Chapter 25: Running, Part Two
And I want to see you too
feels just like I'm falling
Is there nothing I can do
wonder if you hear my calling
-Akira Yamaoka
"GET DOWN!"
Anna jumped out of the way as the grenade flew past her and into the large main room. She dragged herself a short distance on her elbows before throwing her hands over her head as fire spewed through the doorway. After the shake, rattle and roll of the explosion, she jumped up and bolted into the now crisped room. Several limbs lay scattered about along with full bodies. For a few moments, nothing moved except the Clan as they rushed in. Then the rubble shifted and one by one, Dealers popped up, dazed and confused.
Raising her rifle, she took distinct pleasure in placing three UV bullets into strategic locations on the one Dealer's bodies. As a former nurse, she knew that the blood flowed less rapidly from the right arm and left ankle; as a vampire, she knew that the UV-liquid incinerated everything it touched. Firing into those sites, she watched as the man fell with a guttural cry, convulsing on the floor as smoke rose from his now charring skin. It was sick, she knew, to take so much pleasure from killing her own kind; but this was war. And she knew, like every other vampire in the Clan, that they would show them no sympathy if given the chance.
The survivors in the room were quickly discarded, their corpses still shaking as the fluid completely destroyed their innards.
"Anna!" Victoria grabbed her arm, a thick cut healing on her forehead. "Have you seen Thomas?"
"He went up the floors with a group of the transformed Lycans. Why?"
"We can't find Michael, Selene, or Nyssa."
"Shit! Watch out!" Anna shoved her aside, switching her semi from UV bullets to regular ones and firing into a small group of Dealers as they rounded the corner. Getting behind a statue, she growled, "Where the fuck are they coming from? I thought most of them were outside!" Leaning out, she fired again, picking two off. Reinforcements showed up, slaughtering the Dealers as they kept coming forward. "We need to get Thomas and start a search. If they're coming up this quick on us, they'll do the same to them."
"GET DOWN!"
Although the voice was distant, Michael immediately dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms up around Nyssa's head just as an explosion rocked the building. Immediately panicked by his reaction and the noise, she dug her tiny fingers into his shoulders, whimpering slightly with the downward motion. A wave of vibrations passed through the thick walls and floors of the castle. Dust unsettled and sprinkled from the basement ceiling, turning to mud as it made contact with the puddles of warm water near the boilers. When the minor debris ceased falling, he stood up again.
Aside from a set of shredded clothes in the middle of the room, the basement remained as he left it. Inhaling, the incredibly faint scent of Selene reached him. Good. No one else has been here and she hasn't been found.
"Let's get momma, huh?" he asked, rubbing Nyssa's back and kissing her forehead; her grip had not lessened since the explosion. Huge, dewy blue eyes peered up at him, the fire from the boilers dancing across the glassy surface.
"Momma?" The rasp in Nyssa's voice made Michael wince, her exhaustion now evident. He wanted nothing more than to take her as far from here as possible, to lay down in their bed back at the Clan house with Selene and Nyssa and sleep for days.
"Yeah. We get her then we'll leave," he assured her, rounding the last boiler, the that had nearly claimed Nyssa's small body. A sigh of disappointment and relief escaped him; there she was, shoulders braced against the wall and keeping her limp form it an odd angle. Back down on his knees, he maneuvered Nyssa in one arm and checked Selene's pulse in the other. Still strong, but still unconscious.
"Momma? Momma?" Nyssa's voice was shaky, worry and confusion evident at the sight of her always stalwart mother collapsed against the moldy stones of the castle basement. Reaching out, her blood-coated fingers (some of her own wounds have yet to fully heal) grazed her mother's unblemished skin, leaving a tainted streak behind. Retracting her hand, she wiped it on her half-burnt tank top again and tried not to cry.
We need to get out of here...Nyssa will need a few centuries of therapy as it is, a concerned voice echoed inside Michael's head. Not wasting anymore time, he leaned forward and closed Selene's eyes before wrapping his arm around her waist. He lifted her up over his shoulder, her limp form bumping against his back as he adjusted his hold. Standing, he found himself once again thanking fate for his immortal strength; with his daughter in one arm and his mate in the other, Michael began to make his way toward the large hole William had created in place of the exit.
As he approached the exterior wall, several bullets bounced in at them. "Fuck," he whispered under his voice. Today was just NOT going the way he planned. Today, yesterday, last month, last year, hell-- the last five years seemed to utterly refuse to go smoothly at all. He knew life itself came with a price, but when the only thing you wanted for the longest time is for your own child to not suffer too much at the hands of some pretty sick bastards, it seemed like a new kind of sticker shock. His hold on Nyssa increased out of instinct. He had to get them out of there. Will I be able to get us out or is that not in the cards?
Pivoting on his heel, he turned on his heel and bolted back toward the corridor he was earlier dragged through, figuring a better chance would be to dodge down halls then run into the open courtyard on the side of the castle. Making his way down the hall, he passed several doors with small windows he had not noticed earlier. While you were playing dead, Corvin? I'm sure unconscious people don't sit up and take a fucking tour.
Even his inner monologue was its rope's end. Silencing the damning voice, he continued down the hall before-
"SHIT!" A sting of pain followed by the now familiar warm gush of blood came from a newly placed bullet in his side. Against his will, Michael's knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Nyssa slipped from his hold, steadying herself on wobbly legs and the nearby wall.
"Daddy?" Nyssa crouched down and put her hand to his cheek, trying to look into his eyes, worry and growing terror in her own blues. He stared down the length of the hallway instead, watching and waiting. Seconds passed in complete silence before someone leaned out into view and fired several shots this time. Turning into the wall, all of them flew past the small group, one nearly grazing his shoulder.
I can take them on my own, not with Selene and Nyssa. In a flash decision, he waited until the shooter moved back and the ammunition clip made its signature click out of the gun before springing up and bolting back down the hall, Nyssa's hand in his as she stumbled along at his side. The unknown gunman barely realized what had happened and fired aimlessly at their retreating forms before giving chase. As they neared the doorway back into the boiler room, he skidded to a halt. Inside, several lights flickered on the walls; Michael recognized them as the sights on heavy-duty rifles. The bullets that came in at them before now had guns to go with them.
Of all the times I need a miracle, NOW would be good!
The sound of shattering stone and the rumble of an explosion rocked the basement violently. Michael let Selene slide down, resting her chest to chest with him as he knelt down, grabbing Nyssa and holding to his chest. Crashes and the muted sound of yells from either side of him kept initially didn't garner his attention as stones from right above him shook loose their ancient glue. Around them, a few fell and shattered on the floor, one scraping straight down Michael's back and shooting shards up into Nyssa's hair.
When the rumble subsided, he lifted his head up, shaking it in dog-like fashion to get rid of the itchy dust. That was when he realized that the length of the corridor, the direction which their mystery shooter was located, had been completely blocked off by the collapsed ceiling. A hole opened up to the second floor, but where ever the explosion occurred, it seemed to have caused similar problems above them as well, leaving the opening small and covered over by debris.
"Check the hallways!" Boots, voices and lights came toward the small group, none of them familiar to Michael. Shit. Dealers for sure. He still needed to get his girls someplace safe. Looking just over Selene's head, one door remained unblocked, the window bearing a spider-web crack from the jolt. Situating them in his arms, he crouched low and moved to the now obviously steel door. With a yank, it opened slightly; seeing it unlocked, he passed through the doorway and shut it behind him.
The door actually lead to another short hall, three doors on each side leading into what looked like offices, reminiscent of the set-up for their training rooms at the Clan house. Going all the way down, he kicked the door open to the last office on the right. Inside, he sat Selene against the far wall, wincing as her head made audible contact with the wall. Down on his knees (he seemed to be in this position quite often now), he lifted Nyssa back from his hold and looked into her eyes.
Blood trickled down from her hair from where the rock pieces had sliced into delicate skin. Wiping away the red streaks, he kissed her forehead firmly and cradled her face with his hands. "Stay here with momma, okay?" he asked in a hushed voice. "I have to go...take care of these guys then I'll be back for you."
"N-n-no, daddy, no go," she whimpered, starting to cry again.
"Nyssa, I won't be long. And I'll be back very soon," he soothed her, holding her close again. "Just stay with momma and you'll be safe."
"Daddy," she cried into his shoulder, "I scared!"
He placed her next to Selene, cupping her cheek once more and whispering, "You won't need to be." With that, he kissed her forehead and left, shutting the door into the office and the hall; once they were secured, he transformed, biting back a roar as his muscles expanded and skin changed colors. It seemed as if it took him a mere second to change, the anger and rage from Selene's condition and his daughter's fears funneling down into his inner beast and sending it forth at high speed.
"THERE!" Silently, he lept to the ceiling, blending into the dark and dust; they were not expecting him to be there. As he moved forward silently, he failed to see another set of lights that dipped down from the hole in the floor above.
Pulling the shirt completely over his head, Thomas retrieved an abandoned gun from the floor, quickly checking the mag for ammo. Stepping out into the hallway, he met up with his small group, most of them back to their human forms. Down a ways, two remained in their bestial forms and tore at the corpses' of the vampires. Most of the Dealers were dead; those left fled downstairs, hopefully into the not so friendly fire of the Clan.
"You alright there, Dan?" Thomas asked, grasping his friend's shoulder. The much younger lycan swayed slightly, shaking his head before giving a weak smile.
"Just not used to changing back just yet," he explained, picking at the now crusty scabs from fast healing injuries on his arms. "Where to now?" The rest of the group gathered up, their clothing straight from the deceased Dealers giving off the oddest scent.
"Head back down, reinforce there. Once everything has been cleared, it will be up to Intel to collect the data from their computers. So we can-"
"Thomas!" The group parted slightly as Victoria ran in, her hair tangled as it fell out from her once clean and tight pony tail. "Thomas, we can't find them."
"Find who?"
"Selene, Michael or Nyssa," she gasped, winded from out-running and finally returning fire at two Dealers. "Only a few vamps are left downstairs, but they've clumped together and headed into the basement area. We think that's we're ours may be."
"Alright, you three," he pointed to a trio on his right, "head into the main house for back-up. The rest, follow me. There's a side entrance through the main exterior stairwell we can take to reach the basement. We'll start looking there." The group split accordingly, Victoria following after Thomas as her breath continued to escape her. "Hey," he gently grasped her wrist, causing her to look up at him with tired eyes. "You alright?"
"I'll--I'll be fine," she said, a grim smile on her face. "I'm just worried."
He smirked, "In general? Or specific?"
"Specific. One of the guys said they saw Michael go into the lower levels. And...and that's where the last of the Dealers were headed."
They just keep coming.
Three more vampires came down the stairwell, opening fire without even looking twice. With a growl, he hit the ground on all fours, bounding across the floor. Leaping up, he caught one of the Dealers off-guard, hooking the confused man with his knee and slamming his head into the fiery steel. The loud reverberation of shattering bone simultaneously occurred along with the sizzle of flesh and he sent a half charred body back into the hail of bullets.
But even with the distraction, one, two, three, four! Four more stabbing pains went into his right leg, the flow of blood increasing as the tiny rivulets slipped right in line with the river already created by the holes in his thigh and abdomen. Sliding between furnaces, he pressed his back against one of them, briefly throwing off his attackers. In the dark, tepid air, he found the feel of the hot steel comforting as the wounds on his back sealed and healed fast.
Michael was outnumbered and over-powered, with Dealers flooding in from every direction. And with the number of bullets wedged between his skin and muscles increasing with each passing moment, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. He found himself facing only two options: flee back to Nyssa and Selene or make for the entryway. Going back would allow him to make a getaway with both of them, but with so many, there were few chances of him getting out alive. Keeping them there gave them both a better chance, but he didn't know how long that would be.
Nyssa's voice echoed in his head, making him clap his hands over his ears against the still on-going gunfire. No matter how fearful, how mournful the tone, it was his daughter's voice and it kept the throbbing pain, stretched muscles, and dizziness from losing so much blood out of his immediate thoughts.
"Where the fuck is this thing?"
Guns still fired at random and now lights dotted the floor as they searched between each of the large cylinders for their target.
Do or die, Michael. Do or die. Taking a deep breath, he got down low and angled his legs. Do or die.
It was beyond strange; it was just flat-out scaring her. Nyssa pressed herself back further into the corner, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them close. Despite the remaining chill in her skin from the snow, the chilly water sweating out from the concrete and stone felt amazing. Closing her eyes, she let her head touch the wall and allowed the moisture to soak her already damp hair. A shiver passed down her back, but inside, she knew it wasn't from the room.
Peeking through slitted eyelids, she bit her bottom lip but still let out the tiny whimper, tears pushing past her restraint. Leaning forward, she slid onto her knees and sat there. Once more, she reached out and tentatively touched the even colder surface of her mother's cheek. Her fingers weren't much warmer, but it was almost like dipping them into ice water when she made contact.
Once more, despite her hopes, Selene didn't respond. Her head drooped at an awkward angle, no matter how many times Nyssa tried to prop it up. Calling her name didn't seem to help (Nyssa knew it was Selene, but only said momma several times) and shaking her arm didn't work either. Unsure of exactly what happened, all she could do was watch and wait and hope.
Nyssa's head perked up, the gunshots getting closer and louder. Every so often, she peeked out the door, staring at the tiny shattered window at the end of the hall. She didn't know what she would see, but it let her know nobody had found them yet. Rubbing her arms, she gave a silent prayer that her daddy would return soon and that her momma would wake up.
A tiny movement caught her eye and she jumped forward. "Momma?" she asked, a fearful joy in her voice as she watched for whatever moved. "Momma? Momma wake up, please, wake up." Nothing. Nyssa crawled into Selene's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and sobbed. "Momma? Momma?" Pressing her face into the pure white skin, she realized there was really nothing she could do. As moments passed, Selene not moving to embrace her back, more panic and hurt filled her.
"Momma, open eyes. Open eyes!" The sound of flying bullets and her crying echoed in the room, so much that she barely noticed three fingers closing slightly.
"Located a large group of Dealers, sir."
"Where are they?" Thomas called into the radio, running down the stairs.
"Directly in your path, down in the basement. There's a hole in the first floor they are going down through to meet up."
"Cut off that exit and send all available to the basement." He tossed the radio back to one of his men. "Time to end this shit," he muttered to himself, slapping the UV clip in his semi again for good measure.
Shoving another Dealer aside, Michael lept to the wall, digging his nails into the remains stones of the castle. Dark blue skin and oily black hair blended him in perfectly for a few seconds, allotting him some time to figure out his plan of exit. Straight through them didn't work to well, but as the stones around the opening dropped away, giving signs of the eventual collapse of the structure in its entirety, he figured if he could scale along the walls fast enough, he could get out in the open before exposing his location and drawing them out after him.
The clamor increased and he turned his head, focusing his bottomless eyes on the room before letting them widen in realization: they were coming in from the caved-in hall.
The pull on his jacket gave him a start and he raised his gun. "Put that down, you ass!" Heaving a sigh at the sight of his comrade, he fell into the run of the rest of the Dealers as they pounded down the hall. At the moment, the enemy fire ceased and they took advantage of it. Once familiar paths in the house took on a unearthly appeal, the power outage and moonlight buffered by further snowfall making it feel more like a Cocteau film than anything else.
Every few steps, another pile of ash and half-destroyed equipment greeted the small group as they pushed to a point not know to this particular man. But if they stuck together, they had better chances of surviving. More emotional trigger than instinct made him want to close his ears to the sometimes loud crunch of bone and thick chunks of crisped body tissues. Who knew which one of them they tread over, but there wasn't much time to mourn. Behind them, shouts and the occasional echo of gunfire grew closer.
"Where the fuck are we going?" he whispered fiercely.
"There's a way into the basement. About thirty of us are already down there," the guy tossed over his shoulder. Nodding without the action being seen, he adjusted his grip on his weapon, cradling it closer to him and hoping the half clip of bullets would hold him out long enough to find more ammo.
"Move! Move! Move!" Looking down, he saw what seemed to be a relatively small hole leading to a large mound of rock and rubble and into the darkened lower levels. Each man sat before sliding through and down, the thump of their ground contact alerting the next man to go. When his turn came, he sat down, braced himself and pushed through the hole. First, he smacked his head on the lower half of the crumbling floor then followed up by rocks slicing through his leather pants and into his skin.
Hitting the floor, he stumbled forward, groping around before finding the wall and laid his back against it. A couple of guys went past him, one tapping him on the shoulder to keep moving as they ran the length into the boiler room where firing had just resumed. Closing his eyes for a second, he felt the last of his wounds heal up before shaking his leg out and moving forward. As he went, he realized that the wall he leaned against was actually a door. Curiosity pushed in over the impending fight (what person actually wants to run into battle?) and he peered through the small, spider-webbed glass panel.
A hard thump resounded in the corridor and caught Nyssa's attention. Sniffing up her sobs, she wiped her runny nose on the neck of her tank top, jumping as another bang occurred. Briefly, she looked to her mother, but still unchanged, her lip just trembled and she turned her head away again. Standing up tentatively, she wrung her hands, debating whether or not to see what the origins of the sounds.
The tunnels were blocked by the pile of rocks; it couldn't be the Coven people with their guns and weapons and handcuffs.
Cautiously, her feet took tiny steps forward, part of her going with them, the part reluctant to move any distance from Selene. One more glance, no change; she went to the doorway and pressed to the wall. Angling her head, she looked out into the hall.
At first, their was nothing in there; just the old offices that were supposed to be changed over for the new lab area. Shaking his head, he made another move to go when something appeared in his peripheral vision. Turning into the door, he wiped off the glass with his glove to see better. His jaw dropped when he stared right into the bright blue eyes of a child.
Nyssa froze on the spot, unsure of whether this person was good or bad. When his eyes flashed an icy blue, she knew he wasn't good. The handle to the door rattled and she bolted forward, stubbing her toes and slicing her foot on sharp rocks before falling against the steel. Pressing against it with what little strength she actually had left, she searched frantically with her eyes, trying to find something to brace the door.
Out of nowhere, something came down on her head, striking her skull hard and right across the middle. Stumbling away for a second, she cradled her head and turned to see what it was. A metal bar, attached to the wall nearby, shook loose from its upright position, crashing down on her head before falling the rest of the distance to the latch point across the door.
The door rattled on its frame, the man now slamming his body into it as he tried to get in. Falling back on her hands for a second, Nyssa scrambled back the short distance, almost to the room where Selene lay when a short explosion sounded and a horrible sting ripped through her arm, causing her to loose a scream. Grabbing at the pain, she dropped down on her knees in pain at her mother's feet. Pulling her hand back, she gasped at the sight of her blood dripping from her fingers.
Throwing herself against Selene, she shook her as hard as one good limb allowed. "Momma! Momma please wake up! Please! Momma, they coming! Please...please momma!" she moaned, banging her tiny fist against Selene's shoulder in another vain attempt to wake her. Touching her face, her blood staining her mother's pure skin, she put them forehead-to-forehead. "Please" she begged in a whisper, trying to ignore the crunch of metal as the door was finally giving way.
"She's in here!" Nyssa's eyes grew wide, tears spilling over her cheeks faster. Looking at the unconscious woman before her, she realized her only chance was if Selene actually woke or her daddy came back. And the door to this room did not have a lock. When boot steps came closer, she rose up and ran to the doorway. They came closer and she ran across the hall, screaming as they fired at her. Throwing the door shut to the other office, she turned the tiny switch lock and sat down against it.
"Momma, daddy," she whispered, sobbing loudly as they began to pound on this door as well.
"Shit! They're blocking the stairwell!" Thomas nodded to Anna, her group coming up behind her. "Take 'em out!" Reaching across to one of the guys next to her, she pulled off one of the grenades hanging off his belt. Pulling the pin out with her teeth, she spit it to the side and wound up her arm.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" she screamed before hurling at the three or four Dealers that stood around in a semi-circle. The grenade bounced before them, going between one of their legs before landing right atop the pile of stones just below the hole in the floor.
Nyssa felt the rumble, the entire room rocking on its sides before the stones started to crunch and fall, first out in the hall, then in the room she hid in. As a large chunk of rock came careening down at her, she dove away, sliding across the floor and into the far wall. Wrapping her hands around her head, she braced herself as the ceiling continued to fall in faster, larger pieces.
"We found the kid!" Above the din of the explosion, Michael heard that loud and clear. Oh God. Nyssa! Just above the doorway on the wall, he let go, tumbling for a second before landing on all fours. One of the Dealers turned around and bared fangs at him.
"Fuck that! Shoot him!" The group rushed forward, opening fire on him. Michael bolted out the door, hoping all of them were following.
It was so strange. Like floating in warm salt water, waves washing over and making everything soft and comfortable. The perfect temperature, air, smell and touch dancing about the senses; this place had to be somewhere close to heaven if not being there. No, it wasn't heaven, because in heaven, there would be...
Cold. Loneliness. Death. Hours of blissful abandon and perfect contemplation were gone. For the first time in a long time, the true surroundings could be felt and known by the body. Pressure, heavy pressure on the legs, the arms, even the chest caused the muscles to spasm in a scared rebellion. Something wet dropped down, causing fingers to retract in an attempt to keep some warmth. Another moisture, slipping down from hairline to the nose bridge, spilling down the side and to the upper lip.
Tumbling over pale, plump lips, it touched a sleeping tongue and surged life back into the body.
Blood. Pain. Hurt. Tears. Screaming. Throat throbbing. Lungs Burning. Burning. Fire. Ash.
Oh God.
"Nyssa!" A hoarse whisper came from her cracked lips and Selene's eyes shot open.
Nyssa came to at the sound of muffled voices, coughing and blinking the inch thick dust out of her eyes. Everything was darker than before, the flood lights pushing through the cracks in the pile of rubble above her. Attempting to reach out, she found the bullet-torn arm pinned down, the other pulsing with pain as blood ran down to her shoulder and chest; both legs hurt too much when she flexed the muscles, she didn't even want to try moving them fully. Despite the pain, she pushed up with her available arm, moving the stone immediately in her path slightly to the left before her strength gave out.
Resting for a second, she closed her eyes even with the grit and dirt still tucked beneath her eyelids. It further encouraged the tears that stopped only when she blacked out briefly. Pressing her hand to her face, she meant to keep herself together only to fall apart as the sweet scent and sticky feeling of her own blood coated her brow. It wasn't just her own precarious situation that brought her back to tears, but knowing that her mother might be trapped as well and that they were both alone made it even worse.
"Momma," she sobbed softly, wiping the back of her hand on her face. If anything, her sticky skin would probably get rid of some of the dirt.
Sitting up, she managed to shift her other arm out, the moisture from the rocks making it just wet enough that gentle tug would free her limb. With the tiny light available, she checked and found the bullet halfway sticking out of her skin and pinched it out carefully. After a few seconds, Nyssa began to clear the rubble around her legs away as best she could, the large pieces too much for her weakened form. Leaning forward, she lifted a bloodied rock up and tossed it to the side, revealing shredded skin and a bone jutting out, muscle torn up and pierced by the sharp edges.
Biting back the urge to cry out, she pressed her lips into a tight line and dropped her face into her hands. Now she really was stuck, at least until her body mended itself. Laying back, she rested a few seconds, focusing on all her energy on healing and remembering as many of the happy memories of her parents that she could recount without crying any more.
Suddenly, the light grew much brighter and she squished her closed eyes. Putting up her hands as a shield, she cocked her head to the side.
"Daddy?" she whispered.
"Gotcha," a low, deep voice replied. The light dimmed to reveal a red laser aimed straight for her head, the nozzle of a gun sticking in through an opening in the dust. Unable to move any distance, trapped beneath stone, and unintentionally abandoned, Nyssa did the only thing she could do.
She screamed.
Oh God. Nyssa. Where am I? Where's Michael? What happened? Where is my daughter? Where is Nyssa?
Gathering stock of her surroundings, the emotions and events of the last day flooded back to her, bringing her hands to her face, trying to shield herself from reality. Sitting forward, she pulled her leg up, dropping her head down to rest on her knee. She barely noticed the far portion of the ceiling now resting on the floor, this one not so bad as the ones across the hall. Several small cuts and bruises littered her body, blood already crusted over and healing.
Selene wanted to cry. It hurt so much that tears would not come, not just spill out as easily as they did for everyone else. Silently, she cursed her near 600 years of mere existence. A machine, a killing machine, the perfect warrior, perfectly devoid of emotion...nothing, nothing that she was or had been gave her the strength to let go and just cry when she wanted. And it was all she wanted, just to weep now.
Yet here she was, a shell, devoid of everything except the vision of watching that limp, lifeless form being thrown maliciously into the all consuming fire.
Her face drew into its darkest form, pale white and pitch black at the same time. If she couldn't let it out, she would internalize it, going back to her early days as a Death Dealer: cold, cutting, efficient killer. Not feeling pain had its advantages in this war.
The click-clack of falling rock and crunch of it as well reached her ears. "Gotcha." The voice was so muted, she thought she imagined it.
A scream shattered the air, cutting straight through and clawing at her heart. Every cell in her body reacted, firing up in blur of instinctual emotions as it recognized the pitch and sound.
"Nyssa?" Her voice was so low, she could barely hear it. Another voice came in and went rapidly. But then the screaming stopped for a second for a clear concise word came out.
"MOMMA!"
Scared beyond anything as she stared into the black barrel, she screamed for her mother again even though she probably still laid unconscious in the room across the hall. Everything occurred in slow motion, as the man began to pull the trigger. A rush of memories, some recent and completely visual, other dark and terrifying, flashed before her closed eyes and she just screamed louder.
"MOMMA!"
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
Braving it, she barely opened her one eye. Then she opened both of them, looking around confused.
The gun and the man were gone.
"Gotcha!" He could hear the team behind him, moving the rocks aside. Thankfully, he didn't lose radio contact and was able to get someone's attention in the boiler room.
"Almost in," his headset crackled as he stared down at his quarry. At first, the child just went wide-eyed, a deer in headlights. Then she opened her mouth and loosed the most deafening scream he ever heard. At first, he let go of the gun and ducked away, crying out as pain shot through his right ear followed by a ringing noise and a rush of warmth. Looking at his hand, he saw not only blood, but something small and thin; his eardrum had torn and now laid in his hand.
"Shut the fuck up!" he cried, shaking from his own voice and her scream. Raising his gun, he was shocked to find her pause before crying out for her mother. Finger on the trigger, he went to fire when he locked up. Gasping for air, but finding nothing but searing pain, he stumbled backward and fell to the ground. Everything started to get fuzzy, blackness dipping into his vision, and making two dangerously silver eyes glow even brighter in his mind.
"Where is he? He said he found the girl!" About six dealers climbed through the partially blocked doorway, leaping a small distance to the ground. Only one half of the hallway, the one closest to the explosion, caved in fully; the other side remained decently intact. An annoying buzz came over their headsets, each one pausing to hear.
"Front half continue after the hybrid. Everyone else return; enemies coming in through east stairwell."
"Should we go?" one of them asked. "We're closest."
"No. Kill this thing then we'll go," another responded in a much quieter tone. "He said she's in one of the last rooms. But check all of them otherwise."
Splitting three and three, the moved along the corridor. One by one, they opened the doors to each of the offices, they checked them in tactical fashion. Some of them were completely blocked, the walls and ceiling hanging at harsh angles. For those rooms, they only picked through some of it before closing it up tightly and throwing an exterior bar lock. Outside, they could hear muffled gunfire and movement; inside, they heard nothing.
"Stop!" the one whispered again. Everyone froze, concentrating on whatever their comrade discovered. What he discovered was yet to be told. Then they heard it; a sound muffled by the many pieces of rock. He pointed to the last door on the left, raising his gun and moving stealth-mode toward it. Each of them followed, some kneeling, others standing, forming a barrier of immortals and guns; even the castle rats would have a hell of a time breaking through such an offensive.
He turned, stepping up and grasping the door handle. Nodding his head, he mouthed, "One, two, three." Yanking the door back, they unleashed a storm of bullets and fire. Since their weapons were semis, they simply pressed harder on the triggers and emptied most of their current clips into the open doorway. After about a minute, he waved them to a halt. Lowering their weapons, they waited as the last of the bullets finished bouncing about on the concrete and the smoke passed before surveying the damage. All of them took a step forward, searching the room from a distance with just their eyes.
Holding the door with his back now, the Dealer slid forward, taking a deep breath before turning to stand just inside the room. A confused gasp escaped him. "She's not in here."
Everyone jumped back when he was yanked to the side, the sound of his yelling cut short by a wet gagging noise. Seconds passed before something was thrown out at them. As it smacked the floor and rolled toward them, it was all they could do to prevent dry heaving when they realized it was their fellow warrior's heart, but had little chance of actually taking full stock of it before fire was returned, sending them all to the ground.
Out of nowhere, the Dealers started to drop. Michael flicked his wrist, breaking the neck of the vampire in his grasp and looked over. Recognition kicked in as the Clan filtered out of the house and into the snowy field again. He watched as they came up behind the small group of Dealers, silently at first, then opened fire, catching them off guard as they pumped UV ammo out of their guns and into their bodies.
Dodging bullets, he charged at the three men before him, slashing out the face of the man on his left before colliding with the two directly in front of him. The one managed to get out of his hold, rolling up onto one knee and taking aim. Balling his fist, he brought it down, crushing the throat of the one he pinned down and leaping away as the gun went off. On all fours, he ran around the vampire, who fought to keep up with his speed and the low visibility from the renewed snowfall.
He lost sight of the hybrid, turning around on his knees to try and find him again. Then a low growl came up just behind his ear and everything went black. Michael sneered as the vampire fell limply into the snow, roaring in satisfaction at his kill. Standing, he ran straight into the thick of the battle, his animal instincts awake and pulsing energy through his body. But even so, his human side remained loud and clear and he continued his invisible concern for his daughter and mate.
Unwrapping her hands from around her head again, Nyssa sat up with a shiver as she rose from the biting cold of the ground. From the guy and gun disappearing, then the sound of someone dying, more gunfire, and further horrible noises, made her want to stay where she was. It had been a few minutes since those sounds stopped and the only thing that reached her was the now heavy scent of blood that made her stomach rumble (how long was it since she had last eaten?) and her senses go crazy.
Wiggling her toes again, she gave a shaky sigh and carefully drew her legs out from beneath the sheets of cement. Bones had fused back together, allowing her skin to heal as well. As she bent her knees, drawing them up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she winced as the newly formed tissues cracked slightly from movement. Touching both forearms, she found that both the bullet wound and the cuts on her arms has also healed.
Pressing her face into her knees, Nyssa considered her next move...as carefully as a four year old could. It was very quiet and most of the sounds had ended a while ago. Michael had not returned and she still didn't know anything about Selene's situation. And as scared as she was, even worse was her fear that she had been left behind, that she would truly die here, alone again.
Steeling herself, she put both hands on the largest piece of debris, the one that protected her when people started firing in the room, and pressed up. At first, it refused to budge, only straining the weakened muscles in her arms. Resisting the temptation to stop, she adjusted her arms, spreading her hands further apart and leaning her body into the stone. After a quick mental countdown, she shoved into it, gritting her teeth and using all of the strength she had to make it move. Nothing happened; then, it tilted. No extreme angle, but the dirt holding it in place loosened, slipping down and allowing the piece to shift to the side. Grabbing the broken edge of the concrete with both hands, she managed to push it off to the side where it slipped from her grasp and fell atop a dirt pile.
She paused, looking over the entire room and doorway that was visible from her position before moving to stand. Her joints popped loudly, a combination of healing, lack of use, and the cold making them ache as she stood fully. Automatically, her arms went up, back cracking, a soft sigh coming out before she looked down and gasped. Scrambling back, she went against the wall, breathing heavily.
His face was familiar; it was the man who had been trying to shoot her earlier. Instead of sneering blue eyes and a wicked grin, his head hung at an odd angle, face contorted into one of agony. Nyssa fought back nausea, clapping a hand over her mouth when she saw the large, gaping hole in his chest. That wasn't natural and she closed her eyes thinking what happened to make that vacant space.
Stepping carefully, she managed her way over the broken walls, heading toward the door and keeping as far away from the man as she could get; yet she found herself unable to stop staring. Stopping at the doorway, she gave him one last look over, the site slightly dulled by her short study, before looking out into the hallway.
Now she really wanted to go back behind the stones.
Even in the dimmed light, it wasn't hard to make out the distinct shapes of the six bodies haphazardly strewn about the room. Blood caked a good percentage of the walls, the darker spots made up of torn and discarded flesh. Some of them lay face down, others on their side or back, exposing similar wounds to the first man she saw. Not that they all had huge holes in their bodies, but deep punctures, torn throats...one even looked like someone just ripped down all the skin on his stomach, his congealed blood coating the floor.
The once sweet smell turned into a rancorous stench and made Nyssa wretch. She wanted to throw up, but there was nothing in her stomach to expel. Instead, she put her other hand to her face and started to stumble her way out. At first, she took it slow, making sure to avoid the sharp rocks, some having large metal rods and wires sticking out. Only a few feet from the door, she had to maneuver over a deeply angled piece. Sitting on the edge of it, she grabbed onto the top of the piece and angled her feet carefully, trying to prevent any serious damage to them. Letting go of the edge, she skidded her feet down, down, down until they touched the floor.
Then something cold, gooey, and thick coated the bottom of her foot. Shrieking, she jumped to the left, landing on a shaky piece of concrete that rocked but held her weight. Not realizing that she clamped her eyes shut, she parted one and peered down.
Then she allowed herself to throw up.
Unable to identify it specifically, but still able to realize that it belonged deep inside someone's body, she scooted down along the piece of stone, wiping away the remnants of the vomit with the back of her hand then onto her pant leg. Going over a few more larger pieces, she found herself unable to stop staring. The intestine trailed back to its owner, revealing yet another body. Flat on his back, the Dealer's vest was torn away, along with the sheet of skin that covered his belly. The usually thick layer of fat protecting the organs was strung out, caught on the various twists and turns of the belly as they spilled over the skin walls and muscle bound ribs. Blood and squashed organs matted the floor and Nyssa had to hop-step a few more spots to get to the doorway.
Leaning against the frame, she looked for a few seconds longer. Icy cold winter howled through the hall, sending a horrible chill up and down her back. Blinking a few times, she turned on her shoulder and stepped out of the room just in time to catch herself again.
Floodlights filled the hallways, a combination of snow and dust whirling about and casting an eerie glow. But through the air, the bare light drew harsh outlines, defining the bodies from their exposed innards. It seemed like corpses just went on and on...and as she started to step through them, it became more apparent that they did. Mouth hanging open slightly, hand pressing over it, she walked the small path that seemed to be cut straight through them.
She couldn't describe it if she tried. Everywhere, Dealers and their bodily fluids matted the floors, walls, even the ceiling didn't escape what appeared to be a blood-bathed melee. Repeatedly, they followed a fashion, some less mutilated than others, but all had some margin of skin torn away, blood and tissue melding together on the stones. Atop the voracious stench of the dead, smoke and discharged gun powder battled out for supremacy in her nostrils.
After a pathway carved of fallen enemies, and nearly getting sick again, she came out into the boiler room. Here, there were also bodies but more spread across the length of the large hall. Mercifully, the winter air cut the heat and made the smell less prominent. Moving against the wall, Nyssa kept her eyes fixated on the floors, trying to avoid looking directly at anything (or anyone). Her ears perked, the sound of shouting echoing from beyond the gaping hole in the distant wall. Squinting, she couldn't make out anyone there, only the swirl of more snow as it fell from the sky again. And she was thankful for that; she didn't want to see anymore death. Her body, though healed of its wounds, still felt tapped for energy, emotional and physical.
Then she saw someone sitting up, chest heaving against the black leather that bound them. Eyes widening, she felt her mouth go completely dry.
"Momma?"
Even with the lack of light in the boiler room, there was just enough that Selene's still very blue eyes glowed like full moons in the darkness. Kneeling on the floor, pressing her hand to the few bullet wounds left unclosed, she stared at her daughter, almost unbelieving that she was there. Tears built up then tumbled down her pale cheeks in thick, fat droplets, cutting a path through the blood specks and grime. The tremble built up in her chest and reverberated harder, causing pain that she barely recognized.
"Nyssa?" she whispered. For all she was while she killed the remainder of the Dealers, somehow, she was coming up short of belief in her senses at this moment.
Stumbling over the bodies as she ran, Nyssa sobbed aloud, "Momma! Momma!" before tripping and falling right into her lap.
Selene did nothing at first, her only visible reaction was her breathing becoming labored and heavy. Her eyes were wide, disbelieving; the pain in her body seemed to disappear as it grew more apparent that this wasn't a desperate illusion. Nyssa looked up at her, confused why she wasn't trying to hug or hold her. It was the blue, that shimmering, sparkling blue that filled her eyes that brought Selene out of the haze.
Carefully, as if she were touching a butterfly's wings, she placed her hands on both sides of Nyssa's face. Pulling her up into her arms, Selene loosed a short cry, her entire body convulsing with the long-withheld tears. For a few seconds, just tears fell, her mouth open just slightly as she gasped silently for air. Nothing seemed to move; not them, not the air, not even time. Everything was still and silent.
Then Nyssa tightened her hold on her shoulders, pressing her face into her neck, tears wetting the exposed skin there. And it seemed like the entire room shook with Selene's sobs. They verged almost on screaming, growing more desperate and wonderfully horrible as she finally let go of her reserves and cried. Her muscles spasmed with each exhale, the sound rattling her bones and twisting everything inside into knots.
Nyssa pulled back slightly, looking into her mother's face with blurry vision. Selene stared back, her lips curling back over her teeth as she bit down on them. Running her hand over the child's forehead and into her hair, she kissed her several times, pressing their faces together before bringing her back into her embrace.
"Thank you," Selene mouthed, wild sobs still coming out of her. "Thank you." A slow warmth covered her back and she leaned into it, shuddering as a pair of arms pulled her even closer. Her head lolled to the side and she pressed her face into moist, heated skin. "She's-she's-" her voice failed her and she grit her teeth together. "Michael..."
"I know," he whispered, kissing her temple. His hand traced over daughter's head, brushing through her hair lightly as he leaned over Selene's shoulder and gently kissed her as well. Watery blue eyes looked up at him and when realization dawned on her, she reached out her arm for him. A few brief movements found Nyssa pressed between them, chest to chest with her mother and her father's face in the crook of her neck.
It would be years later when she would look back and smile at that moment. When piles of rubble, blood-spattered walls and air thick with death brought about the true end to the war and the beginning of Nyssa's life.
until next chapter,
anthestria