Chapter 11- The Dust Settles
Disclaimer - I don't own Underworld, any resemblance in the name of the characters is purely coincidental. (Lol)
Octavian punched open the weak wooden door, and motioned for the other two to come after him. They entered, closing the door after them.
"What's going on?" Selene questioned, looking to Octavian.
"I don't know." Octavian admitted, smiling slightly.
"Why are you here?" Michael asked accusingly.
"I don't know that either." Octavian said, examining Selene intently with his intense green eyes. Selene returned the gaze, and then broke it, looking away.
Sirens began to sound and shouts echoed through the streets."We better get moving." She urged, starting up the small staircase. Michael nodded and followed, but Octavian stayed. He supported himself against the wall, staring after Selene as she walked.
Noticing that he didn't follow, Selene turned and noticed the bullet wounds in his right leg. The blood was already pooling on the ground beneath him. "Octavian." She said softly, looking to him again.
"I'll just slow you down. Go!" Octavian said, turning to the wooden door.
"No... Octavian. We'll help you along." Selene answered, heading back towards him. The footsteps of soldiers began to sound all throughout the street outside; the sound of the doors being broken down began to sound moments later. He pulled a small crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it to Selene. Then, he mouthed the word "go" and turned back to the door.
Selene could hear the sound of soldiers just outside. Seconds later, a solid smash sounded against the door. Octavian reacted faster, and was already braced against it. "Octavian." Selene whispered. Michael took Selene by the shoulders and pulled her back. Soon they passed the corner, and Octavian was out of sight. She put the small ball of paper into Michael's pocket, still looking towards the direction of the door.
"We need to go right now!" Michael whispered. Selene broke her trance and looked around frantically for an exit. Seeing a small window, she kicked the pane of glass, shattering it.
"Follow me." She muttered. With a graceful leap, she jumped through the half-broken window and onto the fire escape of the adjacent building. Michael hesitated, and copied her jump more clumsily.
Richardson stepped carefully through the street; over the bodies of the fallen soldiers that served under his command. He approached a door, the only one the soldiers couldn't ram open. Seeing him, the soldiers looked to him fearfully.
He smiled at this fear. Reprimanding them now will accomplish nothing, He thought. Richardson pointed to the point on the door, right next to the lock. "Right here, as hard as you can." He said calmly. The soldiers nodded and with one great strike, they punched a hole through the wood where the lock was located. Even so, the door remained closed. Richardson sighed and picked up a machine-gun from a dead soldier. Pointing it at the door, he fired the remaining clip, sweeping all possible angles.
"Try it again." Richardson said. The team rammed the door and fell forward, as it provided no resistance. The lead soldier let out a cry of pain as a blade exited the flesh of his back. He was pushed backwards and fell on his back without his machine-gun. The vampire lay on the ground with the bloody HK5 still in his hands, as soon as the soldier fell he began firing. The other soldiers tried to grasp their weapons frantically, but his hail of gunfire impacted each of them. They all fell, clutching the wounds and moaning in pain. Octavian ran out of ammo, and leaned for a pistol that was just out of his reach.
Richardson slid the blade from the dead soldier on the ground and approached Octavian, who still scrambled for the pistol.
"Stop fighting." Richardson said, leaning over him. Octavian finally got his hand onto the pistol and attempted to lift his arm. He felt a blinding pain of the blade penetrating the palm of his hand. He let go of the pistol as the blade continued out the flesh and buried itself in the wooden floor. "We need you alive." He continued gently.
"Fuck you." Octavian hissed.
Peirce exited the small room, with blood still dripping from his mouth and claws. Peirce loved transforming to his Lycan form, and letting his animal instincts take over. Apparently others did too, as easily audible growls and screams of terror sounded through the streets. He turned to search the next building for hiding soldiers when a he heard a voice behind him.
"Sir?" One of his underlings asked anxiously, nervous of Peirce's animal form. Peirce changed back quickly and turned to face him.
"What?" Peirce asked, irritated at the interruption.
"Most of the soldiers have been routed, and have taken to the streets. We are pursuing them now." He said.
"Good." Peirce said, ready to transform back to his Lycan form.
"Sir... we've found Selene and Michael, and they are both safe... but..." He trailed off.
"But what?" Peirce demanded.
"We can't find Octavian." He finished quickly.
"Get me Lucian." Peirce growled. The underling nodded and quickly ran away.
"You're still so rough on him." Grace said, her soft voice causing Peirce to smile. He turned to see her, blood still running from her soft mouth. "Lets go... there is still more blood to spill." Peirce followed Grace into the next room, her naked form transforming back into it's Lycan features.
Selene walked quickly from the house as Michael ran behind her. She had gone there looking for Octavian. She thought she would find a corpse, instead he found nothing. They had taken him.
"Who would take him?" Michael asked.
"Before we left..." She paused, reaching into Michael's pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper "... he gave me this." She finished. She opened the small ball of paper and examined it intently.
"What is it?" Michael asked.
"It's a name and a phone number."
"What does that mean?"
"Obviously it's important or he wouldn't have bothered. It must have something to do with the ambush." She paused after this revelation, and then turned to Michael. "That cell phone. The one that I gave to you before I drew the gun. Do you still have it?" Selene asked. Michael began to search his pockets, and pulled free the cell phone.
"Here." He said, handing it over to her. She looked at the paper again and began dialing the numbers on the piece of paper. The phone rang a few times, and she got a machine. Cursing, she began to dial the numbers again.
"What makes you think he's even there?" Michael questioned.
"It's in the middle of the night there." She replied.
"Hello?" The voice said at the other end.
"Hello, is this George Johnson?" Selene asked.
"Yes." George answered, groggy from his recent awakening.
"I received this number from a friend of mine. Why did he give it to me?"
"You mean Octavian?" George inquired.
"Yes."
"Why didn't he tell you?"
"He's missing."
"Then it's worse than I thought. We need to speak in private."
"What do you mean?"
"That cell phone call can be monitored, this house phone could be tapped."
"Ok.. So what do we do?" Selene asked. George paused on the other end, contemplating something. Selene looked around, and found what she was looking for. A phone booth, only a few yards away. "I've found a phone booth" Selene said, pacing towards it.
"Ok, there is a phone booth near my house too, I'll head there. First, tell me the number to yours."
Gaius walked into the large open room, looking with interest to the setup of the room. Afraid that in close quarters Corvinus could more easily escape, Lucian decided to keep him in the meeting room. The Lycan guards stood at attention, all pointing their guns towards Corvinus, who seemed to be deep in thought. Gaius approached, and seated himself across from Corvinus' chair. Without lifting his head, Corvinus began to speak.
"He still thinks I did it, doesn't he." Corvinus muttered.
"Yes, he seems quite convinced." Gaius replied.
"And so do you?" Corvinus asked, looking up and gazing sadly into Gaius' eyes.
"I'm sorry, Corvinus. His evidence is overwhelming. Your right hand man, the mortals outside..." Gaius trailed off.
"Think about the practicality of it for a second." Corvinus insisted, his voice rising in volume. "What would I attack Michael and Selene for? Why would I abduct Octavian? I just don't have a reason."
"Who does?"
"The United States government. Remember when you said that?"
"We have nothing linking them to it" Gaius answered, earning a upwards glance from Corvinus. "It just doesn't seem realistic."
"When is the trial?" Corvinus asked, his voice at a low whisper.
"In a few days."
"That is not enough time."
"There is nothing I can do."
Selene hung up the phone and turned to Michael. "We're going to the United States." She said bluntly.
"Ok." Michael replied, following her as she walked towards the docks. "Where are we going?" He asked.
"To find Lucian." She answered. "He should be on his way to the shore now." She pointed to a small boat that was approaching them. They waited until the small craft docked, then Selene walked up to it.
"Selene." Lucian greeted, walking to them quickly. A broad smile across his face.
"Lucian." She replied.
"So to what do I owe the visit?" Lucian asked.
"It's about what happened. We've heard about Corvinus... about the trial. We need more time."
"The vampires and lycans are clamoring for a trial. After what has happened here today I would hesitate to dely it." He answered.
"Before Octavian and us split, he gave us this." She said, holding up the piece of paper. "A name and a number. The man I talked with seemed convinced that the U.S. government was responsible."
"The U.S. government has nothing to do with this."
"Give me more time." She pressed coldly.
"A week." Lucian compromised.
"Ok."
When Octavian regained consciousness he realized that he was in an upright position in a brightly lit room. There were small tubes connected to his arms that ran red with blood. As his grogginess lifted, Octavian examined his restraints. Thick titanium alloy metal rings held him securely to the metal sheet on which he lay. The rings were located on his arms, wrists, ankles, and chest. He shook his body to see if he had wiggle room, only to find he had none. He heard the door open up behind him, but he couldn't turn to face the intruder.
"Octavian." The gruff voice said from behind him. Octavian waited in silence, aware that his metallic gag prevented him from even the most rudimentary of noises.
"I just need to tell you how exiting it is to finally have one of your kind in my facility." The voice continued, circling around him. He finally came into view, a tall, old, and out of shape man. He seemed ragged and wearied from life.
"I've been in combat. I've seen men die. Good men, right in my arms. If they only had the opportunity to have the regenerative powers that your kind possesses, they would all be alive. Now, you can take pride in the knowledge that your blood saves lives. New soldiers, unknown to the public will carry out vital missions. They will ensure the safety of our great country. I'll give you a chance to speak, but be smart. I can take that privilege away." He moved forward and undid the small gag.
"You'll never be able to synthesize the virus." Octavian said quickly.
"But I won't need to." The man replied, showing a needle to Octavian. "I just need a living factory of blood."
"You'll never get away with this. My kind will come, and they will stop you."
"Your kind will kill the only person that would have the intelligence to find you. They will find Corvinus guilty of the very crime I committed." Seeing the shocked look of Octavian, he continued. "The evidence has been planted, and they have been whipped into a frenzy."
"You're going to pay for this." Octavian growled.
"You've just lost your speaking privileges." Henderson said with a smile. He fastened the gag back on and stuck the large needle into Octavian's arm. He withdrew a large amount of blood and showed it to Octavian. "I could have taken your blood from you as simply as I give it to you in those tubes. I prefer for you to see, each of the people that I make into a vampire using your blood. I would like you to meet the first subject." He said, motioning to another officer in the corner. It was the same officer that had captured him to begin with. The same one that had impaled his had with his very own sword.
Octavian tried to yell, but no sound came out. He was forced to watch in silence as his vampiric blood was injected into the officer's veins.
