~O~
Alice expected the underground tunnels to be just what they looked like; tunnels. She expected to find cold concrete walls and water that pooled on the ground from moisture in the air. She even expected to see rats and other creatures running along the ground.
Instead, she was surprised by what she found. The tunnels were, as she figured, made of concrete, but there was no mold present, and the ground was completely void of dampness. There also were no signs of rodents ever being present in the tunnels. Alice glanced into one of the passages that connected to the main tunnel and saw that it was a small room that, at one time, might have housed some sort of electrical system or circuit board to the City above. Now, it had been given a new purpose.
A bed was placed flush against the wall, the mattress wrapped in plastic to keep moisture and bugs off. Candles also were placed around in the room so illumination could be provided. Hung over the opening of the room was a privacy curtain. "This definitely isn't what I expected," Alice admitted. Shun glanced over his shoulder at her and said, "Me neither. I expected some kind of fancy abandoned mansion or something." Alice found herself laughing, something she hadn't done in what felt like a very long time.
It felt good to be at ease. "I understand why you'd think something like that. Every place we've stayed in with the Clan has been a tad on the fancy side, hasn't it?" she asked. It was true. The enclave, even though it was literally a cave, everything about it was nice; the furniture, the atmosphere, and so on. Even the boat that brought them to Bay View had been better than the average.
So, it was only natural for them to think that this safe haven would be just as extravagant as everything else. Shun stopped walking and placed a hand on his hip. "I guess we just pick one of these….rooms? Is that the correct term?" he asked. Alice shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so. Sinclair hasn't really given any instructions," she replied.
Shun peered into one of the rooms and stated, "It looks like they only put one bed per room, so it looks like you and I won't be sharing. Is that alright with you?" Alice nodded in response to his question. Shun ran his hand through his hair, which had started to get oily from not being washed in a while, and said, "Alright, just making sure. I didn't know if you felt safe enough to be in a room by yourself or if you didn't want to be alone."
Alice smiled. It was sweet of Shun to be concerned about her, and he had every right to be with all that had happened lately. "I think I'll be fine," she said with a smile, "Besides, you'll be right across the way, so if need you, I'll know where to find you."
Shun grinned and said, "Of course." He then walked up to her and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. Alice closed her eyes and let the moment sink in, for she didn't know when another one would arise. "Well, it'll be dawn soon, so you might want to go ahead and get settled in," he told her as he turned around and stepped into the room behind him.
As he entered, he closed the privacy curtain behind him. Alice let out a sigh and stepped into her own room. It was identical to all the others she had seen upon entering the tunnels; a wrapped bed big enough for one and candles. However, there was something different about this room from the rest. Near the ceiling, she had a window. She stepped up onto the bed and inspected it.
The glass was frosted to the point that she couldn't see through, and the hinges appeared to be rusted shut. There was no way she'd be able to open it on her own, and she didn't feel that it was important enough to drag Shun out of his room, so she left it be.
Alice stepped down from her bed and removed the plastic wrap that covered the mattress. She noticed that a set of sheets had been wrapped up with the mattress as well, so she removed them and placed them on the bed. Once all the wrinkles were smoothed out, she laid down.
The bed wasn't as plush as the ones back in the enclave, but it wasn't unbearable either as long as she didn't turn a certain way. If she did, then a spring would poke her in the side. Alice laid there on the small, single-person bed and stared up at the concrete ceiling above.
Her mind began to wander, and eventually her thoughts drifted back to the mysterious figure back on the roof. She wasn't sure how, but she knew that the person had been a Hunter, and it bothered her immensely as to why he hadn't jumped down and tried to kill her, or anyone else, for that matter. Something like that shouldn't have troubled Alice that much; they had escaped unscathed, after all.
So then, why did it? It wasn't like she had wanted that Hunter to attack her or any of her Clan mates. It was just that none of it made sense, and she wanted answers to rid herself of her confusion.
Alice shut her eyes and said under her breath, "I shouldn't let it bug me so much. The odds of running into that person again are slim. I should just be thankful nobody was hurt…." Alice felt as sleep began to tug at her mind, demanding that she give in to its needs and give it the rest it deserved. She shifted slightly in the one-person bed and quickly drifted off.
~O~
Levi swung the door open with enough force that it struck the wall on the other side. The sudden entrance created a hush in the room as he walked in. Eyes followed Levi to the center of the room, where a large table sat. Resting on the large table were numerous glasses filled with water.
Off to the side was a bowl filled with light pink tablets, which weren't much bigger than Advil. Levi picked up one of the glasses and dropped a tablet into the water. Instantly, the water began to change from clear to a faint red color. He brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.
The water, if it could still be called that, had the usual taste of minerals, and the faintest hint of a blood-flavoring. It was a special concoction of Levi's, something he made up a long time ago; a blood substitute. All of the nutrients a Vampire needed, without having to consume blood.
Levi had created the tablets shortly after he was Turned as a means to hold onto one more human aspect. By not drinking legitimate blood, he could honestly say he wasn't a blood-sucking monster. And it also benefited him as a Hunter.
There was irony behind a Vampire being a Vampire Hunter, a sort of sick joke in killing his own kind. It was all in the name of revenge, though. He wanted to see Vampires dead, to see them squirm beneath his feet as they had made him do when they Turned him all those years ago. In fact, all of his fellow Hunters had the same story, or at least one similar.
They all were once human and Turned, and all with personal vendetta's against Vampires. They would never kill each other, of course. At least, not as long as everyone stayed in line. If somebody acted against the group, then no promises could be made.
Levi didn't exactly consider himself a Vampire, however. Since he didn't drink pure blood, it reasoned in his mind that he was still human, just with special abilities that put him above the average person. He had all the basic Vampire-traits; strength, speed, stealth, enhanced senses. He was just an extraordinary human, and he had come to make his band of Hunters view themselves the same way.
They were just people, very powerful people. In fact, they were even stronger than most Vampires, thanks to the tablets. When Levi first began hunting, he added in other things to the tablets that boosted his abilities, giving him an edge against his prey.
Of course, he wasn't the only one. His fellow Hunters also consumed the tablets, putting them on the same level. They were forces to be reckoned with, there was no doubt about that. Levi, finishing the last sip of his drink, set the glass down and met the eyes of the others in the room.
Overall, their numbers were decent; ten members. That's all they really needed. With ten, they had held their own, even when outnumbered. Levi wiped the water from mouth and said, "I have good news for you all." Silence still hung in the room, but all ears were open.
"While out searching the City with Emilia and Luther, I found the girl," he said with a grin. This earned surprised whispers from the other Hunters. Up until that point, the girl had only been a rumor, gossip spread around through the underground Vampire community. Now, there was some truth to it, and Levi could see that this pleased them. "So, are we going to get her to join us?" a voice said from the back of the room.
Levi scanned the area until his eyes fell on the owner of the voice, a young Hunter named Dexter, who had joined their group a year ago. The kid, no older than seventeen, was still undergoing training to polish up his fighting skills. Levi still remembered the night they had found Dexter. He and several other Hunters had been out patrolling the City that night when they came upon several Vampires feasting.
Naturally, they had slaughtered the Vampires, and what they found, was Dexter. At some point, the kid had struggled and exchanged blood with one of the Vampires, thus triggering the Turn. Levi initially didn't want the kid, but he knew it wasn't a good idea to leave him in the middle of the street while undergoing the Turn.
So, he had brought him back to their hideout to finish up the process, and after that, Dexter had made it clear he wanted to get payback for what the Vampires had done to him. Only later on did Levi discover that Dexter didn't have the best coordination in the world, but the kid was an excellent strategist, and in Levi's mind, this balanced things out. "Of course we're going to get her to join us," Levi said flatly.
Dexter adverted his gaze to the floor when he realized he had asked a rather redundant question. Levi shook his head and turned to meet the gaze of the other Hunters in the room. He cleared his throat and said calmly, "This girl is very vital to helping us achieve our goal, so we must ensure that she comes over to our side. The challenge we currently face with this is where her loyalties lie. As we speak, she is sided with the enemy, so it won't be easy to make her leave them. Our best plan of action is to gain her trust and go from there."
Off to the side, Emilia asked, "And just how exactly do you plan on getting close enough to her in order to gain her trust? If any of those Vampires she's with recognize you or figure out you're a Hunter, then your plan will go down the drain."
Levi's lips turned up into a sly grin as he walked towards Emilia. He saw as she tensed up the closer he got to her, a sign of the fear he had ingrained in her. Levi lifted his hand near her face, and she shut her eyes tight, bracing herself to be struck. Instead of hitting her, Levi simply patted her cheek and said, "You leave that to me, alright?" He could see Emilia's pulse pounding in the veins in her neck from adrenaline.
Her eyes were wide and filled with surprised; she had been expecting him to hit her. Good. At least they know there's punishment if they get out of line, Levi thought happily. He stepped away from Emilia and said to the rest of the Hunters, "It'll be dawn soon, so the girl and her Clan aren't going anywhere, and neither are we, so rest up. Tomorrow night, we'll start putting our plan into action."
The Hunters began to retreat to their rooms without protest. Levi, before heading to his own room, stopped by the table of water and blood tablets, and fixed himself a before bed drink. He took a sip from the glass, his lips turned up into a grin. All these years of hunting, waiting, and preparing himself for this day had finally paid off; the day was upon him, and he wouldn't have to wait much longer for it, either.
I've actually been working on this chapter for several days, but stuff kept coming up so I was unable to finish it each time I sat down, but I finally found the time to write the ending of this chapter. I probably won't update tomorrow because I have to go back to my school early for graduation practice and for an AP test. Yay -.- Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, so read and please leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~
