fire to destroy evil."
Jade converges on the scrambling vampires fleeing the building. She brushes past them, looking for Lyriz.
She finally has him in her sights.
Jade knocks him off his feet. His face shows surprise at her strength.
"YOU DIE!"
"It make no difference now, sweetheart."
"SHUT UP!"
She pins the six-foot vampire and tears into his throat with her teeth and spits out the chunk she bites off. His face is awash with panic; the blood poured out of his gaping hole like a fountain. Jade relished the fear in his eyes as she held down his arms to try to stop the bleeding.
Jade then feels cold metal on the back of her head.
"Steady, girl. Don't move an inch."
She peers through her peripheral vision and sees a tall man with long black hair brandishing the object in question. Jade turns around in a fraction of a second and smacks the weapon out of his hands and sends him down on the ground. Hard. She then straddles her prey.
She had just tasted blood but she would make room for this nuisance.
"Okay, asshole. Let's see you move."
The bright fluorescents made Rob take his time opening his eyes. He turns his head and immediately notices an IV and a heart monitor. He looks the other way and the machine could be heart bleeping faster.
She was beautiful. Long fiery red hair tied up behind her head. Full lips accentuated with pink lipstick. Her eyes emitted a warmth.
"Oh, you're awake." she smiled.
Rob felt his stomach sink and he choked on his words. "I…I…was shot…"
The woman in the white coat touched his arm, making gooseflesh appear. "Lay still. You just got out of surgery."
"You got it out?"
"Did it myself, so I know for sure."
Rob's eyes widen. "You?"
Her smile straightened. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sorry, I just…I feel like I know you."
"I thought so, too. Then I saw the name on your chart."
Rob closed his eyes and he flashed back to the lovely red-headed girl behind the counter. He knew she looked familiar.
"You were at the reception. I remember."
The woman smiles. "Yeah, I still do that. Sometimes the admissions are just insane so I help the people in triage on nights when things are slow in the OR."
"I feel bad. I didn't mean to offend you."
"No, really. It's okay." She looks at her watch. "Look, I need to continue my rounds. Or, rather, my friend's rounds. She's sick."
Rob couldn't believe how many hats this vision wears. Was she Chief of Medicine, too?
"Thank you…for everything."
"It's my pleasure, believe me. Now, you take it easy and I'll see you later. I'll send a nurse to bring you up something to eat. You must be starving."
"My…my partner…"
She holds up her hand. "I'll get him. I passed him in the waiting room. He was asleep."
Rob felt bad that Cook stayed the whole night.
"Thanks again, doc. Um, doctor…"
"Valentine. Dr. Valentine."
The woman walks away, leaving the open door behind her. Rob looks up at the ceiling. Normally hospitals and doctors made him very uncomfortable ever since his asthma as a kid. But something was different about his resident doctor. She made him feel safe.
She made him feel that everything would be okay.