Author's note – Wow, I think this is the first time I've managed to successfully reach the fourth chapter. Yay! Thanks again for all the reviews. They really made my day. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Chapter Four

It certainly wasn't what he had predicted. Sam had expected the hunters' camp to be filled with large tents and fires and rough looking men sharpening their blades. But what he saw below him, from where he sat at the edge of a cliff, was a village, a village with farms and thatch houses, gardens full of colourful flowers, ordinary looking men and women milling around as they went about their daily lives and children playing one with another, running and shouting and laughing.

This could not possibly be a hunters' settlement.

And yet it was. The group of vampire soldiers had followed the faint trail that the female hunters had left behind and had found several traces along the way that led them to believe the hunters they had already killed had also come from this direction.

Now all that was left to do was wait until nightfall, when most of the humans would be asleep and unprepared for the slaughter that would be upon them.

And it would be slaughter. There were just under a hundred vampires in their group and even that was over-kill against so small a village. A small village with no apparent defence. They had no wall to protect them. They didn't so much as have a wooden fence.

Sam shuddered. He should want this. He should want this with all his being. Benny was dead because of the humans. Lenore and Kate were dead because of the humans. He should want to destroy this town as a tribute to their memories but as he looked down at the village, he couldn't bring himself to want that at all. There were too many innocents involved. Too many that had played no part in the attack against them.

"Can't sleep?" a voice asked and Sam whirled around. It was Luther. He had his arm raised across his brow and his blue eyes squinted against the brightness of the sun.

"No," Sam replied, turning back to the village.

Luther joined him. "Me neither. I'm too excited."

"Yeah," Sam grunted non-committedly. "Excited. Do we really have to kill them all?"

"You heard the commander. Every one of them has to die. This is retribution. We can't just let the hunters do what they want."

"Not everyone down there is a hunter," Sam reminded him.

"Perhaps not, but if they aren't hunters themselves, then they are harbouring hunters and that is just as bad. This is a clear message that we are not to be trifled with." Luther said, voice hard and angry. "I thought you of all people would understand that. You lost someone you care about too."

Sam glared at him. "Of course I understand. I do…but…there are children down there."

Luther scowled back. "Children who will grow to be hunters. Besides, do you think a human would show mercy to a vampire child? No. We are all monsters to them, no matter how young we are."

"I guess tonight we'll be proving them right."

With a growl of frustration, Luther turned on his heels and stalked back towards the temporary camp they had set up. "Get some sleep. You'll need it for tonight."

Sam did sleep. But it wasn't the restful kind. It was the kind that was plagued with nightmares of blood and death and left him feeling more exhausted than he had beforehand.

He awoke to the sound of a guard whispering into his tent that the sun was setting and it was time to prepare.

With a moan of displeasure, he rolled off his mat and set about quietly packing away his things along with the others that shared that shelter.

It didn't take long to disassemble the camp site completely and they were ready before the sky was dark. They waited and watched as the last of the humans disappeared into their houses, leaving only several guards posted on the outskirts of the village. The tavern still seemed to be occupied, with bright lights shining out through the windows and the faint sound of music and laughter but that did not matter. By now, the people in there were probably too inebriated to do much in the way of fighting back.

As one, the soldiers crept down the hill, keeping low out of precaution but knowing that with their black clothing and the cover of nightfall, they were all but invisible to the naked eye.

The first of the guards soon came into view. He hadn't seen them yet, he was too busy gazing up at the starless sky, a look of absolute boredom on his face.

A twig snapped under Sam's boot and the guard turned sharply but Boris was upon him before he had a chance to call out, his meaty hand coving the man's mouth and quickly running him through with his sword.

Boris let the guard drop and then signalled for the group to split up. Half of the men were to follow him and the other half were to circle around back.

Sam followed the commander in through the front of the village, Boris and another of the soldiers dispatching two more guards along the way.

And then it began.

The assembly of vampires split into further groups and converged upon the houses. Breaking down doors and smashing through windows, slaying all those inside and setting the buildings alight afterwards.

Screams and shouts tore through the air and Sam froze in the middle of the cobble stoned road, a wave of cold dread washing over him. This all felt so wrong and he suddenly wasn't sure that he was going to be able to force himself to take any part of it.

Hunters he could kill. Hunters he would kill. He had proven that already. But killing those too weak to defend themselves didn't seem to be an ability he had within him.

"Sam!" Luther yelled as he ran past him, further into the village. "To the tavern. With me."

Sam tried to push his doubts to the back of his mind as he and two other soldiers quickly followed Luther through the winding streets.

The church bell suddenly rang out, alerting all those who weren't yet aware, that they were under attack.

Faces began to appear in windows before drawing back in alarm, when they caught sight of Sam and the others.

I'm sorry, Sam thought sadly when he caught sight of a small child, no older than four, peering out at him from behind one window with wide, frightened eyes.

The tavern was at the heart of the village, built in the very centre, and upon reaching it, Luther threw open the door and rushed straight in, eager to do his part of the killing. Sam followed through at the back at a much slower and careful pace, in case someone tried to attack him from behind the door, but no one did.

Everyone inside had prepared themselves for battle, it seemed. Tables were upturned and some men had positioned themselves behind them, firing their rifles and pistols at the vampires even though they knew that mere guns wouldn't be able to stop them. Sam cursed as he felt one bullet rip into his shoulder and glared up at the man that had shot him. The man paled under his gaze but shot at him again anyway.

Sam dodged this one easily and leapt forward over the table and onto the man, pinning him down before tearing the gun from his grip and slamming it against his temple. The man's eyes rolled up and he slumped, unconscious.

A sudden idea hit Sam then. An idea that would let him survive the night and still allow him to be able to live with himself afterwards. He could still fight, still appear to be intent on butchering the humans but instead of killing them, he'd just knock them unconscious.

The other vampires would notice that they were alive eventually but at least Sam wouldn't be the one to deliver the death blow.

It wasn't perfect but it was the best plan that Sam had so far.

He jumped upon another man that had tried to sneak up from behind him, grabbing him by the hair and smacking his head against the solid wood of a fallen table several times until he too went limp.

"Sam," Luther shouted, barely audible over the other yells and shots in the room.

Sam turned to see him straddling one of the bar maids, who lay completely still beneath him, blood dribbling messily down his chin.

Sam barely held back a flinch at the sight.

"Stairs," Luther told him, flicking his head in the direction of the staircase.

With a quick nod, Sam took off towards the stairs, ignoring the shots that were fired after him.

He flew up the steps quickly but kept his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of attack that may have lain ahead.

The upstairs corridor was unlit and completely empty. He made his way to the first door on his left and threw it open, ready to attack but it was completely empty, save for the two bare mattresses on the floor. It was likely that the occupants of those beds were fighting downstairs.

The next two rooms were exactly the same but the third was different. As well as the mattress on the floor, there was also a wardrobe in the corner. A wardrobe that Sam should probably check just to be sure he didn't miss someone.

He crept towards it silently, gun in hand and prepared to take a look inside when he heard the metallic sound of a knife being drawn behind him.

He spun around, barely missing the edge of the knife as it slashed at the air next to his face. The man wielding it snarled and went for him again.

It was dark in the room but Sam could just about make out the outline of his assailant.

He was tall. That was the first thing Sam noticed. He was used to towering a head and shoulders above everyone else but this man was could have only been a couple of inches shorter. He was also fast, light on his feet and wielded the knife incredibly well. Sam knew without a shadow of a doubt that this man was a hunter.

"Give it up, fang." the man growled as he lunged yet again and Sam had suddenly had enough of playing defence. He brought up the gun he had stolen earlier and swung it at the man's head.

As though he had already predicted the move, the hunter swiftly ducked and barrelled forward, head-butting Sam in the middle and tackling him to the ground.

Before Sam could attempt to move, the hunter's knife was at his throat and Sam couldn't help flashing back to the fight two days previous when he had found himself in exactly the same position.

They had fallen upon the one patch of light in the room, lit up by the moon that shone brightly through the small window.

Sam glowered up at the hunter, breathing harshly and baring his fangs in what he hoped was a threatening manner, and he realised this hunter was barely any older than he was. There were probably only a couple of years between them. His light brown hair was cropped short and his eyes were impossibly green as they stared back at him.

"Dammit, you're just a kid." the hunter breathed and he retracted the knife a little, allowing Sam to breathe without fear of slicing his neck open.

Sam barely had time to wonder about what this meant before the door was thrown open again. Luther stood there, blood still dripping down his front as he took in the sight of Sam on the floor, at the mercy of the young hunter before he unclipped something from his belt.

"Sorry, Sammy," he winked. He pulled at the top of the thing in his hand, threw it into the middle of the room and then quickly slammed the door shut again.

Sam stared at the thing on the ground beside him for one shocked moment before he realised what it was.

The hunter above him seemed to recognise it at the same time. "Grenade," he gasped, throwing himself from Sam and running for the door.

Sam tried to scramble away too but he only managed to make it a few feet before the thing went off.

There was an almighty bang and heat slammed into Sam's back, searing his skin and throwing him forcefully against a wall. His head stuck stone with a hollow thud and he knew no more.