A/N: More song lyric titles… This one comes from Night Shift's 'Ranjena,' and reputedly means, "Better than dead forever." Anyway, now we see Nikola's adventures in time. Very exciting, yes?
Disclaimer: I own only what I created, which is only mentioned in one sentence in this chapter.
Chapter Seven: Bolje Nego Mrtva Zauvek
Tesla stood on a wooded hillside. He had purposely aimed the time machine a fair distance from the city. He didn't want it being discovered and potentially destroyed. He placed the small case he had brought with him into his pocket and walked through the woods to the vampire city that he had only ever seen in ruins. He stepped out of the trees at the top of a small cliff, and the grand city of Bhalasaam stretched out before him. Vampires moved around the city, seemingly unaware of his presence, so he crept down the hillside.
His plan was simple. Procure a sample of vampire blood and get back to the time machine. The odds of said plan going smoothly were slim. Tesla approached the city and walked alongside one of the buildings. He rounded a corner and met with four unhappy looking vampires. They stopped when they saw him.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"Just a humble admirer of your great kind," Tesla replied with a cocky grin.
Another vampire quickly moved around Tesla, grabbing him by the shoulders. Tesla winced as he squeezed his wounded shoulder.
"You're human," the vampire behind him said.
"Well, not entirely," Tesla argued, causing the vampire to squeeze his shoulder harder. Led by the other three, the one behind him dragged him into the building he had been walking around, throwing him down onto the floor. He sat hunched over on the floor, clutching his shoulder. It was bleeding again, and in a city full of vampires, that couldn't be a good thing. He took a few deep breaths and got to his feet, looking up to face his captors.
All Tesla saw was a blur of claws as they sliced across his chest, knocking him to the floor again. The vampire who had first spoken licked the blood off of his claws.
"Interesting," he said. "You don't taste human."
"Yes," Tesla said, lifting himself into a sitting position. "That's what I said." He examined the gashes on his chest. "Was that really necessary?"
"Where did you come from?" the vampire asked.
"Oh, around," Tesla replied, attempting nonchalance despite the stinging pain of the gashes. He surveyed the room, looking for anything that could aid him. He spotted a large metal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. He looked casually back down at the vampires. "I don't suppose any of you are going to cooperate while try to steal some of your blood." The expressions of the vampires indicated a strong negative. "No, I didn't think so," Tesla said, gesturing up to the chandelier and magnetically pulling it down on top of the vampires. Two of them dropped to the floor, but the other two were only momentarily stunned. Tesla levitated the chandelier off of the floor and threw it sideways into them. The metal arms impaled the two vampires and stuck into the wall behind them.
"You two just… stay there," Tesla said as they began trying to free themselves. Quickly, he went and knelt by one of the unconscious vampires on the floor. He took the black case from his pocket and pulled a few things out of it, setting them on the floor. He took one of them, a syringe with a hypodermic needle, and filled it with a sample of the vampire's blood. He went to put the syringe back in the case when the vampire's eyes shot open.
Tesla dropped the syringe and it rolled several feet across the floor. The vampire grabbed Tesla's wounded shoulder with one hand. The other hand sprouted claws, which he drove into Tesla's stomach. Tesla inhaled sharply and grasped desperately for the other item he had set on the floor. He grabbed a syringe filled with a fluid and jabbed it into the vampire's chest, releasing the powerful sedative contained within it. The vampire's eyes closed again, and his arms went limp. Tesla took hold of the vampire's wrist, pulling the claws free. He leaned forward on his right hand, desperately searching the floor for the syringe of vampire blood. He spotted it five feet towards the door, and holding his left hand against his stomach, Tesla stumbled towards it, picking it up and heading for the door.
He looked out the door, and seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, he started out around the corner, heading back up the hill the same way he'd come down. By the time that the time machine came into view, his vision was starting to blur. He set the blood sample on a flat spot on the controls, and adjusted the dials with shaking bloody hands. Finally, he pulled down the lever.
Helen and Alice had been staring at a blank spot in the center of the lab for over an hour, when the time machine suddenly reappeared. Tesla stood facing away from them, hunched over the controls. He turned and took a step towards Helen, but faltered and dropped to his knees. Helen stepped forward and caught him before he hit the floor.
Tesla looked up at her blearily. "I don't think they liked me much," he said just before he passed out.