Chapter 15: Goodbye Means Nothing At All
"Michael!" He grabbed the clip out of mid-air, nodding to Thomas. They stood across from one another in a doorway. Outside, on the tarmac, the Dealers continued their fiery on-slaught. The small band of lycans that met the plane were scattered about, some of their bodies strewn across the oil-stained concrete.
Michael looked at Thomas, nodding three times before leaning out the doorway to fire. A few screams of pain echoed into the hanger, but the firing continued. Michael watched as Thomas pulled the pin out of a grenade and rolled it on the ground, unnoticed by the Dealers. They both crouched away just in time.
A loud explosion, accompanied by vibrations in the ground and shattering glass, threw all the Dealers in every direction. A few suffered minor burns, but a good portion were dead. Michael and Thomas ran out, firing at the stunned survivors. Thomas fired several shots into the skull of one feisty vampire, licking the spray of blood off of his face with a wicked grin.
"Thomas!" He looked up to see Victoria, running toward them with several armed lycans at her heels. They moved through the carnage, checking fallen comrades and bloodied enemies for signs of life. She came up to him, watching his now coal-blue eyes fade back to their usual hazel. "Jesus," she sighed, pulling a bandana out and quickly tying it over a wound on his arm.
"I didn't even notice," he said absently.
"You probably wouldn't have," she responded quietly. She smiled at him briefly before a surprised look crossed her face. "Shit!" She pulled him backward with her and began to open fire on another group of Dealers as they came around the hanger. The lycans all raised their weapons, taking defensive positions behind crates and construction vehicles.
They exchanged fire for a while before Thomas realized something critical. He tugged at Victoria's arm, receiving a confused but icy glare from her. "Where's Michael," he screamed over the bullets whizzing overhead. She shook her head, looking around to each of the small clumps of lycans, but not seeing their leader. Where the fuck could he have gotten to, she though irritably. Selene's going to be pissed if he's hurt.
"He'll be fine," she shouted back finally, rising to her feet briefly to pick of a nearby female Dealer. The vampire hissed and screamed as the UV fluid pumped wildly through her veins. A few of her brothers-in-arms spared a glance at her charring corpse before refocusing on the battle at hand.
A bullet pierced through on of the crates, lodging itself in Victoria's forearm. She let out a yelp and dropped her gun. She dropped down to a sitting position, pressing her hand over the searing wound. Thomas quickly knelt next to her, pulling her arm out. In the dim light, he saw the bullet as it rested, almost breaking completely through the other side. A thin stream of smoke rose from the broken skin; the bullet was silver.
He looked at her for a moment before pulling the wound open further with his thumbs. She gritted her teeth, a scream muting as she closed her lips. The bullet popped out, sliding down her arm before Thomas threw it to the side. He pulled the bandana off his arm and used it to bind the wound. When he finished tying the knot, he leaned forward and placed a gentle but sound kiss on her lips.
Why do you get brave when you think you're going to die, he mused as he looked at her for a second longer. When the red over powered his skin, he looked to his bag, digging through it briefly.
"Let's see if I can make it a hat trick," he smiled at her, holding up two more grenades. Injured and slightly stunned by his actions, Victoria took a moment to register the objects before nodding with an equally bright smile.
He rolled the un-pinned bombs toward the Dealers as she screamed, "GET DOWN!"
The Dealers came to a halt as two more explosions rocked the tiny airport. They just arrived from the International Airport after their plans to ambush the Hybrid there were discovered. The captain waved his hand forward, silently signaling them to move cautiously. The well armed group made it almost to the end of the hangar, the light of the remaining gun fire flickering in their eyes.
A shout cut short caused them all to turn, guns raised. Nothing. One of the men looked up, "Sir, Jenkins is gone."
Another shout and the man right next to him disappeared as well. The captain growled, "On guard!" They turned back to back with one another, eyes searching through the cloudy darkness for any movement. The nearby lights went out, the hum of electric dying away slowly. "Keep your eyes peeled," he warned.
One of them started firing, his cry turned to a struggling gargle. The body was thrown back into the circle of the remaining four vampires. They flicked on their flashlights, slowly scanning each area. A low, dangerous growl caused the one on the captains right to turn swiftly. The bright light contrasted against the blue-black skin of the Hybrid and he stumbled backward with a short cry.
Michael roared, grabbing the Dealer by the leg and yanking it hard. A loud pop and a scream followed as he tore the leg from the vampire's body. The bleeding vamp quickly went into shock, shaking with the out pour of crimson fluids. Two opened fire, stepping back into the wall of the hanger. He lunged forward, slashing out one's throat and stabbing his dagger-like claws into the other's skull. He with drew his hand, the sticky cranial tissues oozing off of his chilled flesh.
"Back up, I need back up," the captain yelled into a hand-held. He ran away from the beast, confused at why he only stared at him, licking the blood off his hands. "Back up! I repeat, I need--" Gun fire rained down on him as the remaining lycans ran up. Several regular bullets to the chest sent him tumbling to the ground. He stared up, gasping for air as the blood poured into each of the aveoli in his lungs.. The lights came back on and a shadow loomed over him. The Hybrid's eyes bore into his own, sending a vicious shiver down his back.
His scream was cut short as Michael raised him up with one hand, biting into his neck. The quick flashes of a short immortal life gave him new information. When he was satisfied, he dropped the body to the ground, watching as the lifeless eyes reflected every beam of light that danced across them.
Michael quickly replaced the clothes on his top half, wiping blood on his face away with his sleeves. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and felt out every inch of his body. The vampire's blood set him ablaze, each cell wild with energy as they zipped through his veins and tissues.
"Sir." He opened his now blue eyes to look at a bloody and battle-raged Victoria. "We're all for the roadway."
"Good," he said, moving towards the nearby truck Thomas sat behind the wheel of. "Take the main highway west. There's a small village town just on the border..."
The smell of cleansers immediately caused Erika to cringe. Oh, I hate that hospital smell, she moaned inwardly. Her heels clicked loudly on the tile floor as she continued her descent. The labs were positioned just north of Pest, buried down beneath the city's main water treatment plant.
At least it doesn't smell like shit down here, she thought. Reaching a sealed double door, she quickly punched in a key code and pressed her hand to a scanner. A light passed beneath it before the entire screen blinked green. The doors slid open and she walked into the center of a busy scene. Everyone wore lab coats and sat at tables, hunched over microscopes or conversing over lab results.
"My Lady." She was greeted by a short raven-haired woman in a black shirt,white coat and dark jeans. "Welcome to our underground. I'm Bethany, the head of surgery."
"Is everything ready?"
"Almost," Bethany said, leading her down the length of the room. A few of the workers looked up, lowering their gazes as the red ring on her hand and Corvinus family crest resting on her chest flashed in the florescent lights. She looked completely out of place with her custom-cut Gucci pants and incredibly tight bodice top. But they knew better than to stare. Stories of Marcus tearing vampires apart for looking at his newest consort the wrong way made their way down into the chemical world.
Bethany brought them through several sets of swinging doors before coming up to what looked like a steel bank vault. Four guard stood with their weapons at the ready. She waived her hand and they moved out into the anti-chamber. She punched in the code and turned to Erika as the circular steel doors hissed and rolled back.
"We have a few more stitches to put in near the jaw-line, but otherwise," she flourished her hand, "he's ready." The blonde vampire nodded, stepping through the doorway. The doors slid shut and she was alone.
For a few moments, she stood quietly. She finally sighed, moving around the table to take a better look. Her fingers gently slid across the hundreds of surgical tools that surrounded the table. She idly picked up a rather nasty looking skull saw, still encrusted with blood. She smirked and replaced it on the tray.
"You know, he's so excited," she admitted. "I've never seen anyone, mortal or immortal so thrilled about anything before in my life. He doesn't even know if this is going to work. None of us do. For we know, one death with just equal another." She came to the edge of the table and leaned down close. The smell of medical creams and plastics washed through her senses.
"But you know," she whispered, "he's never been without stamina. With everything so close, he doesn't sleep at all. You will make him so happy. Almost as much as I do. "
She traced her fingers through the thick white fur, following the slope of the nose to the very tip, tapping it lightly. "And, if what they say is true, I hope to have the honor of satisfying you as well...my lord." She smiled wickedly, tracing a random pattern down the massive arm.
She dropped a gentle kiss before moving back to the door. It slid open to reveal an happily anxious Bethany. She smiled, tossing a look back into the lab room. "Make sure that all is ready in three night's time. And," she untied the clasped the pendant from around her neck and handed it to the other woman. "Place this around his neck. They were hard to part with these when they were children. I'm sure William would prefer to have it when we awakes."
A/N: and so the action begins. brief chapter, but its coming. don't worry.
until next chapter,
anthestria