"I'm sorry."
Carmilla was unusually pale as she sucked at the straw she'd jammed into the blood pack, not even bothering with the soy milk container tonight. She lifted an eyebrow at the apology, but otherwise didn't reply. Her neck, partly covered by dark locks of hair, looked as flawless as usual in the dim light of the room. The sun was setting again outside their little room, and Laura felt it in her bones as she grew more alert.
"I mean, I totally should've asked before climbing into your bed, and just because you're not very nice doesn't mean I have to be a jerk as well, but it was so nice and…" She shut her mouth.
"You need to learn control, Laura. I know it's a a bitch in the beginning." Carmilla shut her eyes, emptying the blood pack with a slurping noise. She licked at the straw, and Laura swallowed as she watched.
"I've just never… been gay before."
Carmilla lowered the straw. "Seriously, Muffin? That's what you're getting out of all this?"
Laura straightened her back. "Hey, perhaps you're all experienced, but I haven't really… done this before!" She heard her voice getting shriller, but couldn't really stop herself. "Not that there is anything wrong with being gay! I have lots of gay friends. Danny - she actually asked me on a date - and I think LaFontaine and Perry are pretty…" She trailed off. Carmilla had buried her face in her pillow and clearly wasn't listening.
Laura sighed and got to her feet. She needed a shower, and with some luck, LaFontaine would still be up a bit later. She needed to hand in her Lit paper anyway.
LaFontaine didn't have time for Laura's feelings. They were guarding the door, stake in hand and a nasty tear on one arm that they insisted was "just a scratch". Who knew where they had acquired the shotgun?
"It's bad, Laura. Really bad. They blew up the bridge over at Leoben Drive. No one gets through, not even the police. Perry's parents are over there on the other side, but the base station in Styria shut down this morning and cut the telephone network. Didn't you notice?" She gave Laura a once-over and sighed, turning her attention to the small crack between the boards covering the window. After a moment, Laura pushed her to the side and frowned. The Athletic Training Facility was burning in the distance, casting an orange glow on the deserted grounds.
"Later, losers. Try not to get stuck like that."
Carmilla strolled past and lifted the iron bolt from the door as if it weighed sharp smell of night and fire filled the room.
LaFontaine shook her head, her voice panicked, "No, don't go out, there's a…" The door shut. "...dragon."
"Really? A dragon?" Laura went back to the crack with renewed interest, but she only saw Carmilla, lazily dragging the bolt behind her on her way to the unseen mayhem between the barred-up buildings. Slowly, hear heart sank.
When the trees stank of sunset and camphor.
Laura had curled up with her back against the wall next to the door. It had been hours since Carmilla went out, but Laura hadn't moved save for when Perry had nudged a steaming cup of tea into her hands. It was cold now, but she still held it close to her chest. Every time the noises of the ongoing fighting reached their flimsy sanctuary, Laura felt herself trembling. LaFontaine had left the shotgun with her, somehow confident that Laura knew how to use it (she didn't).
The rest of the students were discussing in low voices in the main room, but now Danny emerged in a flood of lamplight. She still looked tired, but she had at least cleaned her face and put up her long hair in a ponytail. Danny had first arrived a little while ago, carrying a bloody fire axe and the limp body of Kirsch over one shoulder. One of his arms were missing.
"Laura…" Danny knelt beside her and reached out to gently tuck some hair behind Laura's ear.
Laura closed her eyes at the contact. "Do you know where she is?"
Danny slowly shook her head. "Don't worry about Carmilla, okay? I'm sure she's fine."
Laura looked up at her in disbelief, and then swallowed as her eyes refocused on the pulse point in Danny's neck. Danny pulled away and dropped the hand lingering on Laura's cheek, her expression growing cautious.
"Are we winning?" Laura hated how weak her voice sounded.
"I don't know. We don't even know who the others are yet."
Laura did. She wished she didn't, but she did.
When Laura woke up she was alone save for the dead, and she headed out the unlocked door unto the ruined gravel with the unsettling smell still in her nose. Another two buildings were down - the St. Marie Hall and the Science Building, the former reduced to a pile of rubble and the latter still burning with bright green flames. Laura avoided them both and headed for the gently smoldering remains of the Athletic Training Facility instead, following the sound of voices. Blue light bounced off the scorched walls as she rounded a corner, and she spotted two police helicopters parked in front of the tennis court. The Dean of Students stood speaking to a police officer while a covered stretcher rolled past. When Laura came closer, the Dean turned her head slightly and gave Laura a toothless smile. Her posture was perfect, and not a speck of dust marred her French braid.
"Laura!" LaFontaine grabbed her arm. They were wearing the same clothes as the night before, the cuffs of their checkered shirt dirty and torn.
"We… won?" Laura didn't protest when LaFontaine started dragging Laura towards the cafeteria building.
"Not exactly. They did."
"Who?" Laura looked around dumbly. LaFontaine pushed her inside The Cauldron, where around forty students sat tending to injuries, eating or talking in small groups. The atmosphere was subdued, but calm. Two boys from the Alchemy club were reading from an ancient-looking book spread open on a table.
"The board of administrators. The Dean. Carmilla's mom." LaFontaine waved. "Danny! She's awake!"
Danny broke away from a small crowd and quickly approached, looking even more harried than the last time Laura had seen her, matted red hair dancing around her face. "Perfect! This way."
She didn't wait for a reply before heading past them out onto the school grounds again, and Laura let LaFontaine pull her along. "What…"
"We need your help, Laura."
They took a detour to avoid the police and then headed straight for the Summer Society dorms. One corner of the building had collapsed, water from a broken pipe filling the spaces between fallen pieces of wood and concrete. Laura stumbled when she climbed after Danny up the stairs, and LaFontaine steadied her from behind. The rooms smelled of dust and blood, dark except for where students had hung kerosene lanterns or where the emergency signs still flickered.
Danny knelt beside a girl sitting next to an empty stretcher - Maryam. "How is she doing?"
"Holding on. We need to get her out of here."
"Laura is here, so it shouldn't be a problem. Laura?"
LaFontaine gave her a gentle push, and Laura stared at them in confusion. "What?" She could hear another heartbeat now, fainter than the rest, and she stared at the partly collapsed concrete beam. Maryam, she saw now, was holding onto something - a hand, belonging to a very dusty and hurt-looking student partly hidden by the debris.
Danny straightened. "Lift this beam, so we can get Aiko down to the helicopter. You should be able to get a grip over here." She pointed at the base of the huge beam crossing the room diagonally.
"What?" Laura's mind struggled to make sense of the request. She was barely strong enough to lift food to her face.
LaFontaine gave her one of those patient looks, but then their eyes widened and they looked behind Laura just as a Carmilla spoke up in her familiar drawl.
"Why don't you do it yourself, Atlas?"
Danny showed her teeth in a frankly scary snarl. "Does it look like the moon is full, vampire? Where the hell have you been?"
"Around." Carmilla sauntered around Laura and bent down, giving Danny a quick look for confirmation before slowly lifting the beam as if it weighed nothing more than a heavy suitcase. Aiko gave a pained scream, and Laura looked away from the sight of torn flesh and broken bone.
Carmilla's clothes were in as bad a shape as everyone else's, the sheer fabric of her shirt torn and showing the black lace of her bra underneath. She helped Clara get Aiko onto the stretcher as painlessly as possible before straightening, wiping her hands on her stained jeans and meeting Laura's eyes with a small smile.
"Let's get out of here, Creampuff." She took Laura's hand and pulled her downstairs, leaving the others to do the rest of the work.