The walk to the warehouse felt like a journey through a foreign war zone, barely recognisable as the city it once was. In the light of day, the city lay in testament to all the devastation that it had seen. Many of the hollow buildings, that once decorated the metropolis with a haunting yet grand beauty, now lay burned or crumbled by the fires and explosions that rocked the night. The streets, once alive with people trying to retain some normalcy of life, were now dead and empty like a ghost town. Occasionally, the thunder of a tank would tear through the silence as it rolled by, churning up the rubble with its heavy tracks. Then sometimes, a truck would pass that smelled like death and rot, and you'd know the stench before you ever saw it – it was the truck that carried the dead to the edge of the city, where fallen heroes and crooks, human and Strigoi would all end up in the same pit of dirt… as in death, there is no discrimination.
When Vasiliy and the others reached the warehouse, Vasiliy led them inside without any welcome or introduction to where he had taken them. He hurried in and walked hastily from room to room, as if searching for something… or someone.
"What is this place?" Noah asked, looking around as he followed Vasiliy through the warehouse.
Vasiliy didn't answer. He stood in the doorway of the workshop and the living area, and looked from one room to the other. "Quinlan? Yo, Quinlan… you here?" he called.
"Quinlan is not here," a brusque voice spoke from behind him. He turned around to see Malaika standing in the workshop with her sleeves rolled up and her hands covered in grease. Behind her, the black Chevrolet sat raised on a jack with one of its wheels taken off, probably to be replaced. Malaika wiped her grease-covered hands on her jeans as her gaze skipped from Vasiliy to Noah, then to the children, and back to Noah again. "Who are they?" she asked in a blunt and unwelcoming tone.
"This is Noah… Lily… and Danny," Vasiliy introduced.
Noah nodded a brief greeting of sorts, as Lily shuffled behind her father, hugging his leg – she found this dark-skinned girl and her stern face to be rather frightening. Daniel, on the other hand, found himself staring at Malaika with a sort of blank curiosity, and when Malaika noticed this, she glared at him until he turned his gaze. "What are they doing here?" she snapped.
"They're gonna be staying with us for a while," said Vasiliy, as he walked across to the workbench and started to load various weapons and ammunition into a large duffle bag.
"Quinlan would not allow this…"
"And what… I need his permission now?" Vasiliy scoffed. "He should be grateful I'm the one letting him stay here… and you too. Eph and I had this place long before you guys showed up," he grumbled as he hauled the heavy bag off the bench and walked towards the van parked next to the Chevrolet. He pulled open the door and tossed the bag into the back.
"Woah… what are you doing?" Noah lowered his brows apprehensively. "You can't drive out there in broad daylight – if you get caught they'll shoot you on the spot!"
"I told Mia I was going back for her – I'm gonna keep my word…"
Suddenly, the apathetic look on Malaika's face turned into full attention. "Mia? What do you mean go back for her?"
"She's trapped inside her apartment," Vasiliy replied as he proceeded to load other various items into the van.
"Trapped? By what?" Malaika approached, her eyes wide with concern.
"Her apartment's overrun with Strigoi – the whole building's full of 'em."
Malaika's eyes widened even more beneath her furrowed brows.
"The infection got in," Vasiliy continued, "turned everyone that lived there… except for these guys…" he nodded towards Noah and the children. "I told them we'd give them a place to stay."
"You were there? At the apartment?" she looked at him anxiously.
"Yeah…"
"So why is Mia not with you?"
Vasiliy stopped what he was doing and turned around. He started to answer, but then hesitated and looked to Noah as if hoping he would say something. But Noah remained silent.
"We got out… but Mia…" Vasiliy lowered his eyes. "She… uh… she couldn't follow us… you know, with her condition and all…" There was a moment of tense silence, and he quickly added, "But she's safe – she's inside one of the apartments; those things can't get to her."
"Safe?!" Malika cried, outraged. "Safe in a building full of Strigoi?! Why didn't she leave with you?"
"It was too dangerous… she wouldn't have made it…"
"So you left her there?!"
"Look… we had no choice," Vasiliy retorted in defense. "I mean, for godsake, she's blind! Do you have any idea what we went through to get out of that place? If we'd taken her with us, we'd all be dead!"
"Of course…" Malika sneered. "It's all about you. You only think about your own survival… just like in the tunnel…"
"What the hell do you know about survival, huh?" Vasiliy snapped. "All you do is drive around with your half-breed-Strigoi-equivalent-of-Batman babysitting your ass! You wanna go lead a blind girl through a building full of Strigoi… be my guest!" He marched towards her and took out his gun and shoved it into her hand. "Go on then… you go get her! Since you think you can make a better call."
Malaika looked down at the gun in her hand. She wanted to take his threat as a challenge, and her impulse would have sent her charging straight to the apartment without a second thought. But for some reason she didn't move, as if something was physically holding her in place, and all she could do was stand there… her eyes filled with anger.
Vasiliy snatched the gun back from her hand. "Yeah… that's what I thought…" he muttered as he tucked the gun back into his jeans, and turned and walked back towards the van.
"Wait…" Noah called after him. "You're not thinking this through. Soldiers are everywhere – if you get pulled over with a car full of guns and explosives … what do you think they're gonna do to you?"
"You got a better idea?"
"Yeah, I do – wait till after dark…"
Vasiliy looked at his watch. "That's five hours!"
"We were in that apartment for days… and we still would be if it wasn't for you. I made sure the place was secure enough for us to stay as long as we had to. Trust me… she'll be fine. But if you get yourself killed… that doesn't help anyone."
Vasiliy sighed as he leaned his hands on the side of the van and hung his head down in contemplation. "Alright…" he muttered softly. He turned away from the van and stood with his hands on his hips. "Alright…" he said again, more assured this time. "I hope she knows I'm coming back."
"She knows…" Noah said evenly, looking Vasiliy in the eye.
"Well… let's get you and the kids settled in. Come on… I'll show you around the place."
As they left the room, Malaika found herself struggling with an itching feeling that something about this wasn't right. She remembered the night when Mia stepped in front of those men with guns, and selflessly bargained her own life for Malaika's. That night, Mia decided to risk her life for someone who had been nothing but cruel to her. And now, not a single person was willing to take a risk for her… not even Quinlan, Malaika thought. And it suddenly dawned on her that all of this was his fault. If he had used his blood to heal her eyes, like Malaika had asked him to, then she would never have been in this situation. Quinlan knew the dangers she would face in this world without her sight, and he knew that it might be the difference between life and death one day… yet he chose to leave her blind and helpless. Malaika felt a burning anger and betrayal as she came to realize that the fearless warrior, who she had placed on such a godly pedestal all her life… was just a coward after all, for he didn't have the courage to stand before the eyes of love.
This time, I am going to make things right… she told herself… even if it means betraying Quinlan.
Mia watched the shapes and colours around her fade to black as day became night. And once again, she found herself alone in an empty, black world. She let her hand drop down by her side, expecting to feel a comforting nudge from a cold, wet nose… but then she remembered that she would never feel it again. A sense of emptiness washed over her… yet she found herself unable to grieve, because after the death of Doctor Price, it was as if her heart had spent all its sorrow and had nothing left to give.
She picked up her hand and placed it back down on the table in front of her. She turned her thoughts to sweet little Lily… and Daniel, and Vasiliy, and Noah. She wondered if they made it out. She had to believe that they did; she couldn't imagine it any other way. In her head, she could still hear the sound of Lily's voice… and from the sweet, angelic sound, she could paint a picture in her mind – a picture so pure and beautiful that it was impossible to think that anything could've happened to her. Not even this world could be cruel enough to hurt such a perfect, innocent soul, she thought. But the fact that Vasiliy hadn't returned made her stomach churn with a sickening feeling. Maybe he's safe, she thought… maybe he's simply not coming back.
She rested her head down on her arm as her other hand idly traced patterns on the tabletop. "Graeme…" she found herself whispering his name. You promised me you would never leave me… you and Rita… you guys were the only family I ever had. At least you're together now… but I'm still here…
Lost in her thoughts, she reached for the glass of water on the table in front of her. But as her hand skimmed the glass, she knocked it over and it fell to the floor, shattering into pieces. She sat startled for a moment, and then groaned with slight annoyance as she grudgingly crouched down to pick up the broken pieces. She didn't know why she bothered, as no one was coming back here; it might as well be left broken and ruined like all the other apartments. But somehow, she felt it was important to pick up the pieces.
Suddenly, Mia felt a sharp sting on her finger, and she quickly retracted her hand and held it close to her chest. She froze for a moment, unsure if the glass had actually pierced her skin, or if the sharpness of it merely surprised her. She brought her finger to her mouth and sucked on the tender spot… and there it was – that distinct coppery taste of blood.
"Shit…" she muttered, as she stood up and made her way towards the kitchen. She fumbled across the room with her arms stretched out, touching the wall and every object along the way to make sure she didn't walk into anything. The cut on her finger was bleeding quite profusely, and she left a trail of blood on everything she touched – marking her path on the walls, and the furniture, and along the kitchen countertop, until the trail ended at the sink. She held her hand under the tap and let the cold water wash away the blood and sooth the tender area. The sensation gave her some relief, and she stood for a moment, relishing the feeling.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the front door of the apartment, and Mia jumped. She quickly turned off the tap and stood to attention. A moment later, there was another bang, hard and deliberate, like a body ramming against the door. It was followed by the sound of claws scratching, tearing away at the surface of the wood, as if something was trying to get inside. Mia felt the hairs on her arm raise on their ends. With another loud bang, she stumbled back, her heart now pounding rapidly in her chest. Frantic footsteps could be heard scuttling down the hallway towards her door, being drawn to it like insects to the light. They were Strigoi, for sure - four or five of them at least. Suddenly, Mia realised what had aroused them, and her heart sank as she stood in terror. She clenched her wounded hand in a tight fist and wrapped her other hand around it, desperate to mask the smell of blood… but it was too late.
The creatures gathered in frenzy outside the door, madly squawking, scratching, and slamming with their bodies as hard as they could. Mia could hear the door rattling on its hinges, and the sound of wood splitting. She knew it wouldn't hold for much longer. If they got in… when they get in… there would be nothing she could do except face her demise. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes tight.
BANG! BANG! BANG! – the lock had broken… she heard it.
Think quick, Mia… Think quick!
