36. Upper Hand

The sound was deafening.

It was like boulders, thunder, and explosions all put together into one cataclysmic symphony. Echoes of every hit, every snarl, every growl, and every scream reverberated throughout this tiny field. And since everything was unnaturally silent here anyway, even the tiniest sound was louder than normal. To any bystander, it would've looked seemed like we were back in WW2: bombs and gunshots ringing out all the time. They would never expect two Vampires fighting to the death.

Personally, I think I'd rather have WW2 instead of watching my parents try to kill each other, but that's just me.

When Claire went for Jason's throat, I thought she was so fast that there was no way for Jason to dodge her, but he must've seen the charge coming because he ducked. Simultaneously, he threw his arm up and wrapped it around her neck, throwing her to the ground. Dirt spiraled through the air and dust billowed around them, making them even more of a blur. Jason threw a punch at her lower jaw, but she twisted her legs under him and pushed him off. Before Jason even hit the ground, he was up in a crouch and ready for the next move.

But she stood still for a moment. Her eyes bore into him, not letting herself get distracted for one minute. She shifted to the side, her moves cat-like and distinct. Claire was a natural predator and graceful in each of her steps. It was like watching a dance on stage-if ballets ended with one person alive and the other dead.

Jason held his body low, swaying on the balls of his feet. His eyes were dark, focused and determined. This was a side of Jason I had never seen before. I had never witnessed him being so…lethal. Yeah, I knew he could fight, and I knew he was strong, but watching him like this was different. I knew he was fighting for his life, fighting for all of our lives. He couldn't afford not to be deadly at this point. But I wonder what it was like, fighting the girl you were so madly in love with and probably still are. Jason might like to say he hates her, but a bond so strong can't be broken that easily. He still loves her. I knew that.

"Not bad." Claire remarked, her feline smile spreading across her cheeks.

Jason just grunted and sprinted for her. Claire braced herself for the impact that 212 lbs of Pryor-Wolf, but Jason didn't hit her. Instead, he used his momentum to leap over her, snatch her head with his legs, and throw her back to the ground. She landed with a heavy thud while Jason held her in the headlock.

Claire, however, was more flexible than I think Jason expected. She flipped her body over her head and gave a kick straight to Jason's face. He roared out in pain and released Claire from his grip. She used that opportunity to take Jason by the arm and toss him across the field as easily as if he was a rag doll. Jason hit a tree that snapped in half on impact. She rubbed the dust from her hands and gave Cody a brilliant smile. He winked at her.

And that was when it hit me.

Claire was just playing with Jason. every time he took her down, she had more than enough time to escape his clutches, but she chose to let herself be dragged to the ground. Now Jason was tired and beaten while she was just barely scratched. This entire fight was a game to her. She knew that he could never beat her. She was toying with her prey until she got bored enough to kill Jason.

And that pissed me off.

It was just supposed to be Jason and Claire fighting, but maybe I can help Jason even by just standing here. I reached out my mind, feeling the connection grow between us as he let me in. our minds thought together, our breathing was the same, and our vision was coming from both angles of the slanted view. This was our advantage, and we were sure as hell going to use it.

She's just toying with you, Jason, I thought.

I know, he was frustrated more at the fact that he was barely fighting with her than the fact that I pointed out the obvious. I would be dead right now if she really wanted me dead.

Maybe our advantage is the fact that she likes games. If we keep going, she might slip up, I added.

I guess we have no other option than to keep trying.

What do you mean we?

Jason laughed inside of his head, and I could feel his smile as he emerged through the trees.

I watched Claire through his eyes. I tried my best to see any weaknesses she had just standing there, but I saw none. The task of defeating her seemed impossible. How in the world were we going to actually kill her? Well first, she needed to actually start fighting Jason. We couldn't find a weak point if she was holding back.

Easy for you to say. You're not the one getting used as a punching bag. Jason said sarcastically, but he agreed with me.

"Enough with the games, Claire. I know you well enough to know when you're holding back. I'm done with playing around. Let's finish this. Now."

Claire shrugged, a glint of humor in her eyes. "If that's what you want."

Jason growled, shifting down into the crouch. He narrowed his eyes at her and signaled with his hand for her to begin.

We waited patiently for her to come at us. With my view from looking at her from the side and his view coming from straight on, we saw two different angles of her that we could use to look for anything we needed to attack. We had two crucial points to see any mistakes she might make, and if she did, there was no way that we could miss them.

She barred her teeth, and we began to circle each other. We watched each other with each step the other took. Jason kept his eyes on her face while I glanced at her feet. The way she leaned and moved, I saw she favored her left side, which was different for a right-handed person. It seemed like a small detail, but this was most likely the break we needed. If we could stay on her right side, we might have a chance to attack her weaker arm.

At that moment she sprung, her left arm leading her aim, just as I had suspected. Jason moved slightly to her right side, and when she came closer, he let her hit him full force. He was knocked backwards, but he took her with him, grabbing her right arm and twisting it behind her back. She squirmed underneath his grip, unable to get her left arm around to strike him. She screamed in exasperation and threw her head back, hitting Jason right in the face. She used her legs to kick his chest and give herself some room to move.

But she didn't wait for long before she went at Jason again. She swung her leg high and hit him in the neck, making his head snap to one side. She struck his face with her fist, the connection sounding more like a gunshot than a punch. He was thrown 20 feet away from Claire.

You just going to watch, or are you going to help me? Jason demanded harshly.

Sorry.

What else was there other than she favors her left side? There had to be more than meets the eye here. To figure it out, I just thought about what I did know.

Claire likes to play games. She has enough confidence to think that she can fight little enough to have fun and still kick our butts. She was fast, strong, and cunning. She thought like an animal and went with her instincts. And so far my train of thought hasn't helped me discover anything.

So she's a strong Vampire with killer instincts. But what about the human side of her? Her body was still somewhat human since she had to be brought back from the dead, and she died as a human. Wouldn't that make her body a little bit more fragile? But her body looked flawless and complete, was there a weakness there?

Something tugged at the back of my mind, an old story that seemed so insignificant at the time, I'm surprised I even remembered it. Jason told me once that when Claire was having me, her body was changing back into a Vampire. When they checked over her body, they saw two puncture marks on her neck, indicating where Cody had bitten her when he first changed her. Those two little wounds just might be our ticket to gaining the upper hand.

I zeroed in on the spot in her neck where the marks would be, finding them just at the base of her chin, right where her jugular would be. The skin looked just a little bit less protected there with a slight discoloration. I was sure that somehow hitting that spot would hurt her.

Think you can hit it? I asked, positive that he had been following my train of thought the entire two seconds that had passed.

Just punch her in the neck? he was highly skeptical.

You got a better idea?

Jason said nothing, knowing that he had no idea on what to do next. So he took a deep breath and found the place I was thinking about. Without thinking about it and giving Claire any extra time to defend herself, Jason jumped. He was on her in the next instant. He jabbed at her neck, right where the marks were, but Claire didn't crumbled to the ground like I thought. Instead, she just looked irritated and shoved Jason off. She gave him another kick that sent him flying once again.

Any other bright ideas? he thought sarcastically. He was breathing hard, and I knew he was in a lot of pain. I could feel blood leaving his body and the bruises that were already forming. If we didn't come up with something soon, Jason wasn't going to make it.

A few, I said defensively. I racked my brain for something else that might help us. I was still sure that those puncture wounds were valuable, but punching them didn't do the trick. How else could we use them to hurt her?

Bite her, I thought suddenly.

Jason didn't even say anything. There was skepticism in his silence. I could feel his eyebrow raise in confusion.

It didn't really know why I even thought of that, but for some reason it just felt right. So I didn't know how to explain that to Jason.

Just trust me, okay? Bit her right where those marks are. I was silently praying to any higher being that was listening for this to be the answer.

Jason got off the ground slowly, assessing the damages he had. He didn't make a sound, but I knew he wanted to moan. There was no way he was going to let Claire know he was hurt. Knowing he was in pain, I thought about how this was probably our last shot. If this didn't work, the fight would be over. Claire would win. My dad would die. Either way, I would only have one parent living after this.

He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. Claire watched him keenly with an expecting smile. Jason started running for her, using every ounce of his speed to be as quick as he could. Instead of grabbing her, like Claire expect, he used his shoulder to knock her aside, leaving her off balance. He then spun on his heels and lunged for her. She stepped to the side just in time, and his hands grabbed the empty air. He rolled onto the ground, unable to stop himself from falling. Claire grabbed his arm and intended to throw him over her shoulder, but he sued her plan to swing himself in front of her and hook his legs around her waist, constricting her arms with his thighs. He used that opportunity to hold on firmly to her shoulders and to sink his teeth into the flesh of her neck.

Claire screamed in pain, and her knees buckled from under her. Jason went down with her as she began to sink towards the ground. Her screams grew weaker, and her attempts to escape his grip grew feeble.

I was so proud that I was actually right in how to bring Claire down, that I almost missed the fact that Claire was looking straight at me.

Almost.

Her eyes, her crimson red eyes, pierced mine in such a way that it took my breath away. And for a second it seemed like something had struck my chest. But when I looked at Claire, the wall my brain had built up to keep me from remembering anything I'd forgotten. Every memory and detail of the last dream I had came rushing back to me like a jolt of lightning. I shuddered as my brain tried to process everything. I was so consumed to the onslaught of thoughts that I let my connection with Jason slip away, leaving him in the dark about what I remembered. We were two separate people again, leaving our jointed vision and similar breathing behind.

I remembered what Claire had told me about what I should do when things go wrong and that I would know when they had. And by watching the scene in front of me, I knew that something here was definitely wrong. Claire was fighting for us. She died for us. And we were killing her. If she died, how would that solve anything?

I was prepared to stop Jason from killing her because I knew he would, but Claire distracted me again, making me look straight into her eyes. She shook her head softly. No one would have noticed her movement if they hadn't of been watching her like I had. But I was, and I did. Her eyes screamed for me to stop, to let this happen. I still didn't know what her death would solve, but I promised her that I trusted her. I would just have to take Claire at her word. She knew what she was doing. At least I hoped she did.

So I just watched.

Jason Greenfield had done it. He had fought Claire, and he had defeated her. He never dreamed that he could actually beat her, but he knew he had to try for the sake of his family. Maybe if he could wound her enough, the others could finish off what he started. That was his hope when he began the duel.

But now he had actually won. He listened to Jonathan and hit her in the spot where he believed Claire to be the weakest. And Jonathan was right. Claire crumbled in Jason's arms, unable to escape with her weak attempts. As he drank the blood inside her body, the blood that he knew shouldn't of been there, he felt her life slipping away. Part of him was sad, but the other was glad that this was finally over.

Thoughts eventually began to press against his mind, the force of them growing quicker than he expected, and they came from Jonathan. He tried to sort them out himself, but Jonathan withdrew from his mind, leaving him alone. He didn't blame him. What son wanted to feel his mother's death? Especially since he lived so long thinking he caused it the first time? Jonathan was right to go. This was a burden Jason should carry alone.

Claire shifted her head slightly, just a tiny movement from left to right, such a tiny shift that Jason thought nothing of it. What he was thinking of was that fact that Cody wasn't stopping him. He claimed that he loved this girl so much, and yet he was letting her die right in front of him. Maybe he didn't care about her the way he said he did. Either way, he didn't care. Claire was going to die. Right here. Right now. Right in his arms. There was no doubting that.

Jason dropped Claire, her body hitting the ground with a soft thump. he looked into her eyes as they zoned in and out. He thought about how this was going to be the last time he ever saw her alive. He was furious that she had let this happen to them. They had been perfect together, and now he had killed her. Jason never once dreamed of this happening in his lifetime. But it had. Their love was over. They were done. He had loved and now he had lost. Claire was right: love destroyed.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, her voice ragged and harsh.

"What?" Jason asked, astounded, furious, and down right confused.

Claire shook her head and closed her eyes.

And then Jason watched Claire die for the second time.