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From the shadows of the catwalks that ran around the walls of the warehouse, I watched as Perri entered the warehouse from the main entrance and put on her little show. I could feel my heart pounding, pounding so hard that I was sure the sound would carry throughout the large, musty warehouse. But somehow, it didn't.
I watched as she threw her arms out extravagantly. I watched – almost yelled out her name – when the vampaneze leaped out at her. Somehow, I managed to hold my tongue.
It was my turn now.
As soon as she heard the voice from the shadows, Perri had already begun to shift her weight to the side, so slightly that it was near impossible to notice. So, when the vamp leaped down from his little niche above the door, Perri was already rolling to the side, disappearing behind some shelves and away from both our views. The vamp landed where she had been, one knee on the ground, other hand on the floor for support.
Silence settled into the warehouse, the air crackling with tension. Slowly, I saw the vamp lift his bald purple-skinned head, his upper lip curled in a sneer. He looked slowly from side to side, nostrils flaring, as if trying to sniff Perri out.
That's when I stood.
Wearing the hood of my long jacket up, I was pretty much invisible in the shadows I stood in. The fact that I was standing above his eye level probably helped me blend in.
Either way, the vamp didn't see the arrow coming. My aim was a little off – the arrow head buried itself into the ground next to him, just a touch away from its intended target, his arm.
I didn't stop to see the result of my attack, though – I was already sprinting as quietly as I could to another spot, several metres away, and loading another bolt into my arrow launcher. As soon as I was ready, I launched another arrow – this one striking deep into his arm.
The vamp snarled, but once again, I was already on the move, running to another spot and readying another arrow. Once more, I fired – but in my haste, I forgot about the recoil, and the launcher snapped back and hit me in the jaw. Stunned, I fell back, slumped against the railing.
The sound caught the attention of the vamp, and his face twisted in a grin as he spotted me.
"Got you!" He snarled – but before he had a chance to leap up to the catwalk (which I'm sure he could do), Perri tackled him, sending him crashing into some shelves. By my head cleared enough for me to stand, Perri was darting away again, the vamp close on her heels. With a sudden burst of speed, the vamp jumped forward, grabbing Perri around her neck.
Before he was able to snap it in half – which he was probably about to do – Perri whirled around, her axe whistling through the air. The vamp brought his arm up just in time, letting the axe sink deep into the fleshy part of his lower arm. He howled in pain, letting go of her neck and clutching at his arm. Blood dripped from the wound, drip, drip, dripping onto the floor. With another howl, he wrenched the axe from his skin, and from where I stood, I could see a glint of white amongst the red – she had cut him almost to the bone.
Shaking my head, I began running once more to a different spot, another bolt going into the arrow launcher. Again, I launched the arrow – this time, it landed in the back of his thigh. With another gut-wrenching howl of pain, the vampaneze ripped the shaft of the arrow away, leaving the bolt buried deep in his skin.
The vampaneze whirled around. His large, fleshy mouth twisted in a sinister smile as he spotted me, halfway through loading another bolt into my weapon. I looked down for that split second to try and slip the arrow in, but my hands were shaking so hard that I couldn't set it straight.
Below, there was a sickening snap, and Perri screamed in pain. I didn't look up, too intent on my arrow.
The catwalk beneath my feet shook.
Surprised, I looked up. I only had time to let my eyes widen and snap my head to the side when the vamp's open hand scissored forward, long nails pointed towards me. I felt pain slice across my face – then I was ducking away to the side, my back smashing against the rails once more as my arrow-gun clattered to the ground.
Blood, rich and warm, trickled down my cheek.
"Steve!" Perri shouted from down below. I would have yelled a reply, had I the opportunity – at that particular moment in time, I was busy narrowly avoiding having my ribcage pulverised.
I jumped to my feet and dodged to the side as the vampaneze's fist went flying towards my mid-section. His momentum carried him forward several steps, and so I took the chance and scrambled forward, picking up my arrow-gun and whirling around – just in time to see the vamp hurtling towards me. At the speed he was running, combined with his extra bulk and inhuman strength, I knew I would be killed if he reached me.
It was as if time stood still. Everything was in slow-motion. No longer was I standing in an old, dirty warehouse – I was back in the cemetary, swearing an oath and cutting my skin; I was spending hours pouring over books, looking for clues and storing facts in my mind; my muscles were weary and strained after long gruelling days of training; I could feel the heat of revenge well within me.
It was too early. I hadn't achieved what I'd set out to do.
I wasn't going to die. Not yet, anyway.
With all my strength and speed, I threw myself to the side. I was quick – but the vamp was quicker. He saw my movement at the last moment, but he had built up too much momentum to slow down. His large shoulder clipped my right one, sending me spiralling to the side and over the top of the rail. I yelled out in pain as I grabbed the rail with one hand to stop myself from falling onto the ground below me. My right arm hung by my side, throbbing with pain – broken. Shattered was probably a better word.
On the catwalk, the vamp had slowed down and was slowly making his way back to me, that sickly evil grin on his ugly mug. My left arm was shaking with the effort of supporting my whole body. I didn't know how much longer it would hold.
"Let me guess," the vamp said, leaning over me and putting one large hand over mine. "You would be the apprentice, yes?"
"Correct!" A voice shouted from behind me. The vamp and I both looked in the direction of the voice – it was Perri, standing along the catwalk, in front of one of the many blacked-out windows. A crazy grin was on her face, and she seemed to be favouring one leg more than the other. "Boo!" She cried.
And then, raising her axe, she smashed the window.
Sunlight poured through the broken glass, blinding both me and the vamp.
The vamp was worse off. He hissed loudly, his hands shooting up to shield his eyes as he backed up, trying to get away from the light.
Gritting my teeth, I raised my right hand and gripped the rail. Then, using all my strength, I lifted myself up and over the rail, back onto the platform, and picked up a fallen arrow.
With a savage howl, I lashed forward with a sweep towards the vamp's legs, taking his feet from under him. He promptly fell to the ground, but before he had a chance to scramble to his feet, I jumped onto his stomach, straddling him and holding the arrow left-handed over his chest.
"Die, monster!" I found myself snarling – then, using all my remaining strength, I plunged the arrow as far into his chest as I could manage.
The vampaneze howled in pain, blood spraying from the wound – but he didn't die straight away. He bucked and thrashed beneath me, trying to push my off, but I was like a dead weight, refusing to budge.
As the blood sprayed all over my face, hands and body, and the vamp tried to dislodge me, I let one really absurd thought run through my head:
I really have to stop stabbing these things through the heart.
I don't know how long it took for the vamp to die – every time he tried to push me off, I just held on tighter, slipping my fingers through the grille beneath him. He continued to howl in pain – and so did I, my right shoulder feeling like it was being stabbed over and over again by something hot and sharp. I quickly shut my mouth, gritting my teeth and biting the inside of my cheek so hard that I could taste blood.
For some reason, though, he was getting stronger, not weaker. He almost knocked me completely off at one point.
Then the axe swung down, a hair's breadth away from the tip of my nose. It struck the grilled metal flooring with a heavy, wet thunk. The body beneath me gave a final twitch, then was still. The think neck of the vampaneze lay in two halves – one connected to the body, the other connected to the head – which was on the other side of the axe.
My chest heaved. My arm throbbed. I blinked. Beside me, Perri lowered herself to her knees, her left leg stretched out awkwardly.
When I finally decided that the vamp's heart was no longer beating, I rolled off to the side and lay on my back, staring dazedly at the dirty ceiling above us. My shoulder was screaming in pain, as if it were trying to get my attention. Yeah, well, it had my attention, all right.
"Look at that," Perri said wearily. I raised my head a little to see she had a tired grin on her face. "You've gone and got blood all over your nice jacket."
"I think I broke my arm," said I.
"I think I broke my leg," said she.
We paused, our eyes meeting. Then we both burst into laughter. Pretty strange, seeing as we were both covered in blood and almost crying in pain. Maybe it was the pain itself that was doing it to us. Driving us crazy, in a way.
"I guess neither of us will be hunting for the next two months," Perri said, when our laughter had died down. I mock pouted.
"Well that's just no fun." I paused, then grinned slyly. "I guess we're gonna have to get in to a couple of dance clubs – I think I've had enough of chasing around big hairy men."
"Hear hear!" She said cheerfully.
Maybe it was Fate. Maybe it was my sixth sense warning me. Either way, I couldn't tell Perri – I couldn't tell her that somehow, I knew our carefree days would soon be over, and that we needed to live life to the fullest – before life escaped our grips.
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A.N Heydaho! Sorry for taking soooooo long! I kinda ran into a very thick, very high writer's block. The funny thing is, I was planning on reading the whole saga again to help me get over said block – but I never did. Then, the next day, I went out shopping. I saw the bookstore. Saw Tamora Pierce's new book (Trickester's Queen, MUST GET!), and decided to have a wander in. Saw the price of that book and decided against it. Turn to my right and see the row of Darren Shan books. Pause. Breathe. Stop self from screaming.
The Saga of Darren Shan 9: Killers of the Dawn.
YAY! I finally read it, and IT'S BLOODY BRILLIANT! I LURVE STEVE!
…-coughs-
Anyhow, I also wanted to say that I've got an idea for a sequel of sorts – it's going to be based on my version of Annie (who you will be meeting very very soon!) but it won't appear until after certain events occur in this story. Hehehe. Stay tuned!
Replies:
Away and lost: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes. I agree. She has gotten on my nerves too...
Andrew: Yeah, I've heard of Evanescence, they're okay… S.O.A.D rule though. The best band of all is The Butterfly Effect. They are teh w00tness. XD. I'll try to get around to reading you're story!
To All: Thank you guys! I love you all! XD
