Jenny fought for consciousness for what felt like hours as she lay on the floor. Her vision blurred, then cleared, then blurred again. Finally, the room stopped spinning, just as a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. Just as she was about to scream for Michael, another hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled for a minute, but stopped when she realized it was getting her nowhere.
She could hear breathing in her left ear, and then a voice said, "Poor little slayer, caught in her own bedroom." A laugh, deep and foreboding. "You're going to have lots of fun with us." She felt sharp teeth brush the side of her neck.
Jenny heard movement to her right and her window opened. Silhouetted against the dark night through her window, she could see a tall, skinny figure.
So there were two of them. She had to do something. She kicked her foot up behind her and caught her captor in the kneecap. He swore and loosened his grip on her.
As soon as his grip let up, Jenny whipped her arm out of his hand and swung it backwards, striking him across the face with a solid-sounding thunk. At the same time, she yelled as loud as she could. "Michael!"
The vampire yelped and let go of her. The second vampire – she assumed they were both vampires – rushed at her, grabbing her arm and swinging her sideways. She flew across the room and crashed into the wall.
She somehow managed to maintain her balance and fall into a defensive stance. She could hardly see anything in the darkness of the room, but she was willing to give it a go. It was either that or be taken away like Mari and Carl.
She could hear the vampire she'd injured still cursing up a storm by the door – Jenny thought she'd probably broken his nose. The other vampire, however, was silent. Listening for movement from him, Jenny slowly stepped out into the room. Before she could react, the other vampire flew at her and knocked her to the ground. He was angry. And hungry.
He pinned her to the ground with his body, his hot breath on her face.
"You forget, slayer-scum, that we are the dominant species. You pitiful humans shouldn't even bother fighting. We're going to rule this world again, and soon. And you vermin will make for excellent meals." He laughed. "I believe I was supposed to bring you back in human condition, but I'm very hungry. I think I'd like a snack before we go."
Jenny's eyes opened wide. This was not looking good. She couldn't let this happen! She'd die before she'd let a vampire chew on her!
But she couldn't do anything. The vampire's strength was too much for her weakened state. In the darkness of the night, she could see a pair of silver eyes, reflecting the tiniest bits of light and growing brighter as she watched. Jenny knew that his teeth were elongating, preparing for her blood. In a moment of panic, she began thrashing around, trying to free herself. It did no good, and she only succeeded in tiring herself out. The vampire snickered at her.
Oh God, she thought. I'm so sorry, Mari. She had failed her friends. She had tried to get them back, and failed. She was no match for this vampire. He was going to drain away her life, and she could do nothing about it.
She closed her eyes and waited. Lips brushed the side of her neck. She fought a trembling in her body that kept trying to erupt.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and someone knocked into the vampire on top of her, throwing it into her bed. Jenny gasped and crawled backwards, unable to do anything. She felt frozen to the spot.
In the light from the door, she could see Michael, a sword in his hand, lunging at the vampire. The vampire dodged. By the door, Jenny could see the first vampire getting ready to go after Michael too, blood running down his face.
"No!" she shrieked, and launched herself off the floor. She caught the vampire by surprise and he went tumbling out the doorway. Jenny ran at him, a blond fury, kicking and punching. The vampire's expression told her that she'd surprised him. She kicked up, connecting under his jaw and whipping his head back. He opened his mouth and hissed at her, running his tongue over his teeth.
"You think you can beat me?" he asked, leering at her. "You? Vermin?"
"I don't think," Jenny said, punching him in the stomach. "I know." The vampire stepped backwards at the impact. When she punched at him again, he grabbed her fist and twisted her arm.
Jenny screamed at the pain, then whipped around and punched him with her other fist, at the same time sweeping his feet out from under him. He fell backwards, into the air at the top of the stairs.
Jenny knew before it happened that she was going to go with him. He still had her arm in his hand. He flailed about with his free arm, then went over the edge of the stairs. Together, they bumped and rolled down the stairs, landing in a twisted pile at the bottom.
Her right side burning with pain, Jenny pulled herself out from under the vampire with a groan. One look at him told her he had been knocked unconscious in the fall. He lay there with his eyes closed, his head against the table at the bottom of the stairs.
Jenny couldn't feel anything in her right side. Her whole arm was numb. She sat back against the wall, cradling her arm against her stomach. "Michael!" she yelled.
A minute later, Michael appeared in her doorway, a triumphant smile on his face. "Got the little sucker!" He held his sword at his side.
Jenny couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes blazed with the excitement of the battle, and his dark hair fell in tousled curls over his forehead. He seemed unaware of a cut near his temple, oozing a stream of blood down his cheek.
"Good. And since you're feeling so up, why don't you come down here and get this one too before he wakes up," she said with a nod of her head at the unconscious vampire.
Michael's eyes widened as if seeing the vampire for the first time. He took the stairs two at a time, raising the sword as he went. Without pausing at the bottom of the stairs, he ran the sword through the vampire's heart. The vampire's eyelids fluttered, and he groaned. Then he folded in on himself.
Jenny let her head fall back against the wall and sighed. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" She took Michael's hand and he helped her up.
"You okay?" he asked, a worried expression on his face as he touched her arm.
She waved her good hand at him. "No problem. I just bruised my arm when I fell down the stairs. I'll be fine in a little while." She sighed. "What are we going to do about them?"
Michael looked down at the ex-vampire lying at his feet. "I guess we'll just have to take them with us."
Jenny grimaced.
***********
Ten minutes later, they were in darkness, surrounded by trees. On the way to get Gunther, Michael had suddenly decided it would be better to take the vampire bodies out into the woods where they wouldn't be found. So now Jenny found herself trudging through the trees, dragging a vampire behind her.
"You need to lose a little weight, chubby," she muttered under her breath to her load.
Ahead of her, Michael stopped and looked back at her. "You okay, Jenny?"
She nodded. "I'm fine." She stuck out her tongue at him in the darkness, knowing he couldn't see her. It could have been worse. At least there was a fairly large moon in the sky, offering a little bit of light against the darkness. Michael had the flashlight, and without the dim moonlight Jenny probably would have been flat on her face. "Where exactly are we going, Michael? I don't think anybody's going to find them out here." She had thought they would only go a few steps into the woods, but Michael had apparently been thinking otherwise.
Michael sighed. "Alright, here is good." He stopped and dropped the vampire he'd been carrying on his shoulder to the ground. He turned to Jenny, the flashlight on her feet. "I'm sorry I made you walk so far. I guess I'm just a little paranoid that all these bodies are going to be found."
Jenny let go of her vampire and rubbed her sore arm. She couldn't see much of Michael except what the moonlight allowed her. She could see the outline of his form against the darkness of the trees, a few flashes of skin, but not much more. More importantly, she couldn't see the expression on his face. "Are you okay, Michael?" she asked him. "You're not usually worried about bodies. You know the police would never connect them to us. Besides, they're vampires. They're not human."
Michael said nothing. He just stood there. Jenny thought he might have been looking at her, but she wasn't sure.
"Michael," she said softly. "What's really the problem?" Despite his elation over killing a vampire, Michael had been silent in the car on the way here. Jenny had wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but didn't want to pry. Now, however, she had to ask; he was acting too strange.
He sighed. "Alright." He sat down on a large log next to him. Jenny sat beside him. "I wanted to talk to you, Jenny," he said, looking at her. This close, she could see his shadowed facial features. "But I wanted to do it before we get Gunther. And I didn't know how to say it without making you angry."
He paused a minute. Jenny tried not to be impatient, but she wanted to know what he wanted; he was being so damn mysterious! "What, Michael?"
"Back there, at Ashton's," he began. Jenny got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Michael continued, "What was the deal there? I mean, first you say that you met Ashton's brother and you killed him. Then he shows up, alive, and obviously knows who you are. And you deny knowing him. What's going on, Jenny?"
Jenny opened her mouth, not knowing what she was going to say. But Michael spoke again. "I know something is wrong. You've been acting strange since yesterday. Please tell me if you're in some kind of trouble." He fell silent, staring at her.
Jenny could feel his eyes boring into her. She ached to tell him everything, just to have somebody to talk to about it. But how could she tell him what Damian was? He'd hate her forever. Jenny couldn't live if Michael hated her.
"I . . ." She sighed. She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him the truth. "Alright, the truth is that I did run into Ashton's brother. And we did fight. But I didn't kill him, obviously. He won."
"Did he . . .?"
She shook her head. "No. He didn't touch my neck. He let me go. I don't know why. I was too embarrassed to tell everyone that, especially Raina." She hung her head. It was almost the truth. He had won. And he had let her go. Except he probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for that pesky little … problem.
"He just let you go?" Michael's voice was surprised.
She nodded and looked up at him. "I'm sorry I lied to you guys."
"It's okay. I understand. Raina definitely would have given you a hard time about it," he said. "I'm just glad it wasn't something worse." Michael suddenly took her hand and squeezed it. For a moment, Jenny stared awestruck at his strong hand enveloping hers. All of her feelings for him came rushing to the surface full-force, threatening to choke her. Oh Michael, why can't you see how much you mean to me?
"Thanks, Michael," she said in a strangled voice. Do something! a little voice in her head screamed at her. Now is the perfect time to tell him.
But she couldn't. She was too frightened by her own feelings to act on them. She was cursed to remain silent.
Michael smiled in the moonlight and let go of her hand. He reached up and touched one side of her face, then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Not a romantic gesture -- more of a brotherly kiss. Jenny could have cried.
"Okay," he said, standing up. He helped her to her feet. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."