~O~
Loran held on tightly to Alice's wrist as he pulled her along behind him. They weaved through alleyways and between buildings to try and put more distance between them and any Vampires that might have been pursuing them. Alice kept glancing over her shoulder, making sure that they weren't being chased. She didn't see anything following them, so she naturally assumed that they were still in the clear.
But this did little to calm her heart that was pounding from adrenaline. Alice turned back around to face forward. She stared at Loran for a moment, taking in his fatigued expression. Before they had left the sanctity of the warehouse, Loran had explained why he had collapsed after getting rid of the Vampires that had broken in. He had told her how using his powers wore him out and left him weak afterwards because he had never practiced using them.
And right now, it was clear to Alice that the gray-haired Vampire was still feeling the effects of using those powers of his. She found that, as he ran, his footing would stumble every now and again, but he would always recover before he fell. Alice realized that if they were ambushed by Vampires again, Loran might not have the strength to fight them off, let alone use his powers a second time.
They would be easy targets. This only made Alice wish that Loran had taken some of her blood. Back in the warehouse, when he had made mention that drinking some blood might have helped him recover some of his energy, Alice had gladly offered hers up. But Loran had refused. He had said that if he did, then Shun might not take too kindly to it.
And there was the matter of Sinclair's rule about taking blood from humans. But that hadn't stopped Shun in his time of need, she thought stubbornly. And of course, Alice had made the argument about how Shun would want Loran to take her blood if it meant keeping her safe. And yet, the gray-haired Vampire stood firm and continued to decline her offer.
She couldn't help but marvel at Loran's resolve to refuse her blood and stay true to the rules that Sinclair had placed for them, but she also found it rather infuriating. If the blood would help him recover quicker, which would, in turn, allow him to keep her safe like Shun had told him to do, then why continue to decline it? It didn't make much sense to Alice, but it was too late for any of that now.
They were on the run again and had to keep moving until Loran felt that they would be safe until sunrise, or at least until the fighting ceased. Whichever came first. Alice wished they would hurry up and stop, though. Her legs were burning from all the running, and her lungs felt like they might explode each time she took in any amount of air.
She was just about to ask Loran if they could stop for a second to let her catch her breath, when something dropped down from above, landing between them and causing the gray-haired Vampire's hold on her wrist to slip. Alice was able to stop just in time to watch as Loran was thrown into the side of a building by the Vampire that had ambushed them from above.
Loran cried out as he was pressed firmly against the wall by his neck, which their current assailant had a death-grip on. "You're the little brat that turned my buddies into the ash that I found back in that warehouse, aren't you? You wouldn't be running if you weren't," the Vampire hissed and tightened his grip on Loran's neck. Alice could hear cartilage and Loran's windpipe popping from the force that was being placed on it.
"Hey, let him go!" Alice shouted, even though she knew that the Vampire wouldn't listen to her. She saw Loran weakly shake his head. "No," he told her in a gravely voice, "Run. You…..You need to run!" The monster that was slowly choking the life out of Loran turned around and snapped at her, "No, you stay right there! You'll be a little snack for me once I'm done with him. And if you don't run, then I might make it a quick and painless. There's no guarantee that I will do the same if you try and make a break for it, though."
Alice stood there in shock as she watched as the rest of the fight started to drain away from Loran. She had to do something. She couldn't just leave him for dead; not after all he had done to protect her. Alice tightened her hands into fists at her sides and ran up to the Vampire and latched onto his arm, the one in which he was using to strangle Loran. "I said let him go!" she shouted at him.
The Vampire's eyes blazed with anger as he released his hold on Loran and swung his arm out at Alice. She then felt the piercing pain as the Vampire's claws ripped into her stomach. She cried out and fell back, clutching her injured abdomen with trembling hands.
Warm blood started to seep through her fingers, making them slick. "Alice!" she heard Loran scream. She turned and looked through blurred eyes just as the gray-haired Vampire plunged his clawed-hand into the chest of their assailant, sending ribbons of blood flying into the air as the enemy Vampire fell back onto the ground; he didn't move anymore after that.
Loran stood there for a moment before finally running over to Alice's side. "Alice! Alice, hang on!" he begged her and tore some fabric from his shirt. He moved her hands from her wound and pressed the torn cloth onto the injury to soak up some of the blood and to try and halt the bleeding. The edges of her vision were starting to go black, and little flashes of light danced around her.
"Just hang on, Alice. Hang on until we can get you somewhere to get you help," he told her in a trembling voice. She could tell he was trying to stay calm for her sake, but the desperation that hid behind his words let her know that he was anything but calm.
He knew that there was a good chance that she wouldn't make it, there was no doubt about it. Alice felt her eyes growing heavy, and soon, she was unable to keep them open. She allowed them to close and plunged her world into darkness.
~O~
Shun stood beside Alucard as they watched Sinclair approach the area that had become a battlefield in one night. The air was even thicker with blood, and made the raven-haired teen's stomach do a slight flip at the smell. More bodies of Vampires littered the ground than when Shun had left the heat of the fight to go and fight Alexander.
Sinclair stood there for a moment, as if waiting for somebody to notice his presence there, or for the fighting to pause on its own. When this didn't happen, the Vampire Lord raised his right hand towards a neighboring building. The remaining windows in the building suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass raining down like crystals onto the ground.
This earned the attention of enough of the fighting Vampires to cause the battle to cease. Now, all eyes were locked onto the Vampire Lord. Shun felt the air grow tense and heavy. He glanced to his side at Alucard, only to find that the second-in-command was even more on edge than usual. "Calm down," Shun whispered to him. Alucard cut a look at the raven-haired teen and said, "I will be calm when all of this is over. Right now, I have to be ready to fight if somebody decides to attack Sinclair."
Shun didn't say anything after that; there was no point in arguing with Alucard when he was like this. Sinclair squared his shoulders back, taking on an appearance that was powerful, and almost regal. He cleared his throat and said, "Now that I have everyone's attention, I thought I would just announce that Alexander has been defeated."
The eyes of the Vampires on Alexander's side widened in shock and surprise upon hearing this news. Several of those Vampires wore expression of uneasiness now that their leader was no more. Sinclair held up two fingers and said, "Now, you all have two options here. You can either run with your lives while you still have them, or hang around here and suffer the same fate as your leader. Your choice."
Glances were exchanged between their group, and slowly, one-by-one, Alexander's underlings started to back away and dart down alleyways as they fled. Beside Shun, Alucard shook his head disapprovingly and said sarcastically, "Such loyal creatures, aren't they?"
Once the last of Alexander's underlings ran off, Shun could see just how many were left of their own Clan; it appeared they had a good many of their own left. Perhaps they lost a fourth of their original numbers in the fight, but it was too soon to tell. Sinclair smiled at his Clan and said, "Tonight, we were the victorious ones!"
Smiles lit up around the Clan members, and a chorus of cheers rose up as celebrations began right there in the middle of the street. The Clan members gathered around Sinclair, smiling brightly and patting one another on the back. They would most definitely celebrate once they all got back to the enclave.
A thought then crossed Shun's mind; he had to track down Loran and Alice and let them know that it was all over. He was about to mention it to Alucard, mainly in hopes that the second-in-command would help him look, when he smelled it. It was a scent that he could identify anywhere, at anytime, even over the sickening scent of all of the blood was spilled on the ground; the smell of Alice's blood.
Shun's eyes grew wide, and a chill went through his body. Alice's blood….I can smell it…..That…That means she's hurt. That was all it took. Shun darted off in the direction of which the smell of Alice's blood was coming from, using his enhanced sense of smell to keep track of it. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing. He didn't know what to expect when he found Alice.
She might have just had a minor scratch, or it could have been something major. Shun didn't want to think much about it until he found her, but that was easier said than done. He could already feel tears starting to sting at his eyes. The thought of losing Alice, the only person that knew about him, that he could confide in when need be, the only person that cared for him as he was now, seemed to further shatter his already damaged soul.
Shun ran around corners and down alleyways, dodging old debris that were left behind from a forgotten time as he followed the smell of Alice's blood. He found that it was getting stronger, more profound; he was getting closer. This realization made his stomach twist up in a knot, and his chest ache with worry.
He had already lost his old life and his grandfather. If he lost Alice too, then he felt that he might lose his grip on the last thread to his sanity that he had. The scent of her blood was almost overpowering now. It was strange that it used to be that the thought of her blood would drive Shun crazy and wish he could taste it.
Now, the smell and thought of it made him sick with worry. Tasting the crimson liquid was the last thing on his mind. In fact, he didn't really want to see it due to fear of just how much he might find. Shun rounded one last corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He had found her.
She was laying on the ground with Loran kneeling down beside her, up to his elbows in her blood as he tried to help stop the bleeding. "Shun," Loran said in a mixed tone of surprise and hurt. Shun's legs felt weak beneath him as he slowly walked up to Alice and knelt down beside her and across from Loran. He stared down at her pale face and felt something break inside of him.
Gah, I slept in late this morning, so that's why this chapter is a bit behind. Sorry, folks. Also, if I do upload tomorrow, it will be very, very late. Same goes for Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because those are my band camp days. And please to check out my profile for a poll. Hope you enjoyed, and maybe even teared up at this chapter. So, read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~
