Hellmouth #3
"Scarlet River, Part 3"
The Luxury Grande Hotel manager hasn't complained for a few hours now. Everything has been pretty stagnant since he quieted himself down. He seems content enough considering since all his guests had left he had a crazy session where every room in the hotel had been snatched right up. The lights have just come back on in the building, and none of the new clients seemed to mind that they were off in the first place. He seemed right as rain, and everything has worked itself out. His lobby is full, everybody seems happy enough, and with the exception of a few missing bellboys who just happened to not want to show up for work today, things couldn't be better. The manager stepped into the middle of the lobby, gleefully nodding to a few of the passerby's, and took in a deep, exasperated breath of gratification. He turned to notice the last remains of sunlight glimmer out over the rooftops of downtown, when he noticed a carrying voice, something like a high tone yell at low volume. A fire alarm, maybe? Police sirens? All these ideas flashed through his brain until they were all drown out with the knowledge that this noise was coming from inside the hotel. The whole lobby must have heard it as well, because they all stopped dead in their tracks. "Don't worry everyone," the manager choked out, "I'll find out what's going on here." Suddenly, all eyes were on the manager, and all eyes happened to be glowing yellow, highlighting their growing canine teeth. They all moved toward him, and then past him, without thinking twice about the little man whose pants were now soaked. A figure floated through the lobby from the staircase, one who the little man recognized as the cloaked figure he spent all night last night screaming at. Her cloak gone and her emerald skin exposed, she moved closer to him. He found it impossible to move despite the fear and forward intention he had to run away. Ophelia made it to him and gently wiped his brow. While once he found it impossible to move he now found impossible to breathe. He choked an apology out before his skin and vital organs dried and shriveled. The manager fell to the ground, lifeless. Ophelia smiled with his former contentment and followed her army out the door.
Lock takes pot shots with his crossbow at the target on the wall as all his troops get ready. Sunset is in two hours, and everyone is scurrying to find a weapon and warm up. Gene comes walking out with Nicholas. Nick complains about how tight the long-sleeve mock turtle neck they are forcing him to wear is.
"Look, bro, I'm gonna explain it to you like this. This right here is the greatest shirt you'll ever wear in this unit because it protects you from everything. It is a light-weight Kevlar mesh, and it's unique in the fact that it is light, it breaths, and it protects you from sharp fangs," Gene sounded a little annoyed.
"No way. I was wearing this when y'all grabbed me the first time and I still got bit," Nicholas whined.
"Whadaya want? It's light weight mesh. It ain't gonna stop bullets and it aint gonna stop fangs, but it will slow them down enough so that you wont get bitten if you react fast enough. Plus, Lock made it the only standard issue part of our uniform, so you don't have a choice."
"Damn, man. if this place has almost no rules, then why do all the rules we do have have to suck?" Nick walked off to warm-up. Lock laughed and walked over to Gene, who was sitting in a chair in the front area of the training room. "If I had any idea how much fun it was gonna be to train him, I swear I wouldn't have pushed him on you," Lock began.
"No, you would have pushed him on Larson."
"Yeah, well, that's what we don't pay him for."
"Lock, man, why didn't you tell me there was a recon group?"
"It wasn't really pertinent. These guys don't see field action at all. They just spy for us, and we never really had a reason to use them since I was made captain here. Honestly, it's a trade secret that just slipped my mind until I actually needed them. Is it really that important to you?"
"Well, you already named me as your successor, so if something happens to you, how was I supposed to know that we had a recon team?"
"Larson knew. He is in charge of training my successor if I'm happen to be killed before I train you myself."
Gene stood and started to walk away when Lock jumped up and joined him. "Look, Gene, you know you're like a brother to me and I wouldn't hold anything back from you on purpose. The recon team isn't important at all because we never really use them. If it were life an death, you know I would have told you." Gene smirked and looked at Lock. Lock continued, "C'mon man. are we cool? How are me and you supposed to kill this Ophelia thing if I'm worried about you conveniently missing her with your axe and hitting me?"
"Cuz you know I'd hit you with it regardless after the fight was over," Gene retorted. They stared at each other until Gene smiled and Lock punched him in the shoulder jokingly. Larson came running into the room, frantically looking for Lock. "Locklear," he began, "I found everything you were looking for!"
"ALL UNITS, GET IN HERE!!!" Gene called.
When they all set up, Larson began: "Alright, this demon is one that was supposedly extinct, and I'm guessing that since the ritual was a rising and not a summoning, it actually was extinct until now. It is called a Truluk demon. She was the last known warrior queen of her people before her species was killed off, and has the ability to suck the breath out of you. She absorbs all the oxygen in your body through skin-to-skin contact, and even if she doesn't hold on long enough, the slightest touch can be disorienting at best. She can feed off of vampires as well, and that sustains her life but feeding on humans gives her strength."
"That means that nobody goes near her. Only Gene and myself will be in reaching distance of her at all time, got it?" Lock checked everyone's eyes. They all looked directly into his with the utmost respect, something he has grown to respect himself. The only exception was Nicholas, who tried to stay as still as he could but wasn't doing very good at it. He caught eyes with Lock and straightened up. Lock nodded his head and walked towards him. He placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and turned to the rest of the group. "Everybody ready? Everyone called their families?" Silence filled the room. "Alright Lock, sunset was four minutes ago. We gotta get," Gene reminded him. In a low whisper, Lock turned back to Nicholas and smiled, saying, "Your first official mission and it's to stop a massacre. You havent even had a chance to hunt yet. We need all the men we can get, but if you're not ready, I und."
"No," Nick said, voice trembling, "I'm game. I haven't eaten anything today and I've thrown up four times. I think I'm empty."
"You'll be good. We go to an all night diner after every massacre, and I'll grab your bill," Lock smiled. "Look, stay next to me when they start the charge, and then stay with Antoine the rest of the way. You're coming to back us up on the second line. Don't be a hero."
"I think I'm safe on that one. Hey, though, answer me this," Nick clamed himself for a moment as he caught Lock's arm, "Out of my own curiosity, why do we do this? Why are we risking our lives tonight?"
Lock smiled low and soft: "You'll see."
The sun is officially dead the moon shines the light over the southwest slums. Though usually populated and police-less, the area was completely deserted. Ophelia felt a tingle of sadness and annoyance when she realized that the homeless weren't going to just line up to be slaughtered. No bother, she thought, as the thought of the hunt may in fact entice her army further. "Stop!" Ophelia yelled, obstructing her entire army. Suddenly a line from both sides of the street burst into flame, showing a hundred-long line of flaming barrel torches stretching for a mile, give or take a few feet. Out of the alleyways stepped forward Fabini and his army into the amber and golden glow of the main street of the slums. He was well-dressed as always, and his group wore solid black, as was their fashion statement on big missions such as this. They stepped to the battle lines and flexed muscles, comparing their dozen vampires to Ophelia's forty-strong fleet. He didn't even blink.
In one of the several vans Lock has used to transport the team to its destination, Nick notices the Axe unit with the broken arm sitting in front of him. "Hey man," Nick began, tapping the guy on his good shoulder, "I'm Nicholas."
"I've seen you around. They call me Mack."
"I know, but I wanted to introduce myself, you know."
"Strange time for intros, brotha," Mack smiled, looking off.
"Yeah, well, this really wasn't supposed to be an intro. It's a 'thank you.' I believe you have that broken arm there because you were watching my back, and then you saved my life right after it got broken too."
Mack looked at him strangely. "At the warehouse?" Nick added. The strange blank stare remained. "During the rising?" Nick added again.
"Oh, geez, man," Mack laughed, "Stick with us long enough and you'll find yourself in a lot of warehouses saving a lot of people."
"Yeah, but do most of them join the cause right after?" Nick laughed lowly.
"Yes, actually. Most people here got rescued by us and wanted to help out in whatever way they could."
"Don't they care that they might die soon?"
"Sure they do. They are human. They have emotions. They are just as afraid as you are. But better we die than the whole world, right?"
"I guess, but if this problem is so bad, you'd think the government would have a way of stopping these things and would train people to do this kind of stuff flawlessly. I mean, why do you want to do it specifically?" Nicholas asked, voice still shaking with doubt.
Mack looked at him for a second. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out a stake. Something was noticeably rubber banded around it. Mack took the rubber band off and unfolded what was there, handing it to Nicholas. It was a picture; it was a picture of Mack, his beautiful dark- skinned wife and two angelic black daughters. It was a gorgeous picture of a typical happy African-American family at a church banquet. Mack had his two little girls in his large arms, growling like an animal as the little girls giggled joyfully and his wife looked on with cheerful attention. Nick looked at the picture for a long time, and finally looked up at Mack's eyes. Strained, weary, and concerned, his eyes unfolded volumes of his character.
"If I don't, then I cant be sure they're safe." Nick handed back the picture.
"Okay, so it wasn't a bluff," Fabini joked, looking face to face with Docket, his former protégé. "Well, I kinda figured you weren't. You've always been pretty true to your word, Docket, my boy."
"It is our destiny to rule, Fabini," Ophelia spoke, "We are just taking the first needed steps."
"So you've had twenty-four hours to think about everything I've said and you are still willing to lose it all?"
They didn't say a word. The stood steady and with full resolve. "Stand down, boys," Fabini ordered his group. The twelve vampires spread away, clearing an open lane for Ophelia and her army, "If they know what they are sacrificing in this, then we don't have any right to stand in their way." Ophelia's army began their march down the torch-lighted street.
"Alright, everyone. Zero-hour's here, so lets get into positions! Axe Units in front, scattered positions. Regulars, two lines, standing down." Lock continued barking orders while Nick contemplated making a liar out of himself by vomiting again. Gene stepped up to him, concerned, "Hey man, you're looking pretty green here. You gonna be alright?"
"Gene, you've told me straight all week, so I'm expecting the same right about now. Are we gonna die now?"
"A wise optimist once said that to look death in the face and live is to achieve all things," Gene said, forcing Nick into a smile until he continued, "I choose to be a pessimist, so yes, we're all gonna die in about two minutes. You can chew on that later on at breakfast tomorrow morning, and be pleasantly surprised to hear your heartbeat."
"Okay, great, I've got the 'wetting myself' part of the ordeal over with. But tell me, before we get drained of our air or blood, why do you do this?"
Gene closed his eyes and thought. "Well, because that wise optimist I just told you about was my grandmamma. She was right about that and she told me that I would do great things for everybody in this world someday. I really don't want to make her a liar. That would be selfish, and so would turning my back now."
Moments later, Ophelia and her army had trekked half a mile spotting homeless people hiding in the alleys. They were looking around, eyes wide as if they were kids in a candy store. "Okay, boys and girls," Docket began, "as beautiful a buffet as this is, it is still supposed to be a massacre, so we herd them in the middle first, then we feed on our majesty's leftovers."
"Wait," Ophelia squeaked. She pointed into the distance, fifty yards away, at a line of vans blocking the street and three robed Wiccas standing on the roofs of said vans. They each held clasped hands and were easily recognized by the vampires as Hunters. A chorus of growls echoed across the empty streets.
"The witches," Docket exclaimed.
"They manipulate the dark arts of the human race. They certainly can hold no effect on ours." Ophelia spoke clearly with confidence.
"Though weak as they are, my liege, humans do have almost infinite potential. We should proceed carefully."
"They seem to be merely shielding our initial attack, Docket. Can you not feel the mystic barrier surrounding us now? It must be as long and wide as our journey here," she spoke.
"Yes, dear. You twenty, charge the witches. The rest of you, form lines and follow in with a second assault."
The first twenty charged, and upon reaching about fifteen yards from the witches, the nine axe units broke from the invisibility field the Coven put on them, each taking a single slice through the neck of one vampire each. The first wave of dust filled the air, disorienting the vampires charging enough to keep them from noticing the van doors opening and an outpour of the eleven regulars, throwing holy water bottles like grenades into their prey. Growls filled the sky as Docket called for a full charge for the rest of the fang army. Lock called for a wave of hellfire bombs, and the four that they had poured down on the rushing back-ups, causing a few to turn and flee. Coming from behind Ophelia's army was an army of thirteen, led by Fabini himself. "Sorry, fellas," he said as his vampires dusted the runaways, "but sometimes you gotta make friends with the enemy for the greater good. I gave y'all a chance."
Ophelia wailed in outrage, and grabbed two of Fabini's vamps, dusting them and absorbing them. She turned at Fabini himself, eyes glowing red, and she took a flying axe to her back. She stood up again, staggered, and pulled the axe from her back, which was followed up by a kick to the back of the head. Gene and Lock stood in front of Ophelia, both ready to fight as Fabini waltzed over between them. She took the axe in her hand, courtesy of Gene, and threw it behind her. She erupted and charged at them.
The flying axe flew through the air and was heading straight for the poor, unfortunate soul on his first mission ever. Nicholas was able to duck under a fierce punch and stake his assailant, successfully dusting his first vampire when he saw the axe flying at him. A nanosecond before impact, gravity seemed to suck in and repel the axe, causing it to stop and sink directly into the ground below. Nick held all breath long enough to look up and see Ky, fully extended with a look of sheer joy that her spell kept Nick alive. "Ky," Kelsey started yelling, "We need you back here! Me and Aimee cant keep this field up without you. you're our strongest link!"
"We don't need the barrier anymore. This battle's already contained and Fabini came through on his part. Just start casting protection spells while I handle business down here." She jumped down from the van and hurried over to find Docket about to sink his fangs into John of the Regular Units. She froze him for an instant, long enough for John to break free. Docket turned to catch eyes with the witch. He smiled and lunged at her.
She ducked a punch and returned one of her own. Docket was caught off-guard and staggered back. He wiped the blood from his jaw and flung a roundhouse kick her way. This kick was just a distraction though, to keep her from noticing the knee he brought down on her face. She lost a tooth, and immediately conjured a spell to set the tooth back in place. The blood she couldn't get rid of, nor the intense pain in her cheek. A tear fell down her other cheek and she returned a growl back fiercer than Docket's own. She sprang up and connected with a kick to Docket's shoulder and then fired a small sunlight bolt, flash-burning him and again making him draw back. She conjured two mystic barriers which she used offensively, smashing them against his face. Upon hitting the ground, Docket looked up into Ky's eyes, which were now streak black completely. She whispered a small incantation, and then a small ball of energy formed. She concentrated it, causing it to change from a fiery red and orange to a white hot blue, and then blew on it. It fired from her hands with exponential speed and dug right into the vampire's torso. Docket looked into Ky's eyes as they changed from black again to hazel. She fell down into a sitting position, exhausted from the casting, but managed a smile to Docket before he was incinerated from the inside. His eyes began to bleed and his skin imploded, turning to dust as the fire, having run out of things to burn, extinguished.
Each attempt to stop Ophelia up to this point has ended with someone taking a kick to the face. Despite her enigmatic, feminine figure, she was quite nimble and a wonderful fighter. Lock went in for a punch, which Ophelia ducked and grabbed him by the throat. His "armor" protected most skin-to-skin contact, but her thumb massaged the underside of his chin. Gene's gloved fist met her cheek and Lock was released. He saw stars and colors passing for what should be solid objects, and he realized that this must be the disorienting effect that Larson was talking about. He realized this too late however, because by the time he knew he wasn't seeing straight, Ophelia had swatted Gene away and was following through with a foot to Lock's jaw! Lock flew several feet backwards when Fabini jumped in and delivered a few quick hits and pranced back behind Ophelia's punch to hammer in on her backside. She cut a forward somersault, nailing Fabini beneath his jaw as she brought her forward foot down on the back of Gene's head as he rose. Her three combatants were down. They were now easy pickings. She stopped and took a deep breath before she were to finish Lock off and realized how silent it had gotten. She turned to see a legion of dust floating away with the low-lying fog that had risen during the events of the evening. Above that dust were the Hunters. Several of Fabini's men had been dusted, but they stood as well; side by side with their nemeses. Some were injured, granted, and some were unconscious. The rest of them were aiming all weapons at her. Six crossbows were aimed at her, a few stakes at ready, and the rest had axes cocked-back to throw. Nicholas stepped forward out of the crowd of Hunters and tossed an axe high in the air, above and beyond the jade demon. Her eyes followed the flying blade, even as it landed a few feet behind her, stuck directly in the ground. She followed the shiny blade, all the way to the tip of the handle, when she saw a hand grab hold of it. Her eyes followed the figure's hand, up his arm, and caught eyes with her assailant. She was witness even when Lock swung the blade, decapitating her. By the time her head hit the ground with her body soon following, she no longer had the voice she held so dear, nor would she be witness to anything else.
A moment of silence filled the area as everyone quietly took in the moment, making sure that no one was particularly hurt. Lock took a few steps forward, past the extended hand of Fabini looking for some help up, and grabbed hold of Gene's hand. The two stabled one another and walked back towards their group to check on everyone. Fabini made it to his feet himself and wiped the dust and grime from his nice suit, now wrinkled and messy. His vampires walked their way back to him, yet not as celebratory as the Hunters were.
"Wait! This is jacked up, fellas! Six of my men were wasted tonight! SIX! How many of you guys are dead? NOBODY! I know y'all have got this whole 'nightly street war' thing going for you, but my guys aren't soldiers and they could have used somebody watching their backs! Would that have been to hard to ask? LOCKLEAR? ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! SIX OF MY GUYS ARE DEAD NOW!!!"
Lock grabbed a crossbow from one of his regulars and let a bolt out, connecting through the heart of the vampire next to Fabini. The two vampires caught eyes before the one turned into dust. Fabini's mouth dropped. "There's lucky number seven," Lock quipped, giving the bow back to his regular. He then grabbed a cross and approached Fabini, stopping with five yards between them, at which point he held the cross up.
"I'll be blunt," Lock said, a low tone and harsh nature to his tone, "tonight was not the union of two groups nor was it the combining of a profitable situation. It was two different groups with two different methods, who happened to have similar agendas. That's it. I don't care what kind of arrangement you had with the captains before me, but this my team, my regime, and we will not call a truce with the 'vampire mafia' or whatever you call yourselves. Truth is, I wanna dust you all now, but you helped us out tonight and that earns you a fighting chance against us. I suggest you take it." Lock pulled out a glass vial of holy water and cracked it on the cement in front of the group, causing them to fall back. Fabini smiled and put back on his hat. He tipped the bill and swayed off with his remaining five, a reaction that did more to make Lock uneasy than it did settle him.
"Okay, so what's the status report?" Lock asked, turning to Gene.
"Nothing too bad. I think Art's got two broken ribs and Jamie is definitely concussed."
"You're mom's concussed." Jamie returned. Gene shot him a smile.
"All in all, everything seems good," Lock sighed with relief, "So you feelin a late dinner or an early breakfast?"
"I dunno. I haven't slept in two days, so I would feel a little awkward eating breakfast and crashing for twelve hours.I'll go ahead and lead the clean-up." Gene walked off laughing.
Lock thanked him and walked over to Nicholas. "You did a good job tonight. How you feelin?"
"Well, aside from almost getting an axe to the face? Well, I have a splitting headache, my jaw hurts, and I twisted the hell out of my ankle."
"Axe to the face, huh? Well, it could have been worse. The axe coulda won."
Nicholas gave him a dirty look. Lock laughed, "So, did you at least learn anything, tonight?"
"Yeah. be afraid of Ky. I mean, did you see the way she fried that head vamp?"
"I don't have to. She does it every hour on the hour about three days every month. It stops being impressive the first time you forget to buy the chocolate fudge ice cream."
"Yeah, but Lock. you did say I would know why we do this by the end of tonight, didn't you? Cuz right now I'm just seeing a lot of guys who were fortunate not to die tonight," it seemed almost painful for Nicholas to form the words.
"You're right. We do a lot and we don't often enough get reminded of what we're fighting for. You haven't seen everything, though," Lock placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and held it there for a moment. He then took it off and walked to the van, opened the door, and pulled out a sack. He motioned Nicholas into one of the alleyways and down the backside of the next street. The two stopped in front of a pile of boxes in the back alley. Lock mouthed a few soft, whispered welcomes and pulled the boxes to the side. Sitting there, trembling, was a mother and her two children, all homeless. They shook from fear and from cold, and they didn't even have hope left to recognize Lock when he welcomed them softly. Lock knelt and reached into the sack. He pulled out two loaves of bread and a pack of cheese, as well as two blankets and some wool shirts. He placed the gifts in front of them and told them that everything was fine and they would be safe now. He made the woman promise him that they would leave these parts soon, and she did, but Lock didn't believe them and neither did Nicholas. Regardless, Lock smiled and stood once more, walking Nick down and back to the edge of the side alley. They turned and looked at the family, eating as if for the first time in days, and Nicholas felt proud of himself, for the first time since he went out with Tiffany on the town. He shook his head, realizing that this was the first pride he ever had that actually meant something; it was the first pride that was going to last beyond all others.
"That lady is Miss Betty Crawford. Those are her sons Matt and Donnie. They don't remember me, and I wouldn't expect them too. With everything they've been through, I'm insignificant. There are tons of them out there, Nick. Faces. Not just homeless, but people who aren't able to protect themselves like me or like you're being trained to be. At this point, a stake goes through a vampire's heart or a demon gets killed at our hands, and all you see is dust and bodies. I see her face. I see all the faces that are safe one more night because I made a difference. The people we save could be homeless, or for all we know, they could be steps away from finding the cure for cancer. They each have their place in the world. My place, Gene's place. it's here. Same as everyone who fought by your side today. At least the ones with heartbeats."
They stopped for a moment and looked down the alley to see Gene and the others cleaning up the debris. They absorbed the moment, with everyone working together to make sure everyone's safe, and Lock took a deep breath, sitting down in the alley against the wall. Nicholas joined him and Lock continued, "I can respect your question Nick, but only because you're new to the game and I've asked the same question myself before. But the answer is easy, and you should know by now. You can call it cynical if you like, but I believe it just like everyone else. Why do we do this?." Lock took a deep breath, stood, and extended his arm to Nick. He pulled him up and continued the hand grasp, ".because this world is huge, and every now and then, you'll find something that's more important than your own life. And that's everyone else."
"Scarlet River, Part 3"
The Luxury Grande Hotel manager hasn't complained for a few hours now. Everything has been pretty stagnant since he quieted himself down. He seems content enough considering since all his guests had left he had a crazy session where every room in the hotel had been snatched right up. The lights have just come back on in the building, and none of the new clients seemed to mind that they were off in the first place. He seemed right as rain, and everything has worked itself out. His lobby is full, everybody seems happy enough, and with the exception of a few missing bellboys who just happened to not want to show up for work today, things couldn't be better. The manager stepped into the middle of the lobby, gleefully nodding to a few of the passerby's, and took in a deep, exasperated breath of gratification. He turned to notice the last remains of sunlight glimmer out over the rooftops of downtown, when he noticed a carrying voice, something like a high tone yell at low volume. A fire alarm, maybe? Police sirens? All these ideas flashed through his brain until they were all drown out with the knowledge that this noise was coming from inside the hotel. The whole lobby must have heard it as well, because they all stopped dead in their tracks. "Don't worry everyone," the manager choked out, "I'll find out what's going on here." Suddenly, all eyes were on the manager, and all eyes happened to be glowing yellow, highlighting their growing canine teeth. They all moved toward him, and then past him, without thinking twice about the little man whose pants were now soaked. A figure floated through the lobby from the staircase, one who the little man recognized as the cloaked figure he spent all night last night screaming at. Her cloak gone and her emerald skin exposed, she moved closer to him. He found it impossible to move despite the fear and forward intention he had to run away. Ophelia made it to him and gently wiped his brow. While once he found it impossible to move he now found impossible to breathe. He choked an apology out before his skin and vital organs dried and shriveled. The manager fell to the ground, lifeless. Ophelia smiled with his former contentment and followed her army out the door.
Lock takes pot shots with his crossbow at the target on the wall as all his troops get ready. Sunset is in two hours, and everyone is scurrying to find a weapon and warm up. Gene comes walking out with Nicholas. Nick complains about how tight the long-sleeve mock turtle neck they are forcing him to wear is.
"Look, bro, I'm gonna explain it to you like this. This right here is the greatest shirt you'll ever wear in this unit because it protects you from everything. It is a light-weight Kevlar mesh, and it's unique in the fact that it is light, it breaths, and it protects you from sharp fangs," Gene sounded a little annoyed.
"No way. I was wearing this when y'all grabbed me the first time and I still got bit," Nicholas whined.
"Whadaya want? It's light weight mesh. It ain't gonna stop bullets and it aint gonna stop fangs, but it will slow them down enough so that you wont get bitten if you react fast enough. Plus, Lock made it the only standard issue part of our uniform, so you don't have a choice."
"Damn, man. if this place has almost no rules, then why do all the rules we do have have to suck?" Nick walked off to warm-up. Lock laughed and walked over to Gene, who was sitting in a chair in the front area of the training room. "If I had any idea how much fun it was gonna be to train him, I swear I wouldn't have pushed him on you," Lock began.
"No, you would have pushed him on Larson."
"Yeah, well, that's what we don't pay him for."
"Lock, man, why didn't you tell me there was a recon group?"
"It wasn't really pertinent. These guys don't see field action at all. They just spy for us, and we never really had a reason to use them since I was made captain here. Honestly, it's a trade secret that just slipped my mind until I actually needed them. Is it really that important to you?"
"Well, you already named me as your successor, so if something happens to you, how was I supposed to know that we had a recon team?"
"Larson knew. He is in charge of training my successor if I'm happen to be killed before I train you myself."
Gene stood and started to walk away when Lock jumped up and joined him. "Look, Gene, you know you're like a brother to me and I wouldn't hold anything back from you on purpose. The recon team isn't important at all because we never really use them. If it were life an death, you know I would have told you." Gene smirked and looked at Lock. Lock continued, "C'mon man. are we cool? How are me and you supposed to kill this Ophelia thing if I'm worried about you conveniently missing her with your axe and hitting me?"
"Cuz you know I'd hit you with it regardless after the fight was over," Gene retorted. They stared at each other until Gene smiled and Lock punched him in the shoulder jokingly. Larson came running into the room, frantically looking for Lock. "Locklear," he began, "I found everything you were looking for!"
"ALL UNITS, GET IN HERE!!!" Gene called.
When they all set up, Larson began: "Alright, this demon is one that was supposedly extinct, and I'm guessing that since the ritual was a rising and not a summoning, it actually was extinct until now. It is called a Truluk demon. She was the last known warrior queen of her people before her species was killed off, and has the ability to suck the breath out of you. She absorbs all the oxygen in your body through skin-to-skin contact, and even if she doesn't hold on long enough, the slightest touch can be disorienting at best. She can feed off of vampires as well, and that sustains her life but feeding on humans gives her strength."
"That means that nobody goes near her. Only Gene and myself will be in reaching distance of her at all time, got it?" Lock checked everyone's eyes. They all looked directly into his with the utmost respect, something he has grown to respect himself. The only exception was Nicholas, who tried to stay as still as he could but wasn't doing very good at it. He caught eyes with Lock and straightened up. Lock nodded his head and walked towards him. He placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and turned to the rest of the group. "Everybody ready? Everyone called their families?" Silence filled the room. "Alright Lock, sunset was four minutes ago. We gotta get," Gene reminded him. In a low whisper, Lock turned back to Nicholas and smiled, saying, "Your first official mission and it's to stop a massacre. You havent even had a chance to hunt yet. We need all the men we can get, but if you're not ready, I und."
"No," Nick said, voice trembling, "I'm game. I haven't eaten anything today and I've thrown up four times. I think I'm empty."
"You'll be good. We go to an all night diner after every massacre, and I'll grab your bill," Lock smiled. "Look, stay next to me when they start the charge, and then stay with Antoine the rest of the way. You're coming to back us up on the second line. Don't be a hero."
"I think I'm safe on that one. Hey, though, answer me this," Nick clamed himself for a moment as he caught Lock's arm, "Out of my own curiosity, why do we do this? Why are we risking our lives tonight?"
Lock smiled low and soft: "You'll see."
The sun is officially dead the moon shines the light over the southwest slums. Though usually populated and police-less, the area was completely deserted. Ophelia felt a tingle of sadness and annoyance when she realized that the homeless weren't going to just line up to be slaughtered. No bother, she thought, as the thought of the hunt may in fact entice her army further. "Stop!" Ophelia yelled, obstructing her entire army. Suddenly a line from both sides of the street burst into flame, showing a hundred-long line of flaming barrel torches stretching for a mile, give or take a few feet. Out of the alleyways stepped forward Fabini and his army into the amber and golden glow of the main street of the slums. He was well-dressed as always, and his group wore solid black, as was their fashion statement on big missions such as this. They stepped to the battle lines and flexed muscles, comparing their dozen vampires to Ophelia's forty-strong fleet. He didn't even blink.
In one of the several vans Lock has used to transport the team to its destination, Nick notices the Axe unit with the broken arm sitting in front of him. "Hey man," Nick began, tapping the guy on his good shoulder, "I'm Nicholas."
"I've seen you around. They call me Mack."
"I know, but I wanted to introduce myself, you know."
"Strange time for intros, brotha," Mack smiled, looking off.
"Yeah, well, this really wasn't supposed to be an intro. It's a 'thank you.' I believe you have that broken arm there because you were watching my back, and then you saved my life right after it got broken too."
Mack looked at him strangely. "At the warehouse?" Nick added. The strange blank stare remained. "During the rising?" Nick added again.
"Oh, geez, man," Mack laughed, "Stick with us long enough and you'll find yourself in a lot of warehouses saving a lot of people."
"Yeah, but do most of them join the cause right after?" Nick laughed lowly.
"Yes, actually. Most people here got rescued by us and wanted to help out in whatever way they could."
"Don't they care that they might die soon?"
"Sure they do. They are human. They have emotions. They are just as afraid as you are. But better we die than the whole world, right?"
"I guess, but if this problem is so bad, you'd think the government would have a way of stopping these things and would train people to do this kind of stuff flawlessly. I mean, why do you want to do it specifically?" Nicholas asked, voice still shaking with doubt.
Mack looked at him for a second. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out a stake. Something was noticeably rubber banded around it. Mack took the rubber band off and unfolded what was there, handing it to Nicholas. It was a picture; it was a picture of Mack, his beautiful dark- skinned wife and two angelic black daughters. It was a gorgeous picture of a typical happy African-American family at a church banquet. Mack had his two little girls in his large arms, growling like an animal as the little girls giggled joyfully and his wife looked on with cheerful attention. Nick looked at the picture for a long time, and finally looked up at Mack's eyes. Strained, weary, and concerned, his eyes unfolded volumes of his character.
"If I don't, then I cant be sure they're safe." Nick handed back the picture.
"Okay, so it wasn't a bluff," Fabini joked, looking face to face with Docket, his former protégé. "Well, I kinda figured you weren't. You've always been pretty true to your word, Docket, my boy."
"It is our destiny to rule, Fabini," Ophelia spoke, "We are just taking the first needed steps."
"So you've had twenty-four hours to think about everything I've said and you are still willing to lose it all?"
They didn't say a word. The stood steady and with full resolve. "Stand down, boys," Fabini ordered his group. The twelve vampires spread away, clearing an open lane for Ophelia and her army, "If they know what they are sacrificing in this, then we don't have any right to stand in their way." Ophelia's army began their march down the torch-lighted street.
"Alright, everyone. Zero-hour's here, so lets get into positions! Axe Units in front, scattered positions. Regulars, two lines, standing down." Lock continued barking orders while Nick contemplated making a liar out of himself by vomiting again. Gene stepped up to him, concerned, "Hey man, you're looking pretty green here. You gonna be alright?"
"Gene, you've told me straight all week, so I'm expecting the same right about now. Are we gonna die now?"
"A wise optimist once said that to look death in the face and live is to achieve all things," Gene said, forcing Nick into a smile until he continued, "I choose to be a pessimist, so yes, we're all gonna die in about two minutes. You can chew on that later on at breakfast tomorrow morning, and be pleasantly surprised to hear your heartbeat."
"Okay, great, I've got the 'wetting myself' part of the ordeal over with. But tell me, before we get drained of our air or blood, why do you do this?"
Gene closed his eyes and thought. "Well, because that wise optimist I just told you about was my grandmamma. She was right about that and she told me that I would do great things for everybody in this world someday. I really don't want to make her a liar. That would be selfish, and so would turning my back now."
Moments later, Ophelia and her army had trekked half a mile spotting homeless people hiding in the alleys. They were looking around, eyes wide as if they were kids in a candy store. "Okay, boys and girls," Docket began, "as beautiful a buffet as this is, it is still supposed to be a massacre, so we herd them in the middle first, then we feed on our majesty's leftovers."
"Wait," Ophelia squeaked. She pointed into the distance, fifty yards away, at a line of vans blocking the street and three robed Wiccas standing on the roofs of said vans. They each held clasped hands and were easily recognized by the vampires as Hunters. A chorus of growls echoed across the empty streets.
"The witches," Docket exclaimed.
"They manipulate the dark arts of the human race. They certainly can hold no effect on ours." Ophelia spoke clearly with confidence.
"Though weak as they are, my liege, humans do have almost infinite potential. We should proceed carefully."
"They seem to be merely shielding our initial attack, Docket. Can you not feel the mystic barrier surrounding us now? It must be as long and wide as our journey here," she spoke.
"Yes, dear. You twenty, charge the witches. The rest of you, form lines and follow in with a second assault."
The first twenty charged, and upon reaching about fifteen yards from the witches, the nine axe units broke from the invisibility field the Coven put on them, each taking a single slice through the neck of one vampire each. The first wave of dust filled the air, disorienting the vampires charging enough to keep them from noticing the van doors opening and an outpour of the eleven regulars, throwing holy water bottles like grenades into their prey. Growls filled the sky as Docket called for a full charge for the rest of the fang army. Lock called for a wave of hellfire bombs, and the four that they had poured down on the rushing back-ups, causing a few to turn and flee. Coming from behind Ophelia's army was an army of thirteen, led by Fabini himself. "Sorry, fellas," he said as his vampires dusted the runaways, "but sometimes you gotta make friends with the enemy for the greater good. I gave y'all a chance."
Ophelia wailed in outrage, and grabbed two of Fabini's vamps, dusting them and absorbing them. She turned at Fabini himself, eyes glowing red, and she took a flying axe to her back. She stood up again, staggered, and pulled the axe from her back, which was followed up by a kick to the back of the head. Gene and Lock stood in front of Ophelia, both ready to fight as Fabini waltzed over between them. She took the axe in her hand, courtesy of Gene, and threw it behind her. She erupted and charged at them.
The flying axe flew through the air and was heading straight for the poor, unfortunate soul on his first mission ever. Nicholas was able to duck under a fierce punch and stake his assailant, successfully dusting his first vampire when he saw the axe flying at him. A nanosecond before impact, gravity seemed to suck in and repel the axe, causing it to stop and sink directly into the ground below. Nick held all breath long enough to look up and see Ky, fully extended with a look of sheer joy that her spell kept Nick alive. "Ky," Kelsey started yelling, "We need you back here! Me and Aimee cant keep this field up without you. you're our strongest link!"
"We don't need the barrier anymore. This battle's already contained and Fabini came through on his part. Just start casting protection spells while I handle business down here." She jumped down from the van and hurried over to find Docket about to sink his fangs into John of the Regular Units. She froze him for an instant, long enough for John to break free. Docket turned to catch eyes with the witch. He smiled and lunged at her.
She ducked a punch and returned one of her own. Docket was caught off-guard and staggered back. He wiped the blood from his jaw and flung a roundhouse kick her way. This kick was just a distraction though, to keep her from noticing the knee he brought down on her face. She lost a tooth, and immediately conjured a spell to set the tooth back in place. The blood she couldn't get rid of, nor the intense pain in her cheek. A tear fell down her other cheek and she returned a growl back fiercer than Docket's own. She sprang up and connected with a kick to Docket's shoulder and then fired a small sunlight bolt, flash-burning him and again making him draw back. She conjured two mystic barriers which she used offensively, smashing them against his face. Upon hitting the ground, Docket looked up into Ky's eyes, which were now streak black completely. She whispered a small incantation, and then a small ball of energy formed. She concentrated it, causing it to change from a fiery red and orange to a white hot blue, and then blew on it. It fired from her hands with exponential speed and dug right into the vampire's torso. Docket looked into Ky's eyes as they changed from black again to hazel. She fell down into a sitting position, exhausted from the casting, but managed a smile to Docket before he was incinerated from the inside. His eyes began to bleed and his skin imploded, turning to dust as the fire, having run out of things to burn, extinguished.
Each attempt to stop Ophelia up to this point has ended with someone taking a kick to the face. Despite her enigmatic, feminine figure, she was quite nimble and a wonderful fighter. Lock went in for a punch, which Ophelia ducked and grabbed him by the throat. His "armor" protected most skin-to-skin contact, but her thumb massaged the underside of his chin. Gene's gloved fist met her cheek and Lock was released. He saw stars and colors passing for what should be solid objects, and he realized that this must be the disorienting effect that Larson was talking about. He realized this too late however, because by the time he knew he wasn't seeing straight, Ophelia had swatted Gene away and was following through with a foot to Lock's jaw! Lock flew several feet backwards when Fabini jumped in and delivered a few quick hits and pranced back behind Ophelia's punch to hammer in on her backside. She cut a forward somersault, nailing Fabini beneath his jaw as she brought her forward foot down on the back of Gene's head as he rose. Her three combatants were down. They were now easy pickings. She stopped and took a deep breath before she were to finish Lock off and realized how silent it had gotten. She turned to see a legion of dust floating away with the low-lying fog that had risen during the events of the evening. Above that dust were the Hunters. Several of Fabini's men had been dusted, but they stood as well; side by side with their nemeses. Some were injured, granted, and some were unconscious. The rest of them were aiming all weapons at her. Six crossbows were aimed at her, a few stakes at ready, and the rest had axes cocked-back to throw. Nicholas stepped forward out of the crowd of Hunters and tossed an axe high in the air, above and beyond the jade demon. Her eyes followed the flying blade, even as it landed a few feet behind her, stuck directly in the ground. She followed the shiny blade, all the way to the tip of the handle, when she saw a hand grab hold of it. Her eyes followed the figure's hand, up his arm, and caught eyes with her assailant. She was witness even when Lock swung the blade, decapitating her. By the time her head hit the ground with her body soon following, she no longer had the voice she held so dear, nor would she be witness to anything else.
A moment of silence filled the area as everyone quietly took in the moment, making sure that no one was particularly hurt. Lock took a few steps forward, past the extended hand of Fabini looking for some help up, and grabbed hold of Gene's hand. The two stabled one another and walked back towards their group to check on everyone. Fabini made it to his feet himself and wiped the dust and grime from his nice suit, now wrinkled and messy. His vampires walked their way back to him, yet not as celebratory as the Hunters were.
"Wait! This is jacked up, fellas! Six of my men were wasted tonight! SIX! How many of you guys are dead? NOBODY! I know y'all have got this whole 'nightly street war' thing going for you, but my guys aren't soldiers and they could have used somebody watching their backs! Would that have been to hard to ask? LOCKLEAR? ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! SIX OF MY GUYS ARE DEAD NOW!!!"
Lock grabbed a crossbow from one of his regulars and let a bolt out, connecting through the heart of the vampire next to Fabini. The two vampires caught eyes before the one turned into dust. Fabini's mouth dropped. "There's lucky number seven," Lock quipped, giving the bow back to his regular. He then grabbed a cross and approached Fabini, stopping with five yards between them, at which point he held the cross up.
"I'll be blunt," Lock said, a low tone and harsh nature to his tone, "tonight was not the union of two groups nor was it the combining of a profitable situation. It was two different groups with two different methods, who happened to have similar agendas. That's it. I don't care what kind of arrangement you had with the captains before me, but this my team, my regime, and we will not call a truce with the 'vampire mafia' or whatever you call yourselves. Truth is, I wanna dust you all now, but you helped us out tonight and that earns you a fighting chance against us. I suggest you take it." Lock pulled out a glass vial of holy water and cracked it on the cement in front of the group, causing them to fall back. Fabini smiled and put back on his hat. He tipped the bill and swayed off with his remaining five, a reaction that did more to make Lock uneasy than it did settle him.
"Okay, so what's the status report?" Lock asked, turning to Gene.
"Nothing too bad. I think Art's got two broken ribs and Jamie is definitely concussed."
"You're mom's concussed." Jamie returned. Gene shot him a smile.
"All in all, everything seems good," Lock sighed with relief, "So you feelin a late dinner or an early breakfast?"
"I dunno. I haven't slept in two days, so I would feel a little awkward eating breakfast and crashing for twelve hours.I'll go ahead and lead the clean-up." Gene walked off laughing.
Lock thanked him and walked over to Nicholas. "You did a good job tonight. How you feelin?"
"Well, aside from almost getting an axe to the face? Well, I have a splitting headache, my jaw hurts, and I twisted the hell out of my ankle."
"Axe to the face, huh? Well, it could have been worse. The axe coulda won."
Nicholas gave him a dirty look. Lock laughed, "So, did you at least learn anything, tonight?"
"Yeah. be afraid of Ky. I mean, did you see the way she fried that head vamp?"
"I don't have to. She does it every hour on the hour about three days every month. It stops being impressive the first time you forget to buy the chocolate fudge ice cream."
"Yeah, but Lock. you did say I would know why we do this by the end of tonight, didn't you? Cuz right now I'm just seeing a lot of guys who were fortunate not to die tonight," it seemed almost painful for Nicholas to form the words.
"You're right. We do a lot and we don't often enough get reminded of what we're fighting for. You haven't seen everything, though," Lock placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and held it there for a moment. He then took it off and walked to the van, opened the door, and pulled out a sack. He motioned Nicholas into one of the alleyways and down the backside of the next street. The two stopped in front of a pile of boxes in the back alley. Lock mouthed a few soft, whispered welcomes and pulled the boxes to the side. Sitting there, trembling, was a mother and her two children, all homeless. They shook from fear and from cold, and they didn't even have hope left to recognize Lock when he welcomed them softly. Lock knelt and reached into the sack. He pulled out two loaves of bread and a pack of cheese, as well as two blankets and some wool shirts. He placed the gifts in front of them and told them that everything was fine and they would be safe now. He made the woman promise him that they would leave these parts soon, and she did, but Lock didn't believe them and neither did Nicholas. Regardless, Lock smiled and stood once more, walking Nick down and back to the edge of the side alley. They turned and looked at the family, eating as if for the first time in days, and Nicholas felt proud of himself, for the first time since he went out with Tiffany on the town. He shook his head, realizing that this was the first pride he ever had that actually meant something; it was the first pride that was going to last beyond all others.
"That lady is Miss Betty Crawford. Those are her sons Matt and Donnie. They don't remember me, and I wouldn't expect them too. With everything they've been through, I'm insignificant. There are tons of them out there, Nick. Faces. Not just homeless, but people who aren't able to protect themselves like me or like you're being trained to be. At this point, a stake goes through a vampire's heart or a demon gets killed at our hands, and all you see is dust and bodies. I see her face. I see all the faces that are safe one more night because I made a difference. The people we save could be homeless, or for all we know, they could be steps away from finding the cure for cancer. They each have their place in the world. My place, Gene's place. it's here. Same as everyone who fought by your side today. At least the ones with heartbeats."
They stopped for a moment and looked down the alley to see Gene and the others cleaning up the debris. They absorbed the moment, with everyone working together to make sure everyone's safe, and Lock took a deep breath, sitting down in the alley against the wall. Nicholas joined him and Lock continued, "I can respect your question Nick, but only because you're new to the game and I've asked the same question myself before. But the answer is easy, and you should know by now. You can call it cynical if you like, but I believe it just like everyone else. Why do we do this?." Lock took a deep breath, stood, and extended his arm to Nick. He pulled him up and continued the hand grasp, ".because this world is huge, and every now and then, you'll find something that's more important than your own life. And that's everyone else."