Nothing could prepare Maes Hughes for the outcome of Grumman and the Hunter's brief conversation. He stood just as shocked as everyone else as the woman raised her gun and fired at the werewolf. It hit him in the chest but everything was a blur after that. The only thing Maes knew was the screaming. Both of rage and terror. A deafening crack filled the air as many werewolves changed at once. It lasted a couple of seconds as every werewolf in the settlement stood and charged the small army of Hunters the three had brought with them.
Said army had appeared out of nowhere. The vampire's initial guess had been about one hundred Hunters marching up the road, but the shock of the events drew his attention away. More now continued up the road. There had been no signal from those on the borders of the settlement. Maes hoped the supernatural being stationed there had simply missed them passing through. But he knew it was a naive wish.
As the residents of the settlement, Grumman's people, began their assault for their fallen leader Maes made his way over to the werewolf. Roy was hot on his heels as a wolf. A growl emitted from his throat, one that spoke of the promise of revenge. Pinako was already by Grumman's side. Muttering under her breath and waving her hands in quick succession, she began to heal him.
"Can you stand?" Maes asked. There was no time to waste on trivial questions. But there was no reply as the old werewolf began to foam at the mouth. An angry redness had appeared around his eyes and nose.
"Shit," Pinako muttered. Her normally composed expression was frantic, her eyes wide in panic.
"Let's get him to the bunker."
Pinako shook her head. Around them the battle continued. The air was filled with a symphony of growls, snarls, and screams. There had been no more gunshots, thankfully. Roy shifted his weight, blocking Maes' view from what was going on around them. "Hospital." Maes nodded and scooped the man up into his arms, sprinting for the small hospital. Roy bounded after them, Pinako on his back.
That was when the gunshots started again. Maes' stomach twisted at the sound, instinctively ducking. He lengthened his stride and arrived within ten seconds. Whines of pain and howls filled the air, along with the thunder of paws as wolves scattered through the trees.
Riza stopped walking up the mountain trail, turning to look back down at the settlement as howls of pain filled the air. Her eyes widened and the breath almost left her at the sound. It felt as though if she stared long enough at the tress covering the main square, she would be able to make out what was happening down there.
"Riza?" Gracia asked nervously. She clutched her daughter closer to her chest. The young vampire had put up no fight as her mother lifted her into her arms. They all knew it would be a comfort to Gracia, so Elicia hadn't fought it. Now, the girl was alert and scanning the forest herself.
"I…" Riza had never felt so torn in her whole life. She had people down there suffering. But she needed to get the humans to safety.
"Go." Elicia stated. "We can take care of everyone." Riza stared at her, noting the determination in her eyes. There was a hint of fear, probably for her father who was unaccounted for.
Making her decision, Riza shook her head. The humans here were still her people, and they needed her more. "Come on, let's go." She changed into her wolf form and lowered her body to the ground. Gracia hopped on her back wordlessly. Elicia spoke to others, offering to carry them so they would move faster. In the months they had been at the settlement Elicia had stolen the hearts of almost everyone there. So they did not question her when she offered them a lift up the steep path. Now that everything had gone to shit, it was imperative they reached their destination as soon as possible.
Riza made numerous trips, but within five minutes, everyone was accounted for. The thirty or so humans and vulnerable members of their community were huddled inside the bunker. Some paced backwards and forwards. Others had taken up rifles into the sniper posts, keen to offer any help they could to those down in the forest below. Riza wasn't even aware such posts existed.
A deafening crack filled the stone gave, followed by a series of gasps. Two werewolves now stood at the mouth of the cave, their backs to Riza. Kimblee stood facing them, a grin on his face.
How the fuck did he get out?!
Before a word could be spoken the brown werewolf sprang forward, its jaws aiming for his head. Kimblee dodged swiftly, but he was knocked over by the other grey one. The grey wolf had him pinned now. Kimblee struggled for a moment, then he grinned. From nowhere, a crossbow bolt was embedded in the wolf's eye. It slumped to the side, dead, to the sound of numerous screams. The other wolf howled. Riza cringed at the sound bouncing off the walls in the cave. The screaming stopped, followed by sobs. The faint smell of wolfs bane reached her nostrils.
The bolt had been coated in wolfs bane.
Riza snarled and changed herself while the other werewolf launched another attack. Kimblee continued to dodge, but not as confidently as he would have liked. Once Riza entered the fray, they took him down in about a minute. While Riza had Kimblee pinned, the other wolf sprinted out the cave to find their mystery shooter.
Kimblee chuckled to himself beneath her pause. "I told you this was only the beginning." Riza snarled, placing her monster paw over his face. The plan had been to press down just enough that it shut him up, but rage overtook her and soon her whole weight was on his face. Curses flew from his mouth, but it was satisfyingly muffled as she all but suffocated the bastard.
"There is no one –" A snap drew Riza's attention off Kimblee. The vampire from the cave stood behind the wolf. She snapped his neck. A slow grin overtook her features as the man fell. Riza felt the pressure on Kimblee loosening.
He threw her off of him, lifting his legs and kicking her in the stomach. The air left her lungs in a rush. Riza quickly recovered, snarling once more.
"Nice to see you again," the female vampire purred. That same maniacal look was in her eyes. "You surprise me Riza Hawkeye. I thought you would have been dead by now."
Riza jumped at her, jaws snapping. Rage was the only thing that propelled her now. Her vision took on a tinge of red as she reached the vampire. The woman did nothing to fight her off. She simply stepped aside.
Riza, you need to get a grip. Fighting angry will get you nowhere!
But she couldn't get a handle on her temper. Everything she had gone through these last couple of months was because of this woman. All those sleepless nights. All those nightmares. All the suffering was because of this vampire.
God help her.
Another attack from Riza resulted in another dodge. It took a couple of minutes, but Breda's training slowly kicked in. She didn't try to stop herself from becoming angry, Riza simple used it as a weapon.
The vampire, clearly bored with their game, began to fight back. That was all Riza needed. Let the woman believe she was being clumsy and uncoordinated because of her rage.
"It's a shame. I thought you would have put up a better fight than your mother."
Something snapped. With a viscious snarl that left the woman wide eyed, Riza charged.
When the vampire's arms stretched out, as if to grasp Riza's muzzle, Riza dipped her head, butting her arms upwards, throwing the vampire off balance. Eyes widening even more, the vampire stumbled forwards. Riza closed her jaws around her torso, just under her armpit, biting down hard. The vampire shrieked both in pain and fury. Hands grabbed Riza's fur, desperately trying to pull the wolf away from her body. But Riza's teeth were in deep and she wasn't going to let go. Not for that comment. Awful tasting blood filled her mouth, coating her teeth. She almost gagged, but remained steadfast. The vampire continued to grab at Riza's fur, pulling it with all her strength. It stung, like when Jean used to pull her hair as a child when he was annoyed.
"Drop her," Kimblee ordered. Riza's gaze flicked up to him. He held Elicia in front of him, a hand on the girl's neck.
"No!" Gracia sobbed. The woman made no move over to her child, afraid that if she did Kimblee would hurt her. The others around her looked equally as afraid. Some did not hide their disdain for the man.
Riza looked down at the young vampire. She blinked twice at Riza. The wolf's eyes moved to Gracia who looked at Riza desperately. Kimblee knew he had her stuck. Reluctantly, she loosed her grip on the vampire's torso. The vampire stumbled away, letting loose a whole string of curses.
A wicked smile appeared on Kimblee's face. Riza watched as his grip tightened on Elicia's neck, going for a killing blow. What he didn't anticipate, however, was just how capable a fighter Elicia was. Or, even what she was.
Both Riza and Elicia had trained together often. The werewolf wanted to ensure the young vampire would know what to do should danger ever come calling to her doorstep. Riza had been impressed at the six year old's ability to pick up different defensive manoeuvres.
Elicia's hand rose to grab Kimblee's forearm in a flash. She yanked the hand forward, away from her neck. He was too shocked to move. The satisfaction Riza felt at seeing the shocked look on his face was unbelievable. Once his arm was away from Elicia's body, she dipped her stance, placed her other hand on the same forearm and threw him over her shoulder. He landed next to his vampire friend with a satisfying thump.
His head popped up comically, peering down his body at the young vampire. "You bitch," he snarled.
"Enough of this Kimblee. We are done here."
"No," he snarled. "We are not."
The two shared a look at Riza braced herself for another attack. Elicia moved to stand by Riza's side, but she was knocked out of the way by Kimblee who raced past her. Riza turned to watch his trajectory, noting how he was moving directly for Gracia.
Riza barked at the woman, a warning, but there was a prick under her fur and a rush of warmth. Looking behind her in horror, Riza saw the female vampire with a syringe in her hand. It held an extremely familiar colour of liquid. Riza felt herself slump involuntarily, the action happening in an instant. Then the pain came. Wave upon wave of pain crashed over her. It felt like her blood was boiling under her skin. The wolf thrashed on the floor, kicking out towards the vampire. Contact was made, but Riza couldn't comprehend the satisfaction. Someone cried out from inside the cave as Riza continued to writhe on the floor.
A flash crossed her vision, but Riza was struggling to make out the shapes. She could have sworn she saw something small and blonde shooting towards the woman like a bullet. There was a shriek and then it was cut off, followed by silence. The blonde hair flashed once again, heading in the opposite direction. Then, someone else cried out. A male voice. Then silence.
Then crying.
Riza changed into her human form, gasping for air. Rolling onto her stomach, Riza took in the scene before her. Two bodies were now on the floor. Both their vampire attackers were dead on the floor. Black marks surrounded their eyes and mouths, like soot. Where eyes should have been lay gaping empty sockets. Riza felt bile rise on her throat, but she wasn't sure if it was from the sight or the poison raging through her body.
In a flash she was transported back to that cave.
Her arms ached from the pressure of being restrained. Maddening laughter filled her ears, coming from a vampire that Riza had just confirmed was dead. Her blood continued to boil.
"Riza!" Elicia screamed.
Something clicked in the werewolf's mind. Suddenly, the pain was gone. The vision was gone. She was left breathless lying on the cave floor. Riza panted as Elicia continued to call her name from within the cave. Someone was in front of her, asking if she was all right. Riza looked up into their concerned face, unsure of how to answer. She was too scared to confirm that the pain was gone. Because what pain could disappear like that? It had felt so real, being back in that damned cave. The only sensation Riza was left with was a tingle along every inch of her skin.
"Riza!"
Snapping into a kneeling position, Riza turned to look at Elicia. Her eyes widened and heart stopped as her brain finally comprehended what she was seeing.
Elicia was crying and kneeling on the ground next to her mother. The latter was clutching her neck as blood spilled from a wound there. Scrambling to her feet, Riza fell to Gracia's side in an instant.
"What happened?"
"The man was too fast," Elicia sobbed. "I couldn't stop him from hurting her. I tried, but he didn't stop! You need to help her!"
Gone was the mystery of her brief period of pain. That was something to figure out another time. Although, every movement was still cautious, as if anything sudden would set off a flare of pain. What had happened?
"I'll go get your father," Riza replied. Elicia's bloody hand clutched her arm, eyes begging her not to leave her. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Riza sprinted out into the eerily silent air. She changed into her wolf form as she ran, thundering down the mountain. She had to get to Maes. She had to. Gracia was dying and the only person who could save her life was him.
Roy watched as Maes' world stopped before his very eyes. Riza's words made Roy's blood run cold. But Maes… He wore the look of a man whose world has just ended.
"Where?" he choked out.
"The bunker."
Without another word the vampire vanished through the doors. Riza made a move to follow him, but Roy placed a hand on her arm. "Riza, wait." She gave him a questioning look, which quickly turned to dread.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"It's Grumman."
Riza's gaze flicked behind him through the double doors, desperate to catch a glimpse of her grandfather. Roy knew she wouldn't be able to see him from this angle. So he led the way as Riza pushed past him, bursting into the same room she had been in upon her arrival. Berthold was standing beside the bed, his rifle raised and aimed at the newcomers. Upon recognising his daughter, the gun lowered. His grip on it, didn't. Hunters were still crawling all over the settlement. When Riza burst through the door to speak to Maes' fear gripped Roy at the thought of her noisily charging through the forest to get to them, unaware of what was lurking in the trees. It must have been serious and important if the look on her face was anything to judge by. And it was.
Roy wanted nothing more than to follow his oldest friend up into the bunker to see to the woman whom he called a sister. But he knew Riza would need support here too. One of her last remaining family members, one she had only known about for a couple of months, was currently at death's door. Roy would be damned if he left her here to deal with this alone. Berthold was here at least, but Roy still wasn't sure where they both stood on their relationship.
Not to mention the fact that the thought of leaving Riza alone while the world around them was filled with people looking to kill them was completely unappealing.
"Will he be okay?" she whispered. Berthold held her gaze, before returning to his father in law.
"Only time will tell," the man replied. Riza had stepped up to her grandfather's bedside. She didn't protest when Berthold gripped her hand tightly.
Each step through the forest sounded in time with the one thought in Maes' mind.
Gracia. Gracia. Gracia.
A Hunter spun out from behind a tree, a crossbow aimed in his face. Maes grasped their arm, not even noticing the feeling of the socket popping as the man's shoulder was dislocated. His cry of pain only pushed Maes forwards.
They had done this to her.
Another spun out, his face angry at the sight of Maes' hurting his friend. This one received a blow to his face in the form of a crossbow. Maes rammed it right into his nose without remorse. The man dropped to his knees.
A crossbow bolt flew through the air behind him but Maes leaned away from it effortlessly. They were not his concern and anyone who got in his way to get to Gracia would not meet a pleasant end.
The vampire's heart stopped as he heard Elicia sobbing. The human's in the cave barely comprehended his arrival as he fell to his knees before his wife. He had moved too fast for their eyes to pick up. Some jumped or cried out in surprise, but that was all blocked out. As far as Maes was concerned, the only people in that cave was his small family.
It is all kicking oFF
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think :D