

By

Alexia Purdy

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

About the Author

Sneak Peek: Disarming

Sneak Peek: Coexist

"Never tease anything that wants to eat you. My name is April Tate and my blood is the new gold. Vampires and hybrids have overrun my world, once vibrant with life, but now a graveyard of death shrouded in shadows. I fight to survive; I fight for my mother and brother. The journey is full of turns that I am quite unprepared for. And I'm just hoping to make it to the next Vegas sunrise..."

In a post-apocalyptic world, a viral epidemic has wiped out most of the earth's population, leaving behind few humans but untold numbers of mutated vampires. April is a seventeen-year-old girl who lives in the remains of Las Vegas one year after the outbreak. She has become a ferocious vampire killer and after her family is abducted, she goes searching for them. What she finds is a new breed of vampire, unlike any she has seen before. Unsure of whom she can trust, she discovers that her view of the world is not as black and white as she once thought, and she's willing to bend the rules to rescue her family. But in trying to save them, she may only succeed in bringing her fragile world crashing down around her.

Reign of Blood

(The Vampires of Vegas Book I)

Copyright © April 2012 & May 2017 Alexia Purdy

Cover Design by Melancholy Muse Designs

All rights reserved

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. If you did not buy this e-book, please purchase your own copy.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

www.alexiapurdybooks.com

For my parents, Juanita and Alfonso

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thank you to God.

I want to thank the following people who have stood by me and helped me every step of the way. I appreciate you more than I let you know. I'm indebted to you.

My brother Juan Manriquez-love you and thanks for the awesome photography. Amy Conley-your friendship and feedback is immeasurable. Scott Prussing-your continued support and encouragement are invaluable. JT Lewis- you're the best beta reader ever! Thanks for pushing me to keep torturing poor April! Michael K. Rose- your advice has been phenomenal, thank you for all you have helped me with. Jenna Kay, Madison Daniel, Kyani Swanigan, Linna Drehmel-your friendship and prayers have been soul quenching. Madison, thanks for lending me your musical talents for the book trailer, you rock, literally. My family at Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, for being the best literary family ever, love you!

Reign of Blood

**Chapter One**

Never tease anything that wants to eat you. The ravenous eyes that bled death all around and peered from their window, drooling at the sight of us. The buildings loomed above as we rushed across the concrete and asphalt, hurrying to beat the sun as it set. They lurked in every window, shrouded by the shadow from the searing sun. The east sides of the buildings were crawling with vampires. They smirked and sneered their inhuman growls, hissing right at us as we jumped from sunbeam to sunbeam, racing to the awaiting van. Only the light kept them at bay. Only the light kept us from their sharp, gripping fangs.

Each block felt like it stretched longer and farther, growing with each of our steps. My mother ran hurriedly, as fast as she could with my little brother wrapped around her, molded to her chest, afraid to look up. I was dashing right next to her, afraid to get left behind and afraid to be first in any place. My backpack bounced on my back with each jump and step. I tried hard to not look up. To look upon them was to feel your soul drain of life, to wither away. Mom always said not to let them look into your eyes; they can steal your humanity and freeze you in your steps. But I did look, and I did study their red searing eyes. Even while running, I had glanced up into their pale, grey ashen faces. I waited for them to take my soul; I waited and discovered that I was immune. Immune to their mind control and their deepest desire. I wanted to smile and flip them off but I didn't think that my mother would appreciate that. I wasn't sure if she or my brother were immune. I wasn't about to piss her off by admitting that I had given in to such a temptation and had stared eye to eye with monsters.

So, for now, we ran. We ran to our awaiting van where mom tied my little brother into his seat and slid quickly into the driver's seat, turning the ignition and slamming the gas as though our lives depended on it. Actually, they very much did. Soon the sun would fade, inhaled into shadows and we would be surrounded by monsters capable of draining our bodies of every little drop of crimson blood. They did not discriminate. They would rip even me and my younger brother to shreds. For now, they waited in their makeshift graveyard; the city's dilapidated buildings and streets.

I stared out the windows of the van and hugged my knees to my chest. Mom had her serious and stern face on. Sometimes I wish I could see her smile again, like the old days, before any of this happened. Before foraging for food had become an absolute for survival. Before running was a daily occurrence. Seeing her hair streaked with grey was not something I thought I would see so soon. She wasn't that old.

Times like these, even I felt old.

We left the city limits well before sunset. We were safer in the rural areas, where vampires feared to tread, too far from the shelters of the concrete jungles. I learned early on that some part of their humanity must still be intact because unlike the stories and movies I had heard and seen about vampires, these ones hated to sleep in the dirt. Oh, and all that crap about mirrors and garlic? Definitely not true. Stake to the heart? I had found that it did work but decapitation was a much more successful option. Missing the heart was too easy a mistake. Crosses and holy water? Well, that does work but you must be a believer for it to work as intended. If you did not believe, well, let's just say you might as well be throwing plain water at them.

An arsenal of swords, crosses and faith was pretty much all I needed. It had been just a year since the virus had turned more than three quarters of the population of the Americas into blood-seeking walking dead. Most died within days of contracting the strange ailment. I'd had all the practice I needed for a lifetime in learning how to kill vampires. It definitely made for an interesting life but I would give anything for my old one. Nothing beat a cold soda and movie on a Saturday night. High school issues seemed petty compared to the ones I had now. Stability, security, all gone. Staring out the dusty windows of the van as the trees grew thicker and the dusk seeped into the sky, I felt nothing but numb. Everything was all but gone.

**Chapter Two**

My name is April. I live in a bunker, somewhat hidden in the sparse forests surrounding what is left of Las Vegas, Nevada. I wish I could say that the nights would bring bright lights, slot machines ringing and an endless party, but that would not be so. The valley is a graveyard, black as pitch at night and a ghost city in the day. All that is left of a city that never sleeps.

My mother Helen and my younger brother Jeremy live with me in this makeshift home buried in the side of the mountains. It's pretty cool considering we could be out in the open where the vampires roamed at night. It was simple; we had found a door in a mountain cabin to what would've been part of a basement that led down a long hallway and into a cemented-in bunker. Located deep inside the bowels of the forest near Mt Charleston, this had become our home. It was ventilated somehow, had stores and stores of non-perishable food lining shelves and storage areas in a separate room.

Gallons of water sat in drums as big as me and a filtration system was set up for recycling the water that we did use. The place was wired with solar energy and generators if needed. The sleeping quarters were in a corner of the first room and consisted of three beds lined up next to one another. My mother and I took turns keeping watch during the night while Jeremy got to sleep the whole night. It wasn't much, but it was home.

The luck we had felt when we found this place was overwhelming. It was more than we could have hoped for. By chance we had searched the plain log cabin that sat atop the bunker and discovered this entombed sanctuary. Whoever had built it had had some money to burn and probably had been some sort of apocalypse-paranoid survivalist. It didn't matter in the end; it had not helped them any more than any money could've have helped in the end of times. The owners hadn't made it back here and it had remained untouched until we'd found it. I often wondered who they had been. It wasn't like they had lived here much, there had been no family photographs displayed across the walls or sitting on the coffee table. Nothing to mark it as lived in at all, like an abandoned and forgotten place, a just-in-case sort of place.

We still had to run down to the city for supplies. My mother did not like using up the stores in the bunker; she said she'd rather use what was widely available now in the abandoned stores and shops in the city than use what we had. It made sense; the city's abundance was for now, the bunker supplies for later. That didn't mean I didn't hate going down there. The city was crawling with vampires. They lurked in shadows of the evenings and stared hungrily at you as you walked about. A thousand eyes watching and sizing you up, it was the most uncomfortable feeling ever. As long as you didn't stay out too late, you wouldn't see them as much in the morning and afternoon hours. Dark buildings were an absolute no go. They holed themselves in the guts of structures until nightfall, when the burn of the sun no longer seared their ashen skin.

I hadn't always been so physical, but since I'd had it out with a vampire or two already, I had insisted on watching tape after tape of martial arts and weapons training after those near-fatal attacks on me and my family. My mother participated in these training sessions with me, too. Our slender muscles proved our dedication. We were femme fatales. I liked it that way. Delicate flowers were for the dogs.

The days went by slowly. Some weeks we didn't venture out at all, some weeks we explored the city every day. My mother really didn't want to go all vigilante and kill the hives of vampires we tended to find. I had killed some smaller ones, but my thirst to extinguish them grew with every kill. I spent my days sharpening my knives and arrows. I'd spend hours in the hunting stores, running my hands over the variety of weapons, guns, crossbows, all sorts of contraptions. I would settle on some shorter swords, machetes, daggers and crossbows. I had guns of course, but they were loud and tended to awaken the hives around us, getting them stirring earlier than we like.

This was the reason we were running that day. I had gotten in a bind and had to shoot a large hive of about 6 vampires that I'd come upon in small grocery store. I had cursed myself for letting them surprise me. I should have noticed their putrid smell before coming near them. But for some reason I had been distracted and hadn't been at my most-alert that day. Mom had been pissed. She'd had to join me to extinguish them, leaving my brother outside in the open daylight. This was a definite taboo. He was defenseless, and at six years old, his haunted eyes made him older than he should've been. He couldn't handle a gun, let alone a sword or crossbow. He always had a knife which we had taught him how to use, but with his scrawny body, he was sure to not last long in a world of death all by himself.

After getting an earful that day, Mom had banned us from going to the city for at least a week. I hated being cooped up in the cabin and bunker. I had spent my time hunting animals for fresh meat, but it being the end of summer and the beginnings of fall, the animals were not so frequently available. Occasionally I would track a deer, but jackrabbits were more common. Coming across any kind of beef would be nice, but the vampires had ravaged the few farms around the north end of town ages ago. This had left us with little options in the meat department. Ever since the electricity had shut down in the city, the freezers stank of the rot of death in every market. Beef jerky was all we could really find to enjoy any kind of red meat.

So here I was, stuck on the mountain, staring down at the city that used to be our home. Watching the evening sun sink over the crests of barren rock near Mt. Charleston, at least the vampires didn't venture up here. Their inherent fear of being out in the open when the sun rose kept them near the buildings of downtown and the strip. They were such territorial creatures; they liked to group together in small hives. We thought it curious that we didn't find them in the outskirts of town, proving our theory that they preferred the clusters of buildings in the center of town. Still, the Strip was rich with food stocks that were nearly impossible for us to reach. It would mean treading into those bowels of darkness and silence, the remnants of the previously bright, noisy casinos. It was a darkness infested with death.

I tore myself away from my thoughts. Night was approaching. As the shadows fell across the cabin, we locked the huge, heavy metal door that was the entrance to the bunker and flipped the lights on inside to illuminate the concrete sanctuary of our isolated home.

**Chapter Three**

"April, grab your gear," my mother said. "We need to find more powdered milk and possibly any kind of meat products we come across. Also, bottled water, detergent, and soap. Got it?"

Groaning, I snatched the page of lined paper with her neat writing pressed into it. Mom had been a teacher before the end of the world and teaching English year after year had been her passion. Now, only my brother and I were her pupils, more so Jeremy than me. I was seventeen and my eighteenth birthday would be coming in just a few months. I was no longer a child, being thrown into adulthood and survival mode faster than I ever would have thought.

"How far in are you planning to go today, Mom?" I tied my dark black hair into a tight ponytail and pulled on a thin jacket. The fall weather could get a bit chilly in the shade, but in the sun's warmth, it felt perfect. The dry air was still today as the usual wind made itself scarce. I slid daggers into the sheaths on my belt and one on the side of my boot then slung a quiver of arrows onto my back and a crossbow over my head to strap across my chest. I had come to love weapons. The crossbow was a bit bulky but I had chosen the lightest one I could find in the sporting goods store. It took some practice to get used to it but I could hit things dead on now. It was nice and quiet, which was a major plus. I favored it along with my machetes. Blade fighting was more intense and messy, but also quiet.

Mom pulled on her own gear as Jeremy fidgeted on the ottoman. He always got nervous seeing us prep for an outing. We always took him with us; leaving him was not an option. If we died, he would be all by himself in the bunker, a thought that sent a shudder down my spine. I ruffled his wispy medium-brown hair. It badly needed a cut. Mom hated trimming it because it was so thick it clogged the clippers with every pass. She tended to put it off as long as she could. He glanced up, giving me a nervous smile as he visibly relaxed under my touch. He always felt safer as long as he was near one of us.

"April, is it a short or long trip?" His small voice came out shaky as he gulped down his apprehension. I motioned him to move over on the ottoman and plopped down next to him, giving him a squeeze.

"Hey, trooper. Nothing to worry about, okay? What did I tell you before? Stick by mom or me and we got your back. Don't wander away and be extra quiet." Leaning down I whispered into his ear, "Short trip, I hope." I straightened up when mom turned towards us to grab a couple of duffle bags for the supplies. She tossed one to me and motioned for me to get moving. I stood up and winked back at Jeremy. "Come on, squirt, you want to have fun don't cha? How many do you want me to shoot today?"

"April, stop that!" Mom's tight voice pierced through the air. I rolled my eyes, making Jeremy giggle as he jumped off the ottoman and ran towards the door.

"Sorry, mom," I said sarcastically. Pressing my lips together, I gave her a feigned smile and batted my eyelashes at her as I walked by. Her eyebrows rose into arches as she shook her head and sighed. I was seventeen but she treated me like a child, even after everything that had happened. I was more adult now than a child, and I never would be one again.

Checking the monitor that connected to the camera that scanned the outside perimeter, I verified that is was all clear before turning the huge deadbolts, releasing the thick steel door. The cool autumn air rushed in along with some dust and dried leaves. There was a breeze dancing about and it kicked up the dirt and pollen like crazy. I sneezed, rubbing the itchiness that immediately stung my eyes, making them water. I hated fall and spring just the same; they sucked pretty bad for the allergy-plagued like me. I tacked a note to myself in my brain to snatch up more allergy meds when I hit the stores in the city today. A stock of them would be good; lord knows they would not be manufactured anymore.

"Hit the lock code, April. Jeremy, switch off the electricity to the house." Jeremy complied by flipping a dozen switches on the wall, deadening any electricity that would leak from the house above our bunker and clicking the lights off inside to conserve solar power inside our hideaway. We always tried to involve him with the technicalities of our survival; it made him feel like less of a helpless little man.

I waited as my mother locked the steel door behind her, tapping the numbers into the keyboard and closing the hidden door for the finger pad. We were lucky that the instructions to get into the bunker had been left in plain sight in a kitchen drawer up in the cabin or we'd never had been able to get in or out of the place. It was truly our home now.

I stretched and flexed my muscles, preparing for the scavenging ahead. My skin was a cool light brown which would deepen in the rays of the intense sun. In Vegas, it seemed to burn brighter than anywhere else I had ever been. I had already slathered sunscreen on me and Jeremy before we left, otherwise the nasty burns from the sun would not have been pleasant.

Jumping into our van, I strapped myself into the middle seat. Jeremy hated to sit alone so I either sat in the seat with him or he rode up front with my mother. Today he jumped in next to me and we spread out on the bench seat, laughing and giggling as I playfully poked him on his sides.

"Ok, guys, no playing around now, its work time."

"Aw," Jeremy moaned, crossing his arms across his chest and jutting his lower lip out at Mom. I shrugged and sat up straighter as she cranked the engine and started down the road. We would have to siphon gas while we were in town too. The van was efficient but the trek up and down the mountain still burned a lot of fuel. The engine hummed as the trees and asphalt raced by. I hated the forest around us; it was so sparse and ill-looking that I wondered why trees bothered to live here at all. Most were dead and strewed across the landscape in piles along with heaps of pine needles and mulch. The scattered cabins we passed were off the main road and looked dark and neglected.

I sighed, wondering how many humans were left after the virus had hit. I hadn't found one soul that I had known in my previous life. My mother had insisted on fleeing for the mountains when it became apparent that the vampires were not going to be leaving any humans alive. The massacre of the city, the chaos, had been a scene from a horror show. Blood and guts had been strewed across the streets; people's screams echoed in the night as we had desperately loaded up our belongings, what little we could salvage, and rode out onto the dark highways outside the city. That was the same night I had looked back, watching the lights of the Strip flicker on and off until the death shroud of darkness had swallowed it up. I could still hear the people screaming in my ears.

"Well?" My mother's voice broke through my thoughts. I peered up at her eyes glaring at me through the rear-view mirror.

"What did you say?" I shook off my terrifying memories like a heavy fog that clung to my brain.

"What's wrong with you? I said, 'do you want me to drop you off at the pharmacy first or do you want to scavenge the huge sporting goods store again?' I need you to stick to the list of foods we need. Take the rolling cart with you." Mom looked away and returned her attention to the road as she sped along, avoiding debris and stalled cars.

"Um, yeah, that would be good. There's a pharmacy right next to the sporting goods store. Drop me there and I'll meet you at the supermarket that's down two streets from there. It should have some stuff left that's edible."

I took a deep breath in and shuddered, shaking off the past with one draw of air. I stretched my arms, rolling my shoulders and tilting my neck side to side, hoping to loosen the knots that formed while I anxiously waited to reach the city. It never failed to make me nervous. The buildings were not safe. Feral vampires could be lurking anywhere where sunlight did not touch. Even the stores I frequented had to be searched first before letting my guard down. The night sometimes brought new visitors to these places, in search of fresh blood.

I stretched to keep limber, too. If I had to fight one, it would be to my advantage to be ready. Jeremy watched me with studious eyes, filled with a knowledge he was too young to own. I smiled brightly to deflect the anxious energy floating in his eyes. He smiled and turned back toward the window. He knew that every trip into the city could be racked with danger. He didn't deserve this kind of life. He should have been allowed to be a kid, playing on swings and jungle gyms, eating cookies and ice cream under the intense sun of Las Vegas summers. Swimming in crystal blue pools and playing ball. I missed these activities myself but to deny him his childhood cut me to the bone. I wish he had had that before all this happened.

The van reached the first buildings after turning down I-95 southbound into the city. I watched the concrete speed by as the van swayed, dodging the debris and cars strewn across the way. Jeremy's eyes were staring at the back of the seat in front of him. He had averted them to avoid taking in the gruesome details outside. I wasn't so squeamish. I glanced over him through the window. Crashed and stalled cars alike were not out of the ordinary now. What bothered him was the endless array of corpses laid out in their last positions of death. Sitting in cars, hanging halfway out windows, lying in pieces across the highway after being hit when the panic of the masses had set in. Though they were mostly mangled and mummified now, I didn't blame him one bit. I looked at the bodies and emblazoned their empty eyes and terror-set faces into my head. I would not forget and I would not let it disillusion me. I couldn't.

Mom's voice softly interrupted the silence. "Coming up on the store, April."

I unbuckled my seat belt and, grabbing my weapons and equipment, nodded my acknowledgement to her. She slowed the van down to a crawl then lightly tapped the brakes to bring it to a full stop. I glanced out towards the huge Pro Shop sign that sat dusty in the bright morning sun. Butterflies fluttered their wings in my belly as I took a deep breath in. I loved these stores. So many fine weaponry and goodies, it got my heart racing. I needed to restock some of my supplies and today seemed like a mighty good day to do so.

I hugged Jeremy and kissed the top of his sandy brown hair. Smiling, I gave his fear-filled eyes a wink. "I'll see you in a bit, squirt." He nodded slightly but my reassurance was not convincing. I turned away, stepped out of the van and clicked the door shut behind me. I didn't look back as I heard the tires crunch away, rolling on the pavement toward the supermarket two streets down. I stood staring at the windows of the sporting goods store. Scanning the area around me, I expected nothing but I wasn't going to start getting careless.

The breeze was cool this morning, sweeping up small billows of dust and dead leaves. The street was desolate; cracked pavement, smashed windows and garbage were littered about. I closed my eyes. Standing by myself and listening to the eerie quiet made me feel naked, like I was exposed. I no longer heard the van and no steps betrayed anyone's presence. Opening my eyes, I sighed and said a silent prayer for courage as the flood of fear threatened to break. I'd done this dozens of times, but each time never got any easier.

I unsheathed my machete from my right side; it was perfect for close range combat and did the job. I didn't want to have to use it but that wasn't up to me. I had to secure the place before browsing the goods. Pushing the heavy glass doors to enter, I glanced around the store, looking for signs of movement, especially in the shadows. The air was stuffy but not sour, like the places that had rotting corpses and dead vampires lying around. This store wasn't frequented by the feral and wild vampires. The skylights high in the ceiling and the walls of glass windows kept it well lit and therefore, mostly vampire-free. I hadn't run into one in this particular store yet, but I wasn't taking my chances.

Systematically, I walked the perimeter of the isles then down the middle and zigzagged, stopping frequently to listen for footsteps or other noises. None came. Only the slight whistle of the wind outside broke the solace of the place. Having finished with the storefront, I made my way to the storerooms in the back. It was riskier there, darker. I lit a flashlight and scanned the area, shoving the double doors open to let the sunlight in. Luckily it wasn't a large area and the many boxes were stacked flush against the walls, since space was limited.

Satisfied, I closed the doors and turned back to the racks of camping stuff, weapons, bikes and more. A flutter of excitement now ran through my chest as I turned down my favorite isle of knives and arrows to restock my supplies. I grabbed a few boxes of ammunition and retrieved the wheeled metal cart to start piling it up with things. I opened some of the large duffle bags. These were for the smaller items, to keep them together and arranged as space efficiently as I could.

I slipped a few packages of arrows into the cart along with several daggers and throwing stars. I grabbed some extra boots–mine were wearing out–and a dart throwing set for Jeremy. Satisfied with my haul, I pulled the cart outside, letting the doors swing shut behind me.

I looked around and felt a slight chill down my arms. Even though I was wearing my thin jacket, it felt cold and I rubbed my arms. The sun was rising and would warm the air soon enough, but the feeling of dread seemed to stick to me as I scanned the area again. Nothing but silence greeted me. I shook off the feeling and turned towards the intersection. Turning east, I slipped my sunglasses down over my eyes and followed the road.

I scurried down the sidewalk, glancing around me and studying each building as best I could as I hurried down the road. When I turned down the second street, I felt silly for feeling skittish. I let out a laugh. Sometimes I felt like a fool, but living in this ruin of a world had made me so paranoid, I could swear that I was always being watched. The sun was brilliant and its intensity would burn the vampires to a crisp if they attempted to leave their shadowed sanctuaries. I talked myself down as I continued, calming my inner voice to silence as I approached the supermarket I was to meet my mother and brother at.

The van was nowhere to be seen but that wasn't unusual. They could have thought of another place they had wanted to visit before heading to our meeting spot. I looked around, repeating my surveillance of the outside of the market. Pulling the cart to the doors, I pushed them open and unsheathed my machete once more. The market was darker than the sporting goods store, though it had high windows lining the store front. Still, the back was lined in shadows and anything could be lurking at the ends of the isles.

I grabbed my flashlight and let its beam caress the rows of food and along with the mess of things flung across the tile floor. Some stores had been ransacked when the epidemic hit, but most were still generally intact. A few stragglers had made it and looted supplies before probably dropping dead when they attempted to escape the city or getting ravaged by the wild vampires that the virus had created. I stepped into the store slowly, watching my step to avoid tripping on the bottles, boxes and cans that blocked my path. The further in I went, the less of a mess there was, like the looters had not considered going too deep into the store for supplies. They'd had good reason for that.

It took a few minutes but it was well worth the peace of mind to do my rounds. Finished with my examination of the store and back storage area, I started to load up my cart with non-perishables that were on my list. It was a tedious job, dragging the cart along with one hand and holding the flashlight in the other hand, I was used to it and managed to dump a ton of supplies into the cart.

Finishing up in the store, I wanted to get outside to see if my mother and Jeremy were there yet. It didn't seem like much time had passed but it was near noon. Where were they?

Pushing through the doors, I spotted the van parked to my left. Looking around for them, I saw nothing. How could they be here, but not have come in and say hello? I headed for the van and peeked inside. The keys were in the ignition and the back seat was filled with bags of supplies they had probably stuffed in there. Glancing around again and listening for any noise, I shrugged. They were probably in the store and I had just missed them.

I opened the trunk and started to fill the rest of it up with the stuff I had acquired. Once I was done, the metal cart folded up nicely and slipped in, too. Closing the hatch slowly so as to not make too much noise, I pushed at it and felt it click. I sat on the back bumper as I looked around again, feeling the tug of anxiety as I wondered once more where my family was.

Deciding to recheck the store, I hopped over the sidewalk and went through the front doors. Clicking the flashlight back on, I listened for movement but none came. I decided to call out to them, figuring it was safe since I had already secured the place.

"Mom? Jeremy? You guys in here?" My voice echoed in the emptiness, giving me a shudder as the large room seemed to grow dimmer as the midday sun no longer shined directly through the grungy windows. I licked my lips, feeling my throat close up as the air seemed to suddenly thicken and the staleness of it choked me.

I called out to them again and again but no answer came. I backed out and slammed the doors open, looking wildly around. The van was still parked in the same spot, nothing out of the ordinary that I could see. There was just no one else there.

Where were they?

My eyes fell on one thing that I had not noticed before. The driver's side door was slightly cracked open. My stomach lurched for a moment as I slowly stepped around the front of the van to look at the door. A smear of blood ran along the handle and up to the edge of the window. A bloody handprint of dark brick red in color, painted the center of the door. I gasped as my heart jumped, immediately drawing my machete out. I crouched against the van as my eyes darted around, looking for anything that would lead me to where they were. I searched the ground for blood trails but none could be found. If scavengers were out here too, they could have snatched them and I'd have been none the wiser. Not that I had seen any for almost a year.

I prayed for something but nothing came. I ran out toward the sidewalk that lined the street. It was quiet and desolate as ever. The sun reflected brightly on the dusty white buildings around me and fluttering trash floated by, riding on the breeze. My hair was flying in a halo as I wildly looked around.

"Oh, God, no, please! Where are they? Help me, please!"

I sucked back the sob that threatened to spill, not noticing the tears that already streamed down my cheeks. I ran to the corner of the sidewalk and glanced down both ways, desperate for any signs of them. Was Mom hurt? Was Jeremy? If I couldn't find the sign I needed, I could lose them forever. It wasn't something I was going to do, no, I couldn't lose them.

As I was about to turn back into the parking lot, I spotted what I needed. A tire track was pressed into an old bag of stuff. Whatever had been in it was now smashed and imprinted with the wavy lines of a tire. I ran to it and studied its lines intently. It was fresh. The track was well defined and nothing interrupted it, no dust, no streaks of the sparse rain that had recently fallen. I looked in the direction the tires headed, but that was the only clue that anything had changed. I ran down the street but nothing came into view. I came to a stop, slightly out of breath but feeling the panic surge like an overwhelming asphyxiation. I bent over, feeling the world spin as I tried to tame it back down.

They're gone, they're gone.

No, no, no, no!

I fell to my knees and let my stomach release the knot of breakfast, spilling it across the pavement. Tears flooded my eyes as I finished and let the sobs rip through me and shake my body. How could this happen? Who would take them? I hadn't seen anyone or come across any scavengers in so long that it had become a world of just us three. We had often spoken of that, wondering together if we truly were the last humans left.

The thought of being left by myself jolted me up from my position. My machete was on the ground where I had dropped it. I scooped it up and began walking back, glancing around as I wiped the tears off my face and sheathed my weapon. I wanted to get to the van and follow the track. If I could find another clue, maybe, just maybe, I could find them in time. Trying not to think of the feral vampires or worse that may have captured them, I ran until I found myself back at the van. Flinging the door open, I cranked the engine. I slammed the door shut as I accelerated, screeching from the parking lot and out into the streets of Sin city.

**Chapter Four**

The endless drive and search had left me broken in despair. I had not found any signs anywhere of my mother and brother. I had returned endless times to the supermarket with no further clues of anything. The streets had not offered further hints to their whereabouts. I now sat waiting in the van, dried tears and dirt caked on my face as I pondered what to do as the sun descended just above Mt. Charleston to the west. Nothing made sense. Everything was so wrong and the pit of sadness growing in my chest arrested my breath. The dusk warned me in colors of orange and dusty red that the night threatened to make its appearance and the looming shadows grew.

I gritted my teeth and shook my head. Disbelief and denial flooded my head as I screamed, pounding my hands against the steering wheel, making the van shake.

This can't be happening! It's not real! Wake up April!

My hands screamed as the hits flared into a raging pain, turning them scarlet red. The ache was not enough to numb me, but it did send me into a spill of sobs. The last of my tears spilt down my face and soaked my shirt as they plopped onto the fabric.

I can't leave them here! I can't! That was not a possibility. How could I ever leave them for those beasts? How could I live knowing I drove away into the sunset without them?

I sighed, sniffling and wiping my nose. I knew the answer all too well; I would never be able to forgive myself when I finally did leave this place tonight. I would rather die looking for them and I'd never give up. They were all I had to live for.

Shifting the van into gear, the hum of the engine made my panic surge one more time but I swallowed it down into the pit of my stomach. I could almost hear my mother's voice telling me that it was fine. She would expect me to return home, to the safety of our sanctuary in the mountains. She had always stated as such. But I didn't want to. I could hardly breathe thinking of following her directions.

Her voice echoed in my head, making me nod slowly as if she could even see me. "Anything happens, you return here for the night. We get separated, or anything, don't let your emotions destroy your senses. You know what must be done. Don't look back."

Moving the shifter into gear, I gently pressed on the gas and drove across the empty parking lot to the street. Pausing at the edge of the concrete, as if any other cars would ever be crossing the way anymore, I took in a deep breath as the sun's last beams seared into my eyes. My foot pressed the gas once more and I slowly pulled away from the desolate city, leaving my heart behind.

**Chapter Five**

The sun slumbered as I stared at the monitor of the security cameras. Its screen was split into four squares, each square displaying an image from one of the cameras that continually scanned the perimeter of the bunker. I sat on a steel chair that was ever so uncomfortable but it kept me awake, never letting my eyes waver from the screen. It was now burning itself into my retinas, making my eyes dry out. I hadn't changed and my grimy clothes clung to my skin. My disheveled hair flew in a crazy array of wisps and tangles about my head in a mangled halo, but I did not care. My feet ached, still in boots and sore from the endless search of the day. It was late but I was not going to be sleeping any tonight.

I prayed for them to suddenly appear, waving at me on the screen to let them in. I tapped on one of my katana swords that I had laid out on the desk before me. Its shiny steel surface gleamed under the fluorescent lights as I rocked the blade back and forth. The sun was not going to rise fast enough for me; the waiting agitated me down to my core. My nerves were jumpy and shaky as the overload of caffeine surged through my veins and made my head ache with a feverish pain. Rolling my shoulders, I stood up and stretched, walking over to the medicine cabinet to scavenge for some migraine medicine.

Finding what I needed, I sank back down on the steel chair. The hardness of it made my body protest even more. I grabbed a bottle of water I had left on the desk and swallowed down the two pills. I hated taking medicine if I didn't have to, but the caffeine and pain relievers were a necessity at the moment. I didn't want the migraine to get to the point where I would be debilitated and stuck in bed all night and day. I couldn't afford that when my mother and brother were out in the death-filled night.

Rubbing my temples, I groaned. I had to stay focused. Glancing at the screen again, I jumped as a flash of movement stilled my breath. I scrambled closer to the desk and glowing monitors. The other cameras were still and had showed nothing so I waited, hoping my pounding heart would slow down as I anticipated whatever it was that had moved to round the corner to the next camera.

I didn't have to wait long; a blur of a figure came into view looking around as if disorientated. A girl or young woman slowly walked by, as oblivious to her surroundings as she was of me watching her. I gulped as I studied her slow, delicate movements and grabbed the camera's remote to follow her with the lens. I hoped the camera's movement was quiet enough to not be heard as I followed her in the darkness. It had a night vision lens and the brightness along the person's skin made me think of my mother. I hoped the vamps had not gotten to her and wondered if maybe it was her. I squinted to study the image closer, zooming in on the figure.

Suddenly, the girl turned her bright, reflecting eyes towards the camera. I held my breath as I watched her inch closer, like a cat in the night toward the camera and seem to sniff up at it, cranking her head to see it better. My lips were numb, pressed so tight together that they were surely white. I waited as she stood on tip toes to get closer. I stilled the camera and observed her. Her fair blonde hair was in tangles and her dress hung on her like shredded rags. Her face had the baby fat of youth with a bruise of shadows under her eyes. Her face was smudged with dirt, adding to the wild look in her bright eyes.

I wondered who she was. Was she a feral? Was she even real? I feared I might have been hallucinating in my sleep-deprived state. She seemed to lose interest in the camera but did attempt one last time to reach up and swipe at the camera. She was too short and missed. I began to suspect she was not human. But what if she was? Indecision bubbled inside me as I wondered if I should go out and see about her. I felt stuck, not sure whether to go or not. If she was a feral, I'd have to kill her. If she wasn't, I wasn't ready to let another human into our home, especially without my mother here to consult about it.

On a whim, I grabbed my katana sword and entered the code to open the heavy steel doors. I peeked out and shut it quickly behind me as I slipped into the cloak of night. I shined my flashlight around the trees and brush, heading to her last known whereabouts near the camera. The night was almost blinding; the new moon left the forest engulfed in a black hole of nothingness. The stars shined like pin holes in a canvas of night. I listened and kept alert, hoping the girl was either gone or not in the position to lunge at me.

I did not have to search long; she was standing at the van, which I had parked in the back of the house, and seemed to be trying to fiddle with the door handle. I had the keys so there was no way she was going to steal it. Anyone with carjacking skills would have had that van on the road by now. She seemed clumsy and unsure. I wondered why she was so fascinated with the van. I soon found out exactly what had caught her attention.

She had slipped down into a crouch as her face caressed the side of the door, near the smear of blood that had now dried onto the paint. She scratched at it and licked the dried flakes with her tongue, like a large cat lapping up milk. My disgust made the rage inside me burn. I wanted to smack her off the vehicle and my mother's blood, to make her suffer. The hatred rampaged through my head as I gripped my sword and pointed the flashlight into her face, briskly approaching her.

"Hey! Get away from there you animal!" I yelled as I got closer. My sword was already held out and set to cut her down. My voice startled her and she backed away and turned to face me. Surprise and fear flashed across her face as I came within sword's reach of her. Stepping back away from me, she winced as the sword flashed across her face.

"Who are you?" Her thin voice came out shaky and unsure as her eyes darted around at me. I paused, stunned that she had spoken. Feral vampires don't speak. I shook off my shock as I glared at her.

"It doesn't matter! Who are you?" I demanded. I nodded to the van as I continued, "you seek blood don't you?" I stepped one foot closer and she cringed, glancing behind her for an escape route. She had unfortunately gotten herself into a tight spot. The van stood in her way on one side and the wall of the house was at the other. She only had one way out for I was blocking the front. She glanced back to me and shivered as I stepped closer.

"I–I, wait, I don't know what you mean." She stuttered as her back pressed against the van. Her wild eyes reflected the beam of the flashlight, much like a cat's retinas would. This was always a definite sign of a vampire and it confirmed my suspicions. I held the sword ready and continued to approach her.

My hatred boiled in my veins, and the need to connect my blade with her neck felt overwhelming. I wanted her to suffer. My mother and brother were gone because of her. The vampires had killed everyone I had ever loved and they were nothing but blood hungry beasts that did not care about who they sacrificed. She may have looked young and weak, but I knew better. The monster lurking under her skin would rip me to shreds if given any chance. They had no mercy and neither would I.

"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time; I will make you pay for what you have done to my family," I growled at her. My voice was almost unrecognizable, even to myself.

"Your family? I–I don't know them! I've done nothing!" Her voice cracked with the terror that spread across her face. She turned and tried to climb up the side of the van to get away. I swung the sword back as I approached. Bringing it around, it easily connected with her neck as a piercing screech escaped her mouth but ended suddenly with the thump of her head on the shattered leaves below. Her headless body convulsed as its missing controller was now gone, slumping to the ground almost immediately. Her black-red blood pooled under the mass of her thin, childlike frame.

My heart was racing and I felt like throwing up. I hadn't had anything to eat all day or night except the caffeinated drinks I had used to stay awake. Dizziness and utter disgust from everything rushed over me at that moment. Her death had brought me no relief. She wasn't even a feral. What she had been was a mystery. Ferals do not speak. They had no speech at all. How could she be a vampire and be able to talk? It was an anomaly at best.

The nausea of what I had done overwhelmed me as I backed away from her corpse, now still and looking an odd, sickly-pale shade. I turned and ran to the door of the compound, punching several attempts into the keypad before it opened. I scampered inside and slammed the door shut, turning the locks into place as fast as I could. Her blood could attract others if any other vampires were nearby. I was so stupid! What if there were others with her? I could have easily died or have been ambushed.

I couldn't think anymore as I rushed to a nearby sink, letting my sword clank to the ground as I turned on the ice-cold water, dousing my face in splashes. The shock woke me up a bit more but the terror of what I had done remained. I wet my face one more time before turning the faucet off and looked up into the wild face that stared back at me. I looked like that girl, almost feral in my own human-like way. She hadn't had a chance against me at all. I was the predator now; she had been an ant under my foot.

I would have to burn her body in the morning but for right now, the exhaustion overwhelmed me. It was 3 am; I would have three hours to rest at best, if I could get any. I rechecked the door and motion detectors before slumping into my bed, kicking off my boots and slipping out of my dirty clothes. I pulled a clean shirt from a stack next to my bed and pulled it over; shorts were my jammies for now. Pulling my blanket up to my chin and stuffing the pillow under my head, I closed my burning eyes as my mind finally succumbed to a cocoon of restless sleep.

**Chapter Six**

The alarm rang through my dreams, sending the fogginess of sleep out of my brain. I slammed the clock and rubbed my face, hoping yesterday had been a dream. One of my legs was dangling out of the blanket that twisted around my body. Sitting up, I sighed in disappointment as I stared at the two empty beds beside mine. I hung my head down and felt the sting of tears behind my eyelids as I tried to breathe in slowly. I had prayed so hard that it had all just been a torturous nightmare.

Readying myself, I prepped to venture out while the day awoke. Making sure I had all my weapons and some food and water to last me the day, I unlatched the heavy steel door and ventured out into the world, locking it behind me. Kerosene and a lighter in hand, I walked over to where the girl's corpse lay, still undisturbed.

Not like there was anyone around here to disturb a vampire's body.

I pulled her thin body over to the end of the cement driveway and placed her head on her chest before piling up dried brush and twigs around her. It was going to burn intensely; any flesh would burn hot and strong. The sun was still beneath the tree line, shadows shortening as it ascended. I wondered briefly if the sun would even burn this particular vampire. I wasn't going to chance her not burning. Once I was done, I lit a bunch of kindling and dropped it in the pile after dousing it with the lighter fluid.

The flames ignited quickly, licking her body with hungry fingers and burning her clothes up immediately. I watched, hoping that the smoke would not draw too much attention. Once she burned up, I would have to clean up the ashes and sweep the driveway. I sat impatiently as her thin frame was consumed, trying to keep my feelings about her at bay. At least it didn't take long. The fire burned intensely enough to pulverize her body. Fire did well disintegrating vampire bodies, they were so combustible. I sat and pondered why it had not gone up in flames at sunrise. This was indeed new to me.

I grew impatient and stood up, pacing the walk as I waited. When the fire had died down I grabbed buckets of water from a nearby water pump and doused the embers as they continued to crackle and snap. Nothing was left of the strange vampire now. Nothing but dust and ashes to even signify she existed. A sudden shame overwhelmed me. I had killed her before she could even tell me who she was. Feral vampires didn't speak. What, then, did that make her? Some sort of hybrid?

Shaking my head, I tried not to think about it so much, sweeping the mess of ashes and water off the driveway as quickly as I could. I had to get down into the city and search for my family again. I hated being alone, hated that my family could very well be dead now. No, I wouldn't accept it–I knew they were still alive, I felt it inside my heart and soul. Like a fire that still blazed within, it wasn't doused yet, like I knew it would be if our connection broke. That alone kept me focused this gloomy morning as I shoved the broom away into the garage and jumped into the van, turning the engine over and pulling out into the road towards Las Vegas.

The asphalt rolled under the car as I impatiently drove, agitated that I wasn't already there. I wanted to run through the streets, waking the dead. I had no plan, no investigative plot to find my family. But it was no holds barred. If I had to shake up all the hives of feral vampires to find Mom and Jeremy, I would. I would kill every last one of them if I had to.

My right hand drifted down to feel the hilt of my blades where they were leaning on the passenger side seat. I had brought my short katana sword and one machete. My crossbow, along with a quiver of arrows, would be strapped to my back if I needed it. It was compact and lightweight. I was prepped for war and I intended to win. Rolling my shoulders, I cracked my neck and felt my shoulders pop as I fidgeted in the seat, watching the landscape pass by as I pulled closer to the city. The debris in the road made me furious; I had to slow down to dodge the scattered mess. I wanted to be running. I was itching to kill the wretched creatures that had taken the only two souls that mattered to me.

Screeching into the parking lot of the supermarket, I jumped out of the van, strapping sheathes and daggers to my belt. Tightening the crossbow to my back, I made sure the quiver was stuffed full and the bow loaded. Last I pulled the katana and let it slide through my belt into place. It hummed in my hand and with a decisive power. The machete strapped to my right thigh and side nicely. I stuffed two flashlights into my belt too and slammed the door to the van, taking the keys with me. I wasn't sure if I was expecting anything more than just ferals. They didn't leave the shadows of the buildings. But something had. Something had ventured into the parking lot to take Mom and Jeremy.

But any new hybrid vampires–if that's what they were–would have to pull the keys off my bloody, dead body to steal my ride.

I glanced around me; the midmorning sun was already warning me that time was running out. I nodded, acknowledging its reassuring warmth, even if it was just for my own assurance. Inside, the darkness of the buildings was always cooler than the outside. I'd take the open parking lot over the insanely claustrophobic cramped insides of the infested buildings. I started forward, walking briskly toward the road where the tire track I had found the previous day had pointed.

Scanning the street in both directions, I again saw no other clues. I groaned, knowing the immense search in front of me would not be easy. If my family was alive they were probably not near this place but far from it. Standing up, I decided to head in the direction the tracks were leading me and begin searching the buildings. The tall, dead casinos loomed in the distance, the same direction as the tire tracks. It was not beyond me to fathom that they had headed that way. Whoever took them must have taken up residence near the strip of the Las Vegas Boulevard. I wasn't sure, but what better place to start? It would take me forever to search every casino but I had a lifetime to spare.

I followed the road and made it to the Mandalay Bay's dusty, gold-hued windows. I stared up at the beautiful brilliance of its mirrored windows that reflected the sun like laser beams down onto the street. I smiled. I was willing to bet that most of the tower rooms in the hotels were not infested; the amount of sun pouring into them would be unbearable for the ferals. It was the dark pits of the main floor casinos that worried me. The rank hallways and hidden rooms were numerous in these buildings– having been remodeled so many times–would be the most dangerous. I remembered the bowels of some of these monstrosities, the halls that led nowhere and the underground basements that went on for miles, full of stored slots, tables, chairs and then some.

I sighed, quickly slipping into the parking lot and down the sidewalks overgrown with desert sage and tumbleweeds that clogged up the way. I remembered this place in all its glory. It was heartbreaking to venture into its lost beauty and wasted neglect since the epidemic wiped everyone out. The land had quickly snarled its grip around the streets and concrete jungles of the city. I worked my way through the weeds and overgrown grasses that had survived the lack of water and the summer's dry heat. It had been mild but not many plants had tolerated it. None of the colorful flowers in the neatly manicured displays had lived. The place had a haunted feel to it.

I gulped as I reached the main entry to the lobby of the casino. Studying my own reflection in the thick glass doors made my heart flit in anticipation. I pulled out a flashlight and my short katana sword. I hated the dark interiors; it was like walking into a swarm of snakes. I tried to slow my breathing as I pushed the first set of doors in, ready for anything with every step.

The inner doors looked undisturbed. I wondered if the ferals even used doors. Most places I had found them had the doors hanging by the hinges or torn off. These were solid thick glass doors with metal hinges. They were dusty but intact with nothing to signify vampires roaming inside. I wasn't about to take it for granted at all, though. One mistake or let down of my guard and I might as well serve myself up for dinner.

Pausing, my courage stuck in my throat as I pondered my reflection. I looked so thin and hard, so unlike the girl that had hung out with friends and danced at parties. I looked like a military black ops chick, geared up and all. My hair pulled tight in a ponytail, black shirt and black cargo pants. Dark cool eyes stared back at me, harsh and stern. I wanted to run from the woman that glared back at me, unrecognizable from just a year ago.

I pulled the door open and pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. No time to think about that now. No time to ever think about that. The whoosh of stale air rushed at me like a sinister whisper. Clicking the flashlight on, I scanned the area before me. Endless chairs and slots stood dusty and dormant. Particles danced in the beam of light as I swept it around every nook and cranny. Katana in hand, I felt an odd coolness as I treaded inside. This place was undisturbed. Even the long-rotted corpses of people that I occasionally stepped over had been left where they had fallen. I glanced down to the ruin of carpet that ran all along the ground. Its dust untainted but for my own footprints. I doubted anyone had come in here or used it for anything. Even the ferals had not bothered with this desolate place.

I backed out after walking down one side of the casino floor. These buildings were death traps; too many hidden doorways and rows upon rows of slots and card tables to hide under or behind. I was sweating from the state of high alert that I had to keep up. The heavy canteen bumped against my leg as I moved. I was feeling the weight of all my gear. The night of bad sleep was going to catch up to me quickly if this continued. I sighed, marking this place as abandoned and headed back out into the brilliant sunlight.

The world looked the same. Unfortunately, nothing had changed. I headed down to next casino: The Luxor. Its dark windows were streaked in mud and old rain fall that carved little dirty rivers down its slanted sides. I wondered if any of the casinos were infested. I was sure they would be. But from the looks of the last one, the heavy doors were a hindrance to the vampires. The smaller casinos were probably a safer bet for them. I sighed. Just to be sure, I'd have to check out the main casinos on this intersection which was known as the Four Corners, made from the crossing of two main streets: Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Luxor was more challenging than Mandalay Bay. The interior was more tumultuous, with various levels and the inner incline of the pyramid walls. My flashlight's range went only so far in the deep darkness. I hoped that whatever lurked on the upper levels wouldn't jump down and surprise me. It was precarious to search this one. I sighed, trying to calm my nerves as I stepped up the stairs and onto the second floor veranda level. It was full of overturned trash cans and snack stands with litter everywhere.

As I scanned the balconies that led to the top of the pyramid, I noticed what looked like clothes and other belongings dangling off the sides of the balcony walkways above. I also saw several bodies littering the floor below them, like the people had jumped at one point and fallen to their deaths. I shuddered, turning away to search the rest of the floor. One exhibit's display consisted of a dark hallway leading to a set of rooms. It looked vaguely familiar but the banners had long ago been torn away and nothing remained to signify what it had been.

A figure flashed into my vision. I swept the beam of light back to where I thought I had seen it and a shadow of a person stood on a riser before me. Licking my drying lips, I readied my sword as I crept closer to the figure. It did not move and I wondered if it was even alive. To die in a standing position and remain so was almost impossible. Once I was upon it and ready to strike, I baulked as I fumbled back away from it. The skin was missing and only muscles, tendons and sinew along its extremities bulged out. It was a Bodies display–preserved to show all of the inner anatomy and wired to stand in a playful position, throwing a football.

I let out a laugh. Stupid exhibits! I should have known–I had visited it once a few years ago. That I had forgotten all about it took me by surprise and I scolded myself as I tried to slow my heart rate down, dropping my blade to my side.

But my relief was short-lived. A feral vampire jumped toward me from the shadows, knocking me into the wall. Its snarls echoed in my ears and a foul odor assaulted my nostrils. My sword clanged to the floor and the flashlight spun in circles just out of my reach, lighting the place up like a disco.

Shit!

I struggled to capture my footing, not sure where the vampire had gone off to, though I could hear its growls echoing in the rooms. I pulled a dagger from my belt as I scrambled for the flashlight. As I lunged for it, my legs were seized, sending me flying forward again, smacking my knuckles on the cement floor. The pain seared up my arms but I had managed to clamp my left hand over the flashlight and turned to aim it into the creature's face as I kicked at it frantically trying to free my legs.

It grasped with its boney, thin hands, scratching and tugging as if its life depended on it. The deep blood-red eyes glared at me as it snarled, dirty fangs glistened in the light. It winced only just a bit under the flood of the light's beam but it was enough for me to sit up and plunge the dagger into an eye socket, sending it writhing and screeching. Blood and ichor poured from the wound as it convulsed violently. I scrambled back on my arms and up onto my feet, glancing across the floor to find my sword.

I caught sight of it not too far from me, picking it up as I turned back to the dying vampire. It hissed at me but seemed to weaken with the loss of blood. The pale grey of its skin seemed to gleam opalescent and turned whiter still as a pool of blood and other things grew under its face. I stood over its body and swung the blade down in a clean slice through the neck. The quivering creature stopped moving and all was still once more. I sighed, wiping the blade on the ragged clothes of the dead vampire. Their blood was sticky and black, reminding me of used up motor oil.

I felt oddly satisfied, almost giddy, as the adrenaline rushed through my veins, pumping like ecstasy into my head. It was always exhilarating and I was ready for more, wanting to let them come.

Making sure the rest of the exhibit rooms were empty, I returned to the second floor and stepped down a staircase to the main casino floor. It was in shambles too, with overturned tables, cards and chips everywhere. A panic had ensued here; I could almost feel its vibrations still lingering in the air. I scanned it quickly and made my way to the rear of the casino. If I had not visited these places before when they had been alive with flashing lights and the hum of people, I would have gotten lost for sure. Even so, the back hallways into the employee areas were nothing to be happy about. The long basement-like passageways were endless and had so many turns, I feared the way out would be a treacherous route indeed. Luckily, I found an exit and came to find myself on the west side of the building, facing the huge parking garage of the massive casino, which it shared with two others.

Closing the door behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the warming metal of the double exit doors. The sun blazed high noon on my face and the stale air from the inside of the building was replaced with fresher desert air. I inhaled it with pleasure, glad to be free of the stifling dark. Only then could I relax somewhat as I rubbed a knot on my shoulder that had seized up from landing on the ground.

I stared down the strip towards the next casino: the Excalibur. It was a huge looming giant that reminded me how big they were and how small I really was. It would take eons to search every building and the more time that passed, the less likely I was to find Jeremy and Mom. Stuffing the flashlight away and sliding the Katana into my belt, I hit the pavement running. The pillars and concrete of the parking garages flew past me as the wind whipped its fingers across my face, teasing my hair out of its ponytail. I loved running. It was the closest feeling I ever got to really getting away from it all. The land rushing by with the pavement smacking against the heels of my shoes and gulping lungful's of dry cool air was exhilarating.

I skidded to a stop as I reached the sidewalk along Tropicana Ave. Glancing down both ways, the aloneness hit me again. I sighed, reaching for my canteen of water to take thirsty gulps of the sensational fluid. It was still autumn and the heat of summer was all but gone. The drifts of cool air were gaining strength as winter grew closer. It felt great on the sheen of sweat building on my skin from the run.

The Four Corners crossroad sat desolate and quiet. The litter that flew about seemed to sway in its own ballet like a star in a silent film. I still felt so small, staring up at the Excalibur and New York, New York casinos. They were enormous and promised me a thousand hiding places within. I felt almost at a loss. Should I search them all like the last two? Should I just randomly look in them? I could be way off the trail or close to it, I couldn't even be sure. I felt it was almost useless to search them all. They could be in a warehouse right off the strip, in the back-alley ways that lined the outside edges of the boulevard or even farther, far away in the bordering cities of Henderson or North Las Vegas even. I hoped not. I prayed I was at least getting closer than anything else.

**Chapter Seven**

The day had yielded nothing and my patience had grown extra thin. I hadn't even hit any feral vampire hives. I had managed to dispatch several lone ones, heading toward me in the bowels of the smaller casinos. Apparently, these were easier to break into for them than the larger casinos. Still, I was more frustrated than ever and my head ached with a throb that surged through my temples as I ended the day's search, driving away toward home, once again without my family.

The drive was even harder this time than it had been the prior evening. As I drove, feelings of failure and disappointment stabbed at me like daggers in my chest. The pavement seemed hypnotizing as the sun's light drained away over the horizon. I was leaving a little later than I had wanted but my desperation had grown to a fever pitch as I had frantically searched as much as I could in the last hours of daylight. Slashing down the ferals I had encountered left me more empty than satisfied. I just wanted to see my mother and brother's faces again–longing to see their smiles and listen to their contagious laughs and giggles in the loneliness of the night that awaited me.

Pulling up to the house in the mountains filled me with dread. Another night alone, another night left wondering what had happened to what was left of my family. Would I ever receive the answers to the questions that seems to run marathons through my head as I lay in bed at night, praying that the alarms would trip and it would be them banging on the door to come in? The deep searing pain I felt as I wearily peeled my equipment and weapons off my body, letting them clank onto the cold concrete floor inside the cell that I called home, ate away at my brain.

I showered the dirt and dried vampiric blood off my skin, temporarily easing the soreness of the day's activities. The water was amazing, hot and steaming. I remembered how absolutely thankful we had been to find that this underground refuge had a propane feed with a solar heater back up to heat water. Hot water, electricity–things I had taken for granted before–readily available only here. It had truly been a godsend.

I fell into my bed, barely pulling the sheets over my body before succumbing to the lure of sleep, so deep that for once, the nightmarish dreams eluded me.

***

Cracking my eyes open, I felt a sudden overwhelming anxiety that captured my breath in my throat. It was early morning and my body felt like it had been run over by truck. Sitting up, my joints popped and creaked as my muscles burned in protest. All the running and searching had been more than I had done in a while and had left me in a state of exhaustion.

I had to get up, though I did not want to. I could feel the desolation creeping into my mind as the urge to give up seemed to grow with each passing moment. To stay in bed and continue to sleep would be just fine with me, and this was unacceptable. Shaking my head, I tried to regain my focus. I had to keep moving, searching and searching until we were all safe again. I could not let this depression overwhelm me and threaten to freeze me into despair.

I quickly ate breakfast, gulping down an energy bar and some bottled green tea, and dressed for the day. I slipped on some dark jeans and strapped a machete to my right thigh. I stretched as I fit the weapons on. I hung a hatchet on an axe loop at my left side, leaving it at that. I was going to go light today. My body was not into hauling too many supplies and from the experience of the search yesterday, I wouldn't need as much as I thought I would. I checked my flashlights and slipped them into my many belt compartments. I filled the remaining pouches with water and snacks.

I finished off by pulling my hair into a tight bun that held at the nape of my neck. Done, I noticed again how gaunt I looked in the mirrors of the bathroom. I looked thin, but the sun had slowly burned its rays across my skin, giving it a slightly reddish, light brown hue. I'd forgotten to put sunscreen on the day before and groaned at the slight tingle of pain that emanated from the burn. I grabbed for a tube of the thick cream to slather on. The sun was intense here and a severe sunburn would be much more painful than sore muscles.

Exiting the compound, I loaded myself up into the van and headed off once more down the mountain. I wished I was closer to the city; the forty-minute drive sometimes irritated me down to my core if I was desperate to get there, like I was today. I swerved around the debris, cursing under my breath that some of it had shifted with the violent winds that had swept through the valley during the night. It was still a bit breezy but not as wild as the night had been.

This time, after checking the supermarket area, I drove away toward the strip to be closer to my main search area. I had made it to the Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. That's where I had ended my search the day before. The short mile had left me exhausted. There were so many buildings to search that it had taken too long to get through that short part of the Strip. It had frustrated me to the gills.

I pulled in behind the Caesar's Palace casino, a place I used to hold a job at. The Forum Shops was a super-long mall filled with rich displays of expensive goodies. Now it was a darkened tunnel, probably full of vampires. I wasn't sure I wanted to start in the mall area. There were no windows in it, a completely enclosed mall. It was sure to be unsafe. The entire casino barely had any windows. I cracked a smile, thinking back to the reasoning for this. It had been done on purpose in constructing the casinos to keep people gambling their hard-earned money away without a concept of time. No windows, no clocks. Genius on the part of the casinos but bad for me, in the complete darkness with creatures that wanted nothing but to slurp up all the blood out of my veins.

I decided to enter the back way, where the employee entrance was and I had gone in many times before. At least I knew this casino's layout well. Entering at the rear of the mall would be hazardous, but I'd have to go through there eventually anyway. Pushing the heavy double doors of the emergency exit, a black hole of nothing and dust swirled up before me, down a corridor into the insides of the building. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing but the wind softly tossing about interrupted the air. I readied my hatchet and flashlight, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. I slowly entered, letting the doors behind me close softly, right into the bubble of black.

It was suffocating. The ventilation in these places was poor, even when it had been alive with electricity and air conditioning. It always had kept the smoke clouds from burning cigarettes lingering forever in the enclosed space. Now it was stifling and stale.

I walked slowly forward, reaching the vending machines full of old snacks that stood to one side of the wide hallway. An inlet to the public restrooms stood to my left and I contemplated searching them. I flashed my light over the doorway openings that stood opposite each other. Only the dust on the floor told me that no one had been here in a long time. A year of dirt streaked across the tile floors and all around me. I decided to forgo it, feeling pretty sure that no one had ventured down this way in ages.

The hallway opened up to a large dining and entertainment area where a huge aquarium stood, half full of murky water and the stench of death. I held my breath and pulled my shirt over my nose. It was strong here, maybe from the slush of dead fish that lined the top of the aquarium water. I wasn't too sure. Something told me to stay alert–the stench could very well be decomposing bodies in a hive of vampires. The place was wrecked. The beautiful faux marble displays and saltwater aquarium were filthy and disgusting now, a ghost of the memories I had of this place when I had strolled down these halls to work at Bath and Body store.

I didn't have to wait long to find out why the place was giving off a bad vibe. Three gaunt-looking ferals jumped into my view, snarling as their red-tinged drool hung from their fangs like gore. I wondered what they had recently fed on. It was not possible that another human was around. Or maybe I was wrong; I hadn't encountered any in so very long that to see one would be a miracle. I backed up into the hallway with the exit at my back, pondering if I should fight the three feral vampires or make a dash for the double doors where the sun's light would be more than enough to fry them.

I went for the latter after hearing another one plop onto the floor behind them. They crept forward, their hungry and desperate eyes scanning me greedily. I turned and ran for it. I could take out two, maybe three–but four? I was pushing it at that. I pumped my arms and legs as fast as I could, willing my muscles to move even more. The ferals were quick, super-human quick, and only my intense running and training had helped me keep out of their reach. The beam of my flashlight was zigzagging across the walls like an epileptic seizure. I wondered how much more I would have to run before reaching the doors.

I felt the grip of death as a cold, bony hands grabbed my left arm, sending the flashlight in my fist flying as I pummeled through the double doors. It sent a searing pain through my right shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact into the metal door. I felt the vampire latch its mouth onto my arm, gripping so tight with his fangs I thought my arm would snap. The sun's light wrapped around me like a brilliant fire, sending me and the feral rolling to the floor as I heard the vampires scream in pain. I rolled on the hard concrete, shaking off the tumbling body of the feral as I jumped to my feet, turning to aim my hatchet at them. I didn't have to fight anymore. The doors had gotten stuck wide open and the four creatures were writhing on the ground near me as their charcoaled skin hissed and cooked in the sun's rays. The stench that emanated from them made me want to hurl. I backed up away from them, my heart still beating insanely fast.

I pulled my eyes away from them to stare in horror at what had arrived behind them. In the shroud of the shadows, a dozen pairs of red gleaming eyes glared right back at me. The snarls rumbled inside the hall as I gasped. A huge hive of ferals were watching me hungrily even as they avoided stepping into the light. I backed away again, contemplating slamming the doors shut. Their faces were withered into a gaunt grey, looking more like zombies, except for the flashing fangs that gleamed in the dim light around their open mouths.

I glanced down to the now-still corpses of charred flesh and ashes of the four that had almost reached me. They were no longer a threat to me at all. I ran up to the double doors, slamming them both closed as fast as I could to seal the hive inside the darkness. I pounced back from the doors as I heard the thud of their bodies against the metal. Swallowing the hard lump in my throat and feeling the adrenaline pumping to the point of a headache in my head, I was relieved. Their needy moans interrupted my thoughts as I slipped off the sidewalk, still backing up. I stumbled to gather my balance and continued to walk away, heading toward my van.

Their pounding ceased and the doors stilled. They would not come out into the sun, they were smarter than that. They would let me go and search for me later, after dark. Luckily, they could not pick up a scent but I wanted to get out of there so fast that I literally was tripping over my feet as I made it back to the van parked in the street between two massive concrete parking garages. This place was the definition of a concrete jungle. The garages were not safe either, they were quite dark even during the day and shrouded from most light. They could be crawling with vampires, too. The entire city was infested with those vile creatures. I was vastly outnumbered.

I peeled out of there, jumping back onto the freeway of the I-15 northbound. I took the interchange to the US-95 and followed it back toward the mountains. My heart continued to race until I reached the outskirts of town and the city skyline shrank in the rearview mirror. The tires screamed their protests as I continued on, swerving dangerously around stalled cars and debris. Glancing down for a moment, I noticed the vampire bite on my arm just below my elbow. The blood seeped from the puncture holes which were drying into dark red, clotting drips that were also staining my jeans below it. The sight of the bite seemed to pull me back into myself and out of my jumbled thoughts, like a bucket of ice being tossed onto my head.

I slammed on the brakes, coming to a stop in the middle of the road. It almost made me laugh that I didn't pull to the side of the road like I had when other humans had been around.

"No one cares if I stop here! No one cares if I make it home!" I yelled at the windshield, pounding the steering wheel over and over until the searing pain caused me to stop. I was sobbing by then, gripping my arm and clutching it to my chest like an infant. I suddenly felt lost and small.

If the bite got infected, I would surely be of no use to anyone anymore. I swallowed back the last few sobs that tried to escape my chest as I sat there, the desolate desert expanse before me on the dusty road. I hadn't left the city quite yet, but almost. The few straggling houses seem to sit there like silent watchers of my suffering. I sighed, wiping my face with a rag that hung on the back of the middle seat. I didn't know what it had been used for before but I tried to not think about it.

Instead, I grabbed a large bottle of water that was always left in the car for emergencies and poured its cool liquid over the wound, rinsing it out as best I could out here in the middle of the god-forsaken road. As the bottle emptied, I shook my arm to rid it of the excess water and pulled out the first aid kit from the back of the van. I sat in the rear hatch area as I smeared antibiotic ointment onto the punctures, making sure to cover the mouth shaped welts that accompanied them. After that, I wrapped it with gauze and an ace wrap, securing the band snuggly over my arm. I flexed my fingers and stretched my arm out, making sure it did not impede my use of it, but remained snug and secure.

As I stored the kit away and tossed the empty bottle to side of the road, I leaned back against the van and stared at the city. I had been so careless. A hive sat in that mall, definitely in my way and hungry now for my blood. I'd have to exterminate them. The shock of so many of them had left me skittish, like a coward. I cursed under my breath as I thought of my cowardice. How stupid to get so jumpy so easily. I had faced a hive before, why had they scared me so much this time? I rubbed my face and knew the answer immediately. I had always had my family to take care of. I had always thought that if I fought hard enough, I could save them from harm. Now they were nowhere in sight and I hadn't been able to save them anyway. I had run like a coward into the sun's sanctuary instead. I was nothing but a puny girl, trying to be a hero.

I gritted my teeth, grunting at my frustration. I sighed, knowing it was still too early to return home. I would search the exteriors of the casinos for the rest of the day. But first, I was going to make sure that this particular hive was exterminated. I would only rest if I knew that all knowledge of me was wiped away by their demise.

I hopped back into the driver's seat of the van and cranked the engine on again. Turning the wheel hard, I brought the van around and headed back toward the city. I would kill them all, even if I died trying. I knew I shouldn't have felt so strongly about it, but the rage burned inside me like a cancer, eating away at me and screaming to engulf me if I did not let it run its course. I wanted to take it out on them; the pain–the hurt. Here I was, without the ones I loved, scaring the piss out of myself by venturing into the shadows where I could breathe my last breath for sure. I hated it. I wanted to smother them in their darkness, so that they could meet the light, the ever-so-unforgiving sunlight and die for good this time.

I didn't care that they had been human once. They had been my neighbors, friends, acquaintances. I had found out immediately that once you turned, once you were infected, you were never the same again. You would disappear and leave a ravaged, hungry beast in your place. You could turn from a bite or, like most, from the contagious properties of the viral epidemic. Get either one and you were toast. Some would die from it immediately, unable to host the devastating viral infection. Those were the lucky ones. I wasn't so lucky at all.

I pulled up near the double door exit where I had made my escape. I paused, scanning around me for any strange movement. The two large parking structures stood like mountainous gates to each side of this access road. The casino was in front of me, leading toward the right with its expansive Greco-Roman facade, as fake as it could be but nonetheless massive. I wondered if any of the rooms up there with the curtains still drawn were crawling with vampires. I found it funny that the casinos, for the most part, had remained intact. It was more of the downtown and older buildings that were crumbling to pieces. I guess they weren't meant to last forever. Still, if people were still around, maybe they would have survived daily use and abuse better.

I finally slipped out of the van, shaking off my reverie to concentrate on the mission at hand. Opening the rear hatch again, I pulled out a crate full of more-powerful ammunition: a grenade thrower, hand grenades and my crossbow. I smiled as I loaded myself up with all the goodies. I rarely used them because of the noise factor of the grenades. But this was no ordinary situation. I was willing to risk anything to take this hive out, even stir up the other hive pockets nearby. I almost truly wanted, no, prayed for them to show up and try to take me out again.

Go ahead, take your best shot. I'm ready this time.

I clipped on a wearable flashlight, one that hung around my chest like a beacon but was strapped down against me to avoid bouncing around and making it difficult to see. I stretched out and slipped both my machetes into my side sheaths, placed a couple grenades in a pack on my belt and held a grenade in one hand as I made my way forward, ready to swing the doors open and bring death to them.

The four vampires that had baked in the sun were nothing more than four charred piles of ash, softly floating away in the afternoon breeze. I frowned, kicking one of the piles and sending it into the atmosphere like a dance of confetti. Narrowing my eyes, I crouched forward to grab the handle of the door, feeling the warm metal under my fingers. It vibrated like it was on fire, almost burning my skin. Clenching my teeth, I sucked in a deep breath and pulled back with the most force I could muster. The ferals were not there. Nothing was there to even say they had been there. I propped the door open and readied myself, walking carefully inside, briskly but quietly. The light flashed around with the movement of my chest but created a nice area of vision for me.

I was already at the disgusting aquarium when I heard them. Glancing about the room, I saw them ducking out of store fronts and from behind pillars, dozens of them. I gulped, trying to keep my legs readied to bolt. I backed away a little bit and found that my movement made them hurry toward me even faster, groaning and hissing as I moved away. I retrieved four grenades, pulling the pins and waited as I held steady, my heart pounding like a drummer in my head. As I eased into the hall again, I pulled my arms back and flung the grenades, one by one, as high up as I could to the far walls. I turned to head out again toward the sweet sun that beckoned me from the opened double doors. I was not about to leave but gaining cover was a must with the grenades about to burst inside there.

The hall provided more than enough shelter. I felt the blast as the walls shook, kicking up dust clouds and bellowing like an avalanche. I backed out toward the sun to wait out the cloud of dirt, as it took out the visibility. The screeches were deafening as the sound of concrete and glass shattered the silence outside. Dust clouds billowed out, swirling around like mist. I readied my dual machetes, sucking in a breath before the cloud enveloped me. I ran forward into the middle of the large room as the dirt settled down on clumps of concrete and metal. All over were feral vampires in different states of wither, some shattered beyond recovery, some struggling under debris.

The blast had not leveled the large, round hall. Instead, it had broken enough pieces of the arched roof to open beams of sunlight that streamed down into the dusty room like spikes. Some vampires were pinned under concrete chunks and writhed as they burned beneath the intensity of sun. It lit up the room well enough for me to see as the ones left untouched lunged for me. I swung both machetes, chopping into the first feral as it bared its dirty brown teeth at me, its red eyes gleaming. Its head flew off with one swing and dark crimson blood spurted from its stump of a neck and down the filthy shirt that it wore.

I continued swinging my blades, catching several through the chests or arms, leaving them with severed limbs or on the ground, missing legs and screaming at me. One reached out, grabbing my leg and squeezing its fingers around my jeans with its long, dark nails digging in. I swung one blade down, severing the hand and hacked at its head with the other blade, the sound of bone cracking and tissue squishing under it with every hit. The hand held onto my leg and I shook it loose, trying not to think about how disgusting that was. I slashed through two more that had climbed over a fallen block of roof and attempted to grasp at me with their hands. This was truly a fight of blade and teeth. I kicked one down and slashed its neck, then brought both blades to a cross in front of me and pulled back as the feral ran right into them, effectively decapitating itself with little effort on my part.

I had lost count of how many I had slaughtered. They were no match–I had become the monster killer in the room. My blades were sopping wet with thick clots of drying blood and ichor. The room took on a strong coppery smell as the dirt mixed with oily blood, swallowing the musty stench of the place with the overwhelming scent. I bit my lip to try not to think about the horrid smell. The aroma of death lingered with it, like a muck that tainted every surface of the place. The air seemed to grow thicker as I breathed hard, using up my energy quickly. The bite on my arm was screaming in protest as the muscle underneath the bite moved and stretched, contracting with every movement.

The adrenaline took care of some of the pain but I knew it would not last forever and really could not. Looking around as stillness overcame the room, I realized they were all down and dead. Every single feral that had leaped out at me was ripped to pieces, sliced into like cheese, bleeding guts and ichor all over the dusty marble floor. I waited, still semi-crouched with my knees bent and my swords out, still ready to slice into something else. Nothing came, though; they were all gone.

The silence seemed to sober me up from my intoxicated state. I slowly stood up straight, examining the damage I had inflicted. A slight smile curled at my lips as I breathed in and out hard. It was an exhilarating high and I didn't want it to end. For that one moment, the pain of losing my mother and brother felt righted, even for just a minute. I knew this was what I was made for, to kill these insolent creatures and bring their hives down. They were as unnatural to this world as anything could be. My hatred boiled inside me and made my eyes blaze as I glared at the pieces of evil that were strewn about the room. Some were sizzling under the rays of sunlight, crackling and bubbling as they disintegrated. I wanted them all to burn; I wanted them all to suffer like I had.

Gasping, I realized that tears were streaming down my face and plopping down onto my shirt. I spun around, feeling as though the room was collapsing inward, even though it wasn't. The air seemed to thin out, small fires burned from the explosions and were growing in intensity as the bodies and trash fueled its fury even more. My eyes glanced about wildly as I felt the horror of what I had done creep into my chest and arrest in my throat. I grasped my blades and ran for the haven that only the outside air could give. Jumping over debris, bodies and rocks, I flew down the hall and spilled out onto the sidewalk.

Finally coming to a stop, my machetes clanked to the floor as I knelt over, breathing hard and closing my eyes, trying to calm the overwhelming anxiety that pulsated in my head. A bit dizzy and coming down from the adrenaline, I paused there for a moment, waiting for my heartbeat to slow and settle into a calmer pace. Standing slowly, I turned toward the double doors, seeing the beams of light cutting the darkness within like knives. Nothing came after me; they were all dead. Only I was left, standing alone. This feeling of fear and power twisted inside me like two piranhas circling each other, ready to rip into each other. I wanted to feel glad that I had killed the hive with little effort. I tried to shake the guilt off, telling myself it was okay, that I had done them a favor. They were no longer people–they were animals, unnatural and cursed. Putting them down was the only thing I could do for them now.

I reached down, grabbed my blades and slowly dragged myself to the van. Opening the side door and grabbing a rag that sat on the floor, I wiped the dark, sticky blood off my blades. I would have to wash them later but right now the fatigue was settling into my bones like a syrupy draught. I was feeling incredibly worn out and exhausted. It wrapped around me like a sedative. I slammed the door shut, leaving my blades on the floor of the van.

I looked around–the street's silence was almost too much for me. I wanted so badly to see another person, to have someone say my name again. The feelings that swirled inside me were overwhelming, almost making me want to hurl. I swung up into the seat of the driver's side of the van and cranked the engine. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my fingers felt a tingle of numbness as I continued to sob. Drying blood streaked up and down my arms in intricate patterns. I wanted to scrub it off my skin and feel brand new again. Their blood was tainted and full of viral disease.

I wondered if I would turn this time, turn into one of them. I often wondered why I hadn't turned when the vampiric virus had vanquished everyone else. My mother, brother and I had fled the city when the nights were beginning to get a little too scary and deadly in our house. It had been centrally located near the sound wall built around the US-95 highway. It was an older neighborhood, meaning that the houses there had large yards and strong construction. Unlike the newer housing tracks, they were built to last forever. We'd had a nice huge spiked gate surrounding the property which had served as our protection from the outside, where the dead had increased and feral vampires had begun roaming freely.

We had boarded up the windows to the point that no light escaped when we lit our lamps at night. Keeping to the living room, we would take shifts sleeping and guarding, never making a noise during the long dark hours of night. The dead would make the noise for us. Outside I could hear the not-so-distant screeches of the feral vampires, hunting their prey. At first it was human screams that accompanied their hisses. Then as the population grew tinier and tinier, they had turned to capturing lost dogs and cats, pets of owners that no longer came home. I heard the dogs barking and the cats screeching back at the monsters. It wasn't long before those noises were silenced as well and the inhuman snarls faded as the neighborhood died and the lights went out.

I came back into the present as the street, now flying by in front of me as the van cruised down it, turned onto the freeway toward home. It was now about one hour from sunset and all I wanted was to forget the day and hide in my hole in the mountains once again. The sky bled translucent oranges and blues across the horizon as I rolled the window down, letting the air whip my hair around. I still felt suffocated, still felt an overwhelming angst within my chest that did not fade with anything but the air. The rush and noise of it made my mind a bit number, maybe even a bit clearer.

I raced through the abandoned cars and pieces of debris. The tears had dried into dirty streaks down my face and I once more felt the weariness growing in my bones and down my body. I wanted to keep driving, keep on until the road faded away into the endless desert plains and disappear with them. I knew that I couldn't and I knew that I had to stay here and keep fighting, even for nothing more than for the memory of my mother and my brother. For them, I would not let my spirit wither and fade. I would continue on, regardless.

**Chapter Eight**

After a shower, I sat on the bed, examining the vampire bite on my arm. It was clean and looked like it was starting to heal well. I doubted I would turn into a vampire, I had been bitten many times before without infection, but I might as well lock myself in here if I did. At least I wouldn't kill anyone trapped in a cement tomb. I doubt I would be able to think enough to get out of here; the ferals didn't seem to have that kind of higher brain function. Even though they gathered into groups to survive better, they couldn't even open the heavy doors of most of the casinos. They were a bit zombie-like in that way.

I sighed, rubbing my face after bandaging up the wound to keep it from hitting anything or getting some other infection. My eyes felt dry and stung as I pressed my hand into them. I reached for a bottle of water on the table next to my bed and swallowed down the fresh fluid. It felt good on my scratchy throat. I hoped I wasn't getting sick. The desert seemed to suck the hydration from my body without any effort like a dehumidifier working to turn me into a stick of jerky.

I laughed at the thought and plopped back onto the pillow of my bed. I reached over to click the overhead light off which left me with only the soft glow of the security camera monitors to see by. I sighed, staring up at the pipes that ran overhead along the cement roof of this small sanctuary. Only the hum of the monitors and the fans that spun overhead filled the space. I hoped that I wouldn't have any kind of activity to deal with during the night. My body was already relaxing into a paralyzed bliss as the soreness of the day sat in my muscles and bones. I let my eyelids slowly meld together and the darkness float me into a temporary safe harbor.

***

My eyes fluttered as I woke with a start. Sitting up, I saw that I had been lying in what looked like a hospital bed. The smell of alcohol wipes and bleach assaulted my nostrils as I turned my head, immediately and instinctually scanning the room. I even checked underneath the bed I was lying in, hoping to not find a feral creature lurking there.

Where the hell am I? The lights were on and blared down on me like God's flashlight, examining me and making my eyelids flutter at the glare. How could there be electricity in this hospital? How the heck did I get here?

I swung my legs over the side, noticing I had hospital socks on and a flimsy white and blue gown that patients usually wore. I pulled at it, feeling quite naked underneath it. I shivered, looking around the room for my stuff but none of my clothes were there. My confusion made me curious as I stood up and shuffled to the door, listening with almost disbelief as I reached for the door handle. Voices. The murmur of them slipped through the door like a hum. My eyes widened as my heart seemed to jump with excitement. Could it be? Did someone find me? Other humans?

Overwhelmed with happiness, I swung the door open and stared at the nurse's station before me. I studied the nurses in their scrubs with their stethoscopes draped around their necks, busy at the desks. My mouth gaped open as the phones rang while they busied themselves, shuffling around papers and drawing up medications. They hadn't even noticed me yet but I wanted to run to them and squeeze them tight. I stopped before leaving my room, feeling like something was not quite right. I glanced down the halls on both sides of my door. They seemed to go on forever with so many doors, all closed and quiet. I wondered if there were many patients here.

I breathed in deeply, deciding to head toward the nurses and see why I was there and how I had gotten there. I padded softly on the cold tile floor, feeling the cool breeze of air conditioning swirling about me. The place was clean, as a hospital should be. The floor gleamed as the fluorescent light bounced off the freshly-polished and cleaned surface. It was almost too clean. I reached the desk and was about to speak to one of the nurses, whose back was toward me, when I let out a yelp as someone grasped my shoulder.

"Do you need something, miss?" A calm voice sounded off behind me. I swiftly turned, restraining myself from smacking her. The nurse eyed me suspiciously, her blue eyes gleaming as she studied me. Her dark brown hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail that sat softly on the neck of her purple flowered scrub top. Her pants were a solid purple and her lilac-colored stethoscope hung from her neck. My eyes drifted to her name tag and read the name "Grace." She wore light makeup and smelled like a combination of medicated soap and scented lotion.

"I–I don't know. Where am I? What am I doing here?" I asked softly. Grace gave me a concerned smile and waved me to a chair at the station as she grabbed a chart from a wall rack and flipped through it, reading the contents.

"Ah, Miss April Tate, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, it seems you are here for treatment of a viral infection." She smiled and looked up from the chart as I stared back confused. My fingers subconsciously reached over to touch the bite on my left arm. Feeling nothing but smooth skin I glanced down, sensing a shift in my surroundings.

"But how did I get infected?" I looked back up at Grace but found her gone. Looking around me, the same nurse's station remained but looked ravaged. The fluorescent lights were dangling from their cords and flickering in and out. Papers and charts littered the now-dirty and streaked floors. I shot up from my chair and gasped. Along the hall were the same nurses I had just seen working but now they were lying face down on the floor, lifeless, with the color drained from their skin. Their eyes stared out into nothingness, blank and dead. I shivered, stepping over them, and noticing I was no longer wearing the hospital gown I had awoken in, but jeans and a white shirt. I paused, catching sight of Grace standing in the hallway, facing away from me.

"Grace? What's going on?" I felt the hair on my neck stand on end as Grace turned around–she now owned the grey skin of a feral vampire and bared her fangs, flashing them at me as they dripped with fresh, red blood. A snarl crawled across her face as her red-black eyes gleamed in the nearly darkened hallway.

Oh shit!

I backed into the nurse's station, searching for a weapon in the trashed mess of the desks and chairs. Finally spotting a scalpel lying across what looked like a prepped table for a chest tube, I grabbed it and a cart of charts, swinging the cart behind me, just in time to hit Grace as she scrambled toward me. She was fast but not fast enough as I spun around a pillar. I hopped onto the desk, swiftly bending as I pirouetted back, bringing my arm with the scalpel in hand around in an arcing motion to slash her throat. The thick, syrupy blood poured out of the neat cut like a bucket being poured down her scrub top. I had not cut far enough through to decapitate her but it was near enough for sure.

I landed on the floor inside the quad of desks and scrambled back onto my feet as she reached toward me, gurgling as blood continued to spout out of her neck. Her eyes were angry but sallow as she began to turn paler, her life blood draining away. Grabbing a thick bedside chart, I swung it as hard as I could into her face, sending her head reeling across the tile. Her grey-skinned body convulsed as it dropped to the floor without its brain to command it.

I sighed, dropping the chart and looking around, hoping she was the only vampire around. When I didn't see any more I relaxed just a bit and started down the hallway. I avoided the ripped wires from the lights above that swung into my path. I still couldn't figure out why I was even here. This was not right somehow; I was at home sleeping, wasn't I? I felt naked without a weapon and searched among the rubble for anything I could use to kill a vampire. Finding a broken bar off a transport cart, I gripped it in my hand. I was ready to pummel anything that came at me.

I made it around to the back employee hallway when I stopped, realizing the elevators might not be working. I pushed the button but the console was dead. I sighed, hoping I wasn't on the top floor; going down the stairwell was not going to be fun if it was infested with ferals. As I exited the employee hallway and made my way through the floor's main passageway, where I finally found the stairwell. I dodged a few gurneys on my way and stupidly swung the stairwell door open without scoping it out first. So why was I surprised when three feral vampires lunged at me immediately, taking me down and biting into my upper arms and my thigh?

I screamed as I kicked and hit as much as I could, hoping to get away from them, but they latched on and sucked my life's elixir away. The light faded in and out above me as I saw a shadow of a woman standing over me. Her eyes were not red but a desert sandy brown rimmed in a circle of gold. She snickered at me and bent down next to my ear. "You are one of us," she faintly whispered just before the darkness overcame me.

**Chapter Nine**

The air around me was thick and noxious, and seemed to set my breath on fire. My chest burned as I heaved the air in and out, sitting up in my bed. I was back in my compound sanctuary, this much I gathered from darting my eyes wildly around the room.

Oh, thank God, it was just a nightmare.

Grabbing my bottle of water, I took a swig of cool liquid down my burning throat as I tried to control my breathing and my racing heart. The sheets were soaked and my body was drenched in a film of wetness from writhing in the bed. It had seemed so real and I had let it overwhelm me. I was usually pretty good at controlling my dreams, able to wake myself up before anything bad happened. Yet my control had languished in this dream and had left me flattened.

Shaking my head, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed my dripping strands of hair off my face. I hated nightmares; I had only wished to rest in a dreamless sleep that never seemed to come. I hoped my dream was not any kind of omen–that would not be good at all. The slickness of my shirt and shorts gave me a shudder as it reminded me of the coolness that the concrete emanated all around. Shivering, I stood up slowly and changed my clothes out for a fresh set.

I was about to pull on some new shorts when I noticed the alarm flashing on the console and the low beeping noise of the warning light. I froze, staring at the monitors, waiting to see what had set off a motion sensor outside. My heart wasn't cooperating anymore and continued to jump in my chest as I watched the screens.

Quickly, I grabbed a pair of jeans instead and pulled them on, yanking back my soaked black hair into a messy, low ponytail. Slipping on one of my hoodies for warmth, I sat at the monitoring desk and waited, hoping it was a false alarm and that an animal had found its way across the property. As the camera flashed to the driveway, I realized what had tripped the sensor. Two figures stood at the van, seemingly searching its windows and circling it round and round. I gulped. They were so close–I prayed that the soundproofing of my sanctuary was working its magic at that moment.

Staring at the figures, they reminded me of the lone vampire girl from the other day, the helpless one I had killed without hesitation. Pressing my lips together, I felt an urge to gear up and slaughter these two, just like the girl. That is, until I saw another two figures walk across the screen.

My heart jumped again. Am I surrounded? I sucked in a breath as I realized I had been holding it for a bit too long. How many are out there? What if they find me?

The questions poured through my head as I stared wide-eyed at the scene before me. I couldn't believe that they had come up so far into the mountains. Why would they do that? Was the lack of food bringing them to me? I frowned as I realized that my mother's blood was still smeared across the van's door and the light sprinkle of rain that fell on and off in the fall here had probably wet it enough earlier to bring out the blood-tainted stink all around the van. I suddenly regretted not washing the damn thing when I could've. It would have saved me this headache for sure.

I decided to get ready, just in case they barged through into my hideaway. I doubted they would, this place was fortified. Pulling on my socks and boots, I laced them tight and added some daggers to a bandoleer I strapped across my chest. My machetes sat cleaned and gleaming on the rack across from the desk. I pulled only one down, not feeling too hot on my left arm, and a hatchet to swing if need be. I was still tired but I was hoping I wouldn't be doing any fighting tonight.

The monitor's glow burned my eyes as I spent the next couple hours staring at the figures shuffling around. They had my curiosity up. Some glanced around the property and searched about for whatever they were looking for. Others were up in the cabin, checking it out, but none headed into the cellar for some reason or another. My hide out was safe. But the confused look on some of their faces made me suspicious. They were not the crazy ferals from the city who pounced without remorse and tore at a person with fangs. Like the girl from the other night, these ones walked more smoothly and did not snarl or look around crazed. I almost could mistake them for humans except for the glimpse of a fang every now and then flashing in the screen from their partially opened mouths. No, these were not feral, and this scared me most of all.

I thought I knew what was out there, but these mutants made me want to hide in my hole even more. I watched them for a good while until they disappeared from the cameras. I knew I couldn't leave without risking discovery during the night. I didn't think I could use the van anymore. I would have to find another car to use until they moved on but who knew how long that would be?

I groaned at my grave mistake, taking it for granted when I parked my van outside every day. It had been my only connection to our old life. Now I would have to let it sit for a while to make sure they suspected nothing was out of place. More out of place than the blood on the door? I huffed out a breath, shaking my head. I hoped they would just move on. This was so not a good thing; my little universe was crashing down, splintering into severed shards made to cut at every step. I wasn't sure there would be anything I could do if they discovered my hideout. Sighing, I was not sure what to do about anything anymore.

I sat at the monitors for what seemed like an eternity. My legs were kicked up on another chair while I leaned back, arms crossed on my chest while my exhaustion fought me to close my eyes. The hum of the equipment was lulling me to sleep, even though I had drunk all the energy drinks I could without enduring any severe side-effects of overuse. I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 4:15am, four hours since I had seen the strange hybrid vampires outside. I figured they had left by now, with sunrise nearing. I bet they didn't want to be around to enjoy that.

I sighed, slipping my weapon belts off to rest in the middle of the concrete floor. I went and slumped onto my bed, fully clothed. It seemed my will to be neat and tidy was waning as more time went by without my family. I shook the depression off me as the darkness embraced my weariness. I was going to need some rest, knowing that unfortunately, the game had now changed.

**Chapter Ten**

I waited until the sun had fully risen to emerge from my hideaway as carefully and as quietly as I could. I left prepared for a fight, no longer sure if the hybrid vampires were day walkers or not. Anything was possible. I was not about to walk out like a cow to slaughter. If it came down to it, I would die fighting.

As I crept out the metal doorway, I quietly clicked it closed behind me, hatchet in hand just in case I was jumped at close range. With my eyes constantly scanning the area, I waited minutes upon minutes, listening for any unusual noises. When nothing happened, I let out the breath I had been holding. My relief flooded me as I punched in the key code to lock the door and walked down the driveway, heading to the neighboring houses. I knew of several cars that had been left abandoned with the nice cabins that lined the roads in the Mt. Charleston community. I had spent many a youth church camp weekend up in these mountains. Some of the adult members had had cabins up here. It may not have been Aspen, but these houses were not cheap. Most had the log cabin feel to them and sat buried in snow in the winters. Right now, I wanted to get a new ride and hopefully someone had stowed a car in a nearby garage. But first, I would have to make sure no ferals were lurking about in the dark garages and houses.

The nearest cabin I came across looked like it might house something. I took the steps two at a time and tried the handle. It didn't turn in my grasp. Cursing under my breath, I ran around, checking doors and windows to find a vulnerable spot. Groaning when I found none, I took out the hatchet and positioned it to slam against the window next to the door. The impact sounded like an avalanche of massive chimes clinking onto the ground in a shower of glass, making me hold my breath. I scanned around the trees and the land, waiting for anyone to appear. Luckily no one came from outside or inside the cabin.

Reaching into the shattered remains of the window and avoiding the shards of sharpened glass, I turned the bolt that kept me from getting in. Rushing inside, I clicked the door behind me, surveying the cabin. It also seemed abandoned and untouched for what could've been eons. I quickly made my way to the garage door, pulling my flashlight out; it would be dark as night inside there. I swung the door open and flashed the beam of light across the space. It was empty except for some storage containers and shelves of old sledding equipment and bicycles. I had wished it would've been that easy but up here in the mountains most people hadn't made it back. I doubted they would leave a car in an unwatched house.

I moved onto three more houses before finding one that had been occupied more than most of the others, but no one had been there in at least half a year. There was the foul smell of old garbage sitting in the trash can. I wrinkled my nose, knowing I had to work fast. It smelled like whoever had lived here might be rotting upstairs. I held my breath after quickly scanning the rooms before me. Making my way to the garage, I flipped the lock open and turned the door handle. My beam of my flashlight showed me an older model Toyota. I wondered where the keys would be. Closing the door, I made my way around the kitchen and front door, hoping to find the keys somewhere common, on the counter or a hook somewhere. I found them on a hook on the kitchen cabinet catch all area, like a mini desk in the middle of all the action.

As I scooped up the keys, I heard a thump. I stopped in my tracks as I waited to see if it would sound off again, attempting to listen over the drum of my own heartbeat. The moments ticked by forever, but I never heard it again and chalked it up to a tree branch thumping the side of the house. I rolled my eyes, muttering to myself; I couldn't believe how paranoid I had become. I walked back over to the garage, opening the door to find myself immediately thrown onto my back, holding back a feral vampire who had slammed me onto the wooden floor.

I shoved back up at him, keeping his drooling fangs off my skin. He was incredibly strong, probably starving if he had been stuck in that garage for a while. I grunted as I tried to hold him up, jamming my forearm in his throat with my right arm, I reached down to my chest to the dagger bandoleer that I had crisscrossed there, quickly yanking out a thin sharp dagger. I jammed it as hard as I could into the side of his head, where the temple bone was thinnest, closing my eyes and mouth as the cold wetness of his fluids poured down onto my face.

Pressing up his weight, it was just enough for me to bring one of my legs up to thrust him off me and into the dark of the garage as he writhed and convulsed on the cement floor. I wiped at my face as best I could and ran ahead of him, unlatching the garage door lock and heaving it up. It rolled on squeaky rails and let in the late morning sun. The feral squealed in pain as it caught the sun's rays and sizzled into a blacken pile of ash. I dropped to my knees, breathing heavily as I recovered from the unexpected surprise attack.

I groaned, wiping at the stickiness that drenched my face. The black-red blood clung to my hair, face, neck and arms like a thick, rancid muck. Sighing, I frowned at the still-smoldering, smoky pile next to the car that I had wanted to take. I made my way back inside, finding the small hallway half bath where I grabbed the hand towel off the rack and wiped away what I could of the thick, disgusting ichor. Satisfied but knowing I now needed another shower, I turned to find the keys I had dropped by the door.

The car took a few turnovers before it started, showing a full tank of gas. Smiling, I shifted it into reverse, stopping in the driveway to slam the garage door back down to ward off any suspicion of disturbance. Jumping back into the driver's side of the car, I pulled out the rest of the way and headed back home to change.

Once inside, the sweet feel of the shower made me want to stand under the water forever. Remembering to conserve the heated water, I proceeded to scrub the nastiness of the feral vampire's blood off my body. The water swirled black and pink down the drain, like clouds of death, spinning as it fell into the holes of the pipe drain. Finished, I changed into fresh clothes and proceeded to cleaning my weapons, which were now caked in the clotted muck of blood. It would take me most of the afternoon to get them cleaned up. I figured my day was wasted. I hated not heading to town to search for my mother and brother but what good would I be in this anxious and spooked state? Unfortunately, it was time to lay low for a bit and this was the day to do it, especially with those hybrid vampires lurking about.

I dropped the belt of weapons and cleaned my hands again, knowing I had to stuff the little car into the garage before nightfall. I didn't want anyone seeing anything changed on the outside of my cabin. Walking out, I moved the car into the garage and closed the garage door down, locking it with the key lock. Luckily the owners of the place had left the keys to the garage hanging nicely by the door.

As I turned, my eyes landed on a sight that arrested my heart. Staring right back at me from across the road, in the shade of the trees, was a woman. Her chestnut brown hair floated about her in the breeze as she stared me down. I froze, mentally cursing myself for coming outside without a weapon.

So stupid!

I contemplated my options as we continued to look at each other, her eyes and face never wavering away from mine. Her skin was pale and her eyes did not shine red but a tiger eye color swirled in grey. I had never seen eyes like that. They shone like cat's eyes as she stood as still as a statue. I wondered if I should speak. Why hadn't she attacked me yet? I searched her silhouette for weapons and possible hiding spots that she could carry on her person. Finding none, I waited for her to make a move, wondering if she would.

"Hey! Who are you?" I called out to this stranger. She angled her head to the side, seemingly interested in my speaking. Her face sat still and frozen. "Um, do you talk? I asked you who you are!" My frustration leaked into my voice and she seemed to catch on to it. Her head snapped back up straight and glared at me–her eyes narrowing into thin little slits.

She seems a bit perturbed, I thought.

I chewed on my tongue as I held my ground, not wanting her to see any fear spilling into my face. I glared right back, daring her to make the first move. Her lips moved into a half smirk as she gave me a nod. She then moved faster than I could ever hope to, turning to run, and disappearing in a blur. I gasped; scanning the direction I had seen her run, squinting my eyes to try to catch sight of her.

"Ah!" I groaned, cursing at losing her in the forest. What if she came back with more vampires? This day was starting to look really bad for me. I felt my panic surge up into my chest as I spun around, glancing in every direction for the lone woman. No way was she human; and there was definitely no way she seemed friendly, either. This was starting to turn into a very dangerous place for me. My sanctuary in the mountains had turned into an island surrounded by beasts. I made my way back into the compound, locking the door behind me, ensuring that each bolt and lock was firmly in place. I felt small, like a rat in a maze. They must have been toying with me. How did they find me so far away from the city? I was going to have to leave, run farther away to find a safer place.

I slipped to the floor, burying my face in my arms and knees as I realized that there was nowhere to go. No place was safe. There was nowhere left to go in this world anymore. There were no humans left but me. Why would I think any place was safe? The warm tears squeezed out of from beneath my eyelids and made their way down my cheeks in a rush of warmth. I let my sobs shake my body as I cried and cried.

The horror of my predicament made me want to scream and fling things across the room. I held the destruction inside and bit down on my lip as the sobs eased. I hated this. The world had gone to shit and I could do nothing about it. What good was being a fierce warrior when a little despair broke me down into a sniveling mess? Losing my family had been inevitable. We were not meant for this world now, and to continue on was to be running forever.

I bent over, hitting the concrete floor with the sides of my fists, pounding it until the pain stopped me. Rolling over to my back, I stared up at the fluorescent light above me–glaring down its artificial glow and not giving one care for whom it lit up the room. I was sure that when I was gone, it would continue to glow until the power ran out or the bulb flickered out, all used up in its inevitable death. It would not remember me in any shape or form or be aware of anything at all. It too would stand forgotten and silent in desolate disrepair.

Not knowing how long I laid there on the icy-cold, hard floor, I finally picked myself up and dragged myself to the monitoring desk. I sat there for a few minutes longer, my puffy red eyes burning from crying and my arms aching. I watched the monitors, still lit up with daylight outside, but nothing crossed them. Maybe I had imagined the woman. But her porcelain face was emblazoned in my mind. I could still see her fiery eyes staring me down, attempting to slice into my head and sift through my mind as she pleased. In a way, I felt violated–my sanctuary was no longer pristine and solitary–no longer mine. She had trespassed, along with her comrades, into my only corner of the world. I wanted it to be mine again, quiet and safe. I wanted to reclaim its solitude once more.

**Chapter Eleven**

The next day I geared up at sunrise and readied to leave. Having not slept well that night, I felt strangely energized and awaited the day with an elated anticipation. I was relieved that the motion sensors had not gone off at all the entire night. Maybe the woman had been more scared of me than I thought. Or maybe she would be back later. Who knew? I wasn't going to let her ruin my plans to continue my search for my mother and brother.

The drive to the city was uneventful; it felt different in the smaller car than the minivan I was used to. It was almost cramped with the weapons I liked stashed in it. It would have to do for now. The meteor hammer I had brought along today was rocking in the chair, trying to roll out of the rope that cradled it. I didn't use it often but its deadly force was amazing when one got it right. I felt like swinging it around, smashing things. Today was a good day to do exactly that.

Once I arrived at the nearest gas station, I filled two gallon containers with gasoline for the mischief I had planned. Riding with the containers full was not comfortable when the fumes that seeped from them made me nauseous. Once I'd had enough siphoned from the station and several abandoned cars parked along the streets, I hopped back into my car and crossed over the freeway overpass to the Strip. I parked in front of the Imperial Palace, glancing down each way at the smaller casinos. If any ferals were lurking about, I was going to take care of them for sure. I wasn't about to deal with too much hand to hand combat today. Today was my retribution and I wanted to burn the place down.

I wrapped the rope around my chest diagonally and strapped one machete to my right side down my thigh. The actual meteor hammer ball I twisted into the rope loops so it wouldn't swing around and hit me as I moved. I grabbed one gasoline container and placed it outside the nearest casino, looking into the reflective one-way mirror tint that glared back at me on the windows. The woman that stared back seemed to change and flashed back to the image of the woman up in the mountains for a moment. I blinked her away, knowing how she gnawed on my mind but tried to clear my thoughts for the task at hand. I pushed in the door and scanned the front of the casino, illuminated somewhat through the deeply tinted glass.

This place was a mess–it had not been left undisturbed at all. The card tables were upturned and chips were scattered across the floor. The chairs had not remained untouched either; some were torn into two pieces, with their stuffing spilt out across the carpet. I stared back into the blackness at the rear of the casino, wondering what lurked in the shadows. The dark stared right back at me like a gaping mouth waiting to take a bite and rip me to shreds. I was certain I wasn't alone–only the boundaries of the sun's span kept a wall between me and whatever feral creatures awaited a taste of my sweet, crimson blood. I sneered, feeling the sudden rush of adrenaline rising to ready me for the thrill of the fight.

Pulling the meteor hammer off my body, I let the rope fall to the ground as I unwound it and looped it through my left hand. I let the remaining rope dangle and dragged it with my right hand as I walked forward. I was happy that the vaulted ceilings were so high; there was more than enough room to let me swing around my seldom-used toy. I felt ferocious as I pulled it along, feeling the familiar buzz along my skin that the ferals seemed to bring out when they were near. It vibrated up my arms and made my senses expand as they neared me. I hardly felt the smile across my face as the first of the wild ones crept over to me from a dark pillar on the edge of the room, hidden enough in the shadow so as not to make it cringe in pain from the sunlight outside but enough to let me see them with my human vision.

I started swinging the hammer, letting its momentum build as the rope hummed out its ominous whoosh. I loved the feeling it gave me, almost like a cowboy with a lasso, but this lasso could smash a feral's head to smithereens. Just as it stepped closer, growling and snapping its fanged mouth in my direction, I released the meteor hammer so it could do its work. The result was an explosion of thick chunks of brain matter and skull all across the wall and upturned tables.

His body hadn't even hit the floor before another lunged from behind a pile of tables that had been stacked together, apparently to shield them from the sun. His red, gleaming eyes narrowed as he hissed–his rotten teeth full of old blood and other things. Pale and dirty greenish-grey skin shone through the rips of his shirt near his shoulders. A once-healthy bicep muscle line peeked through.

He had to have been young when he turned, I was pretty sure of it. From the condition of this one, he had obviously been more dominant than the other ferals, not missing too many meals. His snarl grumbled in my ears, vibrating the air. I smirked back at him and, with a snap of my arm, flung the heavy metal hammer toward the spot between the eyes. His body flew back as the metal ball impacted with his head, amazingly not cracking his face in but sending his head flying off whole as it tore from the momentum. Blood erupted from the stump of his neck but I didn't have time to enjoy the spectacle. Two others popped out from behind him and lunged at me. I swung at them in succession, letting the momentum of the ball bash through them both, sending their bodies flying back into another group advancing behind them.

I backed away into the light from the windows, letting the boundary of the sun stop them in their tracks; the evil in their eyes filled with a desire so deep, they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. I swung my weapon around in a continual spin, pummeling a couple more in their chests, sending them crashing back. I was willing to bet they would rip me to shreds without hesitation. I decided to leave the room to fetch the container of gasoline.

"So, you want to play it rough, huh?" I laughed at the creatures, even though I was sure they could not understand. They were wilder than beasts, with no understanding except the desire to rip flesh and drink blood.

"I'm sure you will love to play this game for sure." I dumped the gas on them, heaving the container high enough to get the gas beyond them, into the casino. After dumping most of it on them and the surroundings, I smiled and waved as I backed out the door, their snarls never ceasing. Outside, I stepped back to find the outside ladder to the roof. Finding what I was looking for, I retrieved the pipe bombs from the car, which were all ready to go. Climbing the ladder, I lit one at a time and flung them across the roof to the area where the ferals were standing underneath the roof. I dove off the ladder, sending one lit pipe bomb inside the interior of the building before I ran around the corner for shelter just as the first of the pipe bombs went off, sending debris shooting up into the air and roof tiles flinging across the street as the top of the building collapsed. The ground shook and I had to cover my ears from the booms vibrating through my head. I was pretty sure I had woken up some of the other hives around me.

Once the last of the bombs went off, I returned to survey the damage. The front windows had exploded outward and dust and debris billowed out, making it hard to see into the building until it cleared a bit. I smiled, seeing the holes in the roof all the way to the rear of the casino. The gasoline, ignited by the explosions, was now consuming the writhing ferals with its burning embrace.

I hurried to set up the next casino the same way, not bothering to linger inside to smash them up as much. I wanted it to burn fast and fatal. The desire ran rampant inside me like a feverish plague engulfing my senses. Nothing would be better than to watch the city burn.

This casino was taller than the last. It had about four stories instead of the usual one or two of the smaller casinos. Inside, I contemplated the height of the roof, muttering to myself how completely not easy this one would be. I swapped the meteor hammer out for a hatchet and machete back at my car and grabbed the second gasoline container. Lighting the flashlights attached to a belt across my chest like a coal miner, I returned to the inside. I didn't see any ferals around but the smell alone told me otherwise and I knew that I was not alone.

I found the stairs and ascended as quickly as possible, keeping my eyes above me as I approached each floor. I was amazed at my luck in not finding any stragglers on the stairwell; it would not be easy to engage in hand-to-hand combat within the confines of this small space. Finding nothing, I reached the top floor easily and prepped to run into something as I entered the floor.

Finding mostly offices this high up, I scanned the darkness of the hallways slowly. I wondered where the damn ferals had hidden. Possibly the balcony of the second floor that looked down on the first floor? It seemed like the best hiding space that was easily accessible to them, from what I had seen. I made my way to the windowed side of the halls, knowing the sun's rays meant safety. I began laying down the pipe bombs, connecting the fuses and running them down the halls and into the offices. Once I had finished, I took the gasoline container and let out splashes of fluid all around the halls and near the pipe bombs. Once I lit it, I would have to dash away fast, down the steps and out the door before the roof collapsed. I wondered if I should just leave a trail of gas down the steps to at least the second floor and prop the stairwell door open to give me a better amount of time to escape.

Pondering my options, I nodded to myself. I think I could make it at least from the third floor. Sloshing the pungent liquid down the stairs, I made sure the fuse of the pipe bombs lay in the path of the gas to light up once the fire made it around toward the windows. I gritted my teeth as I completed the arrangement. I wasn't an arsonist and all I knew were from endless documentaries I had watched during the long quiet nights in the bunker with my family softly sleeping nearby. I wondered if it would work. It had better work. This was as good a place as any to try out my theory. As I made my way down the steps, I paused at the third floor, thinking about checking out what was on this floor before lighting the place up. My curiosity got the best of me, unfortunately.

Pushing the door open, I peeked into another area, an open room with many columns, and some tables pushed to the sides, like a banquet hall. I walked through the massive room, looking at the many different decorations that sat stored in the corners; I could make out some sunlight through the drapes of curtains along the same side as the windows above, on the next floor. Walking slowly down one side of the banquet room, the eeriness of the place seemed to drift about me and cling to the air in a cold embrace. I could almost hear the music that had once been played in this abandoned hall. Many a wedding reception or party had gone on here, it looked well used. Now, no one would ever dance here again.

Hearing a creak behind me and the familiar guttural noise a feral vampire makes, I turned and could hear footsteps approaching me from behind one of the piles of debris stacked high to one side. I pulled out my hatchet, expecting to take them down quickly. Instead I found what used to be a woman. She reached toward me with her long dirty nails and ragged clothes. I held steadfast but found my eyes drifting to something hanging from her chest that made me do a double take. It looked like a baby carrier strapped to her, the kind that let a baby face the wearer.

A sudden wave of nausea choked me, making me step away from her as the top of a baby's head flopped inside the carrier, the wispy hair still in place on the ashen grey skin of an infant. I heard its soft moan while the small hands curled and scratched at its mother.

I tripped and fell backward from the shock of what I had seen. The child was also a feral. It disgusted me beyond belief. Even if it was a vampire, it was still a small baby that I could not bring myself to swing at. The mother, yes–but a baby? Scrambling to get back up, I held the hatchet in my hand, thinking about running to the stairwell and heading out instead of facing this one. I didn't want to face her and the child. It was the stuff made of nightmares. It was so morbid and wrong on so many levels. Blowing up the building with them in it didn't seem as hard to do as hacking them to death. My heart was in my throat; that poor baby hadn't even had a chance at life.

Running towards the stairwell door, I had almost reached the frame when I found myself flying to the ground as another vampire shoved me. This one was bulky, his muscles protruding through the rips in his shirt. Thick arms wrapped around my waist as we rolled to the ground. I immediately hacked at his arms and face with the hatchet but couldn't get enough leverage to smash in his skull. His furrowed eyes glared at me in a hard, red, hateful stare. Snarling and snapping at me with his thick jaw, the hatchet hardly fazed him and his grip was solid as he bear-hugged my waist, making it impossible to kick him off.

Rocking my body, I pulverized his face with the hatchet before grabbing a dagger off my bandoleer and driving it into his eye socket. The squeezing ceased as he stilled, but the weight of his leaden body pinned me down. I stopped struggling to take in my surroundings. The woman with the baby was staggering my way but was still far enough away from me that I could probably throw something at her. I suddenly wished I had my crossbow to sink an arrow cleanly into her. I had some grenades attached to me but I didn't want to risk igniting the gasoline fumes that leaked from the stairwell.

I quickly realized that I had little choice; heavy, husky guy's weight had me stuck for the moment. I pulled the grenade off my belt and struggled a bit more with the husky man; his black-red blood poured onto my abdomen and chest. I tried not to think about how disgusting that was as I squirmed to free myself. I pulled the pin on the grenade as the woman edged closer, seemingly slow for a feral. I wondered how long she had been stuck up here. She had probably fed very little and was now feeling the effects of it, making her weak. Right as I was about to be freed from the dead corpse that held me down like a paperweight, another feral come about, throwing itself down on me and snarling as I scrambled to back away. Unfortunately, the impact of its body on me was enough to make me lose my grip on the grenade, sending it rolling down toward the stairwell.

I finally managed to kick this one back and jump to my feet, scrambling away from the rolling grenade and the third feral, toward the pile of overturned tables on the other side of the room. I dove the last few feet and slammed against the wall as the explosion shook the building and sent debris flying into the two ferals, along with a puff of dust and particles. Luckily, the tables took the brunt of the splintered mess that had flown my way. Dusting myself off, I coughed as the smoke in the room began to build from the fire that smoldered at the exit and ran up the stairs. I wondered what other escape I had, knowing the fire was crawling along the gas trail to the bombs above and below.

I glanced at the windows. I ran toward them and peeked down to the street below. I was still too far up for a safe landing but I had to think of something. I quickly grabbed the sheets that lay over the stored tables and chairs but were now dusted with debris. I knotted the sheets end to end as fast as I could and tied one end to the pillar closest to the windows. I threw a chair into the window. It splintered into a spidery crack but remained intact. Cursing, I grabbed the chair and smacked at the window again. After the third try the window blew out, letting the cool crisp air from the outside rush in, sweeping up more debris and fanning the flames. I tied the sheets around me and prepared to jump but the blast above me reverberated through the walls, releasing more chunks of concrete and wood.

The vibration knocked me to my feet. On my back, I struggled to stand, watching as the roof came tumbling down to smash into the floor. It made its way right down through to the next floor, the weight splintering the wood and concrete. Gasping, I avoided the falling pieces of concrete as I tried to roll away, wrapping the sheet around me even more. I wasn't fast enough. I felt the ground lurch as it gave way underneath me. I fell until the sheet snapped tight around me. The sheet remained wrapped around my body several times, pinning my right arm to my side as I tried to frantically free myself.

I glanced down into the now empty hole below me. The debris had smashed a path down to the basement and the drop had to be more than thirty feet. I gulped, wondering if I would make it if I cut the sheet. I held onto the wrap with my left arm, feeling a raw ache on the side of my head where a warm wetness dripped down from it. The vampire bite in my arm seared from the pressure against it.

Damn! I was sure to have a seeping cut where my head had hit the side of the floor when I descended. Grunting, I wiggled like a caterpillar in a chrysalis, trying to break free of the restraints the sheets had become. Failing miserably, I stopped struggling and glanced around and above to see what I could do. Fortunately, I was near the edge of the floor and wasn't too far from being able to grip it. Grabbing the blanket, I pulled up on it, hoping to loosen its grip on me just enough to pull my other arm free. It worked and I shook the sheet loose from my arm. Now free to pull my body up with both hands, I started the tedious task of dragging my weight up with my arms. I now thanked myself for busting my own butt to work out and even though I had been slacking lately, my efforts were still noticeable.

The cloud of dust swirled away from me, clearing up the air as I grunted and worked my way up. Once I was an arm's length away from the edge of what was left of the third floor, I reached up, grasping the ragged cement edge. It cut into my fingers with the sharp points of rebar and hard, rough concrete that crumbled a bit in my grasp. I gritted my teeth as I pulled myself further up the rope of sheets.

As I lifted my head up to look back onto the third floor, I realized the sheets were on fire. Flames licked at the other end of it, which dangled above as the fire slowly crawled toward me. I tried to grip both hands onto the ledge but the burning flames had eaten into the material so badly that my last tug made it unravel, sending me sliding back down. I dangled from the ledge by one hand, my arm burning as I held on for dear life. The part of the sheet that had been wrapped around me had loosened up enough for me to kick it off, sending it spiraling into the black abyss below like a rippling ribbon of fire.

**Chapter Twelve**

My fingers grew numb as the slight grip I had managed began to slip slowly from the edge of the jagged remains of the third floor. I couldn't reach the platform with my right arm, even though it was now untangled from the sheet's straight jacket embrace that had held me but a moment ago. I swung it up to hopefully catch on to the edge, only to immediately slip back off. I wondered if, or when, I did fall, just how many bones I would break. I was sure that it wouldn't really be an issue; I probably wouldn't survive the impact.

Shaking the morbid thoughts out of my head, I grunted as I tried one more time to reach the platform with my right hand. I was just inches away and the strain made me grit my teeth in pain and frustration. I couldn't reach it. No matter how hard and long I stretched, it seemed my left arm was somehow longer than my right. It seemed to have stretched an infinite length from holding my weight. I was sure I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Glancing down, I stared at the black depths below; the light from the windows was blocked by debris, leaving the place grey and dark. If I fell, I was pretty sure whatever ferals had survived the blast would be happy to finish me off for dinner. I whispered a small prayer to not live through the fall.

The fingers on my left hand reached the jagged edge and slipped off. The jolt of gravity and the feel of weightlessness made my body feel almost unreal at that point. For a moment, time stood still and the building hovered in my vision as I waited for my fate to come in that moment that seemed to last forever. When a hand gripped my wrist, the hovering feeling faded and the push of gravity embraced me again. My left arm was searing from the shock of being yanked upward as I was beginning to fall. I was sure I had dislocated my shoulder for the agony that followed made me fight to not lose consciousness. Turning to look up at my rescuer, I caught sight of flashing yellow and grey-brown eyes and long, chestnut brown hair. The woman grunted at the effort, pulling at my arm to bring me closer to the edge.

"Give me your other hand, you aren't that light!" She yelled out to me. I swung my right arm up, gripping her other arm. I held on for dear life and relished feeling the ground under my chest when I could finally pull my legs onto the hard, sturdy ground. Glancing up at my savior, who was now dusting off her black jeans and shirt, I wondered who she could be. My arms were numb and I rubbed them, attempting to regain the feeling back in them. I cradled my left arm as I stared up at the decimated ceiling above us. Standing up slowly, I came face to face with the first human I had seen in a long time, besides my family. Or so I thought she might be human. The pain in my left shoulder didn't help me focus.

"Thank you, I don't know what I would've done if..." I started, but she interrupted me almost immediately.

"Stop, don't thank me. You made a massive mess and you really ought to think these things through." The woman shook her head and rolled her shining eyes at me. I felt my face flush scarlet, wanting to give her a piece of my mind. She studied my arm and took hold of it with one hand and placed her other on my shoulder. Her sympathetic eyes found mine as she continued. "This might hurt a bit."

"I was just saying thanks," my voice was raspy and quiet but I was cut off when she jerked my arm, somehow getting it back into position with a strength I didn't know she had. I let out a choked scream, wanting to black out so I didn't have to feel the pain. I hated how small I suddenly felt; being at the mercy of anyone was not something I was used to.

"Forget it, I have to go," she spat out, more annoyed than anything. I gasped at the flash of fangs in her mouth, suddenly full of confusion.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" I asked, staring hard back at her, readying to grab one of the weapons remaining on my belt loop before she could retaliate.

The woman stopped in her tracks, having already turned to go. She pivoted slowly back, looking at me with her eyes, sizing me up. She didn't reach for a weapon but remained perfectly still, not saying anything, just watching me in a peculiar way. I stared right back, challenging her with my own eyes as I wondered why she would even save me. It suddenly dawned on me who she was and my skin peppered with gooseflesh as fear crept across me.

She was a vampire; didn't she need blood? Why would she leave me alive if I was her prey?

"We don't drink human blood," she cocked her head to the side, her beady gold-rimmed, grey-brown eyes reflecting the small fires flickering behind me; it clung to the wallpaper on the other side of the room. Pressing my lips into a tight line, I was suddenly at a loss of what to do.

This vampire had saved my life. She wasn't feral–she was another kind of breed, like the girl back home in the mountains by my van. Her face was now completely in my view and the streams of light that came down from the opened roof lit it up enough for me to see her more clearly. She was the watcher in the woods, the very same woman. The surprise must have been apparent for she did not seem angry, but began laughing at me.

"You really need to get to know how things really are, April," she said, watching my reaction to her knowing my name.

"How do you know my name, who are you?" I hissed, my voice acidic. I felt toyed with, like I was missing a piece of a great big puzzle that I thought I knew how to put together. But I didn't know how to put anything together anymore. The reality of it all was cascading down on me like a bucket of ice water, making me suck in my breath while I drowned in all my fear.

"I know everything about you," the vampire explained. "I know you hunt for your mother and brother, I know you are quite a warrior and deadly too. I'm not the enemy–you have no idea who is and that is going to get you killed." She huffed and turned as she started to walk away with a confidence about her that made me want to shake more information out of her.

"Who are you then?" I yelled at her back, enraged that she was ignoring me and feeling suddenly more vulnerable than ever before in my life. She beckoned for me to follow. I didn't want to go with her but as I stood in the ruin of the ballroom, I knew I had to. She might have the answers I needed to find my family. She was my one chance to learn what I didn't know. Everything was so fuzzy and confusing and only she could make it clear again. Reluctantly, I followed this vampire.

Reluctantly was an understatement.

**Chapter Thirteen**

I followed her to the stairway, where the now-dying flames had smothered the steps in soot and licked the last of the gasoline that I had laid down. I felt relief flood through me as we stepped through and descended down the stairs. My left arm was still aching something fierce and I rubbed it as best I could to ease the pain. As we reached the first-floor landing, I grabbed my hatchet and readied to pummel whatever would fly through the door. Never did I even realize that my companion would take them out before I even had a chance to get to them.

Rain had begun to drizzle down in uneven sheets while I had been inside tearing the place up. It had begun to drip down from the holes in the roof; huge droplets plopped down on the mess that was now the first floor. Some of it had collapsed down into the basement. A few ferals turned as we entered but instead of attacking they seemed to cower and hiss as we made our way past them. They stood glaring at us in the shadows as if we were not welcome.

That was when it hit me. My companion was walking through the beams of sunlight that flashed in and out between the clouds above and had remained unscathed. She was a vampire and they cowered away from her but she was immune to the sun's light. I gripped the handle of my hatchet, more for security than anything else. It comforted me in some strange way. I would have preferred to have my machetes to hack into the drooling, sinister faces that surrounded me but the fight was not in me anymore. It seemed to have melted out of me from almost falling to my death and meeting this stranger. My rage had slipped to the floor like the fat plops of water dripping from above.

Before we left, one feral dared to lurch towards us only to end up in the woman's grip. Her fangs flashed as she hissed right back at the squirming feral in her grasp. Without warning, she clamped down on its neck and sucked on its blood. I paled, feeling suddenly small in a room full of predators. Disgusted, I ran past her and out into the drenched streets. I hunched over as my stomach lurched. Of course they didn't drink human blood, they drank other vampires' blood!

"Not very sturdy, are you?" Her voice bounced out from behind me. I turned, still bent over, trying to swallow the heavy knot that had formed in my stomach that was trying to lurch up and out. I shook my head, taking in deep breaths as my hair dripped with water from the downpour above me. The street was already soaked and rivers of rainwater were rushing down the sides of the road, running into the holes of the storm drains at the ends of the sidewalks. My clothes were slick and clung to my skin.

I watched my new companion as she studied me; her honey brown hair clung to her face, framing it in long, slithering strands. She seemed to somehow understand that we were kindred spirits in a sick sort of way. I still didn't know what to think about her. My hesitation swirled in my head like a hurricane, scrambling up my senses.

We eyed one another for a moment, sizing each other up in the rain. Pushing my hair away from my face, I waited for her to speak. I was still too shocked to absorb what had just happened; nothing had taken away from the fact that this here was a vampire. No matter which way I looked at it, she could very well be responsible for my family's disappearance.

"Who are you?" my voice finally sounded as my fingers fidgeted over the handle of my hatchet. Nervous was not what I would say I was. Paranoid, with a dose of disbelief, would be more like it. I wondered how hard I had hit my head. Reaching back, I felt the raw patch of skin under my tangle of hair. My fingers came back with blood, swirling in the droplets and running like watercolors in the rain. The sudden ache to my head made me groan, accompanied by a slight lurch in my stomach. I hated being so fragile but my main concern was the vampire in front of me, staring hungrily at the blood dripping down my arm.

I held the hatchet ready, waiting for her answer.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, I told you, I don't drink human blood." She huffed back at me. I shook my head, not believing a word that slithered from her mouth.

"Look, I know you have a ton of questions so ask away, though I do suggest you return with me to our hideout. The sun will be gone in an hour and I'm sure not even you, miss vampire hunter, can take out the whole town after dark." The woman, if you could call her that, since she looked to be barely older than I was, wiped away the crimson drops that ran down her chin from her feed.

"Why should I trust you? You're one of them, an animal." The thick cold in my voice surprised me. Long gone was the gentile, laughing girl that had once been in my heart. I felt as cold as I sounded too, hardened and numb.

"Look, I'm not the animal here. I am a person, like you. My name is Miranda, I'm nineteen years old and I used to live here with my family too, you know." Miranda paused, almost choking on her words as she took a deep breath before continuing. "I am not a monster. I have just been watching you, seeing what it is you seek. You are the only full human left here that I know of and I was sent to investigate you. I want to help you find your family. I am also hoping that you can help save my family, too." She stared back at me, her eyes never wavering.

Now with her standing so close to me, I realized how her eyes had two distinct circles of color, one outer ring of gold and an inner ring of grey-brown. The sheets of rain made us both blink faster to keep the water out our eyes. I wondered if hidden in the streams pouring down her cheeks were also tears, just like mine.

I was wishing I had someone else there, like my mother, to help me decide. Her infinite wisdom would be useful right now. But there was only me, and only my own thoughts and choices would get me through the day. I felt paralyzed as the minutes ticked by, my head spinning, the dull ache now a piercing pain that made me want to bang my head against a wall. Not even the coolness of the water pattering on my hair and snaking down my strands could calm it. Nothing but the beckoning in the woman's eyes, a hint of hope spilling out of them, sent a renewed sense of peace washing over me.

"Alright." My voice came out like a child's, small and frightened. I straightened, bringing my eyes up to her gleaming vampiric gaze. "I'll go with you. But I take my weapons and you promise me that my life will not be in danger." I didn't know why I asked that of her, but something told me that if I did, I would know if she was lying to me when she answered.

"No one is allowed to harm you; we have strict orders not to." She paused. "Besides, we need you more than you will ever know." Miranda tilted her head down as she gave her answer. Her face was sincere, filled with curiosity and a sort of wonderment. I began to suspect that maybe she was right. Maybe I was the only 'full' human left here in Las Vegas. The way she stared at me, I felt like a specimen about to be dissected. Gulping, I pushed the thought way into the back of my mind as I nodded toward her. I prayed I wouldn't regret my decision.

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Hold on, where exactly are we going anyway?" I asked as Miranda began taking a few steps in the direction she wanted to go. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking like she had forgotten about something and was wondering how to go about doing it.

"We're heading to the airport," she stated, still glancing around, looking a bit lost for a moment.

"The airport? Why on earth would you want to go there? There's nothing there. You really live at the airport?" My torrent of questions poured out of my mouth before I could press my lips together and stop the verbal attack. Miranda refocused on me and laughed, shaking her head at the seriousness permeating my face.

"The airport tunnel. We live down in the underground below the airport, where the tunnel is."

I continued to stare at her as she resumed walking, realizing she expected me to follow her.

"You're walking there? We'd never make it before sunset!" I sighed, swiping away my wet hair from my face. "We can take my car, it's right over there." I waved toward the car, wishing I could just drive home. Why do these things happen to me? It was bad enough I had to go with a stranger, but to her lair where surely more of her kind were lingering about? I snorted, pulling the car door open and sliding into the seat as I thought about the gravity of my situation.

Slamming my door shut, I gripped the steering wheel as I watched Miranda make her way to the passenger side. She plopped in next to me, happy to be out of the rain. She smiled, looking around my little car and eyeing the array of weapons strewn across the back seat. Her face fell ever so slightly but she tried to cover it just as fast with a flashing smile of fangs. I shuddered, turning the key as I pushed the lever into drive. The car hummed smoothly as I waited for her to give me a sign of which direction to go. The windshield wipers squeaked across the glass as the sheets of rain pummeled down. When she didn't speak, I turned to find her still staring at the weapons, the ones strapped to my own body.

"Shall I just drive in that general direction or do you want to be dinner tonight for some hungry, hungry hippos?" I huffed; surprised I could even crack a joke with my body aching the way that it was. I eyed her, watching her dual-colored eyes searching the blades and other contraband that were my own security blankets.

"So, you do kill vampires a lot, don't you?" Her voice seemed smaller for the moment as she watched me. Watching her, I nodded my head.

"Look, they are not human anymore and they try to kill me any chance they get. Why does it matter?" My patience was growing thin with her, or maybe I was just worn out.

"They are vampires like me." She almost sounded angered as her tone grew tighter.

"They are not like you–you speak, you are in control of yourself and they are not. You are not a wild animal, like them. They are but remnants of what they once were, not what is. I find them to be very much like ferocious, rabid animals. I'm sure they don't think as much about me as I think about them," I spat out at her, disgusted that I even had to say those things.

I glanced back over to Miranda, waiting for her response to my words. Her face had gone blank as she now stared out the windshield, into the street. She seemed pensive, lost in her thoughts, for what felt like forever. I hated to interrupt her reverie but I was not going to wait until her memories released their grip on her mind. The sun was starting to set and the orange purple colors of the evening sky blazed like a warning of the dark soon to come. I needed to get to shelter fast, with or without her.

I pushed on the gas, turning my car toward the freeway that would connect to the airport. I could make it in ten minutes flat, leaving plenty of time to enter the airport tunnel to whatever lay underneath it. I hoped I hadn't miscalculated at all. I could already see some feral vampires gathering on the east sides of the buildings around us, hungrily watching and waiting for sunset. I gulped, thankful that the freeway was wide open and not really in the shadows of any buildings.

"So, how many are back where you live?" I asked, trying to ease the tension with my curiosity about my new 'friend.'

Miranda sucked in her breath and turned toward me. I kept my eyes on the road as the debris and broken down cars kept me alert, summoning my attention and making the trip interesting.

"Hundreds," she said quietly. I nodded, feeling my heart jump into a faster pace as I imagined the hordes of vampires that I was about to insanely waltz into. I suddenly felt the urge to whip the car around and head home. Gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles flashed white, I waited for her to continue. "It is an underground fallout shelter, fortified and well-built. After the initial chaos of the viral outbreak, those of us that had changed into vampires discovered we were not like the 'zombified' ones. We call them wildlings. We gathered together, at first hiding from both humans and wildlings alike. We then met another group like us that knew about this compound and it has been our home ever since." Miranda's voice was steady and calm as she described a chance meeting with an ex-military officer named Blaze, who had become their leader.

"So, does this 'Blaze' know that I'm coming with you?" I asked, afraid that I was going to run into some very surprised vampires.

"Yes, he has had me follow you for a while, ever since we discovered your hideaway. Sorry we disturbed you but we lost one of our own out there and had to return to find her. You wouldn't happen to know what became of her, would you?" Her tone was slightly accusative, making me sit up straighter in my seat.

"Yes, I do." I glanced at her quickly, wondering what she would do if she only knew what had gone down. "I killed her. She trespassed and I killed her." I turned back toward the road but kept her in my peripheral vision, hoping she wouldn't pounce on me and kill us both in a crash.

All I got was a sigh in return.

"I wish you hadn't done that. I understand your reasons for killing her, she being a vampire on your property and all. But I have to warn you, she was part of our group and some will not be happy to hear that you dispatched her so easily, without remorse." She watched me press my lips together in a tight line, absorbing her words with distain.

"Will they want to avenge her? Because if so, I might as well drop you off now." I waited as I slowed the car down, exiting onto the connecting 215 freeway toward the airport. I waited quietly for her to answer, knowing we were getting very close to our destination as the sun's light began to recede.

"They will not harm you; we are not allowed. Blaze will protect you. He is an honorable man and a great fighter, and no one messes with him." She chuckled a bit to herself, making me wonder what she was thinking about. "He's pretty much a badass if you ask me."

"A badass, huh? Well I hope you know what's going to happen, I'm going in with my gear whether you like it or not. I'm not above dispatching your pals. I only wish to find my family." My voice came out hard but straight and to the point. I glanced at her, wondering if she was now thinking she had made a grave mistake.

"You know," Miranda shot back. "I think that this is the start of a very awesome friendship. I don't like many in our group; they are not so street-wise and tough like you. I think we could benefit from your insight of the world. It may not be a nice place to live in anymore but here we are, alive and as well as we can be. I'm certain many will see you as a threat. But I can tell you right now that Blaze and I see you as the future of mankind."

Giving her a sideways look that pretty much said I thought she was out of her mind, I shook my head, half grinning at her words. She was out of her mind, that's all it was. I was out of my own mind for that matter. Feeling like I was walking into a lion's den with raw meat strapped about my body, dripping sanguineous blood down my clothes for the vampires to drool and snap at. I still couldn't believe I was doing this. I still couldn't believe that this was my life right now. The only thing I wanted was to find my family and everything I had come to believe in was now skewed.

Questioning myself was not helping. I could only hope that the road was spread out before me in the direction I needed to go. I had no leads otherwise, and I knew that there was bound to be someone there that could help me, even if I had to risk everything to find them.

**Chapter Fifteen**

Pulling up to the remnants of the underground freeway tunnel situated below the runways of the McCarran International Airport, I wondered where exactly it was that Miranda's hive lived. The tunnel had collapsed at the entrance, blocking anything from entering it. I studied the rubble of concrete and rebar dangling across the mess and shook my head, glancing at Miranda and hoping it was meant to look this way for one reason or another. The sun was fading fast, and unless we planned on dying when the hordes of feral vampires poured into the streets, we had to get to shelter fast.

I followed Miranda out onto the asphalt, leaving my car behind on the side of the road. I had my dual machetes strapped to my legs and belt and my bandoleer well-stuffed with daggers. I was willing to bet that whenever I did walk into her hive of vampires, I was going to get some challenging looks. I was dressed for war, still dirty, dusty and bloody from the explosions in the casino. My hair was in a chaotic disarray. I probably looked like hell. I really didn't care, feeling the day's events nagging at my sore muscles and bones. I was exhausted but I needed to get this over with, even if I had a slight hesitancy hovering in my stomach.

Miranda made her way not to the tunnel entrance but to a door on the side of the tunnel, still under the runway. Before the outbreak, planes would come rolling onto the expanse of concrete above, slamming onto the ground, making it shiver with their massive weight and rumbling turbine engines. Now only silence and an airplane graveyard filled the tarmac above. The city was desolate graveyard everywhere I went: a graveyard of people, planes and automobiles. The entire Earth was a graveyard.

I sighed, feeling eyes on me from all around, making my hair stand on end and causing me to pause often. I had to scurry to catch up to my newfound companion. She kept glancing back, as if she didn't trust that I would still be there and hadn't changed my mind. I almost laughed at the thought. I had never backed out of anything in my life before and I wasn't about to start now.

We came to a stop as Miranda tapped out a code on the door. My nerves were out of control by this time. We weren't alone and the feeling was gnawing at me as I closed the distance between me and the door. I rolled my head around, scanning the high points of the wall before us. Sure enough, that's where I saw them. In the crevices above, a gleam of cat eyes flashed as a couple faces bobbed into view, watching me like vultures from above. I studied them, narrowing my eyes to squint at their pale, porcelain skins, looking almost like they had powdered their faces. Miranda was pale but her time in the outdoors had tinted her skin with a hint of color. Those above me looked like they liked their cave-like home quite a bit.

I snickered at them, hearing them slightly hissing at me. Miranda opened the door and pulled my eyes back down so I could prep for an assault from any side, if it was coming.

It never did.

Miranda motioned for me to follow and I did, reluctantly. Making our way in, we entered a brightly lit hall that morphed into the inside of a huge tunnel. The bulky-looking doorman eyed me with disdain, baring part of his teeth and a fang that shone in the gleaming light. I gave him a toothy smile as I passed. He huffed and shut the door behind me, locking it with the biggest bolt I had ever seen. I turned away and continued on after Miranda.

She turned along the wall of the tunnel. It was brightly lit and had been turned into a massive chamber, with the opposite entrance to the tunnel also closed off. I figured it was likely that the entrances had been purposely blasted to collapse them, seal them off, creating an underground fortified bunker. I was definitely impressed.

"April, stick close to me. I have to take you straight to Blaze; not everyone will agree with you being among us." She motioned me closer and I lessened the space between us. I was feeling my confidence slipping as I eyed the hundreds of vampires now glancing my way, some curious, some ferociously angry. Some were now closing in and following as we made our way down the sidewalk surrounding the asphalt of the former street of the tunnel. I clutched one of my machetes, hoping it would not come to slaughter if they decided to attack me. I would take quite a few down with me if it came to that.

"You might want to let go of your weapon, some would take that as a threat," a husky voice said, sounding in the tunnel and echoing off the walls. I turned beyond my guide to find a man standing with his arms crossed near another door in the wall. Miranda stopped and swiveled back toward me; her lips pursed as she shook her head slightly and eyed my hand on my weapon. Watching the swarm of vampires grow thicker around us, I felt my heart racing a thousand miles a minute and worried that it was starting to look very bad for me.

I glared at Miranda, like she had lost her marbles. "Are you insane? I'm toast here! This is not what I had in mind." I turned and faced the now-growing circle of vampires, their reflecting eyes watching the scene before them. Some dared to edge closer; one tugged at my clothes, which I promptly slapped away. Snarls and a low rumble of growling filled the air around me, my hand once again on my machete. I huffed back at them, wishing I could pull out my blade and take them down.

A cool hand gripped my arm as Miranda shushed me and pulled me back toward the door that Blaze had swung open and now awaited us. We entered after him, a husky man with dark black hair. His broad shoulders made him impressive, tall but with well-built, smooth muscles that moved in waves under his dark brown shirt. His jeans fit him loosely but hugged his hips with a smooth black leather belt. I hadn't seen a guy in almost a year and my cheeks reddened as I tried to divert my eyes from his backside.

I heard Miranda lock the door behind us and we proceeded forward down a long hallway that led deeper into the underground. Evenly-spaced doors lined one side of the tunnel like a hall. Leaky pipes ran the length of it above us and the sconces lit the darkness just enough to see the tunnel in front of us. The unfinished walls were rough, without the smoothness of the concrete in the tunnel.

We silently proceeded behind Blaze and I began to wonder where exactly we were headed. My nerves were definitely shot now. My injuries burned as I flexed my hands, the raw skin inflamed and still riddled with bits of concrete and blood. I was sure that I would need a good scrubbing. A nice hot bath would do the trick nicely, though I hadn't had one of those since forever. It was showers or nothing now, quick ones at that.

We finally reached an area that widened and opened into a small room. A set of double doors led to the left and another lay to my right. Blaze turned and took the sight of me in. I blushed under the intensity of his gaze. His eyes also sported the dual ring of color, but the inside was a deep sapphire. I sucked in my breath, feeling almost mesmerized as I stared back into them. I wondered if they had the same hypnotizing effect as the feral vampires. To look into them was death, my mother used to say. But I was immune. Now, I wasn't so sure if I was still immune or not. These hybrid vampires were a whole different breed of something.

I couldn't read his eyes, they were still and intense. I tried to read anything off his face, but nothing came to me. He was as blank as a desolate pond of unmoving water. His chiseled face was handsome and hard. A lifetime of seeing way too much seemed to be etched in the faint lines on his face and his eyes, like fathoms of sea water that engulfed me as I stared.

Pulling my eyes away from his disarming face, I felt pathetic for staring too long. I glanced about the room to take in the simple surroundings in hopes of a clue as to why I was brought here. Nothing came to me as my gaze settled on Miranda, who was staring at the man as if awaiting orders.

"I'm Blaze, leader of this group. Miranda will get you whatever it is you need." He paused, turning to her as he continued. "Meer, get her set up with a shower and bandaged, she reeks of blood." Blaze took his leave and disappeared down the dim hallway. I was left puzzled, feeling like the stinky kid at school.

"Come on," Miranda tugged on my arm and pushed through the double doors on our right, bringing us into a small locker room with rows of metal lockers lining the walls and isles. I followed her in and past the rows to another room with benches and shower stalls. She reached into one locker near the showers and pulled out a bundle, handing it to me.

"Here's a towel. Get cleaned up and I'll come and get you when you are done. Shampoo and soaps are in each stall." I stared at her in disbelief, not wanting to let my guard down in any manner in this strange place. Miranda sighed. "Don't worry, no one will disturb you. These are the halls for visitors and higher guards of the compound. No one but a few of us live on this side of the hive. I'll let them know you're here. I'm going to scrounge you up a set of clothes and bring them to you." She smiled and turned to leave.

I stood there, alone in the cool air of the underground locker room, glancing about me and still feeling very unsure. I wanted to trust them, I had wanted the company of others for so long yet I had not realized it. I wondered how long it had been since my family had been taken. It felt like months though it had only been less than a week. The small amount of isolation had affected me more adversely than I had thought. I felt skittish and afraid, but not without good reason. This place was crawling with vampires, more civilized ones than the feral ones, but still. I wasn't sure that I felt comfortable enough to take a shower here quite yet.

I sighed, figuring what the hell, and proceeded back toward the showers. It was a semi-open room with four showers installed to the left of the room and a bench in the middle to put your things on. The right consisted of mirrors and sinks with counter space for more items. The simple white tile on the walls reminded me of subway tiles I had once spied in the subway in San Francisco. Las Vegas had no subways, only a monorail system that sat above the Strip's sidewalks and ran behind some of the casinos. The floor was made of cement, smoothed to a grey, non-slick texture that felt slightly rough under my boots. I sat on the bench, unlaced them and pulled my socks off. Standing, I reached over to turn the shower on, letting it run to test the temperature. Impressed that they had hot water here, I slipped my clothes off and tossed them onto the bench.

The steaming water felt amazing on my aching muscles, rinsing away the layer of dirt, dust and blood that had caked my raw skin. My hands burned with the heat but I gritted my teeth through it, using the soap to scrub the muck off of me. It made my injuries sting even more but it was worth it. When I finished, I let the water spray my face, loving the warmth and feel of it caressing my skin. Sometimes a shower is all one needs to feel renewed.

I grabbed the towel off the bench and rubbed my body dry; I ran it through my hair and wrapped it around my body. I looked around, wondering if Miranda really was going to bring me clothes or not. She had not returned yet.

I walked around the corner, back into the locker room to see if she was waiting. Finding not her but someone else standing and waiting made me gasp as I jumped back, my eyes wide.

"Who are you?" I took a step back, feeling foolish for leaving my weapons on the shower bench instead of taking at least one with me. A man waited there, still as a statue but now watching me with shiny steel-grey eyes rimmed by the tell-tale ring of yellow, marking him as a hybrid vampire. His skin was slightly tan and his hair was as black as a moonless night; it almost seemed to shine with blue highlights. He was handsome, in a mysterious way. His slender frame was muscular and his shirt and jeans where slightly loose but snug enough to show off his well-conditioned physique.

His face was still while his eyes, hard and gleaming like hematite, studied me for a moment. He then averted them to the floor and held out a neatly-folded pile of clothes to me. He almost seemed to bow slightly, maybe to lower his face even more, but did not move from the spot he stood in.

"I'm Rystrom, you can call me Rye," his eyes flashed up for a moment, looking at me through thick black eyelashes. He didn't seem too bothered that I stood there with nothing but a towel to cover myself with. My face flushed scarlet, not used to being looked at that way, with an air of being awestruck. I wondered if the hybrids could blush. If they did, he sure as heck was controlling it well. If they didn't, well, it was going to be interesting to find out how their emotions played out on their faces, if they did at all.

"Where's Miranda?" I clutched the towel tighter, hoping it wouldn't slip away from me at the most inopportune moment. At this demand, Rye stood straight up and brought his eyes back up to my face. His still features didn't move but his eyes twinkled with a slight amusement that made me seethe underneath my skin.

"She had a few things to take care of. She asked me to bring you some clothes." He held the pile out again, waiting for me to grab them. I hesitated for a moment, still unsure if I could trust him. His hair fell into his eyes as he averted them downward again, as if he wanted to avoid eye contact for a prolonged period of time. I wanted him to look at me. The urge was almost overwhelming and I wondered why. He was intriguing, more so than Blaze, in a way that I didn't understand. Again, I wondered if the hybrids had the kind of mind control that the ferals had on ordinary humans. I had long ago known that I was not a regular human, not anymore. My immunity to their gaze had told me what I needed to know about that.

I stepped forward and reached out slowly to grab the pile from his hands. He let his arms drop to his sides, but did not turn to leave. His face was still frozen, blank as he could get it but his eyes–oh his eyes were full of something untold. I felt almost naked under the intensity of his gaze. I was torn on whether it made me squirm or made me tingle all over with a slight pleasure. The hybrids were beautiful, as though they were perfect specimens of all of humanity. I quickly remembered the pair of fangs that dwelled behind his perfect lips, which sobered me up just as fast.

"You can go now," I snapped, hoping he would get the message. I stepped away, still feeling foolish for letting my senses overload with his presence. I gripped the clothes to my chest, still wanting my weapons for comfort and protection.

"I haven't seen a human in so long." He lamented. He still didn't move but remained fixed in his spot, as though glued to the floor. "I am honored to meet you." He gave me a slight bow of his head and then turned to leave. "I do hope to see more of you." He had paused to say his last words before heading out the double doors of the locker room. A cool breeze from his movement whooshed passed me as he left, leaving me chilled with goose bumps up my arms.

I stood there, my mouth slightly open and still in a bit of shock, reeling from Rye's presence. He was even more disarming than Blaze and I tried to shake off the effect. It made me shiver as I groaned–pissed that I let the first two males I had seen in a long time do funny things to me. I was useless, like a love-sick puppy around them. I felt vulnerable and weak again and cursed at myself for such foolishness.

I quickly returned to the bench in the shower room and pulled on the new clothes Miranda had found for me. I folded my old dirty clothes neatly in a pile and strapped my weapons to my new outfit as best I could. They were a bit snug but fit like a glove, making my assets stand out a bit more than I'd have liked. I sighed, frowning at my modesty. I wasn't used to thinking about how I looked anymore. There had been no hybrids that could walk in daylight, were still civilized and intelligent, around to worry about. It felt like it had been easier to accept the feral vampires in their animalistic, crazed states than a vampire who didn't want to gnaw on me and drink of my blood. Maybe I was wrong about that but I really was at a loss on what to do or what to expect. There had been no one left to impress. Even now, I wasn't sure what to think about these vampires.

The game had completely changed.

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Ready?" Miranda's voice sounded from the cracked-open doors to the locker room. I stood up from one of the benches that lined the nearest isle, motioning to my dirty clothes pile, wondering what I was going to do with it. "Leave them there, they'll get washed and back to you." She waved me over impatiently. I scurried to the door and followed her out and down into the quiet hallway once more. I wondered if it would be Rye getting my dirty clothes and suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. I wanted to ask Miranda about him, about her and about Blaze. Heck, about everyone here for that matter.

"Where are we headed?" I inquired, keeping pace with her as we turned down the hall, not toward the tunnel meeting area but the other way, deeper into the underground. Her long hair was clean and lay in soft brown waves down her back. She had also changed into a clean set of clothes, similar to the ones she had worn before. Her slender figure showed smooth muscles under her form-fitting brown T-shirt. She was similar in build to me and I wondered if I was wearing her clothes.

I sighed, feeling my sore muscles still complaining with each stride. The hot shower had helped, but I was ready to crash. The day had worn me down with every little scrape and cut. I was hoping this so-called meeting wasn't going to last forever.

"To introduce you to the group, and see what plans Blaze has for us." Miranda said tightly, as though she was not looking forward to this either. I gulped, feeling her tension slide into me as we walked down the long underground tunnel, our footsteps echoing across the cold stone masonry of the walls. I subconsciously ran my fingers across the hilts of my machetes and bandoleer sheaths. I felt overdressed, like for a fight, but I didn't know what could happen when we arrived at our destination. I was willing to bet the distain in Miranda's voice was but a clue of what was in store.

We came to the end of the hall where she entered a code and a series of locks clicked in succession, releasing the door. She pulled it open to reveal a large room, brightly lit overhead with spotlights that strung along the tall ceiling, much like in a warehouse. Steel beams ran along the roof, braced with more beams, riveting the structured array. The room was filled with people. They casually hung in small groups or individually throughout the large room. The ripples of murmurs echoed in the airy space, but seemed to hush the moment we entered. I wanted to retreat into the sanctity of the tunnel but gritted my teeth as I followed Miranda closely.

The crowd once again parted for her as we made our way to an elevated stage, where Blaze awaited us. His face was hard, his arms crossed on his wide chest. He was still in the same attire as before, though this time I noticed a large knife sheathed to his belt on his right side. It was a Rambo kind of blade based on the size of it. I hoped he didn't have to use it too often.

Miranda turned as she ascended the few steps up to the stage, motioning for me to go faster, but I had stopped to stare at the hissing vampires that were closing the space between me and them. I wanted to swat at them but decided it was better to not piss them off. I glared back at them, disgusted at the display of fangs that accompanied their wild noises.

"Enough!" Blaze's voice boomed over us and the crowd seemed to step back away from me. Relieved, I continued up the steps behind Miranda where Blaze, now with his hands at his sides, awaited. She whispered to him and then left the stage by the opposite side. I felt naked, looking down at the myriad of faces staring up at me, some with anger splayed across their faces, some with curiosity flickering in their eyes. Nonetheless, I could feel the sweat beads gathering around my forehead and chest. My heart raced like lightning inside, making me wonder if I would die of a heart attack before anything else. The surprises I was getting of late were not helping.

"April, Miranda told me what has happened to your family," he said as he studied me. His eyes narrowed, pondering what he was going to say next. I glanced from him to the crowd around us, now engrossed with the scene before them. I felt naked and exposed. The hordes of fangs that lingered in the room were overwhelming, and my anxiety grew tenfold.

"Do you know why you're here?" Blaze's voice made me turn back to the burly vampire. His jeweled eyes gleamed under the bright lights above, making them look like blue fire. I shook my head, not trusting my voice for my breath had gotten stuck in my throat. "You're here because you are one of the only known humans left in Las Vegas. Most died or mutated into wilding vampires, changed from the deadly virus that killed everyone else. Not us though, we are not like the savage vampires you see on the streets. We are different, a hybrid of some sort. Changed, as you are, but somehow you have a resistance to it. No one has been left unaffected."

He paused, studying my features for whatever it was he was looking for. My face paled as I felt my blood drain to my feet. I tried to slow my breathing and bent my knees a bit, hoping not to pass out in front of the horde of hungry-looking vampires. They weren't skinny, but they looked a bit ravenous to me. I wondered again just how they all fed here. I was pretty certain that my blood must have smelt like a delicious entrée perfuming the room.

"April," Blaze's voice came to me as a whisper. I pulled my eyes away from the crowd to stare at him again. I wanted this over with, in so many ways.

"Yes?" I asked.

"We won't harm you April, we need you. The virus didn't affect you the same way it did us or the wildlings. We would like to sample your blood to see what sort of immunities you have developed. It would help us immensely." His voice was cold and serious. He couldn't even feign affection or plead in any way.

Sample my blood?

"N–no!" I answered. I took a step away from him and felt the panic surge as it overtook me. I had to get it together or I would die right there and then from either passing out, getting eaten by hungry mouths or die fighting. I was pretty sure they all weren't good choices.

"Please don't," Blaze requested. His tone made me freeze in my steps. My hand held my machete, ready to swing away. I was certain I was dead for sure now. I glanced around at the gasping and murmurs that echoed around the room. I was a rat in a maze. I had to weigh my options, which were pretty much none, so I put my machete back into place at my side.

"That's better. A bit skittish, aren't you?" he snickered as I pressed my lips together, finding him rather annoying and sounding like Miranda. I felt the beat of my heart slow slightly as I breathed in, willing myself to calm down. I still didn't want to give him my blood, even if it was for "research." Yet, he did have a point; somehow, I was immune to this devastating disease that had killed everyone I had ever laid eyes on.

"I don't understand why you would need my blood or why I'm even here." I said. "All I want is to find my family and if you guys don't know where they are or you don't want to help me, then I have to go." This time I waited. I had a certain morbid curiosity of these beings. I knew they all had once been human but my fear kept my walls up around me–a deep sanctuary within myself. Could I ever accept these vampires as friends?

As for Miranda–I had gained some respect for her. Blaze, he seemed to be a strong leader here but still, I had no knowledge of their true intentions. I was afraid, pure and simple. Afraid to let them be my only recourse, afraid to no longer be on my own where things were predictable. Most of all, did it mean that I would never see my family again? It seemed that if I gave in to this craziness surrounding me, that I would lose my life again. A second death I wasn't willing to go through.

"I understand how skeptical you must be after dealing with the wildling vampires. I assure you, no one here will harm you. We need you, April. Our lives depend on you." Blaze's voice echoed in my head, making me suddenly want to fall down. The overwhelming emotions inside me wanted to spill over and threatened to do so. One tear slid silently down my cheek as I stared at his broad shoulders, avoiding his gaze. His hair was dark and shined under the bright overheads above. I risked a glance up, finding his eyes hard and still, waiting for my answer.

Miranda moved a little by the other side of the stage, noticing my distress. I wondered what she was thinking. Maybe she thought about just how weak and pathetic I was. The gravity of my situation made me want to crumble to the floor. I wanted to run out of there as fast as I could. Even though it was a huge underground warehouse, it felt like the air was stale and the walls were shrinking around me.

"Come on." Blaze came past me, fetching my hand as he brushed by. He pulled me along, down the stairs and into the locked hallway that held the locker room. Miranda was briskly behind us and locked the heavy metal door. Tears now stained my face as I stared back at both of them. My body shook and my voice failed me as I gulped down a sob. I wanted to hide–feeling so small and overwhelmed, especially since crying in front of vampires made me feel like a little child.

"Miranda, tell her what we know."

"Excuse me?" Miranda's eyes widened at Blaze, as though she couldn't believe what he was saying. "I thought we were going to wait until...." Her voice was cut off by Blaze's impatient tone.

"Now, Miranda. She can't help us if she doesn't know." His jaw was tense and his eyes glared at her as he waited for her to follow his order.

"Alright then," Miranda hissed. She turned toward me and handed me a tissue. I wondered how, in all this craziness, she had gotten a tissue. I accepted it and wiped at my face. My sudden arrest loosened at their words.

"We know where you mother and brother are." Her voice came out calm and serious, making my heart quicken as the worst possible scenarios jumped into my head.

"You do? Where are they?" I waited, wanting to shake it out of her. My breath seemed to quicken as my shallow breaths surged with her words. If she didn't tell me now, I was going to lose my mind. "Well?" I demanded.

"They are not here, first of all," Miranda said, feeling the tension radiating off me. "A rival vampire group has them." She gulped, pausing as she watched for my reaction.

"You mean a group like yours?" I sucked my breath in. The time it took her to answer felt like forever.

"Yes. Although, they are not exactly like us." Her eyes studied my face as my stomach dropped inside. I was not sure if I wanted to know what made them different.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

A silent conversation seemed to pass between her and Blaze, their eyes flashing to each other as they pondered what to say. My patience wore thin as I bit my lip to stop the harsh words that could sting from pouring out. I didn't know if I liked these vampires or loathed them. With every passing second, my feelings were beginning to waver toward the latter.

Finally, Miranda sighed, giving a slight nod of her head as she slid her eyes back to me. I could tell she didn't want to tell me what she was about to say. I hoped that it wasn't bad news, but the dread crept into me anyway.

"They are mutated like us, vampires who can think and act human with super powers and can roam in the daytime. But," Miranda sucked in her breath, looking somewhat tired after the long day, "they use the wildling vampires as slaves. They have somehow transformed them to obey orders and keep hordes of them as their army of death. We leave each other alone for the most part but we have a double agent in their hive who keeps us informed. She told us that they have your mother and brother."

"Are they alive? Are they infected?" My voice quivered and I could feel the sweat beading once again on my forehead.

"Yes, they're alive and no, they're not infected. But they are well guarded in that lab of theirs. They are being treated well so far. They're just drawing some of their blood at frequent intervals to study and experiment on." Miranda paused as she let me soak it in with a mixture of relief and concern.

"So how do I get them out of there?" I asked, desperately wanting to have them with me now that I knew someone who knew where they were. The longer they remained in the clutches of rival vampires, the longer I risked not seeing them ever again.

"We're not sure; we'll have to consult with our contact again before we try anything, get a layout of their hive and possible numbers of their horde of wildlings," Blaze answered.

I turned toward the vampire leader, his eyes still blank as I scanned them for details. I realized my demands were great; to take on a whole other hive would be detrimental to this one if not done right. I felt suddenly concerned that I would definitely sacrifice them in a minute if it meant it would save my family. I averted my eyes to examine the spongy texture of the bricks lining the hall, afraid he would be able to read this off me if I wasn't careful. I had to win them over somehow, get them to do this for me, or I was doomed.

"Okay, I'll do it," I whispered.

"Excuse me?" Blaze suddenly looked confused at my answer.

"I mean the blood tests. I'll do them, if you'll help me figure out how to save my family," I said. The gravity of my words filled me with serenity, something that I used to have so much of. This new determination had me suddenly focused and my anxiety had faded away. It was a like a fog had lifted with these few words and I knew this was what was going to be my chance at feeling alive again.

"Thank you, April," Miranda hugged me suddenly, causing me to almost fall over. She laughed as though she had expected the worst. I gave her a small laugh, her contagious mood making me smile. Blaze was also smiling but did not offer a hug. I gave him a tight grin as he waved for me to follow him down the hall toward the labs. I hoped that it wouldn't take too long for I felt like I could've fallen into bed and slept for days.

**Chapter Seventeen**

The moment I awoke, a panic surged through me. Where was I? My surroundings were completely unfamiliar, making me sit up with a gasp. The room was lit up by a dull overhead light that was a ways away from my bed. There were partition walls on each side of me, almost like the shower stalls had, but big enough for a twin-size bed, a night stand, a small desk and a small chest of drawers lining one side of the wall. My boots sat tightly together on the floor where I had left them the night before. There weren't any windows, so I couldn't tell what time it was. I was still in the hybrid vampire hive, in my own makeshift room.

I quickly pulled my watch out from my cargo side pockets and glanced at the time. It was a wind-up battery-dependent water-proof kind of watch and fortunately there were plenty of batteries to go around. I had raided and stored enough to last me a lifetime. It ticked quietly away and showed that it was six am. I slipped it around my wrist, something I didn't get to do too often since the risk of blood and guts spattering all over it was high.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed; having slept in my clothes had made it convenient to just get up and go. My dirty clothes were now clean and folded in a neat pile on top of the dresser. I wondered who had brought them while I had slept and felt just a little more vulnerable that I had not even woken up to their presence. I sighed, lacing up my boots on tight and running my hand over my mess of a ponytail that no longer resembled one. I stood up and opened the drawers of the chest and spied a new brush sitting in one drawer alongside a new toothbrush, a bottle of lotion, some Band-Aids and antiseptic solution. I wondered what kind of place this was that had new toiletries provided for each occupant.

I heard murmurs of voices echoing quietly along the cement walls. I finished pulling my rat's nest of hair into a pony tail and turned to walk out of my bedroom stall when Rye's presence startled me. He had been watching me tighten the band on my hair and a slight spark of amusement danced in his eyes. He was as still as stone and never said a word until I managed to snap at him.

"You scared me! What are you doing standing there?" I shook my head, grabbing the toothbrush and tooth paste and storming past him, not realizing that I didn't know where I was going. This thought made me stop just as fast. Groaning, I turned back to the steel-eyed vampire.

"I'm here to escort you through the facility. I assume you need to use the restroom, so I'd be happy to take you there first, miss...?" He lifted his eyebrow slowly as he waited for me to answer.

"Tate, my name is April Tate. Your name is Rye, right?" He nodded at me as I licked my lips, the harsh silence making me bounce on my legs back and forth nervously. "Well, you gonna take me there or not?" I felt like his slow-motion antics were meant to delay me in some way but his eyes never wavered from my face to give anything away. I felt a slight flush blossom on my cheeks and moved my eyes to the cool cement floor. It was porous and slick in some spots, laid in ginormous slabs all the way down the hall of sleep stalls. I didn't have the only bed in this section and I wondered how many vampires slept here. I did not like that fact that I had slept an entire night oblivious to the presence of others.

Rye began walking down the hall and I followed silently behind him. I studied each stall and wondered why they were all quite unused. Mine had been near the end and I didn't see any other people around to account for the murmur of voices I had heard earlier. Only Rye and I were here.

"Rye?" I asked.

"Yes, Miss April?" he answered as he continued down the hall toward a set of double doors.

"Who else sleeps here? I thought I heard someone else when I woke up. I don't see anyone now." I studied the stalls and noticed just about two or maybe three that had a few other items in them but nothing with a truly personal touch.

"This area of our bunker is sealed off to the rest of the hive. Only Blaze, Miranda, you and I live here now." He pushed through the door and turned to his right and opened the door into a large locker room, like the one I had been in before. There was no one there either.

"Why is it sealed off from the rest of the hive?" My curiosity rose tenfold as we came to stop in the middle of the room, or rather Rye did. I turned toward him and waited for my answer. He was already watching me, sizing me up with a small squint to his eyes. He was extremely good looking; his pink lips were soft and beckoned a touch. I looked away again, wondering why I felt so stupid around him. It was not simple infatuation, but something else. I was hoping it was something else at least, some sort of vampire antics that I could not control.

"We are the leaders of this Hive. We do not sleep where the others sleep for safety purposes. We have had traitors among us before and this ensures that we remain safe when we rest and can monitor the hive without interruption."

I paused, darting my eyes back to his face, which was still as serious and unchanged.

"Leaders? I thought Blaze was the leader. You mean Miranda and you are also leaders?" I was very interested in discovering the hierarchy of this vampire hive. My ears were practically at attention to hear what he had to say.

"Yes, but Blaze is first in command, Miranda is second in command. I am third. Blaze is my cousin. We were in the military together, stationed at the Air Force branch here at Nellis Air Force Base. This was our top-secret facility where we both worked prior to the outbreak. We were the only ones who made it safely back here." He paused, watching for my reaction. I gave him none to work with so he continued. "We discovered that we had changed too but not like the wildlings. We were different. As we found others like us, we had to create order, to secure ourselves from the outside threats, so hence, the start of our underground home." He smiled and waved me toward the sinks and stalls. "I'll wait for you outside."

I nodded and watched him turn and leave. I wondered if he had to use the facilities like humans did. Maybe they didn't; they didn't seem exactly dead, even if the history of the vampire deemed him to be so. I wondered what made them different from the feral vamps. There was a major difference, of course. There was also an extreme difference between him and me for that matter. I swallowed down a dry lump in my throat, feeling suddenly alone once again. I was one of the last humans. What was to happen in this world when humans were finally extinct? The world would belong to these mutated beings. And they were as close to human as anyone would ever be again.

After brushing my teeth, washing my face and using the facilities, I walked out to find Rye patiently waiting. He was leaning against the wall and bouncing a small rubber ball off the opposite wall over and over. He pocketed it and turned toward me, smiling. That was a refreshing change.

"I'll lead you back to the sleeping quarters so you can change and put your stuff away. Breakfast is almost ready, are you hungry?" He seemed amused, watching my face morph into shock.

"What? You guys don't eat food...I thought...."

"You thought we just drink blood?" He gave out a laugh and shook his head as we continued to walk toward my "room." "No, we can survive on human food too, but if we forgo drinking blood for too long, we become very ill and weak." He stopped when we reached my area. He motioned that he would wait at the doors and left me to change, full of questions.

I felt stunned; Miranda had feasted on the feral vamp's blood quite eagerly. She could eat human food too and had not mentioned it. I got a feeling that human nutrition was not the favorite food group around here anymore. There was more iron at the top of the pyramid now. I shuddered at the thought and peeled my clothes off, putting them on a neat pile on the bed and slipping on my now clean outfit from the prior day. They felt good and soft against my skin, like a glove. I tossed my weapons on and belted the straps, feeling more like myself once I had finished. I quickly made the bed and headed out to meet Rye.

His face lit up a bit when he saw me coming. It made my stomach flutter, making me slip on my confidence. He seemed more human when he smiled, not the still, statuesque façade he had been parading on his face since I met him. Something told me to not underestimate him; he was a deep well full of life and knowledge of many things that he hid well. It obviously made him a good leader, to be still as stone and dependable as a leader could be. Blaze had more presence than Rye but this man was not a fool. I could feel his strength swirl around him like an aura. He could probably kick a lot of butt out there if he had to. I wouldn't doubt it one bit. And I wouldn't doubt that he had done so already, many times.

We followed the long, closed-off hall and entered the large warehouse room once more. Along the farthest corner, long tables were set up and many a vampire was seated, eating up greedily and chatting amongst themselves. The echoing voices quieted some as we approached. Rye grabbed two trays off a pile at the end of the buffet-style line and a couple of plates. He handed one set to me and motioned for me to pick what I wanted. I kept one eyeball on the many vampires that now had their faces firmly glued on me. Their eyes felt like tiny little needles pricking me in the back as I tried to focus on plopping food onto my plate. I was starving but being the center of attention in a room full of fangs made my appetite diminish as my stomach twisted into a nervous knot.

I took a deep breath, watching my hand shake as I reached to pour some juice into a cup at the end of the food line. I spilled part of it and moaned slightly at my clumsiness. A hand reached over and took the pitcher from me. Rye poured the rest in, grinning slightly as he placed it on his tray.

"I'll carry it to the table. You're just a bundle of jitteriness this morning, aren't you?" He winked and pulled me to follow him to an empty area at the end of one of the long tables. I sat across from him, darting my eyes toward the group nearest us. They whispered to each other as they glanced back to me every now and then. It was quite irritating and I focused my attention on my tray to avoid seething even more from their unwanted attention.

"Ignore them. They haven't seen a human in so long they're just not sure what to think." Rye shoved a potato into his mouth and chomped down, smiling playfully back at me. I was quite intrigued with this new personality that now flowed across his face. His grey eyes were twinkling, as though he had plans for shenanigans that day. I hoped he wasn't bipolar. I couldn't stand an unstable person right now; I was as unstable as one got in a difficult situation.

"I don't feel comfortable here. You don't think that any one of them would attack me, do you?" I asked. I shoved a bit of egg into my mouth and chewed, barely believing they had fresh eggs here. I would have to ask Rye about the food supply and how it was acquired.

"No, not as long as one of us is with you," he said coyly, winking at me, making me think he might be joking. I didn't want to find out if he wasn't.

I ate as much as I could with my stomach tensed up, which wasn't as much as I had wanted to. I knew I'd be starving before noon for sure. Rye grabbed my tray and shushed me when I protested. He dumped them out and returned, motioning for me to follow him again. The stares had diminished since we had first arrived so I was beginning to feel a little more at ease. He walked over to the opposite corner of the warehouse and down another hallway to another set of double doors. I recognized it as the lab where they had drawn my blood the night before. I wondered why he had brought me here again, hoping that they didn't need even more vials of my blood. I would be anemic pretty fast if they did.

"Why are we coming back here?" I asked.

"You want to see what they've come up with, right? Besides, Blaze has been here all morning, awaiting results." Rye smiled again, making me slightly at ease with his explanation. "He wants a cure more than anything. But, we have to help our hive stay alive first."

I crinkled my nose, wondering why it was that every question I had seemed to bring more questions. I sighed, following him through the doors as I glanced about the lab. The tables were full of vials, centrifuge machines and other machines that I was sure did the tests. There were fridges full of blood units on one wall, rack after rack of them. I wondered why they didn't just drink that blood. I doubted it would last very long with the amount of mouths they had to feed. Why this lab was not in the protected locked down area of the bunker was beyond me. I quickly discovered that there was a whole other freezer at the back of the lab, a deep freeze room stuffed full of blood.

"It's our emergency stash. If we're unable to leave here for days, we could survive for a while without venturing outside," Rye offered when he caught me staring at the clear glass doors of the freezers. I nodded, ripping my eyes away from the deep red blood inside row after row of bags. I wondered how they had acquired so many bags in one place. I shivered thinking about how many humans it had taken to fill freezers like that.

"Blaze, anything new?" Rye asked his huskier cousin. The leader slowly brought his eyes away from the computer he had been staring intently at to land on us. He smiled and gave me a nod before turning back to a person wearing a lab coat in front of him.

"This is Brian Sands, head hematologist of our hive." Blaze waved toward the lab coated man. "Brian, this is April, the only human we have found so far." Brian stood up, a scrawny and scraggly man with deep chocolate eyes and messed up, fading blonde hair. The ring of gold in his eyes seemed to almost clash with the deep brown of them. He reached out to shake my hand and sat back down.

"Good day, April," Brian said as he turned back to the computer screen in front of him. I waited as I craned my neck to see what he was looking at. The screen was full of gibberish and numbers that made no sense to me. I gave up staring at it and scanned the room, interested in all the equipment when Blaze yanked me out of my thoughts.

"April, we have isolated a compound in your serum that very well could hold the key to the immunity you've developed against the virus." I turned to look at him, his eyes studying me as if I was a very interesting item on display. The twinkle in his eye made me feel a bit guarded. He didn't make me as nervous as Rye did but he had a certain air about him that made me think twice before I said anything.

"That's good then, you don't need more blood, do you?" I asked nervously, feeling a bit dumb for asking. Being around others was not comfortable to me. I realized how familiar my isolated lifestyle with my mother and brother had become. The cocoon we had created had apparently kept my social skills at bay. Now I felt like the new kid at a school full of people that weren't one bit like me. I wasn't quite yet sure how to feel about it.

Blaze gave a short laugh as he grinned, nodding as he stood up and pointed at the screen.

"No, we don't. Not yet. These are your antibodies here, the red are your blood cells. They are usually spherical and concave in a human, something we don't see anymore. Vampires like us, our cells are more like round spherical balls, bouncing around in our vessels, full of nothing but fluid, we have to ingest massive amounts of blood to keep our hemoglobin attached to our cells or we die." He paused, looking gravely serious for a moment. He waved me over to another monitor where another kind of blood was on display.

"This is a sample of a wildling's blood. See how withered it looks? This one had not fed in a long time. But they have the ability to fill their cells up once they feed and they look similar to yours but the surfaces of the cells are a bit rougher, like they're encased in a muck that sticks to them. These are the differences between the three of types of 'beings' left." He straightened up and sighed, looking a bit worn out for a moment as he rubbed his brows.

"So why do you need my blood? What can it do for you?" I asked, curious to hear an answer, if they even had one, to this outbreak that had ended the world.

Blaze's eyes rolled up to meet my stare. His eyes were now cold and a dark blue, like an ocean before a storm, no longer twinkling as they studied me. This made the hair on my neck stand on end as a chill passed through me. I rubbed my arms as he averted his eyes from my face.

"We are reproducing this antibody you carry in hopes that it could help us stay alive longer." His voice came out dry and rough as the room stared at him in silence with only the hum of the machines to interrupt the awkwardness. I pressed my lips together, realizing that whatever he was going to say next would change many things.

"What do you mean stay alive longer? Does that mean...are you guys dying?" My voice came out slightly accusatory. I sucked my breath in as I waited for an answer, fighting my impatience with every ounce of my strength. I had to wait for him to answer. I knew I didn't want to hear it, but what choice did I have?

"Yes, some of us. Not all." He turned toward Brian and gave him a nod. The hematologist nodded and hit a few keys on the keyboard to bring up another screen of blood cells. This was a time lapsed film that repeated over and over again. The red blood cells appeared spherical like their blood had, little balls bouncing around the screen. Eventually those balls changed colors, morphing into a sickly green that rippled the balls on their surface as they collapsed into themselves and then lay suspended like crumpled green bits of paper scattered in green fluid. It was sickening and I suddenly knew what was coming next.

"Some of us disintegrate, wither in a sense. We have no way of knowing when it will happen and the end comes quickly, usually within a week. We start to feel feverish, turn pale and sickly green. Then we bleed, our blood turning into a green sludge, pouring out of every orifice right before death. So far it seems only one in five of us suffer from this disease but we don't know how to track who is vulnerable. We have already lost about one hundred and fifty people. We bury them in the nearby water containment ditch, which has been dry for a long time. We usually set them on fire to disintegrate what is left." He shifted his weight, for he was still standing, his words wearing on him as he spoke. I soaked it all in, still waiting for him to bring up my own blood in all this.

"Your serum may be a vaccine for us to defeat this ailment. So, you see, that is why we need you, April." Blaze was staring back at me, awaiting my reaction. My indifference surprised me. I didn't care if it helped them or not. They were still vampires–killers and dependent on blood. Whether they came up with a cure or not, I didn't care.

"Well, good luck with that. You got what you wanted. Now, are you still going to help me with what I want?" I narrowed my eyes at him, my voice spilling out icy and hard. I wanted to feel something for them, just to remind myself that I was still human, but I couldn't–or wouldn't. I wasn't quite sure which it was.

"We might need future specimens to make this work; you have to be on board to help us every time we need more samples." Blaze's eyes were open in surprise; he had obviously expected a different reaction from me. "It won't be much, I promise you that." His voice cracked in a slip of desperation. I shook my head and turned, surprising everyone and even myself as I headed out the door of the lab. The air inside had started to feel thick and dry, suffocating me. I ran down the hall a ways until I realized I had run the wrong way.

I stood staring down another hall and turned to run back but had followed too many turns to be sure it was the right way. I groaned in frustration as I slid to the floor and leaned against the wall, smacking my fist on the hard, cold concrete floor. I was rubbing the soreness on my hand when I heard someone approaching. I scrambled to my feet and came face to face with Rye.

His statuesque face was still and his eyes had darkened over like a coming storm. He was obviously angry but I stood my ground, waiting for him to speak first.

"What's wrong with you?" he snapped, taking a step forward, closing the space between us.

"What do you mean?" I growled back, my lips twitching at his disgust.

Rye tilted his head as he narrowed his steely eyes, sizing me up. "You think you're so righteous, don't you? This so-called mission of yours–killing the wildlings like animals–and for what? Just to find your family. Does that make you better than us?" He started shaking his head as he further closed the gap between us, a sinister grin dwelling on his lips. "But you're not better than us, April. You, my dear, are just another kind of vampire."

The heat of his breath seared my cheek as I pressed myself against the wall, pulling my head away from him, though my heart was racing. His warm nose brushed my cheek as he put his hands against the concrete wall and leaned in, surrounding me. I tried ducking away from him but he moved so fast I found myself pressed against the wall once more. My fear was mixed with want, fogging up my thoughts as I turned my head away, refusing to look into his gun-metal eyes. My hands pushed at his chest, but not with the force I would have used against an attack. My feelings were conflicted; I wanted to run, run so far that I would never see this place or his face again. And yet, I couldn't run. I didn't want to run, really. My feet would not budge and my heart longed for him to brush his lips across my cheek and press them against my own lips, with as much want as I felt.

He stepped away, breaking off a piece of my soul with every step he took. I let my eyes find his, my breathing fast and short, my heart in my throat, expecting to see malice and taunt dancing in his eyes.

But there wasn't any of that at all.

He looked more serious than anything else. Rye's eyes glinted bright like fire on steel, desire burning in them. He seemed as surprised at the feelings we had evoked as I was, if not more so. Sighing, his eyes lowered to the floor as he gathered himself once more. I could almost see his energy retract within himself until it no longer rippled about him.

When he was done, Rye glanced back up, once again sporting the stoic blank mask he'd had the first time I met him. I felt a twinge of loss without him near. I tried to shake it off but I knew the damage was done. I would help them, and not just because I wanted them to help me save my family, but because I could not bear to ever witness him wither and die.

"Come on, let's go back," he whispered, holding out his hand for me to take. I nodded, feeling slightly exasperated that the moment was over. Clasping his hand, I could see it shake before he curled his fingers over mine. He pulled me along, down the narrow halls and turns as if he could walk it in his sleep. I was pretty sure he could. I couldn't take my eyes off him, a feeling of calm flushing over me as the warmth of his skin bled onto mine. I was glad to have met him. In a twisted sort of way, it felt right. I only hoped that no matter what, he would help me find my family.

**Chapter Eighteen**

Rye didn't lead me back to the lab but he did lead me back to the room I had woken up in, the sleeping quarters. I had protested but he had shushed me with a finger to my lips, the longing returning to his eyes. He managed a slight smile and left quickly after telling me to rest up. I laid back after kicking off my boots, feeling more tired than I had thought I was. My lids sank closed as I let the dark embrace take me, replacing my thoughts for the time being. I was all too willing for this silent sanctuary.

***

I woke later, not knowing what time it was. The hum of the overhead lights was the only sound that hovered in the atmosphere of this underground bunker. I wondered where everyone was and how late it was. I checked my watch and realized that it was about one in the morning. I had slept for so long I had missed dinner. Sighing, I swung my legs out and stretched, wishing I hadn't slept so much. I would be up for a while now because of it. It hadn't occurred to me that maybe the vampires were nocturnal, even if they could walk in the sunlight.

I got my boots back on and ran the brush through my straggly hair, pulling it back into the ponytail it had fallen out of. Pretty sure I looked like I had just rolled out of bed, I stood up and flattened the wrinkles in my outfit. My stomach rolled, filling with hunger pangs as I licked my lips, feeling parched. The dry desert air lingered down here too, sucking the moisture from my body. I had to eat and drink something but finding my way around this underground labyrinth would not be fun alone. I wondered what Rye was up to, if he was still awake or not. No one else was in the sleeping quarters; the place was as silent as a tomb. I walked to the door and hoped I would find him, Miranda or Blaze nearby.

The hive was vast. I was sure that it ran the length of the airport, at least. The long runways above used to vibrate above the freeway tunnel that led to this bunker, now forever silent. It had been so long since I'd seen a plane in the sky. This had been a place full of planes, twinkling in the evening skies like stars lined up and evenly-spaced as they came in to land. Now not even the bright lights of The Strip kept the night sky from showing the real stars, no lights to take over the natural brilliance of nature.

I wondered how long it would take for nature to overtake the city. It was already evident after one year of neglect. Weeds and litter were strewn across every street. Dead landscaping and crumbling trees were everywhere. A thick layer of dirt and mud stuck to the windows of the once magnificent Strip of Las Vegas and Fremont Street. Shimmering glass shards lay everywhere. No place was untainted by the viral epidemic. Apparently not even me.

I rounded the corner and came to dead stop. Before me stood a woman, dirtied and with wild hair. Her face was streaked with grime and rips ran through her clothing. Blood had dried in dark red and brown splats on her shirt and pants and the large Rambo-like knife that she fingered in front of me. She was ready to pounce, slowly shifting on her legs as she narrowed her eyes at me. Sucking in my breath, I instinctively reached for one of the machetes strapped to my side.

I was too slow.

The woman moved inhumanely fast, faster than even Miranda. She snatched my arm and twisted it behind me, forcing my fingers to lose their grip on my weapon as she pushed me to my knees and held the knife to my throat. The machete clanged onto the ground, far from my sight. Her breath felt hot on my neck as I struggled against her. She was incredibly strong, like there was a powerful beast inside her. My eyes bulged wildly, unable to pull my arm away from her as it burned in pain. I tried to claw at her with my free arm but she shoved me down to the floor, smashing my cheek against the rough concrete slab.

"Get off me!" I grunted, bucking as much as I could as she dug her knees into my back, making me groan instead. She was a bit smaller than me but she had me pinned pretty well. I stopped squirming as she brought the knife back to my neck, snickering as she whispered into my ear.

"Stupid fool, I could slice your throat like nothing." She pressed the blade against my skin, slightly dragging it along the surface. The sting of the blade on my skin made me gasp as my crimson blood slowly dripped down to the ground. She stopped suddenly, sniffing at the air and shifting her weight but still pressing down on my back painfully.

"You don't smell right." She stated. Her voice was now cracking and uncertain. She pushed off me and stood up, letting me catch my breath as I scrambled off the floor, turning to face her as my hand flew to my throat. It was just a scratch but my fear welled up in me like an overwhelming flood, my eyes wild as I stared at the filthy creature before me.

"What's going on here?" Blaze came storming down the hall, followed by Miranda and Rye as he pushed the woman out of the way. "What do you think you're doing?" He yelled at her as he pulled my hand from my bleeding throat. He let go and nodded, relieved to see that it was just a superficial wound.

"She's trespassing. I was about to dispatch her but...." The grimy woman snarled back at Blaze as she turned back toward me. "There's something off about her, she's not one of us."

"We know that! Take her to the infirmary, patch her up." He snapped to the two behind him. "Seraphin, go clean yourself up, you're disgusting! Then meet me in the debriefing room," Blaze yelled back at her, motioning for her to leave.

The woman's lips pressed tightly together as she glared back at him, her fangs flashing out from under her lips. She turned her hateful look toward me before spinning and running down the hall to who knew where.

I watched her disappear from sight, jumping slightly when Rye took my arm to lead me away. My hand held the cut, keeping it from oozing any more crimson blood down my neck. Walking slowly, I finally slowed my breathing as my thumping heart calmed its ferocity.

"What or who was that!" I said irritatingly, pulling gently away from Rye's grip. I didn't want to feel inferior or like I needed someone to care for me. I was used to being alone and doing it all myself. His touch made me seethe as I remembered how easily she had overpowered me.

"That was Seraphin, our double agent in the opposing hive. She's going to help us infiltrate the hive to find your family. She just got back and we haven't had a chance to tell her about the plan yet." He chuckled slightly but stopped as he caught the nasty look I was boring into him. He gave me a half smile but decided to keep his eyes ahead instead of suffering my stabbing look.

"She's on your side?" I was exasperated. I couldn't believe that violent and lethal wild-looking crazy woman was part of Rye's hive. I turned to look at Miranda for confirmation. She nodded and sighed.

"Yep, she's one of us. She's a little unconventional but she's the only one that would fit in with the other hive; they're not as civilized as we are, April. In fact, you think the wildlings are crazy? They have nothing on them." She gave a huff as she spoke of Seraphin. I wasn't sure if she approved of her methods but I was pretty sure that they had little choice.

"Let me see," Rye said as he tugged at my hand. I let my arm drop away from my wound. He draped a towel on me as he rinsed it out with saline, dabbed it with antibiotic ointment and taped a bandage onto it. I felt silly with the bulk of gauze hanging off the side of my neck but relieved that I didn't need stitches. Rye smiled and stepped away to wash his hands quickly in the sink. I began to suspect that the smell of blood was overwhelming for him. I glanced at Miranda who was trying to look busy rearranging a cabinet at the far end of the infirmary. Wrinkling my nose, I sighed. I would have to wash off the remainder of the blood and change if I was going to go near the rest of the hive.

"Is it hard to resist?" I said softly, swinging my legs as I leaned forward on the table I sat on.

"Hmm? Is what hard to resist?" Rye asked from the sink as he dried his hands, turning back to me. His face was slightly redder then before, as if he was straining to hold his breath a bit. I waited for his answer but I was already sure about what he was going to say.

He exhaled. "Yes, it is hard to resist. Your blood, it smells amazing. I haven't smelled human blood in almost a year." He gulped as he stared at me from across the room. "It's like food to a starving man. The aroma, promising to satiate the hunger pangs that never end otherwise, even the wildlings blood isn't enough." He dropped the towel onto the counter and walked swiftly past me, heading for the door of the infirmary.

"Where are you going?" I jumped to my feet, not wanting him to leave but sure that I couldn't stop him if he wanted to go. Miranda had already reached the door and shook her head at me as he rushed out and left us.

"Don't," she said as I started for the door. "He can resist, but it is like torture to us." She sighed, rubbing her head. "Go to the left out in the hall and the first inlet on the left will be the showers. There will be a set of clothes there for you and towels. Wash off the blood and then keep going down the hall to the second left and that is our sleeping quarters. Get some rest. We will talk later. Right now, we have to debrief Seraphin." I nodded to her as she let the door close behind her.

Sitting in the silent infirmary made me feel even more alone than ever before. I pondered Seraphin's aggression and chuckled at her name. I found it strange that everyone here seemed to have a strange name. I would have to ask Miranda or Rye about it later; maybe there was some reason for it. In the meantime, I went to shower the coppery stench of my blood off my body. I felt no closer to finding my family and the days were rushing by without a thought. After I rested again I would ask Blaze about how soon we could start the operation to rescue my mother and brother. I had waited long enough.

Padding out of the locker room, I entered the corridor, relieved to find no one in sight. But the weight of isolation was making me feel just how much of a minority I was even now, after so long by myself. Now I felt even more alone despite being in a place full of people.

**Chapter Nineteen**

Who knows how long I had lain in bed, pondering everything that had happened in just the past few days. I hated being in this uncertain place in my life, it felt out of control and I didn't like it. My mind raced, wondering how I could regain my hold on the situation. It kept me up for hours, restless.

I didn't hear anyone else come into the sleeping quarters at all the rest of the night and it made me wonder if the vampires even required sleep. Maybe they had realized how different I was and what a hazard it could be to have a human amongst them. If my blood paralyzed Rye so, how would the others react?

Seraphin hadn't tried to drink my blood. I was relieved for that. She could have easily ripped my throat out if she had so desired. I cringed at the thought as I subconsciously reached up to touch the gauze on my neck. I wondered what they were discussing in their debriefing of Seraphin. I desperately wanted to know and the wait made me feel like I could jump out of my skin from my fraying nerves. I hated waiting, it was worse than getting a tooth pulled.

I sighed, sitting back up as my anxiety made my sleeping impossible. I wondered if I should get up and search for the others. The place was big and I didn't want to run into any more unknowns. These hybrids were fast, I was going to have to step up my game if I was to fight any of them and live. I sighed again, got up and stretched. I hadn't worked out lately and I could feel the slack in my muscles growing. I missed the limberness that exercise gave me. It was like meditation in motion.

I had on the loose clothes that they had provided me with; mine were once again blood-stained and dirty, hopefully getting washed by whoever did the laundry around here. I tried not to think about it as my fingers gripped my ankles, enjoying the slow burn in my muscles as they stretched and relaxed. I continued this for a few minutes before I stood up. Luckily, I healed quickly and my arms and hands were now feeling much better. Even the slice on my neck had stopped throbbing.

I grabbed my machete and gave it several swings and jabs, moving my legs along like a dance that I once knew. It felt fluid, like an old friend's embrace, partnering with me. Spinning, I let my bare feet grip the floor and swipe at an imaginary foe.

I paused to grab the second machete and began my routine exercises to condition my arms with the work of both blades, letting the air rush past with each movement. It refreshed me as I felt the intensity of it bring the sweat out on my skin. My training routine was calming in a most relaxing way. It let me get lost in my own thoughts as the metal flashed and my body became one with the dance. I'd had some formal training before the outbreak. My entire life I had been more physical than other girls, taking dance classes, karate and other martial arts training, almost anything I could get into. It was exhilarating and had hooked me right off the bat. That, along with a year spent watching my fill of videos on weapons training on the TV and DVD player during the endless hours in the bunker, had done wonders for my strength, agility and abilities. I was an excellent fighter; killing was what I was built for, a vampire hunter in every sense.

Like music in my mind, I let it take the movements of my body with it. I usually had music playing at these times but the silence provided its own. My kicks and jumps reminded my muscles what they should be doing. Practicing flips while holding two swords was difficult at first but once you got the hang of it, it was just a matter of keeping your center of gravity. It could either feel like the world has jolted you about or like you are flying. I preferred the latter and let my body take control of the movements without a problem. The adrenaline filled me up like an empty flask and I drank it in eagerly.

A movement in the room jolted me back into the present as I brought my blades up to the trespasser who had interrupted my solace. I held one of my weapons to their throat, ready to slice through it if I so wanted to.

Rye stood still as a statue as his deep steely eyes took my face in. I was breathing hard as I held my stance, afraid to move and not wanting to look away. His look was not of fear, hatred or anything of the sort; it was like diving into an endless pool of water that gleamed my own face back at me. He had said so much without a word and I wanted to dive all too willingly into his soul, never to turn back. I stood up straight, letting my swords hang to my sides, slowing my breathing as I waited for him to say something. How long had he been watching me? How long had he stood there, taking in my dance of blades, my private meditation, before discovery? It was a sort of violation but I wasn't angry. I wanted to reach out and touch his face, make him feel the exhilaration I felt at that moment. Make him feel something.

"How long have you been there, watching me?" I asked quietly. I watched as his eyes searched mine, making me feel the tingle of power that emanated from them. I was sure that if I hadn't been immune, I would have been toast at that moment, completely at his disposal for whatever he wanted. I was glad that I was immune to his vampiric manipulation but, in a way, I almost wouldn't mind letting someone else make a choice for me. I was alone now but this was someone whom I would let in. He only had to ask. I wondered if he even knew that.

"Long enough," he whispered back as his hand came up to my face, letting his fingers run slowly down my cheek, feeling more like a slight breeze than fingers.

I shivered under them. His touch was not cold, but it wasn't hot either. He felt human, if that was possible. Whatever hybrid strain of the virus had infected him, it had transformed him into a most intriguing man. I was certain he had been so beforehand but now he was downright disarming. I sucked in a breath, pulling my eyes away from him. I didn't want to, but I did. I denied myself what I wanted most as I turned back toward my sleeping area, placing my weapons back in their sheaths. I stared at myself in the small oval mirror that hovered above the dresser, my reflection looking flushed. My hair lay flat, sticking to my neck and temples; I wished I didn't look so wild then. I wished I had myself put together, made myself beautiful for him. But I wasn't. This was me. If he didn't like that, he could always leave.

I caught sight of him at my periphery. His dark figure approached slowly as he came up behind me, closer and closer. He laid his hands on my shoulders and clasped onto them as though he was drawing in my aura. I glanced up to the mirror, watching him move his face next to mine as my hair tickled his cheek. His warm breath sent ripples down my neck and tingled across my skin. I watched his eyes reflecting back at mine, making me almost smile as I thought about the myth that vampires couldn't see their reflections in a mirror. He was as clear in the reflection as I was. I reached up to touch and run my fingers up his black as night hair, letting the soft waves of it slide out of my fingers, watching his eyes as I did so.

My heart fluttered in my chest, making my breath feel harsh as I sucked in smaller draughts of air. He didn't move but closed his eyes as my hand made its way back down his crown and to his jaw, crossing his crimson lips. I wanted to feel his lips on my own, let them press tightly against mine and part to let my tongue into his warm mouth. I wondered if he felt the same. I had never fallen for someone so fast and a twinge of panic emerged as I realized that what I wanted more than anything was to fall for him even harder.

Rye pulled me away from the dresser and turned me to face him as his pupils dilated, making them seem like a small band of hot white fire as both rings of color thinned into circles of light. I wanted to know him, to know who he was before the outbreak, what he did, what he liked and what had made him happy. I didn't want to feel this way about anyone but I knew that it was now too late to stop it. Since it bothered me slightly, I briefly took my reluctance into consideration but threw it into the back crevices of my mind.

"April, I...." His voice came out in a nervous whisper, as though it was hard to form words when the air was electrified. His hands cupped my face as his eyes looked more and more entranced, as if I was a drug to be savored. It was nothing that I had ever felt before. His closeness made my body want to pull him even closer, until our souls fused and we would never part ever again.

"What is it?" I asked dreamily, wanting him to say something more, anything at all. I waited but he continued to let his eyes hover around my face, taking in every detail. I felt my cheeks flush under his gaze.

"I never thought I would meet someone like you. You're different; you're stronger than anyone I've ever met, even amongst the hybrids. I'll help you in whatever you need; I'll be there for you." His lips came closer as his words left them, brushing against mine. My lips burned at his touch.

Desperately our kiss deepened. Our lips sought out one another like a desert plant seeking out the slightest drop of water. His body felt amazing next to mine. Our arms held on tight, not wanting to let go of each other. Now that we had found one another, would we ever let go? Would the differences between our worlds and our blood keep us apart or pull us closer together? I wanted to know the answer to that, hoping that the desire engulfing us now would be enough to make it happen.

"Ow!" I pulled away slightly, bringing my hand to my lip which was oozing a sliver of blood where Rye's fang had grazed me. I looked at him in surprise before I burst out laughing. The look of sudden fear filled his eyes, concerned about the injury he had given me. My laugh made him stare back in confusion. I pulled him closer, letting my head fall to his chest, listening to his heart beating almost as fast as mine. It made me smile to know that he was just as flustered as I was.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to–I should be more careful," he offered as he tightened his embrace, rubbing his chin against my soft hair. He sighed happily as we stood there, holding on to one another for dear life.

"It's ok," I whispered. "It's just a scratch." I licked the metallic taste away from my sore lip. He pulled away and held me at arm's length, studying my face as I returned his stare. "What's wrong?" I asked, feeling the nervousness slip back into my chest.

"I don't really understand why I feel this way. But this is something that burns inside me like a raging fire. I've wanted to tell you that from the moment we met. I want you to know something first, though." Rye paused as he took a deep breath, looking slightly distressed.

"Know what?" I asked with curiosity laced with uncertainty. I was afraid to hear what he was going to say but I knew that he had to say it now, no matter what.

"The year that we've been here, after we'd mutated, we discovered that if we fell in love with someone we would leave the ones we came with, even if we were married, to be with that person. It's like our new DNA compels us to want that other person, like two souls binding." He paused, sighing with some strain.

We sat on the bed as I continued to listen to his story.

"It was unexplainable at first but we discovered that it was necessary, as if once we had mutated and found 'the one' we became mated forever. I don't know if you understand that, but I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't witnessed it myself."

I shifted on the bed as I listened, leaning my chin on one of my knees.

"So," I pondered, "if a married couple came to your hive and one of them bonded to another vampire they would leave their spouse to be with this other person? Like, forever?" My eyebrows lifted as I glanced back at him, surprised and slightly impressed. "What if the other person didn't want that? Do both bind to someone else or just one of them? What if you don't find this other half even if your spouse did? What then?" I studied his face, my heart now a calm drummer in my chest. I wondered if this phenomenon explained our feelings.

"Then we'd remain alone." Rye glanced at me, looking deadly serious with his now rounded discs of silver and gold. I wanted to kiss him again, to feel that fire he had ignited burn again in my chest. I glanced away, restraining myself as I smiled at the naughty thoughts that flashed through my mind.

"How many are paired in your hive? Does the other hive experience the same thing?" I asked quietly.

"Yes. Seraphin has confirmed that this is not an isolated trait. The other hive suffers from the same compulsion. Many of us are paired, many are not. It is random, it seems, and it looks quite bleak for some of us." Rye leaned back on the bed, slumping down with his hands on his belly, looking quite relaxed. I smiled and shifted to let my head snuggle his shoulder as he brought his arm around me. His closeness was like a calm in a stormy ocean. I had not felt so peaceful in a long time. I could almost call it happiness if it hadn't been for my constant concern for my family. If only I could have them with me, here or back at our bunker, safe and sound.

Still, I felt he had not told me everything, but I dismissed the feeling for now.

I smiled as another thought occurred to me. "Not so bleak for us, right?"

His hand rubbed my arm and pulled me in and brought his face close to mine, his eyes shining like beacons flashing across a dark ocean.

"Definitely not."

**Chapter Twenty**

The coldness of the room made me shiver slightly. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced around, realizing Rye was gone. I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before, making me think that maybe I had dreamt up the events of the night before. Sitting up and looking at the spot where Rye had been lying when I had fallen asleep, I ran my hand over the bed, feeling a terrible loss without him near. It made me groan in frustration; I almost felt weak because of it. Falling for someone was not on my agenda, it had never been. It could be a liability in my search for my family but it didn't matter. I knew he had meant what he'd said about never leaving me alone and promising to help me.

Standing up, I found another pile of clean clothes on the dresser. Someone had brought it while I had been sleeping, maybe Rye or Miranda. I wasn't sure at all and it gave me the creeps to realize that they could sneak past me so easily. It was an unsettling feeling and I intended to get better at detecting them; it could mean the difference between life and death for me in the future.

I treaded to the showers and cleaned myself up. Donning the new pair of jeans and black shirt, I strapped my weapons over my body and sighed, wondering where everyone was. I was still restless, more so now than ever. Making my way back out into the hall, I paused and listened, hoping to hear Rye or anyone else for that matter. I checked my watch; it was early, seven in the morning. I was famished and was starting to feel neglected. I hated being dependent on anyone, so I decided to make my way to the dining area.

My neck had completely healed, as we had discovered last night. Rye had been impressed with how fast I'd healed. I shrugged it off, saying that I had always been a fast healer. Rye had looked at me with seriousness as he pondered what I had told him. Though he had shrugged it off as we fell asleep, I hadn't thought much of it.

I made my way to the locked door that led out to the large tunnel room where the food would be set up. I hoped being out there alone wouldn't put me in danger. I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do, starve? Not an option. I'd rather die with a full belly.

Turning the lock, I opened the door and stepped out into the tunnel. I closed the door behind me and heard the lock click into place. I gulped, wondering how I would get back in if I so needed to. I turned back and began walking to the far corner where the dining tables were set up. I grabbed a tray and began loading it up, ignoring the stares and whispers around me. The vampire in front of me turned to stare at me with widened eyes as his nostrils flared. I'm sure I still smelled like blood, or at least a little bit abnormal. I gave him a smile as the line moved on, and us with it. No one said a word but eyes aplenty dug into my back as I made my way through the food line and plopped down at an unoccupied table at the edge of the area. I prayed that I would get to eat something before anything started.

I had gotten halfway through my meal when it did happen. A burly, broad-shouldered man came to sit down in front of me, his eyes dark as coals, with a sliver of a gold halo around them. They must have already been dark in his prior human existence. His slicked back brown hair made me wonder how much gel he went through. It would be a sad day for him when the world ran out of gel.

I continued to shove food into my mouth and chew as quietly as I could, focusing my eyes on my plate, not wanting to start anything with this brick of a man. He had already finished his food and continued to stare as he tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. I could hear a soft rumble in his throat as if he was trying to intimidate me. I took a swig of my drink and looked up at him as I wiped my mouth.

"You don't belong here," the large man snarled. His hand slammed down on the table, making my heart lurch as I tried to keep as calm as I could. I wasn't going to start this, but I was intent on ending it. I would need every bit of my energy if he was going to make me fight. His lips curled back in a snarl as his eyes narrowed into little beads. I wanted to slip away now with my full belly, but I doubted I was going to get out without a quarrel.

"Did you hear me, human?" He said "human" like one would say "stupid." I stood up and took my tray to the trash, emptying what I hadn't eaten. I was about to place the tray in the dirty dish pile when I lost my grip on it as my body was shoved forward. I slammed into the wall and scrambled to turn and get on my feet but Mr. Burly Man picked me up by my shirt and held me up in the air as if I was a small child. My legs dangled but I tried to kick at him anyway and slam my fists into his chest. It had little effect on him and he would not let go. His smile was widening into a malicious taunt.

"Where are you going? No one is here to help you; they left this morning to check one of our satellite hives. Trouble is brewing and I bet you have a lot to do with it." His eyes were so black they seemed to swallow the gold ring that hugged his iris, like a full solar eclipse in the black holes of his sockets. I grabbed at his hands, uselessly scratching and slamming my own fists into his.

"Let me go!" My legs weren't even long enough to reach him and his arms were long with bulging muscles that held me easily. He began laughing at my efforts. The crowd around him was eerily quiet, obviously not sure what to do with the situation. I was sure there might have been some that would've helped me but they were too afraid of this man to try and go against him. I sucked in a breath and stopped flailing, feeling much like a fish on a hook. His grin widened at my supposed surrender, his glowing white fangs flashing in his mouth, looking as though they were growing longer.

He shook his head at me as though what I had yelled at him was a stupid question. "No, I can't let you go. You see, you're not mated and I'm looking for one. I think I might just stake my claim on you. You could give me loads of fun and when I'm done, you might make a tasty meal." He licked his lips and tongued the sharp points of his fangs as he dropped me to the floor. My hip slammed into the concrete with such a force it sent a numbing pain shooting down my leg, rendering me too stunned to stand up. I pushed up on my arms but my legs wouldn't cooperate. I pulled up on the wall and grunted as I reached for my machete.

He promptly slapped my hand away from it. My other hand flew to the one on my other hip as I tried to stand. He shoved it away and pulled me against him as I slapped him hard on the face, making his grin morph into a grimace of anger, contorting his face demonically. He growled at my horror as I again struggled against him. His body shook with his haughty laugh when he suddenly bent forward, his hot breath rushing past my neck and ear.

I realized with terror just exactly what he could have done if he'd wanted to. He could have drained me dry right there. There was no one to back me up and no one to even care.

Rye, where are you?

"You smell good, human, like the sweetest nectar, and I really miss drinking...."

He inhaled my skin like a rare perfume, making me cringe away from him. I reached up and snatched a small knife from my bandoleer, sly enough so that he wouldn't notice. I swung it up in an arc, aiming for his head, but a flash of his arm flew by as I slammed my arm down, catching the knife in his forearm before I had gotten any closer. A gasp flew through the crowd gathering around us. I wanted to yell out at them to not just stand there but to help me out a bit. Darn bastards were no help at all.

Mr. Burly Man stared at the knife protruding from his forearm as he shoved me to the wall. My head bounced off the wall and the room spun as my sight wavered and threatened to throw me into darkness. I concentrated on breathing as I blinked and tried to focus on him. He was fuming. His lips snarled and a low growl was definitely forming in his throat.

He reached over and pulled my knife from his forearm, staring at the blood that was dripping down his arm and blade and splattering onto the floor. He came into focus as a surge of pain ran through my head, making me grip my temples to subdue it. I watched as a horror built inside me, my stomach dangerously queasy as he moved the blade to his lips and gave it a long, savory lick.

Gross!

I scrambled to my feet again. The world lurched, sending me off-balance. I was hoping I wouldn't lose my breakfast; it would not be worth this fight if I did. I began to walk to my right, the crowd parting just slightly, when I heard his booming voice hit me from behind like a freight train.

"You aren't going anywhere, lady," Mr. Burly Man said as I turned, watching him as he dropped my knife to the floor. It clanked and skittered across the cement to disappear into the crowd.

My head was throbbing but my anger was rising at his incessant battering. I wanted to get back to the tunnel and lock him out, make him remember that he was not a leader of this hive at all. I was sure what he was doing was quite against the rules and would not be tolerated by Blaze at all.

"Why don't you get lost? I'm pretty sure Blaze is not going to let you stay here once he hears of this," I stated to him, my voice calm and cold. I was sick of him already–I didn't want to dance anymore.

He gave a haughty laugh and shook his head. "Blaze is a nothing, a washed-out leader who is weak and oblivious to what really goes on here. You think he will save you? When I take you to my dwelling, he'll never find you and no one here will tell him for fear of my wrath. Right? Right?" He yelled at the vampires nearest him, making them shake and unanimously answer back in agreement.

"Yes, Charles!" Their voices squeaked out as they backed away from him, as if his touch would burn them like acid. He turned back toward me and sighed with delight. He was immensely frightening–his dark eyes gleamed back at me, malicious and psychotic. He had no problem doing what he was doing; I wanted to end him so he wouldn't hurt anyone else ever again.

I pulled out my machete, pushing the gasps that echoed around me to the back of my mind. I wouldn't let him win; I would die before he would ever have his way with me. Gripping the hilt, I bent my knees, ready to pounce on him. This time I was ready and I didn't intend to lose. I watched his sinister grin, one that made me sick. I wanted to slice it off, like the feral vampires I had hacked up before. He was no different a creature. He may have been able to talk and act more human than the ferals but he was just the same inside, wild and vicious.

I wondered if the virus had changed him or if he was just a dick by nature. I was betting on the latter.

I waited, gripping my blade patiently, letting him advance toward me. I was in no hurry. There wasn't any way he would win; I was ready now and nothing survived my wrath when I was determined. Even my head had stopped throbbing enough for me to focus. I wasn't bleeding but I was sure I would be full of bruises to agonize through later. I was going to end this now and if it was the end of me, so be it.

His smile wavered just enough for me to notice. His eyes narrowed even more as he watched me in my determination. I was sure no one had ever stood against him before, especially a small-framed woman like me, not even another vampire. I was willing to bet that he wasn't sure of himself for once, even if it was for just a single hesitant moment. He tried to cover up the edge of fear that flashed across his eyes but I had seen it, and that was all that I needed.

He lunged, yelling out as he rushed in and flung his full body weight at me, expecting to crash into me like a bull. I side-stepped as quickly as I could and turned to bring the machete around toward his neck as he dove forward. It connected and black-red blood sprayed from the wound as his head went thumping across the floor, leaving the heap of his body behind to crumble into a convulsing pile.

I held my stance, watching the blood drip down my machete to pool onto the floor, reflecting the bright overhead lights in its smooth surface. My breath came out hard as my eyes flashed to the crowd before me. Their whispers and gasps rippled across the room as they backed away slowly, none of them wanting to be the next to meet my blade. I stood up and walked over to Mr. Burly Man's body. I heard people repeating the name "Charles" in hushed murmurs. I gave him a swift kick, feeling my tension relieve with it. His head was a few feet away and I walked to it, bending down to swipe it up, holding it by the slick black hair that stuck out in every direction. I lifted it up above me to show the others. I wasn't above making it morbid. I wanted them to know that I was not weak; I would take down whoever crossed my path–Charles now being my prime example.

"Anyone else have a problem?" I snapped at the crowd. They shrank back, turning their eyes away from me, cowering like fools.

Tossing the head to the side, I wiped my blade off on his clothes. I scanned the room, finding Blaze standing silently near the door to our hallway. Shocked, I wondered how long he had been there, watching what had been going on. A slight anger flinched inside me as I read in his eyes that he had been there long enough and had not intervened one bit. I wasn't sure what to think or say about that but I was sure that this room was now suffocating me. As I approached him, we shared a look that told me we both had each other's mutual respect. He gave me tilt of his head and we both turned toward our living quarters, leaving the body of Charles for someone else to clean up.

I was sure that the mutual respect was going to garner me a lecture of some sort. I resigned myself to it as I made my way down into the branch of our private quarters as he slammed and locked the main door behind us. I sighed, turning slightly as he came toward me. His face was a mix of seriousness and...amusement? Confusion filled me as I wondered what was now going through his head.

What did it mean? My eyes ran over the rough concrete on the walls, feeling the stress of killing Charles hit me all at once. Leaning on the coolness of the wall, I slide down, tears flowing as I shook, the throb in my head returning with a vengeance. I didn't want him to see me like this; to show weakness was not an option for me. Yet here I was, my sobs filling the air and my tears spilling over my cheeks.

I rubbed my face on my sleeves and hoisted myself up on my legs. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted my family with me now. I hated these new hybrids. The ferals were easier to control, they were not intelligent and had no sort of consciousness that I was aware of. To kill them, like wild animals, was nothing. Even when I'd had difficulties or had run into complications with them it was never emotional, never a decision that I questioned when I went in for the kill. Charles, on the other hand... well, he had certainly deserved his fate. I had been forced to the point of ending his bitter life but it wasn't what I had ever wanted to do. It didn't make me powerful and it hadn't made me any better than anyone else. In fact, I wondered if, deep down inside me, killing any kind of person was slowly having an erosive effect on my humanity.

Blaze said nothing. He didn't have to. He didn't even sigh or lecture me about killing off a member of his hive. Somehow, I felt that Charles would not be missed. A man like that had deserved what I did to him and more. The thought calmed me. At least no one else would ever have to suffer his wrath ever again. I was sure that he had taken advantage of many a woman. I had done this hive a favor and I sobered up with this absolution, looking up at Blaze as he held his hand out for me.

As we walked, he told me about the meeting with Seraphin. She had already returned to the opposing hive to prepare for our attack in a couple days. I felt impatient hearing his timeline–hadn't I waited enough? I willed myself to listen to the entire plan before I ranted; I didn't want to snap at him and tried my best to hold it in. Blaze's voice still held a hypnotic affect and it helped quell my anxiety, making me wonder if he was doing it on purpose. I didn't want to assume anything, though. I really didn't know him at all, or Rye and Miranda for that matter. I had to trust them with my life and the lives of my mother and brother. This was all I had and it was more than I'd had in a long while. Someone finally had my back, and my extended isolation had ended. I found myself hoping that it had ended for good.

**Chapter Twenty-One**

The plan was simple: sneak our way into the opposing hive, set off explosives to shake them out into the daylight to rid us of the mutated feral vampires first, then we could pick off the remaining hybrid ones more easily. I was sure that I had a severe disadvantage with the last part. I was to find an injured hybrid with Rye and interrogate him on the location of my family. I was hoping it would be easy to get one to talk, for where we were going was not going to be an easy feat to get through. Their headquarters were located in the infamous Stratosphere tower. The entire casino and citadel was theirs. I hadn't even thought it possible that there was anyone else in the city but me and my family, assuming it was just another abandoned building. But apparently, the bowels of it were filled with feral and hybrid vampires alike.

Blaze described how the mutated feral vampires were used as guards to every entrance but they were still sensitive to the sun and could only be used for this at night. The only thing they hadn't been able to genetically alter in the feral's DNA was their deadly kryptonite, the sun. Hence, the reasoning behind our daylight attack. Miranda had already shown me that the hybrids could walk in the daylight hours but something occurred to me as Blaze ranted on and on about which entrance Rye and I would take while he took on the front entrance, assuming the brunt of the attack.

My eyes went up to his face as my hand waved for his attention. He stopped his speech and waved at me to spit it out. "So, are you also as immune to the sun as I am? I've only seen Miranda out on semi-cloudy or rainy days." I was certain that something was off. He was a vampire and I had too-easily dismissed this question when Miranda had joined me. But it had made me wonder–why didn't they fill the streets like regular humans had in the bright Vegas sun and just live like we all did before the outbreak? With the exceptions of the feral vampires of course, they could have lived normal lives if the sun wasn't an issue.

The answer dawned on me before Blaze even answered back. "We are somewhat immune to the sun; we do not burn to ashes like the wildlings do if we step outside." He sighed, rubbing his temple as though the tension of talking about the plan had worn him out to the point of causing a headache. "But it is quite uncomfortable to walk under clear skies with the hot burning sun beaming down on us. We burn more easily than you do. It feels like being boiled alive. Quite uncomfortable, as you might guess." He shrugged and ended the subject at that.

"And what do I do once we are inside and discover where they're hiding my family?" My palms were sweaty as he continued, directing me to regroup with Rye and Miranda before attempting to rescue my family. I nodded, knowing how anxious I was going to be when the time came. I hoped that we made it that far, I hoped that we weren't going to be ambushed the moment we stepped into the dark underground of the enemy hive. I was also wondering if they had messed with the DNA of the feral vampires. What else had they been tweaking in their labs? I shivered as I thought of the hordes of things they could have been concocting the entire year I had lived in oblivion in the quiet mountains.

I longed to return home now. I ached for the sway of the trees in the wind, the scent of pine and mulch scattered throughout. The air down here was stale and recycled, making me feel even more claustrophobic with nothing but concrete all around and above me. This tomb made me feel deader inside than I had felt in a long time. I hoped that once my family was released we could return to our bunker in the mountains, alone and safe once more.

The image of home brought me back quickly, realizing that it would never be the same. If this hive, one that had no ill intentions toward me, found us so easily, who's to say that any other hive that was less honorable wouldn't come my way? Especially after this battle, I was sure that my presence would be quite well known afterwards.

I shuddered. That supposed I survived this encounter at all.

***

Rye and Miranda had come in as I was just about finished interrogating Blaze. Rye had smiled at me but it didn't reach his eyes. His seriousness concerned me until I realized I was still pretty bloodied up, with Charles's blood clinging to my shoes and shirt. I was positive he had passed by the mess of Charles's body in the dining area. His eyes studied me disapprovingly. I looked away but felt his gaze digging into me. I wasn't sure if this made me irritated with him or not. He hadn't been there; I'd had no choice but to eliminate Charles for my own survival. We went back to our sleeping quarters after the meeting in awkward silence.

"You okay?" he asked softly. Surprised, I glanced at him as he sat beside me on the bed, his arm embracing me from the side. I lean into him, relieved that he wasn't angry but concerned for me. I nodded, giving a slight smile back to him. His eyes told me he knew better, that he knew what had gone down. I wondered if he felt responsible for it. He would be the kind to resent the fact that he was gone when I was attacked. I valued his affection, his willingness to be my safety net now.

"I'm glad he's gone. He was nothing but a huge problem to all of us." Rye's hand rubbed my arm softly. His skin felt like cool, silken cloth and it reminded me of something, a memory long gone.

"Rye?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Blaze said the sun hurts you. How does it feel? The burn, I mean. If you don't incinerate, how do you survive in Vegas sun?" I felt almost like I was intruding on his privacy but even Miranda did not seem bothered with my questions.

"Like when you get a bad sunburn, that pain and raw feeling to your skin the day after? That's how it feels. We even catch some redness to our skin but if we stay too long in the sun we start to cook, smelling like barbeque."

I wrinkled my nose at the description, not liking the imagery at all. He gave me a grin, enjoying the fact that he could gross me out. I rolled my eyes, knowing how silly it was to think a vicious vampire killer like me could get grossed out. Well, a lot of different things had been happening in my life that had never happened before. I was sure my stomach was just not equipped for so many shocks so close together. Pressing my lips together as my stomach began to churn, I willed it to calm as the moments ticked by.

"Come on, I have something to show you." Rye tugged at my hand as he stood up, the moment obviously over. I wondered what he was up to, amazed at how comfortable I was with him already. He had basically told me we were meant for each other, though I was skeptical. I didn't want to jump into anything too fast, not when everything was so uncertain and the dangers ahead would be treacherous. I followed as he led me out, quietly keeping pace with him as he squeezed my hand.

We made our way down the concrete tunnel, away from the main area. I wondered where we were heading. How deep this place went, I could only imagine. The airport buildings were just above us. The farther we went into the tunnel the more I wondered if we would end up on the strip if we kept on. He took me through several locked doors that just opened to more and more of the underground maze.

I began to feel a bit paranoid as we kept on, being here, just him and me, alone in the deep tunnels of Las Vegas. My patience slipped from me and I came to a sudden stop, digging my heels into the ground. Rye spun around as my arm pulled back on his, his eyes surprised.

"What's wrong?" His eyes scanned my face; I'm sure it was full of suspicion and fear.

Shaking my head, I met his gleaming orbs and sighed. "Where are we going, Rye? It's endless. How far are we going? Why aren't we attacking for two more days? I'm tired of waiting." My desolate voice echoed in the lonely hallway, making me feel more like I was in a cell. I stepped back to lean on the cool wall, hoping it might help steady me. My uncertainty was drowning me, my impatience making me short tempered. I didn't want anything now more than my family safely back in my arms.

"I know you want your family back but these things take planning and timing. We can't just burst in right now, we have to wait for Seraphin's signal and she said to give her two days. We have to trust her–she is our only hope to get this right."

I rubbed my face, feeling the stress wearing me down to the bone. "I know, but I don't even know that woman. She's crazy! How she ended up as our only option is beyond me! She almost killed me!" I snapped. I did not like this plan and I wanted out of that tunnel, missing the sweet scent of pine and the sway of leaves rustling in the wind back home.

"You have no choice but to trust her. Besides, I know she's rough around the edges but I vouch for her. She's good and only she can do this right." Rye's seriousness turned his eyes into hard pebbles of grey, his face a blank sheet. I got a strange feeling he wasn't telling me everything again. I hoped it was just my endless paranoia nagging at me but this... this felt stronger than that.

"Who is she to you, Rye?" It was my turn to don a blank face as I watched his face morph into an expression of surprise. He turned away, letting his eyes stare off into the long tunnel, a memory flashing across his features. It wasn't a pleasant one either; it was truly filled with nothing but pain of loss.

"Seraphin was...she was my wife." He started walking again, motioning for me to follow. I knew he didn't want me to see his expression; his stride was just fast enough to stay in front of me. He continued in silence, making me realize that I had hit a very sensitive nerve.

"I–I'm sorry, I didn't know, Rye." I gripped his arm, pulling on him to stop. He turned to face me, looking vulnerable and sad. I could feel my heart stinging for causing it. "What happened?" I inquired, hoping I wasn't intruding too much.

He sighed, pursing his lips as he pondered whether or not to tell me. If Seraphin had been his wife, why were they not together now? Had she left him for another?

Suddenly it came to me as I sucked my breath in, my eyes wildly scanning his face. "She found another mate, didn't she?" He nodded as his lids closed to cover the memories that were probably flooding through his mind right now. I wanted to know everything: how Seraphin could have been his wife, who her mate now was and more. I wasn't sure if he would tell me but I had to find out. Maybe it was the slight tickle of jealousy that fluttered in my chest. I didn't know what else to make of it but being kept in the dark was too awkward. I needed to know.

"Her name wasn't Seraphin back then." The glowing halo of his eyes shined in the artificial light of the tunnel. It made them glow like an unnatural metal. He was handsome, more so than any guy I had ever met, and it was disarming to stand so close to him and not want to be even closer. "It was Angela before the outbreak." He let out a breath as his voice steadied.

"We all decided to choose new names after we discovered how changed we were. We were no longer human, we were something else. Our human selves had died with the outbreak and it was a way to start over." He sighed, slipping his fingers through mine. He tugged gently to start us walking again. I let him pull me into stride beside him as he continued.

"My name was Brian Reynolds before the virus took it all away." I listened to his story, of how he got married in a chapel on the Strip of Las Vegas Boulevard, how he had met Angela at a Starbucks while she served coffee behind the counter, how he had fallen in love with her flashy smile that seemed to charm even the grumpiest caffeine-deprived customer. He had been a goner when her pretty brown eyes had flashed up to meet his, mesmerizing him immediately. He wooed her from that point on, bringing her little gifts like flowers and small figurines that he would come across that reminded him of her beauty. Eventually, they got engaged and married. They had planned to start a family but after two years of trying the outbreak came and the end was not far behind it.

"Who is her mate now?" I asked, hoping it wouldn't sting too bad to answer my question.

Rye let out his breath. The tension sat on his brows, making him look as if his concentration was stuck on his face, creasing his otherwise smooth skin. He glanced at me, relaxing the strain on his face, bringing a smile to his face.

"She met Alan after we changed–he was a vampire in the opposing hive. He used to live here, amongst us, but felt that it would be too awkward to stay here after Seraphin left me." He was now watching the tunnel ahead of us, steering me toward a bend in the path. "I knew when she saw him that it was over. It was that fast, like severing an arm, fast, sharp and permanent."

"Somebody that you used to know..." I mumbled.

"What?" Rye gave me a confused look.

"Gotye. He was a singer whose song I heard when I was in school, not that much over a year ago. It's about someone treating you like you're a stranger after being intimate lovers." Biting my lip, I watched him, hoping I hadn't said too much. He gave me a slight nod as we reached the end of the hall where we encountered another locked door, bolted heavily into the wall.

"I heard that song. Definitely fits the bill." He turned the locks, grunting as they screeched to life. "Well, now it's all done and gone. She has Alan now. Me...," Rye winked at me as he pulled at the dusty door. "I have you now." His statement made me flush as I followed him into a darkened room. He pulled the door shut behind us and switched on another set of lights.

They flickered on, making me squint at the now-illuminated room. A staircase stood at one end of the room, leading upward. It looked like a small basement room and I wondered where the steps went. We should've been right beneath the airport. I wondered if that was where we were heading. Wouldn't it be full of feral vampires up there? I gulped as I watched Rye motion me forward, taking the steps quickly as though they were nothing. I scrambled to keep up with him, fingering my belt for a machete, hoping he wasn't going to hop into a dark space filled with crazed and hungry vampires. I wasn't in the mood to fight any ferals at the moment. Not that I ever really was but it was not smart to jump into it if you didn't have to.

I was about to ask him what exactly he was doing when we reached the top of the stairs. I stared down at the flights below us; we had gone up at least three floors before stopping. I placed my hand on the hilt of my blade, hoping and praying that I wouldn't have to use it.

Rye gave me a little squint and grinned, shaking his head as he grabbed the door handle. "Relax, there are no wildings up here. The entire airport is secure. We took care of that a while ago and the perimeter is heavily fenced." He shoved the door open, leading us into one of the large carpeted rooms of one of the terminals. This one was circular and had ports leading to jet ways that had been used to board passengers onto planes. Some of the gates were empty and some held silent planes, awaiting people that would never come.

The place was miraculously free of bodies or anything decaying. I wondered if they had cleared it out or if it had just been abandoned once the outbreak hit. I made a note to ask Rye about it once I had a clue about what we were going to do up here. The large windows faced out into the city, letting the sun's warm rays filter in from the west-facing windows.

I went to the clear glass, peeking out onto the tarmac. It was quiet and solitary here, making me feel safe in the light that I relished. Soaking up the light, I had not realized how much I had missed it. My hand came up to touch the warm glass. Spots of old rain and dirt encrusted the outside of the window but it was still clear enough to see the once-glorious Las Vegas Strip in the distance. I had been in this airport before but had never known about the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the terminals. Still, the surface was much more fascinating, even though it lay in suspended state of petrified neglect. My fingers slid down the smooth glass, making me want to touch the air around me. Sadness for the world I once lived in washed over me.

In my mind, I could almost hear the ground vibrate from the engines of the planes taking off. The way the massive planes sped up and left the earth behind had always fascinated me. I had ridden on planes a few times in my life and the guttural rush it gave you as the wheels left the sturdy runway always took my breath away. Watching the ground shrinking as it sped by outside the tiny plane windows had always made me wonder if I would live through the flight. I always did. Not even an airplane could bring me down.

Now the stretch of asphalt and concrete runways sat silent and the airplanes were like ghost ships, sitting and waiting. They would probably never reach the sky again.

Turning away before the knot in my throat threatened to open up into a gush of tears, I found Rye watching me. He was serene as he pulled me into his soft embrace. I nuzzled my face in his shirt, taking note that although he was a vampire he didn't smell any different than a man would. His scent was pleasant, that of a musky mountain wind. I inhaled, finally not feeling so alone anymore. His hand softly rubbed my back, sending a shiver down my spine as he kissed my head. I knew then that no matter what, things would be alright. Whatever lay in the days ahead, I would get through it as long as Rye was by my side. His strong arms held me in place and his sweet light lit my dark world.

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

"Why'd we come here?" I whispered as we stood in the middle of the airport terminal. Rye's arms encircled me as we both stared out the tall glass windows. The night was approaching fast, our last night before the ambush on the enemy hive. The last night without my family. If it went the way I hoped, I would be embracing my mother and Jeremy in just a matter of hours. If only it would go that way. If only...

"I had to show you the beauty of it all again. We secured this airport soon after the outbreak. People fled the airport almost immediately when flights were suspended, so it wasn't too hard to do that. Only private planes and pilots had access, and those who could, left in the small planes. Otherwise, air travel came to a halt." Rye rolled his neck, stretching it as he spoke. "No one took to the skies; it was too big a risk to have a vampire outbreak in the air. Can you imagine what that would've been like? I'm sure most of the cabin would have been bitten before subduing a vampire. It would have been a graveyard up there." Rye sighed as he rubbed his chin on the top of my head. He was taller than me, but just by a head. His body felt warm and sturdy as I let him hold onto me. It felt like a slice of pure heaven, at least for a moment.

"Do you think we'll succeed?" I turned to face him, searching his eyes for truth. They gave me a flicker of hope.

"I think we're going to go for it, I wouldn't underestimate this hive, April. We are very strong and determined. We've been meaning to take them down; this city is a bit too small to support two large vampire hives and they have been destroying our food supplies."

"Wait, food supplies? What do you mean?" My eyebrows raised in confusion. Something told me that I didn't know the workings of this hive at all, that what I had seen was just the tip off the iceberg. I was starting to feel very small in a vast plan.

"Well, to the south we have a herd of cattle, sheep and pigs we raise to help feed our population. We keep them in guarded warehouses lining Lake Mead Parkway, near one of the hospitals off Eastern Avenue. Sometimes they raid one of the outlying facilities and get away with some animals. We've managed to stop them before they get too much but it puts a dent in our supplies and the attacks are increasing." His jaw tensed as he thought about the conniving opposition they had been facing lately. "It's just fate that rescuing your family has finally given us the incentive to counterattack." He smiled as he pushed a strand of my hair back, wrapping it around his fingers as he slid his hand down. I felt the tingle in the pit of my stomach, blushing as I turned back to face the window.

We sat on one of the rows of chairs that had once seated passengers waiting to board the planes. He had retrieved a couple of water bottles and snacks still packaged from a locked up safe that had been placed in the room. It seemed that we weren't the only ones that visited this area. It was like an observatory, quiet and surrounded by windows, where one could view the beautiful Las Vegas Strip without obstruction. It had been amazing to peek out those windows at night, when the lights shone bright, flashing their endless advertisements and previews of shows. It wasn't the same anymore though; the dead darkness of night brought no more twinkling billboards or crowds. Now nothing but silence and blood reigned once the sun went down.

I reflected on his words for a moment. "Yeah, you could be right. It is fate that brings us together now, of all the times it could've before." I wondered if I really believed my words the moment they left my lips, the doubt bubbling up within me again, making me close my eyes. I wanted to believe that we would win this battle. I had to believe it. There was no other choice.

I thought back to the first days after my family had been taken; the determination that had driven me back then had been like fuel on a fire. I was afraid the fire was dying inside me and that was something I didn't want to happen. As I opened my eyes, I felt the fire stirring again–I was ready to take anything on. I had not let it die completely; I had just let the thought of it slip out of my mind for a short while. My lips upturned as I felt the heat of my drive returning. My fingers itched to swing a weapon around and cut down some vampires, even if some of them would be the insanely fast and powerful hybrids. I was always game for a fight–holding a weapon felt more natural than holding a conversation. I would see my family again. Even if I died doing so, it would be more than worth it.

Rye tugged on my hand, breaking me away from my thoughts. "We should get back. Dinner is coming up and we want to be rested for tomorrow." I nodded, glancing back at the dimming light of the outside world as we headed to the door of the stairwell. My only regret was that the casino lights I so wanted to see light up once more never would again.

***

Seraphin glared at us as we entered the dining room. She sat silently at the end of one of the tables, her plate scraped clean of food. Something laced the scowl splayed across her face as we got in line to get a tray of food. Was she jealous? I looked away, scooping up potatoes and chicken onto my plate. I wondered what she was thinking. Why was she here anyway? She was supposed to be in place at the enemy hive, waiting for our attack. I tried to shake my suspicions but felt her eyes burning into my back.

"Why is Seraphin here?" I whispered to Rye, hoping she couldn't hear my lowered voice.

"I don't know." He turned toward me without searching her out, making me wonder if he did that on purpose so she wouldn't know we had been speaking about her. "I'm sure it's not without good reason. Why don't we pay her a visit?" He winked and tilted his head for me to follow him. I groaned, irritated that he was going to put me face to face with his killer ex again.

As we approached her table, her glare never receded, sending daggers our way. Her face never lit up or cracked a smile at all at us; in fact, she seemed to be seething that we had come to her side of the room. Rye sat his tray down and plopped onto the bench in front of her. I scooted next to him but felt my appetite disappear as I lowered my gaze to my tray of food. It no longer looked appealing and the growl in my stomach had silenced the moment I had spotted her.

"So, Sera, what brings you to this side of our little world?" Rye took a bite of his dinner roll, which was still soft, warm and steaming. I took a swig of my water and attempted to look busy picking at my chicken.

Her eyes narrowed into thin slits. A look of disgust filled her face, making what was a beautiful woman look increasingly ugly as her scowl grew. I wondered why she would act like she hated Rye so much. Hadn't she left him?

"You have some nerve to speak to me at all and sit here with that abomination." She hissed at me, making me drop my fork in surprise but I didn't move away. That would have shown weakness, something I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing. Wondering for a moment if I should ready a weapon, I focused on her dark eyes. She was hiding something. What it could be, I hadn't a clue. Something was irking her too. Maybe it was Rye, maybe not.

"Back off, Sera, she is not an abomination. She's human, like we once were. You can cut the enemy tactics now, I want to know what you're doing here and if you don't tell me, Blaze will be happy to ask you." Rye's voice was icy, digging into the air like picks. This made Seraphin pull her stare away from me to look at him. I think she hadn't really looked at him much since she had left him because the surprise in her expression made me think that she had just remembered how handsome he was.

I wanted to bellow out a laugh but stuffed a bite of mashed potatoes and gravy into my mouth instead. I tried to stifle the sting of the jealousy crawling inside me, knowing I had no reason to feel that way. Still, she used to be madly in love with him, and he with her. I could only hope that he felt the same or maybe even more for me now.

"Well?" Rye pushed as he waited for her answer. Seraphin sighed, shoving her tray to the side and sitting back a bit, contemplating her next words carefully.

"I wanted to see you, Rye. I have something to ask of you." She darted her eyes at me but bounced them back to him right away. I felt that I shouldn't be there; she didn't want me there. Pressing my lips together, I wondered if I should take the hint and leave. Feeling the rest of the room staring at me from all around made me change my mind about walking away so they could chat. It was a bit risky but I didn't want a repeat of the Charles incident.

"Whatever you have to ask, go ahead, April should hear it too." He still looked serious but not angry. In fact, the confusion that swam on Seraphin's face now was bordered with hurt, as if she realized something she didn't want to.

"Fine, but she is an abomination, just like the other two. They aren't human, even if they look it." She turned to me and smirked. "Except they don't know that blood would make them much more powerful, if she could even stomach it." Tilting her head, she waited for my reaction as I absorbed what she said.

What?

"Stop!" Rye snapped. "Tell me what you want now or I'm done." He dropped his fork, apparently losing his appetite along with me. I bit my lip, holding back the torrent of obscenities I wanted to lay into her right then. I would never, ever drink blood. Never.

But what did she mean by all that? How could I not be human?

Seraphin's look hardened and her lips creased tight as her silence engulfed the thick air between us. I wondered if she would tell Rye what she wanted or if she just had. The questions tormented my head as I waited, not wanting to wait much longer.

In response, Seraphin stood up with a jolt, sending her tray crashing to the floor. Rye held his place on the bench but his usually calm and stoic exterior was quietly steaming. He was so angry, I hoped the two wouldn't battle it out right then and there. I darted my glances between them, feeling unsure of what to do next.

The dark-haired vampire let her fangs flash as her scowl morphed into a smile. She began laughing, letting her entire body shake with it. Confusion swam in Rye's expression, mirroring my own puzzled face. I wasn't sure where this was going, nor did I want to know. I wanted her to stop laughing, to turn and run as fast as she could out the door and disappear forever. Knowing I disliked her that much made me come back to myself, studying her that much more intently, wanting to know what was going on inside her head instead.

Her laugh drizzled down to a snuffled laugh as her eyes hovered over me. I straightened up, seeing tears now streak down her face. She was beautiful, in a fragile way. The dirt and grime had covered it well, presenting her as a savage animal when she had attacked me in the hall. Now, she was more like a porcelain doll with diamonds streaming down her face, her sobs now filling the air as she failed to stifle them.

"So, you finally replaced me," she muttered to herself more than anyone, sniffling as she regained her composure. Sitting down again and hunching over, she stared at the table. "You know, my mate is dead now. He died in an explosion on one of the harvested casinos on the strip." Her eyes fluttered up to mine, her eyes shining with the tears still pooling in them. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you, Rye?" She turned back at her ex-husband and waited, the hatred gone and only desolate sadness remaining.

Rye's jaw twitched as his face stilled. He said nothing but stared coldly back at her. I was done with the tension and I prayed that it would end soon. I was tired of watching this ex-lover's quarrel, knowing it was about me regardless of what was said.

"Heh." Seraphin shook her head, wiping her face and standing up once more. She circled the table and came to stand between Rye and myself. Bending down, she let her lips almost touch his ear as she whispered, loud enough for me to hear, but no one else. "Give her blood. Make her realize she is one of us. No one will stop our victory and she will be all yours." She pulled away, her eyes slipping over toward me, her face stone cold serious as she sped out of the massive room.

It sent shivers through my entire body to hear her words. I was still confused but something dawned on me that made my stomach turn into rock inside of me.

"Rye?" My voice was a whisper, unsure and shaking like an earthquake.

He didn't seem to notice my plea, breathing in deeply, clearly affected by Seraphin's words. They had crawled into him and woven around his brain.

"Hmm?" He stood up as the spark returned to his steel-colored eyes. He pulled me up, too, and held my hand as I followed behind him, leaving the dining area behind. I didn't ask my question. I couldn't, at least not here. Not yet.

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

The bed felt amazing, but my head was making it impossible to sleep. Rye had left me to rest after he'd brought me back to the sleeping quarters. I begged him to stay but he had refused, stating that he had some loose ends to tie up before resting. I let him go only after he told me exactly what Seraphin had meant by giving me blood. He was so reluctant that I almost had to rip it out of him, telling him that he would have to deal with me no matter where he went. He had rubbed his tired face, sighing as he sank onto the bed beside me.

"She's right, April. They discovered this in the enemy hive. If blood is introduced to you or anyone from your family, you become stronger. A super human. You would have a vampire's strengths but none of our weaknesses; you'd also be much more powerful than we could ever be...."

"Wait, what?" I stuttered, interrupting his words. No, no way.

"It's true. There are no true humans left, only us hybrids, the wildling vampires and you, a type of super human and vampire hybrid. You don't need blood to survive but if you do have it, you'll become immensely strong and powerful, capable of killing a hybrid without breaking a sweat." He stood up then, looking extremely concerned as he turned to walk away but he hesitated, making me feel breathless.

I had nothing to say to that. Was that what they had been doing with my mother's and brother's blood, finding out all about them and their uniqueness? Blood made us a rare breed indeed. But what if the hybrids fed off our blood? Would it help make them more powerful? I asked Rye this before he stepped out into the walkway toward the door.

He shook his head, shrugging. He seemed frustrated that he couldn't, or wouldn't, answer me. He didn't seem to know. I had wanted to ask him what would happen to a feral that drank my blood but he had also seemed uneasy to answer that. If a vampire had my blood, it could mean a dozen things. It could make them just as powerful as me or be as useless as a placebo to them. Who knew? I was hoping the rival hive didn't know or wasn't planning on finding out.

I felt suddenly anxious to get going to save my family. Time was running out. It had taken so long to get this far. I prayed they were still okay, that they had been left plenty alone and not tampered with. If they had been, what would I find? What could I do about it? I was definitely not sure and decided to try not to think about it. Tomorrow I would confront it; tomorrow everything would be known.

But tonight, I had to rest, even though my mind was having none of that with the millions of questions running through it. I wanted it to be over; I wanted the normal life I had always thought I would have, a life of college, parties and homework. It didn't seem like so much to ask for yet here I was, without any of them and without any hope for the future but a bleak darkness that enveloped everything it touched.

Rye had left without saying goodbye, uncertain as to what else to say. Might as well be that way, for I had nothing else to say either. I awaited the daylight like never before as I pulled the soft blanket up to my chin and curled onto my side, the pillow under my neck and over my arm. The texture of the wall was looking far more interesting than anything else. Closing my eyes, I willed the sleep to come. I had lost count of the days without my family. I had lost the time so easily, never noticing how it had flown by without a glance. I would make sure my family was safe and rescued tomorrow. If it took drinking a vat of blood, so be it. There was nothing left for me to fear now and I was done being nice. It was time to get to know myself better. How else could I really know? What would it possibly do?

If I was human, it would do nothing to me, maybe cause my stomach to churn and make me sick. Otherwise, if what Seraphin had said was true, maybe it would be the edge I needed to win this, maybe it would be the difference we needed to overtake the hive and find my family that much faster. In the morning, I would ask Rye for blood; I would drink it and see if it did anything. If it went well, I would be that much closer to my family. If not, I wasn't opposed to puking it right back up.

My eyelids fluttered, growing heavy like weights had been sewn onto them as I fought to stay awake. It was late and I would have only a few hours of sleep at this rate if I didn't stop my mind from racing. I let my eyelids close, savoring the darkness as it slipped into my mind and beckoned me to rest. Yes, I could rest. There was a chance the next sunrise would be my last. So, for the time being, I rested.

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

The early hours rolled in much too quickly. I snapped awake at Miranda shaking my shoulder, whispering that it was time to get ready to go. I was never awake faster than at that moment, on my feet and moving. I had never gotten ready so quickly before either, almost forgetting to put my hair back into a tight pony tail. Of all days, I didn't need my long black hair in my face. Tucking in my shirt and strapping my weapons to my belt and bandoleer, I smiled at the bow and arrows laid out for me, along with several grenades. I was sure either Miranda or Rye had thought to bring me more stuff. I was certain to use it. After putting on a light jacket, I pulled on the quiver and hung the grenades along another bandoleer, crisscrossing the other one full of sharp silver daggers.

Glancing up before I left, I caught sight of my reflection in the dresser mirror. I looked like me, but thinner and just that much older. My blue eyes seemed to glow slightly, making them stand out from my skin. I could see my mother's face in mine as well as some of my father's strong features. He had mercifully died three years ago, quietly in his sleep. A silent heart defect, they had said. My mother had been devastated. I had been numb but strong for her. Jeremy was a bit too young to understand what had happened. The pain and loss fades with time, but it never truly goes away. Just another unseen scar on the soul.

I swallowed the slight anxiety swirling up into my throat as I pushed back a strand of my charcoal black hair, straight as an arrow, without a curl in sight. I felt a wave of comfort flow over me. I knew things would be okay, no matter what happened that day.

A smile crept onto my lips, letting the white of my teeth shine through, reminding me of that school girl I once was. Jeremy shared my smile and I couldn't wait to see his again. This was the most important day of my life. Nothing would keep me from them; I would make sure to do anything to bring them back. Even though I didn't look forward to drinking any blood today, I was going to. If it gave me an edge to win, it was a small thing to me now.

"About ready?" Rye's calm voice echoed in the empty room. Turning toward him I nodded, strapping my last machete in, tying it to my thigh. I kicked my legs up and rotated my arms around, making sure my weapons would not restrict my movements. Taking a deep breath in, I cracked a smile, returning his. His eyes were glowing this morning, like shiny steel balls that I had seen rocking back and forth against each other on office desks before the outbreak. The ticking and continual momentum had been fascinating to look at. Now these orbs shined back at me in the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. An ocean of calm filled me with him nearby.

"Let's go," I said, and followed him out to have a quick light breakfast in silence with the others in the crowded main tunnel. I was quite impressed by how many were joining us today. The tunnel was full of hybrids, built like skyscrapers and geared up for a war. I took in the exhilaration of the atmosphere as murmurs rippled through the crowd, a mixture of light laughter and more serious chatting echoing off the walls. I let the energy fill me up, hoping it would be enough to get me through what I was going to do next.

"Rye, bring me some blood." I averted my gaze to his lips, avoiding his eyes, for I knew they would be filled with confusion. He shook his head slightly, his lips pursed.

"April, no, you don't have to do that...."

"I know." I shushed him, hoping he could see that I would not take no for an answer. I didn't want to fight him for it; I wanted all my energy left for the battle ahead.

"It might not work." He reached up and ran his fingers down the curve of my cheek, making me bring my eyes up to meet his. I could feel my skin tingle under his touch as it arrested my breathing for a moment. I could feel his concern but I kept it to myself. I didn't want to feel his anxiety, too. I wanted to be focused, determined to make it out of this game alive no matter what.

I think he saw this in my expression, making him slump his shoulders slightly, relenting to me. He gave his head a slight tilt, looking at his cousin Blaze who stood near us, loading guns and ammo into his armory. Blaze gave him a nod, having heard the entire conversation.

Rye tensed, taking a deep breath. His lips firmed as he pulled a knife sheath off his forearm, holding his wrist out toward me. I watched him, confused with the gesture. He continued to hold his wrist out to me and beckoned me to take it. I took his hand and looked down at his smooth skin, pale but with the shadows of blood-filled veins running underneath. I could almost see his pulse beating within the layer of skin, like a beacon telling me where to go. I gripped it tighter, trying to sync our heartbeats together as my breath sped up, nervous now that it was happening.

"What do I do? Just bite you? Won't it hurt you?"

"Shhh," Rye shushed. He grinned, his fangs flashing me, as though he had extended them a bit. He was excellent a concealing them when he spoke so the gleam of his sharp canines took me by surprise.

He pulled his own wrist to his mouth and bit into it, never flinching or making a sound. I fought the urge to cringe away, not knowing if it was going to be unpleasant or not. My tongue ran over my own teeth, even and straight. Lacking fangs made me feel more human but if drinking blood was to become a necessity, it might be a hindrance. My mouth was dry, parched like a desert as I watched his smooth, crimson blood leak from the puncture holes.

"Here," he said, offering me his wrist. I took it into both my hands, taking strength from his assurance.

He gave me a nod and held fast. I licked my lips and let my mouth engulf the wounds. The coppery swell of warmth overtook my senses immediately. I let it flow down my throat, its sweet syrupy texture making me feel a sudden rush through my head that surged through my skull and down my spine, all the way to my fingertips. I couldn't stop drinking, it was as if I had been left dry and this was the only way to quench a thirst I didn't know was there. It was exquisite, like silken honey. If this was what it felt like for the vampires to drink blood, I now completely understood the craving they lived with every day.

"Alright, April." Rye's voice echoed in my head like a distant dream. I didn't want to let go; I could hear his heart beat in my mind, the sound engulfing my senses like a gong sounding off. Something stirred in me that had never awoken before, something primal and fierce. I would not let go, I would drain him dry until his heart ceased to beat, until the light in his eyes dimmed. It begged me to, this primal thing that I did not fight–it wanted me to keep going and it took my consciousness with it.

I heard yelling and voices but they were so far away and so faint that I barely registered that one of them was Rye's.

I felt a rolling momentum as the room lurched under me and I found myself staring up at the brilliant bulbs lighting the tunnel. My tunnel vision was gone and Blaze was behind me, clasping my arms tightly and breathing hard. Why was he holding me, locked in his arms? I could hardly breathe. I wiggled in his grip, searching the gathered crowd for Rye. Lifting my head, I spotted him, on his knees and clutching his wrist as if he was in dire pain.

What have I done?

"Let me up, it's over now." I muttered. Blaze hesitated but must have felt it was now okay to let me loose. I scrambled to my feet and glanced between Blaze and Miranda, who I now saw had been standing behind Blaze. "What happened? What did I do?" I watched as Miranda helped Rye to his feet, his stance slightly unsteady. My confusion flooded my mind as I stared at them; no one offered an explanation as I waited.

I licked my lips. The remnants of his blood flashed me back to the drink. His paling face, his voice drowned out by the incessant need that had pulsated through my body, a fire engulfing me from within, needing a quenching that only his death would bring. My breath slowed and the horror that I had almost killed Rye for every last drop of his life made me run to him, desperate to remedy my actions.

"Oh, my God, Rye, are you alright? Rye?" My arms hovered as I reached out to him. He pulled away swiftly, still clutching his arm. Anger and fear flooded his flashing steel eyes, making my heart sink. He knew. He knew I would have forfeited his life for his blood, it didn't matter what we felt for each other. It was that powerful a drive, so primal and unrequited.

"But I didn't know, Rye. How could I have known it would be like that?" I stepped forward again but stopped when he gave me a shake of his head. He turned to leave, almost stumbling to get away, giving Miranda a slight shove to let him walk unaided, leaving me there, arms as empty as my heart.

I had never wanted this. Never this.

Blaze came to my side and put his hand on my shoulder, bringing me away from where Rye had stood. Facing him, I wanted him to tell me what had changed. What would happen now? With Rye's blood coursing through me, what difference had it made? I hoped it had been worth it. I hoped that the results would be well worth the cost I paid, but I wasn't sure.

"Blaze?" My voice quivered under the shock of everything.

"Give him a moment, he'll come around." Blaze handed me a washcloth to wipe my face. I wondered what I looked like, my chin dripping with blood, standing in a mass of vampires. It was then that I noticed them, the others standing a few arm's lengths away from me, fear flowing through their blinking eyes. They had watched with interest but now they cowered away in nothing short of terror. I dropped the cloth, finding Blaze waiting for me, serious and contemplative. It was as if he knew what I was thinking. He gave me a tight grin as he started speaking again.

"You'll be a killing machine. I doubt any one of the others will be able to take you down. You almost got away from me before you came to your senses. I almost couldn't pull you off Rye." He paused as the pain streaked across my face. I cringed at the thought of draining Rye. To think of what I could've done made me sick.

"So, what now?" I asked warily, knowing the time crept closer to our confrontation with the enemy hive. "Is Rye too weak to help me? Why couldn't he give me some of the stored blood? Why did he give me his?" My feelings were a miserable mixture of anger, regret and remorse.

"You'll have more power with vampire blood; Seraphin noted this in the other hive's research. The leftover stores of human blood we have are for emergencies and as a last resort for food. Miranda is giving him some blood; he'll be right as rain in no time." Blaze handed me a small wallet that contained different types of lock picks neatly lined in the plastic. I took it and looked up at him, confused.

"They'll be chained up–you'll have to pick the locks. I assume you know how to do that by now, being on your own for so long." He winked as he turned to walk away, leaving me fingering the cool iron metal of the picks. Sighing, I stuffed them into my jeans where they would not slip out. To see my family chained up was going to be hard enough. I prayed I found them intact. I just wanted to see them again, hear their voices once more.

"We can do this, right?" I asked softly, hoping he heard me over the resumed murmur of voices bouncing around the room.

Blaze nodded, almost imperceptibly. "We can do this."

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

The hive spread out into a large circle surrounding the Stratosphere Tower Casino and Hotel. It was a wide perimeter and I was worried we were spread too thin to penetrate the building. Blaze reassured me as we peeked around from behind a pile of cars and garbage strewn across the alleyway behind the parking garage. Behind the casino were apartment buildings that had not weathered the ravages of time very well. Windows were smashed and doors hung on their hinges as they creaked in the slight breeze of the dawn. It was still semi-dark, but everyone could feel the sun pushing on the horizon. It was like a hum in the air, vibrating along our skin.

I could see well already, making me know that the vampire blood inside me was working. It was as if I had night vision goggles on and everything was clear and crisp. It made me wonder what I was now. I wasn't vampire, I wasn't human. I had no fangs yet I could see as well as my comrades as we crouched, awaiting our signal from within. Seraphin would be setting off explosives at sunrise to pretty much obliterate the feral vampire population guarding the citadel. I cringed as I thought of the ferals; these would be different than the others, the ones that were now tucked away in the dark crevices of the casinos on the south end of the Strip. These were more aware, stronger. But so was I.

I heard movement behind us and swirled around to come face to face with Rye. He didn't seem as pale as before but it was hard to tell in the dim light of the dawn. He didn't seem as exhausted either and his lips shone a darker color than when I had nearly drained him. I was certain they were red and filled anew with blood. He had fed well before he came, regaining his strength. I glanced down to the naked wrist where I had sucked. Two faint lines of teeth remained, nearly healed from the vicious draining I had administered earlier. I was glad he was healing but I wasn't sure if he was still angry.

I gave him a weak smile and he replied with a nod of his head as he scanned the area before us. He didn't return my smile and my heart seized with a searing ache. I longed to see his smile again.

Rye sniffed the air, taking in the early morning desert air filled with the unmistakable odor of feral vampires. "It should be soon. Seraphin has the bombs rigged to a remote control." I could smell the ferals easily, even if they weren't very close, in the outdoor air. Usually it was just in their dwellings where their withered bodies stank up the closed rooms. Here, I could smell it like skunk floating on the wind. Wrinkling my nose, I turned away from Rye and waited for the explosions to begin.

I didn't have to wait long at all.

The sun peeked like a sliver of gold over the eastern mountains, aptly named Sunrise Mountain, and the first pop and rattle of explosions began. The earth shook as it vibrated through the dirt and concrete, sending puffs of debris and particles into the air. I covered my head, afraid one of the thick fragments of cement would find its way to me. Smaller rocks and sprays of concrete littered the ground and rained onto us. I was relieved to have worn my thin jacket, for the shards and pebbles would have cut up my arms on their way down.

When the cascade of debris was done, it was time to run. We ran into the building, pushing the shattered doors to the side, drawing weapons. I pulled my bow out first, and began sending arrows sailing into the darkness wherever I saw movement. I would run out of arrows quickly, but it cleared my path effectively as I made my way into the crumbling mess of the casino floor. Everything in the place was upturned and literally almost impassable. Old dusty slots, stools and card tables were knocked to the ground, blocking the path. I kicked a few stools of my way as I sent arrow after arrow into the oncoming wave of feral vampires.

There were so many of them, pouring out like ants from an underground nest. Holes from the explosions riddled the roof and let the bright rays of sun pour in, setting some of the unfortunate ferals on fire, crumbling them to ash almost immediately. My quiver, now empty, ended up on the floor as I swung my bow to uppercut one feral that had managed to avoid the sunbeams shining down into the place. I hit him so hard with it, the bow snapped. I dropped it to the ground and pulled out both of my machetes. Gripping the hilts, I felt the adrenaline and blood surge within me. I felt invincible.

The blades flashed in the rays of sun as I sent them swinging along with my arms, slashing off heads like nothing. Hacking at their necks when I could, they fell into piles, forcing me to move farther into the chaotic mess. I spotted Rye to my right, his katana flashing. He jabbed and spun like a dancer, taking ferals down with every move. He was graceful and fluid, like he had fought all his life. I wondered if he had. My momentary glance ended faster than I would have liked when two ferals approached me, snarling and snapping their jaws as if they were wild dogs.

The differences were obvious up close. These ferals were much more muscular in build and their eyes were a more brilliant blood red, almost glowing as they took pains to remain in the darkness. They waited, wanting me to enter their realm just a bit more before pouncing on me. Their eyes were not as vicious and empty as those of ferals I had fought before. These were focused on me, with malice swimming across their faces. Their snarls seemed to morph into evil smiles. This made my heart jump, realizing that there was intelligence behind their expressions. I wondered just how much they could think. The other ferals had been so dead and lifeless that to see life behind the eyes of these made me more aware of them, more cautious.

I bent my knees, ready for their advances. They all-too-willingly lunged forward as I stepped out of the light. I swung my machetes in dual arcs, hitting one in the legs and the other across the chest. Their screeches joined the chorus of pain as their comrades died all around us. I hoped none of the screams were from our hive. I prayed that we were on the winning side; it was too hard to tell in the confusing wave of chaos.

One of the ferals was down but one remained in the fight despite his shredded legs. He pulled himself along on his arms, inching closer to me. I finished him with a hack to the neck and rushed forward. The rest of the ferals were beginning to scatter. Glancing around, I found Rye as he motioned me deeper into the building.

"Where are they keeping them?" I whispered. He shook his head and mouthed "Seraphin" before he was sent hurtling into one of the great pillars that held the room up. A hybrid vampire had jumped onto him and pummeling him with his fists. I ran over to hack into him but another got in my way before I could reach him. This one shoved me too, which seemed to be a popular fighting technique here. I caught my footing before crashing to the ground, turning and running to avoid another hit. The hybrid laughed, taking chase after me, but I was just a hair faster. His hand reached out and grabbed my jacket as I flipped the hilt of one machete in my hand to jab backwards into his stomach.

A screech of agony filled my ears, letting me know the machete had hit its mark. Yanking it out was another problem entirely. Underestimating my newfound strength, I had plunged it so deep into his chest cavity it was stuck on his spinal column. I yanked on it to no avail, leaving me no choice but to let him drop to the ground, writhing in pain, a blade sticking out of his chest. He recovered quickly, pulling himself up onto his arms, then up onto his legs as he lunged back at me, blade and all.

I pulled one of my knives from the bandoleer band across my chest. I was ready to swing my body weight with his, letting his momentum take me on a spin as I plunged the knife deep into his temple. The knife sank into his head like butter, up to the hilt. His body flew onto the debris before coming to a stop, a trail of dark blood in his wake. I landed lightly on my legs, bending them as I landed to absorb any shock. Smiling, I found that I liked this newfound graceful strength that the blood had given me. It was working in my favor in every way and the surge was a high I had never experienced.

Scanning the chaos around me, my eyes could not find Rye. A flutter of panic hit my chest and I began to run toward the spot I had last seen him. Not finding him, I looked for the next person on my short list to see: Seraphin.

Her black-as-night hair was whipping around as she swung a hatchet, slamming it into some ferals that had remained behind as their comrades fled. A hybrid, clearly either her mate or close friend by the way they kept exchanging glances, was next to her fighting off another hybrid from their hive. I pondered why they had betrayed their hive for Blaze's favor. Had she lied about her mate being dead? I wondered if they would be executed if caught or if this went the wrong way today. I still had some reservations about her but now, seeing her diligently fighting and bringing the enemy hive down, I felt unsure, a bit confused, but relieved that she fought on our side. Even if trust was not yet won, I had a whole new respect for her and what she had endured by spending all that time in the enemy hive. She had risked so much and here was the culmination of all her work. I wanted to make it worth it for her, even if she wasn't my favorite person in the world.

I approached her cautiously, knowing her killing spree rage was turned up too high. I was right to hold back a moment, for the feral just in front of me fell before I could even get close to her. She was in front of me in a flash, hatchet poised to strike, when she paused, our blades lightly grazing one another. I gulped, glad she had seen me in time, telling her with my eyes that I was not there to harm her, but pleading instead.

"Where are they?" I inquired, hoping she could hear me over the snarls and screams that echoed across the casino floor. She straightened and nodded, motioning me to follow her. She took off in a blur of speed. I took chase after her, keeping my eyes wide open for any side attacks. We had not gone by unnoticed; Seraphin had to hack into at least two hybrids before we made it to the elevator shaft. It was rigged with electricity and I groaned as she punched in the key code, making the metal doors slide smoothly open. Of all the places in this building, I did not want to go up into the citadel of the Stratosphere tower.

Of course, they would hold prisoners up there, it was almost unreachable.

I jumped into the elevator with her as the doors slid shut behind us. I was relieved to see Rye pass in front of the doors and smile as he nodded toward me. He was okay; we would be okay.

The lights inside were faint but seemed brighter after the engulfing darkness of the battle below. I shifted my eyes to Seraphin, who was standing perfectly still beside me, hatchet still in hand. Scattered drops of blood and ichor were splattered her clothes. She looked like a killer–deadly, dark and cold. I could almost feel her iciness pierce into me as the elevator moved, quickly gaining momentum until the lights of the floors flashed rapidly by. I'd forgotten how fast it moved, how it made my stomach shift to my feet.

I was determined to not lose my breakfast yet. Not when the end was so near.

"Why did you choose our hive? Your husband err...whatever that guy I saw down there is to you, he is not one of us. Did you lie about your husband's death? Why did you switch sides?" I asked her, my voice rough and guarded. Seraphin turned to me, her black irises flashing under the sickly artificial illumination above us. Her face was still like stone but her eyes told me many things. She wasn't trusting of me yet either, she eyed me curiously with a mixture of contempt and respect. I wasn't sure if this was good or not but she made me shift in my boots from the intensity of her glare.

"Who says I switched sides?" She sneered at me before turning back to stare at the doors before us. I watched her for a moment, hoping she meant what I thought she did. I wasn't sure of anything. Her words were cold comfort.

Our reflections stared back at us, looking gruesome and hard at the same time. I wouldn't want to face the two women that watched me right now. They looked like something out of a horror movie. I would've wanted to run for the hills before I'd ever face one of them. Blood and grime streaked my face, concrete dust from the explosions clung to my hair and the blood, making me look somewhat like I had been caught in a blood-streaked snowfall. I didn't look the same; my haunted but hard eyes made me want to do a double-take at the mirrored doors, almost sure that I was not really looking at myself but a stranger, one I would not want to ever confront. My hair was falling out of its tight restraint and wisps of night hung down in straight lines like wires. If I made it out alive, another shower was definitely in order.

The elevator's speed seemed to slow down and my stomach eventually crawled back into my abdomen. I watched Seraphin ready herself, pulling out a short sword to use instead of the hatchet. She was ready to run out into action. I wondered if I should too or hide in the elevator, waiting for the ambush. I wasn't sure but I readied my machete, the only one I had left, bending my knees to make a run for it but leaning against the side of the elevator to have a bit of cover in case these vampires used guns. I didn't use guns much. Rye had some with him but he had yet to use them by the time I'd lost sight of him.

A bell dinged right before the doors whooshed open. My hair flew back as the semi-vacuum of the elevator filled with cold air from the tower. Seraphin growled and pounced right out into the lit interior, immediately clanging weapons with a hybrid guard. I stepped out, waiting for the ambush and found none. Seraphin yelled at the guard, shoving him to the ground before plunging her blade deep into his chest. She yanked out the blade and swung it in a wide arc before bringing it down to hack off his head. The thump of the blade on the carpeted floor absorbed the sound of the cut as his head rolled off with the momentum of the blow. A spray of thick, crimson blood went with it, staining the floor. I was relieved there were no others here but I suspiciously glanced around, feeling that it had been too easy. Leaving only one guard at the elevator was not something a hive of intelligent hybrid vampires would do.

Seraphin waved me on. I followed her closely but took the rear position in case any others popped out. There were windows everywhere and I remembered these old gift shops that lined the hall. Now they were filled with couches and chairs. This seemed to be the meeting place of this hive's leaders, or maybe even their living quarters. I was surprised that they would choose such a bright area for themselves. The morning sun relentlessly poured in through the windows. I wished I had brought sunglasses, it was that blinding. Seraphin winced slightly as the rays hit her full on. We came to the end of the hallway and emerged onto the circular walkway that had been the tower's observation area.

I didn't know how she could stand the sunlight. Her skin was turning a slight shade of pink and her face was tense with the pain. I could barely see beyond the bright rays of light piercing the walkway.

I was tense, expecting something to happen and as if on cue a whirring hum filled the air, making us both back into the glass wall. My heart was fluttering as the walls vibrated from some machine gears spinning. I was slightly relieved to see that the noise was caused by slow-moving shutters that lowered over the windows, dimming the walkway.

Relieved that it wasn't some sort of trap, we continued onto the circular pathway. Through the slats of the blinds I could see the desolate city below. How serene it seemed from up here, bright and undisturbed. I almost thought I could see the little ants of people milling about as they had when I had visited this landmark so long ago. I blinked and they faded before my eyes. Only dusty streets littered in debris remained.

Gripping my blade tighter, I listened for any movement, the vampire blood still heightening my vision and hearing, making every creak and howl of wind louder than normal. The silence was disturbing. Seraphin crept quietly on, poised to strike but equally cautious. I admired the fluidity of her movements. She made no noise as she padded along and I felt quite like an obtuse ogre compared to her agility. I scanned the walkway ahead and the glass rooms of the interior, wondering if we were even in the right place. I knew there was another area above us and I was about to suggest going up there when Seraphin stopped and motioned me forward.

Standing next to her, I spotted what had her on alert. Two hybrids stood guard on our left at the bottom of a set of stairs. We would have to ascend them if we're going to find out where my family was. I was sure Seraphin knew that but I wasn't so positive she expected anything. She was not very forthcoming with information and I didn't quite trust her yet. I hoped I could trust her; this would not go well otherwise.

She turned to me and nodded, holding a finger up to signal our attack. I acknowledged her and readied myself to take down one of the guards. Together, I was sure we would be just fine but I was hoping this wasn't a trap, either. I gripped my machete, its blade messy with drying, clotted blood. I loved my blade; it was sharp, reliable and easy to maneuver. It felt like an extension of my arm, especially now. The feel of the hilt felt like an old friend that hugged me right back. We had an understanding. I wished I hadn't lost my second blade. I made note to retrieve it if I possibly could when this was all over.

Seraphin jerked her hand down to start the attack. We ran into the small inlet where the stairway stood, looking like a majestic entrance to the heavens. Our blades swung at the guards who had been completely oblivious of our approach. Good, I thought, better for us that they were slacking off in their duties. They recovered quickly enough to counter our attack. Seraphin's was well-matched with foe; they paused briefly between each exchange as they sized each other up. This guard had surfer blond hair that was long enough to fly into his face. His blue eyes narrowed at her as he shoved at her when their blades crossed, almost sending her into a plate glass window.

My opponent was also quite skilled. His chocolate skin rippled as his muscles contracted. His hair short, closely trimmed and a shade darker than his skin. His eyes were an unnatural golden brown, making the gleam of the vampire's ring almost imperceptible. His face was hard and determined to finish me off. He was a good head and a half taller than me and I was pretty sure he ate little women like me for breakfast. I was surprised that I could hold him at bay.

He grew frustrated quickly and gave me a shove but I would not go down. His eyes pierced into me, a wild and disgusted look crawling across his face.

"What are you?" His voice came out in accented English, like his first language had been a dialect of French. I had taken three years of it in high school, just so I could visit France and the French colonies around the world. Now that seemed like a long-lost dream, one I would never get to experience. His voice was a bitter, melancholy reminder of how different the world was.

"You're not a vampire," he snapped when I didn't answer. I gave him a slight sneer as I waited for his next move. I didn't want to chat, who chats with their prey? It was too dangerous to get too close. In this war, I didn't want any mistakes made; my life depended on that in every way.

He seemed to recover from his initial shock that I wasn't a vampire, though I could see he didn't believe that I was just a human, either. He was smart, I could tell from his intense glare as he readied his sword again. His teeth slipped from behind his lips as he smirked and jolted forward, arcing his blade. I narrowly dodged it as I crouched and spun out of its path.

The whoosh of air above me made me realize how close he had come to slicing my head right off. I jumped up and turned to meet his sword with my blade just in time, a sharp metallic twang ringing out over our yells. We held each other off, pushing against one another with everything we had. I could see sweat building on his temples as he clenched his teeth together. His dramatically white fangs seem to bite into his lower lip as he grunted to hold me at bay.

"You are no human and you are no vampire, either. What does that make you, woman?" As he studied my face through the grime and streaks of blood, a look of recognition passed over his features. He knew something and the longer I stared back into those golden-brown eyes, the more I wanted to know what it was.

"Ah, the warrior daughter has come," he huffed as he stepped back, making me drop my stance and step away from him, too. Confusion filled me, wondering what he had meant.

I glanced about quickly for Seraphin and found that she and her opponent had retreated up the stairs and out of sight. I could hear their weapons clanging over the sounds of breaking glass and tumbling furniture. I sucked a breath in, waiting for Mr. Tall and Dark to pounce toward me again. I couldn't yet find his weak spot; he was a worthy opponent. His eyes seared into me, probably assessing my own weaknesses, wanting to tear me down sooner rather than later.

But I'd had enough of this dance.

"You know where they're at, don't you?" I accused him, watching his sneer grow wider. "Where are they, then?" My impatience came through in the acidity of my tone. I was tired of waiting–I had waited too long already and this man was just another obstacle in my way.

"Do you think I'd tell you? Look, mademoiselle, I respect your sense of family. There are not many left in this fallen place that do. But," he snickered, his eyes dancing in the muted light, "I have orders to kill you; you will never see them again." He raised his sword, pointing it at my chest as he charged at me, confident he would hit his mark.

The moment felt suspended in time. My anger at him for denying me what I wanted most ignited a new fire, one stronger than I had felt before. That this man could think this would be the end of me, before I had finished my mission, before I could hold Jeremy and my mother in my arms again and cry tears of joy, it was unacceptable. I wanted him to suffer as I had, rip his heart from his chest so that he would know what my pain felt like. I watched his movements, every twitch of muscle, every ripple that his body made as his feet landed on the floor. The moment slowed down, like a dramatic action scene in a film, giving me plenty of time to ever so slightly slip a blade from the bandoleer strapped across my chest.

He didn't notice, and I didn't even feel it when I let the blade sink into his chest, my hand following it through the warm opening. I felt the pulsating mass of his heart, jerking and shuddering as it realized it was no longer king of this vampire. I let my fingers wrap around it, feeling the life force shoot out of it as I ripped it from his chest. His face was twisted in surprise as he froze, paralyzed in the grip of death. Horror splayed across his features as he watched his heart beat in my hand. Its crimson fuel fountained down my arm and puddled on the floor. It continued to beat, succumbing to irregularity and finally stopping as the vampire's body slammed to the floor.

Even though my own heart was leaping in my chest I felt an overwhelming, hypnotic calm. I stared at the wet and veiny thing in my hand, like a token of battle. It made me feel a strange sort of ecstasy, filling my mind with pleasure.

"April!" Seraphin's voice pulled me back into myself. The horror returned with her voice as I stared at the organ in my hand, making me fling it to the floor, appalled and disgusted. My hand tingled, with the salty blood clinging in ribbons of clots and bits of muck. I wiped it on my pants and stared up at Rye's ex-wife. Her face was still, almost ethereal. Unlike me the rush of battle had not made her crazed and mad at all. I hoped I wasn't losing my sanity. Maybe it was the vampire blood inside me that had turned the world into such a strange and unfamiliar place.

I didn't know myself anymore. Ripping out a man's heart out was nothing I had ever done or trained to do. The blood inside me called for it, craving the hybrid's death, desiring blood and metal. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. This disorienting feeling made me want to question where I even was and what I was doing here in the first place.

I had to get a grip on this now.

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Seraphin grabbed and pulled me up the stairs. My senses were still normalizing from the shock of what I had just done. She practically dragged me along with her like a rag doll, up the staircase, never complaining. She had obviously done away with the other guard but I didn't see where she had disposed of his body.

We found ourselves on another floor, almost identical to the one below, except this one had a banquet room and a restaurant with a long hall dissecting the place like two halves of an orange. I glanced around; these walls were solid except the doors separating each section were plate glass. Another circular hallway followed the line of windows that surrounded the disc like the floor below. Where was everyone? Where was my family?

Seraphin continued to pull me along as we entered the old dining area. She sat me on a chair and took my machete from my side. I let her, not thinking much of it. I don't know why I let her, or why she did so, but her face was cold and serious. I hadn't quite recovered. That is, until she clicked something cold onto my right wrist, making me look down to see that she had handcuffed me to the chair. I jerked my head back up to her as she backed away, out of my reach.

No! I trusted her. She killed members of her own hive for me, no, this isn't making sense!

"Well done, Seraphin. You will be well-rewarded." A deep baritone voice boomed across the room from around a wall. I turned to see who it belonged to but couldn't find the owner. My nostrils flared as my anger seethed through me, glaring back at Seraphin. She was looking at me but not smiling, not sneering or anything for that matter. Her eyes were trying to say something. Or maybe I just wanted them to.

I wanted her to change her mind, let me go and get me the hell out of here. But why would I expect that from her now? Why had I trusted her at all? I was her competition now. Something told me that even though she had been paired off with another vampire, Rye was not so easily forgotten. I was sure of it. I groaned at my stupidity. I should have known. And Rye? How did he not know? Or Blaze? She had them all fooled.

"I apologize for the ruse. I don't like to toy with people." The baritone-voiced man stepped out from behind an area that had probably been an employee station to empty plates and refill drinks. His hair was a deep coppery mahogany, long and straight, tied at the nape of his neck. His features didn't match the color of his hair. I almost expected freckles but found a slightly olive complexion. He had to have been a mix of several ethnicities but I couldn't pinpoint which ones.

He stood tall, taller than me but not as tall as the warrior I had taken down at the foot of the stairs. His eyes gleamed back at me with strange colors; one eye was green and one was brown. That was a bit freaky in and of itself but the circles around each iris were not gold but a sickly bright orange-red, like rust.

"I've waited to meet you for a long time, April." His velvet tone washed over me like a wave of sleep. No wonder he was the leader of this hive. He was another mutation of some sort of vampire. His telepathic powers pushed at my mind, fogging it up and making the room spin. I tried to shake it off, breathing in slowly and closing my eyes.

"Where's my family?" I snapped at him. I felt clearer with the anger surging through me. I opened my eyes, narrowing them as I stared back at him. He seemed amused by my defiance. He waved Seraphin away and she complied, setting my sword on the floor and giving me a flighty glance before running out of the room and out of sight.

I'm going to kill her if I ever get out of this alive, I thought to myself.

"You have a fire about you that I like. Not like your mother or brother at all." He tilted his head, eyeing me like a specimen about to be dissected. "I should have aimed to acquire you instead of them." He rubbed his chin as he crossed his arms and seemed wave a thought away.

"No matter, I have you now." He smiled, looking genuinely handsome except for the fangs that slipped out like two tusks. I looked away, seething at his smugness.

I peered down at the grenades I had on my bandoleers, hidden under the side of my jacket. My small knives had been used up and were long gone. Seraphin had known I had more weapons; why had she left them? She had just taken my machete away. But even then, she had left it behind, gleaming at me from a just few feet away. I wiggled in the chair, hoping it wasn't bolted down. It was. Of course.

I watched him as he ranted on about my blood and that I would be the answer to the plague that now ravaged his hybrids and oh, by the way, his name was Christian. How appropriate, I thought. Apparently, his hive had been hit harder than Blaze's. That would account for the swelled numbers of altered ferals they'd had to use to defend the fortress. Daylight left them vulnerable. We had attacked at the perfect moment, information that could have only come from Seraphin.

I was beginning to feel that I was just a pawn in this game, that I didn't really know who was on which side anymore. I wondered if this man even knew that he had double agents in his hive. He must have known something was up by now. How much he suspected, I had no way to know.

"Look at me when I talk to you, mortal," he spat at me, reaching out and roughly jerking my chin up. I grimaced as his fingers dug into my face and glaring into his peculiar eyes. It suddenly dawned on me that he was most likely sick. His eyes should have both been brown. The sickly green one was an effect of the plague. I knew he was desperate for a cure, I could feel it in his touch. The sickness inside him made my own stomach lurch as he radiated his suffering onto me.

What kept him from keeling over? My insides twisted from his touch. I didn't give a damn about him, I wanted to spit in his face to let him know what I thought of him.

"Let them go and I'll give you all the blood you need to find a cure. I can smell the rot in your breath; you won't last very long without me. Let my family go and you might yet live to see another day–or night, in your case." I snickered, feeling his rage growing like a metastasizing cancer across his features. His hardened snarls made his good looks vanish, turning him into a monstrous devil.

Christian stomped away, pacing in front of the covered windows, glaring out the slats to observe the city. He knew I was right. I could see his mind wrapping around the thought of possibly having a cure with me as his guinea pig. He was frustrated and what had kept him alive until now was apparently failing him. I bet he felt like crap under that powerful exterior. I couldn't help but feel smug at pissing him off so. I wanted to laugh out loud at his weakness, so obvious once one observed him for more than a moment.

"I don't have to let them go. I have you now. You are no match for me and I will take every drop of your blood and turn you into a dusty corpse, with or without your consent," he hissed, walking around behind my chair.

I had other plans. My free hand had loosened a grenade and its pin. I held it in my left hand, the weaker of the two, but I was sure the vampire blood inside me would help me meet my mark. He was oblivious, for my back was toward him and he couldn't see what I was up to. I had to do it before he approached me again. I was hoping the explosion would blow him through the windows.

I wondered briefly if the shrapnel would hit me. It was a risk I had to take. I figured that if I hunched behind the chair I was cuffed to, I might avoid serious injury. It was fortunate I had only been bound by one hand. I was also fortunate that it wasn't an open-backed chair. I hoped it would be enough to keep me from the mess and shards that were sure to fling my way.

I whirled around and, dropping down onto one knee, flung the live grenade at the leader of the hive, hearing it clink on the shutters and glass of the windows.

"What the...?" was all I heard as I hunched down into a ball, my face pressed into the seat I had just been sitting in.

The explosion made the floor vibrate and shake in waves. Shards of glass and bits of metal and concrete scattered across the room. A cloud of dust particles enveloped me and reduced my visibility. I wasn't sure if it had gotten him or not but the howl of wind and the sudden clearing of the air assured me that there was now a gaping hole in the side of the Stratosphere tower. My hair whipped around my face as I looked up from the protection of my arms, which I had wrapped around my head. As I moved, a fiery shot of pain jolted me back into stillness. My left leg and arm protested, making me gasp and bite my lip through the agony.

I peered down at my arm first and saw crimson blood trickle out of a rip in my shirt. My leg had suffered the same fate; a sharp fragment of glass was embedded in my thigh, drenching my pants around it with dark, warm fluid.

Shit!

I reached over and pulled the shard out of my arm, yelping at the searing jolt that came with it. I tossed the red glass to the ground, pushing on the cut with my hand. I needed to stop the bleeding now. I ripped the bottom of my shirt into strips and wrapped it around my arm, tightening it with my other arm and teeth. I pulled on the stupid handcuffs and chain that bound me to the chair. I would need to pull hard or get bolt cutters to get it off.

I had just finished tying a wrap to my leg when I realized I had forgotten about Christian. I looked up and over the chair, slowly pulling myself onto my good leg and peering about. He was on the floor, just in front of the gaping hole in the wall. His hair floated about him in whipping ropes of copper mahogany. He was lying face down and knocked out. His back was filled with multiple punctures that seeped with his icky crimson-green blood.

I yanked on the chain again, trying to squeeze my hand through the restraint. My skin rubbed raw into a nasty reddened, weepy sore. It probably would have hurt more but my leg and arm took precedence in that area. After a few minutes of gritting through my squirming to get the cuff off I sighed and sat back down on the chair, hoping someone else from our hive would make it up here soon to help me.

I jolted back from my resignation as I remembered the lock picks in my pocket. I fumbled to yank out the small rolled bag. I pulled out a couple pins but found it impossible to maneuver them with one hand. I dropped them to the floor, angry that they were as useless to me as paperclips.

I still hadn't found my family and worst of all, I was trapped. Being possibly mortally wounded made my endurance start to wane. I needed more blood. I could feel my body weakening under the strain of the fighting and blood loss. Eyeing my machete on the floor in front of me, I longed to hold it in my hand. I doubted I'd be able to hack this chain off but I would feel a lot better if I was armed instead of being a sitting duck on a chair next to a crazed, sick hybrid vampire and a hole leading out to oblivion. This had not gone as planned.

I hung my head down, warm hot tears forming in my eyes, maybe from the cool winds that made me shiver for a moment and stung my eyes, maybe from the deep failure I felt at that moment. I didn't know. I hated that my despair was bubbling up inside me. It was weak of me. I was stronger than that. I could kill hybrid vampires for goodness sake! I had hunted tribes of ferals that mucked up the city. I could do this and I would get out of here no matter what.

I was about to tug on the restraint one more time when Seraphin appeared before me, crouching and slipping the key easily into the lock. A muffled click sounded and I was free. I stared at her, not knowing exactly what to think or if she was going to finish me off. She gave me an assuring nod before a splash of her hot blood streaked across my face.

Christian was standing behind me and had caught her by surprise, slashing her across her neck and nearly decapitating her. She crumbled to the floor, writhing in pain, with her hand over the deep gash as her dark red blood gushed out from between her fingers. I jumped up and over her, diving for my machete.

I gripped the handle as I rolled painfully to my knees, attempting to stand onto my good leg. The pain screamed inside my torn muscles as I stood holding my machete at the ready. He could have killed me easily but he hadn't. He needed me alive. He needed my blood to cure his vile disease that was slowly disintegrating his insides. His face was a pallid green now, no longer the healthy glow he'd had prior to the explosion. The blood loss had cost him; both his eyes flashed a deeper puke green at me, both filled with the putrid color now. He hissed and snarled as he crept forward, his wild expression hungry for blood. My blood.

"Stupid human. Now I will have to feed off your blood first. You dare try to kill me? I have lived through more attempts than you can imagine. A puny human like yourself is nothing to me. You are but a speck in my eye. I will outlive you and your precious family, I promise you that." He was closer now, though his gait was unsteady, like he was still hung over with drink. I was certain I could take him, even with one arm and a leg functioning way under capacity.

"Just try it." I gripped the hilt of my blade, making my knuckles gleam white as bone. I tried to focus on this beastly man heading in my direction, with murder swimming in his eyes, a thirst for blood and vengeance making him lick his fangs.

His face snarled as he started at me, his broad body flinging itself, more than anything else, in my direction. I steadied myself, ready to jump at just the right moment. Patience was my virtue; patience was never more important to me than now.

At the last moment, I knew it was time. I lunged to my left, bending somewhat as I held my blade to his abdomen and let his oversized knife cut the air in a whoosh right over my head. He missed but I did not. My blade sliced into his gut, letting a spill of blood and ichor tumble out as I slid across the ground. I ended up rolling as my wound caused my leg collapse beneath me, breaking my slide and sending a ferocious pain, like knives, up my leg, rendering it useless. I tumbled across the ground and landed near the edge of the gaping hole. The wind rushed over my head, screaming in my ears as my hair flew wild and loose from its ponytail, blinding me in its dance.

I winced as I rolled away from the precipice, dragging my unwilling limbs with me. I looked to where Christian lay in a lump, hunched over. His left arm cradled his gut as he used his knife to prop himself up a bit like a crutch. He was barely alive, yet the vampire in him kept him breathing. His wild look was gone and instead the serenity of a man accepting defeat washed over him, making him look slightly gaunt but handsome once more.

I kept crawling away; I had lost my machete out the gap of the blasted window. I was weaponless but I was sure I could steal his knife away from him if I wanted to.

"You know what, April?" His voice came out raspy and tense, as if his lungs could not bear the stress of speaking. I didn't answer but continued my crawl across the floor, as far away from him as I could get. He watched me pensively, unmoving from his spot.

"I thought humans were all dead. I thought they were the weakest of us all." He let out a gurgled cough, shooting out clots of greenish, crimson blood. When he was done spitting the mess out, he glanced back toward me. I was closer to the door than I was before his fit and kept dragging myself along. "But you aren't the weakest. You'll be the last of us to walk this earth. You'll be all alone, with no one else, the fittest of the fit." He hawked again, hunching over and falling to the ground, moaning in his agony. I wasn't one to condone torture and I shuddered to watch him suffer.

To my shock, I heard footsteps running out in the corridor. I pressed my back against the wall, weaponless and hurt so badly I would be no match against anyone now. I grabbed a broken post of wood that lay beside me, still not willing to go down without a fight. I waited patiently as the trample of shoes spilled into the room. I dropped the wood when I saw none other than Blaze, Rye and a group from our own hive filling the room.

"April! You're hurt!"

You think? My sarcasm was thankfully all in my head.

Rye collapsed next to me, pushing my loose hair away from my face. "You're drenched in blood! Where are you hurt?" I smiled at him, relived to see his steel grey eyes.

"My arm and my leg on the–I can't get up now." I nodded down to the wraps on my arm and leg. He touched them, assessing how badly they were dripping.

"But your face and chest are covered in blood, where did he get you–your neck?" Rye's panic made me give out a haughty laugh.

"No, it's not mine. Seraphin got hit...she's hurt bad." I pointed to her crumpled body next to the chair. Blaze bent down to assess her but quickly glanced back up at me, shaking his head. His face tight and tense.

Rye gave a nod and turned back to me, the same hard look on his face as he took in the fact that his ex was dead. I would have to tell him her actions in the end, still not sure where she had stood but after it all, she had let me go. I was hoping that would be enough for me to forgive her betrayal.

"Rye, I don't think I'm going to make it out of here. Promise me you'll find my family...." I gulped down the stone that now formed in my throat as the tears began flowing. The air was feeling colder as time went on and blood continued to course rapidly from my leg. I could feel a threatening darkness wanting to embrace me, take me deeper into its clutches.

"No! I won't let you die. Here, you have lost too much blood and you need to drink. Go ahead, drink April. Now!" His voice was urgent as he pressed his wrist to his teeth and bit down, bringing his crimson life force to the surface. He brought it to my lips and I let him, clamping my mouth over the wounds. The silken drink flowed into my mouth, its warmth seeping deep into me as it went. It heated my core and brought me comfort, shoving the pain away from my broken body.

"That's enough, Rye. Let me give her some, too." Blaze came up to us and bit his wrist, pulling Rye's arm away from my starving mouth, replacing it with his own. I felt immediately better and the darkness pulled away from my vision almost as quickly. My body felt tingly, renewed. When Blaze pulled away, I'd had my fill. I licked the last remnants of his blood off my lips, feeling the euphoria filling me up again and I relished it.

"Oh, wow." Rye's excited voice bounced in my ears and I turned to see what he was looking at. He had unwrapped my leg and the skin was a soft pink color, knitting together before my eyes. I shifted my eyes to my arm as Rye undid the tie on it and gasped to see the skin there healing as well. I smiled, amazed at the power surging through me.

"I've never seen any vampires do that," Blaze offered, his voice solemn as he observed the wounds. In just moments, I felt good enough to stand up. Rye helped me into his arms but the pain was not completely gone. I gritted through it as I held onto him. He smiled calmly at me but I was far from ready to let my guard down. I still hadn't found my family.

"Have you found them?" I asked quietly, hoping to hear something I wanted to hear. I waited but impatiently. I waited and fought the overwhelming urge to run out and continue to look for them.

"Yes." Rye's voice came out stiff, making me pull away from him to stare into his eyes. There was something he wasn't saying underneath his answer. He looked reluctant to tell me, his eyes pained as he avoided my gaze.

"What is it Rye, tell me what happened!" I pulled and yanked at his shirt.

"They're alive, April. Just barely, but they're alive.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

The battle was over but we were left with scars so deep, nothing would ever be the same again. And there were other wars to be fought. I had finally reunited with my broken family but my mother was weakened nearly to the point of death. Her only chance for survival was endless transfusions of human blood boosted with an occasional dose of vampire blood. I wasn't sure if that was what she would have wanted but I was pretty sure we "humans" could not be turned from the vampires' blood; our immunity seemed to prevent it, at least up until now. But we were no ordinary mutations. Something had to be done.

Her initial refusal of vampiric blood frustrated me to no end, but how do you change the mind of someone so traumatized, someone who did not wish to go on in a world like ours? She had lost her will to live. Even if Jeremy and I were there for her, she would not return from the deep chasm inside her mind that she had let herself descend into. She lay almost catatonic, lost inside herself. She accepted human blood to be transfused into her veins from the frozen stores in the hive but anything vampiric, even disguised as a unit of human blood, she'd somehow sense and would begin bouts of endless screaming until the unit was removed. That was torture to me in itself. I often left the room when this happened, hoping it would end soon. Despite her protestations, I felt that the little bit of vampire blood we'd managed to put into her body would help her recover.

Jeremy was much less affected. He was a strong young man and had remained at my mother's side at all times, when they had let him. They had left him alone, unsure of what to do with a young boy. Even the desire for a cure had not brought them to the point of harming a child, not one as young as him. Maybe someone my age, but not him. It had been his salvation.

I'm hunting game again, having brought my mother and Jeremy back to our mountain sanctuary for some peace and normalcy. But it's not the same and I fear we'll have to return to the company of others soon. My mother seems more at ease in the mountain air but she's still a shell of her former self. She had lost something in those missing days of her life. I have no idea how to get it back. She was no longer withdrawn inside herself but she wasn't the same either. Her spark, her light, was missing, and the darkness within her made me wonder what exactly had happened inside the enemy hive. She did not tell and I did not ask.

I miss Rye, even though he comes to visit regularly and see if I need anything. I never do, but his love keeps me going. Even though he wants more from me he knows that for now, this is enough. It has to be enough.

For now, the days rush by and the nights are mostly silent. The soothing hum of the camera monitors, Jeremy's soft snores and my mother's weak whimpers from her nightmares keep me company at night. They keep me calm as I wait for another dawn.

And now a sneak peek from book 2 of

The Vampires of Vegas Series:

Disarming

Prologue

Resonating

April

The day was fading and I stood staring out the car window. My backpack was strapped to my back, even though it was extremely uncomfortable sitting with it on. The window was cracked just a touch, and I could hear screams echoing over from nearby streets. It made the hair on my neck stand on end and sent a snake of terror through me. Who was letting out those blood curdling screeches? What was happening? I had hitched a ride with my best friend Sarah after a study session for a huge math final the next day. I was as ready as I was going to be, even though I hated math with a passion.

Another screech resonated across the houses, bouncing off the stucco and windows, making it seem as though the entire world was screaming. My eyes widened as I scanned the streets before averting my eyes to my cell phone, flipping through some websites I had wanted to check out to distract myself from the craziness. People were running chaotically, not a lot but a few. It just occurred to me that there had been quite a few people clogging up the streets on the way home.

"What the heck is going on? Some stupid rave we didn't get invited to?" Sarah groaned as she maneuvered around another crowd of people who kept jumping in front of the car and jaywalking across the street. Some had bags of groceries, some with bottles stacked in wheeled wire carts, tugging their load along as they flitted across the street. I glanced up from my phone and shrugged, trying not to think much of it.

"Probably, or some flash flood warning again. It's been storming for a week. The power probably went down again," I muttered.

"Oh, I hope not! I don't want to miss my show tonight! If it goes out again, I can't DVR it for tomorrow! Ugh!" Sarah cursed as another straggler popped in front of the car, making her slam the brakes. "Out of the road, moron!" she hollered out the window. I cringed at the glare from the man who gave the car a tap with his palm as he continued on across the way. Road rage was not uncommon here in Vegas, and Sarah was a poster child for it.

"I'll stick it on my DVR in case your power goes out. One of us is bound to have electricity," I offered.

"Thanks, that'd be great. I'll die if I miss another episode. I already don't know what's going on."

"You and your vampire addiction."

"Oh, shut up, you know you like the show, too." Sarah swatted at me as best she could without tearing her eyes away from the street, making it easy for me to block her hand.

"Hey! I do, but I'm not dependent on them like someone I know. Can you say addicted? The first step to recovery is to admit it!" I swatted her hand out of my way as I laughed at her. She gave me an icy glare before weaving out of the crowd, gaining speed down toward my neighborhood. A thump on my window made me jump, and I frowned at the person. A woman with crazed eyes stared eerily at me as we passed. Was that blood dripping from her mouth?

In a flash she was gone, lost in the chaotic crowd. I shook my head. Studying had fried my brain, because now I was seeing things.

"I'd want to be a vampire if I could. They're all hot, and immortality has benefits," Sarah sighed, thinking of the life she could have in her head.

"Careful what you wish for, you might not like the fanged dental job or the bloody messes you have to get into." Arriving at my house just then, I jumped out of the car before she could swat me again. I slammed the door behind me and waved at her as she stuck her tongue out, rolling her eyes at me as I continued to laugh.

As her semi-new Honda rolled away, the screams caught my attention once more. The sun had just set under the west Summerlin Mountains, casting long, stretching shadows across the valley and streets. The chill it gave along with the elevated humidity coupled with the now cool September breezes made me rub my arms. I wasn't sure if it was so much the wind as the bone-chilling screams in the distance.

"April! Get inside!" My mother's voice brought my focus onto her. Hurrying through the gate that cut off our property from the street, I helped her shut and lock it. She looked as spooked as I was, and I waited until we were inside to ask her what the matter was.

"Something's wrong." Her wild eyes darted about the street before she twirled around and made a beeline for the door.

"You think?" I bit my lip as her icy glare pierced into me. I needed to shut my smart mouth. "Sorry, Mom."

"What's going on?" Jeremy's voice made me turn toward the living room where he sat in front of his Xbox, his game on hold in the middle of an all-out gun battle.

"Nothing squirt, keep playing. You might beat my score one day." I winked at him as he smiled, turning back to his game, newly eager to beat it.

"The news said there have been incidents... attacks."

"What kind of attacks?" I grabbed an apple off the pile in the fruit basket and bit down on the sweet, bitter fruit. Crunching on my snack, I finally noticed the stacks of canned food and water bottles littering the kitchen. My curiosity was getting the better of me when I realized the windows had boards nailed onto them and the sliding glass door had huge planks of plywood fixed across it.

"Um... Mom?"

"I don't know, they're saying people are turning into some sort of zombie-like vampires, pouncing on others, biting and sucking blood out of them." Her voice cracked as she shoved some more food into a cabinet, making a pathway to the hall where our bedrooms were.

"Why didn't you call me? I could have come home to help."

"Randy helped us." She looked up at me, knowing this statement would make me fume. "Besides, the cell phones are cutting in and out."

"Randy? The plumber? Come on, Mom, you know he only wants you for one thing. That's all he wants, he's a no good convicted criminal, how could you...?"

"That's enough of that," she snapped, giving me a stern look. "He has done plenty for us. He's coming back with more wood to bar the rest of the windows and bring more water." She sighed. Her eyes looked tired as the worry made her wrinkles deepen.

"Water? Why? We have the filter, we have water."

"No!" She shoved the cup I had grabbed from the drying rack before I could fill it with the water. I looked at her, shocked and unmoving. The water was running, clear and cool. The smell of chlorine permeated the air, reminding me to turn it off and wait for answers.

"Mom?"

"Don't drink it."

"Why?" her silence made my temper seep into my chest. "Mom, what's going on?"

She stopped shoving paper plates and cups into another area of the open pantry and sighed. The look she gave me showed me oceans of fear. This was bad, really, really bad.

"It could be a virus, or the water could be contaminated. No one knows, April. People are dying from it, too. The hospitals are full of bodies. People are keeling over out of nowhere. Or turning rabid...." She ran her hand through her messy hair, exasperated and looking extremely worn out. Her hands shook as she reached for more supplies. "We have to stay here, inside, for a while. Be safe."

I nodded slowly, letting her words sink in as I glanced back toward Jeremy. I knew she was right. She always was. Mom was as streetwise as a person got. She knew how to survive. She had made the few dollars we'd had during hard times stretch to feed us. She had turned her side internet business into a profitable one, bringing loads of extra income to supplement her puny teacher's salary. We had been able to buy a house with it. She had been self-sufficient ever since Dad had died three years ago.

Still, he had left an empty abyss in his place, nothing could fill it. Nothing ever would. Not even this Randy, who had endearing aspirations of filling the spot. Nothing could ever hope to replace him.

"I'm going to pull the SUV into the garage, get it stocked with supplies in case we have to leave suddenly." She disappeared down the hall, leaving me suspended in disbelief.

I solemnly grabbed a bottle of water to drink, cracking the seal open and gulping down the fresh fluid. The screams I had heard earlier crept back into my mind, making the gooseflesh spring on my skin anew as the comprehension spilled over me. What did this mean? A sudden surge of panic filled me as I remembered that Sarah was heading back to her place. I had to warn her, had to let her know what was going on and to load up her car and come back to my place. It was much safer here, with high walls and wrought iron. My mom had bought it because of the fortress-like feel to it, always so paranoid of intruders. Funny, I thought she had been nuts, but maybe she'd had some sort of sixth sense about it. Her uncanny intuition was scary at times.

Pulling my cell phone out of my jeans pocket, I noticed the "no signal" symbol and moved about the house until I found one or two bars staring back at me. Dialing her number in desperation, I waited as the phone rang and rang.

Come on Sarah, answer me, please....

The familiar beeping sound of her voicemail announcement commenced, and I cursed under my breath, hitting the redial as fast as it let me. I kept calling until the signal died once more, leaving me to wonder about and worry for my friend. I prayed she had made it home safely. I prayed the chaos of the world had not swallowed her up.

Want more?

Get Disarming (The Vampires of Vegas #2)

at all online ebook retailers!

Books 1-3 are now available:

About the Author

Alexia Purdy is a USA Today Bestselling author who currently lives in Las Vegas and loves spending every free moment writing or hanging out with her four rambunctious kids. Writing is the ultimate getaway for her since she's always lost in her head. She is best known for her award-winning Reign of Blood series, and A Dark Faerie Tale Series.

For more information on books by Alexia Purdy

Go to www.alexiapurdybooks.com

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 Alexia Purdy's Facebook Fan Page

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Also by Alexia Purdy:

The Vampires of Vegas Series:

Reign of Blood (The Vampires of Vegas #1)

Disarming (The Vampires of Vegas #2)

Elijah (The Miel Chronicles):

(The Vampires of Vegas Companion Story)

Amplified (The Vampires of Vegas #3)

The ArcKnight Chronicles:

ArcKnight

Sovereignty

A Dark Faerie Tale Series:

The Withering Palace (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.1)

Evangeline (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.5)

Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1)

Ever Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #2)

Ever Winter (A Dark Faerie Tale #3)

The Cursed (A Dark Faerie Tale #3.5)

Ever Wrath (A Dark Faerie Tale #4)

History of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #5)

Without Armor (A Dark Faerie Tale #5.5)

Ever Dead (A Dark Faerie Tale #6)

Legends of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #7)

Guardians of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #8)

Poetic Collections:

Whispers of Dreams

Five Fathoms

The Dark I Keep

Anthology:

Soul Games

Faery Worlds

Faery Realms

Faery Tales

The Shapeshifter Chronicles

Once Upon a Curse

Once Upon a Kiss

Fuse: A Collection of Fantastical Tales

A Plague of Dragons

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! A Superhero Anthology

**Sneak Peek: Coexist**

Keegan's Chronicles

Julia Crane

Prophecy: An elfin child on the side of light will be born with the gift of sight. He will be the son of a great warrior. His father will lead the great battle with his son by his side. This child is the only chance the elves have to avoid extinction.

The Book of Elfin Prophecy

Compiled 112 BCE

Chapter 1

Keegan's call echoed in Rourk's mind as he was finishing his set. She always came to him when he least expected her, after which he was unable to focus on little else but her. His hands gripped the bar tightly, and he tried to ignore the pull of her thoughts. He tried to focus on training, on the cold steel and the smell of sweat in the room--anything that could take his mind off of the one girl who owned it.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and unclenched his jaw, quickly finishing up the set. He had to force his hands to uncurl from the bar; it was almost painful. The tips of his fingers were bloodless--a fine metaphor for how she usually made him feel. He wiped his face and tossed the towel in the bin. The rest of the workout would have to wait.

Using one of his secondary gifts, he closed his eyes and visualized her face. It was nothing for him to picture her, to bring her into focus like a high-powered lens. Rourk smiled. She was at her favorite spot: A private corner of paradise on her parents' land.

Her beautiful auburn hair blended in with the fall leaves that surrounded her. The dress she wore was pale green and ankle-length, flowing ethereally around her body so that she was like an oasis in the rust-colored woods.

Rourk watched a smile spread across her face as she inspected a rock from the creek, and he laughed when she slipped it into her camera bag.

The first time she had thought his name--several years ago--it had taken him hours to navigate to her location. When the pull came now, it was just a twenty-minute hike through some familiar woods.

Grabbing his bag, he jumped in his old, beat-up truck and headed towards his chosen, probably driving a little faster than necessary. It was an urgent need to be near her when he heard her call, so he could never get there fast enough.

When he reached her location, he hastily climbed the rugged terrain. The dirt had the loose feel of earth unpacked by human feet; with every step, he sank a little, hindering his progress. The sun sparkled through the canopy above him, illuminating the path he forged through the trees, though it didn't offer any warmth in the cool afternoon. A branch scraped him across the face and he impatiently pushed it to the side, hardly caring whether it had left a mark. Finally, he reached the top, bursting through the tree line and into pure daylight.

Rourk stood rigid, his lean body tensed as he looked over the edge of the jagged cliff. Why do I do this to myself? I shouldn't even be here. She's killing me. I have no self-control.

In the elfin society, life mates were predetermined using complicated methods to ensure ideal matches. The secret of this formula had a need-to-know basis; meaning, he would never know how the auburn-haired beauty was chosen for him. There were many creatures in this world, but his kind held their secrets close to their chest.

There were certain rules his kind had to follow. One's lifemate may have been chosen at birth, but the first and most important rule was that they could not meet until they both turned 18. Growing up knowing that one's other half was out there waiting brought a sense of comfort to Rourk. Ordinarily, neither knew their other half until they became of age. Their society believed it was better this way so they could enjoy their childhood.

So how did he find her?

Someone had told her his name. His chosen pulled him closer to her each time she thought of him. It was as involuntary as breathing. When he was younger he could resist with ease. As he got closer to being of age, curiosity got the better of him. Sometimes he wished he'd resisted so he didn't have to endure the agony of waiting now.

Although, he loved seeing her even if it caused him pain.

Rourk focused his attention back on his chosen. She was standing on the rocks as the water rushed around her feet--camera in hand, as usual. One minute, she skipped across the rocks like a child, and the next she would stop, a look of total concentration taking over her face. That was when she started snapping photos.

Staring at her, Rourk squatted and rested his hands on his knees, wondering what she saw through her lens. He watched as she jumped from a rock and slipped as she landed on another, her arms flailing as she almost fell into the water.

His heart lurched. A strong need to protect her filled his body, and if her laugh hadn't echoed up to him like music, he was poised to jump in after her. But instead, her face broke into a huge grin as she steadied herself and continued to take photos. Rourk relaxed, content to stand and watch her for hours.

Rourk didn't even know her name, but he knew he'd never seen anything so magnificent in his life. Her wavy hair glistened in the sunlight. She had a delicate, round face with large, blue-green eyes and full lips. With her cheeks flushed from the cold fall air, she reminded him of a porcelain doll. He knew all too well, though, that looks could be deceiving. She looked sweet and innocent, but it was her eyes that gave her away. They were bold and daring, constantly observing her surroundings. Rourk smiled to himself; she would soon belong to him.

It took a lot of self-control not to approach her, but Rourk knew that would be breaking the rules. He had long ago accepted that they were in place for a reason, and he had to be patient. Their time would come. Unfortunately, she was over a year younger than he, which meant he would have to wait longer than he would like.

He pondered this as he watched her pack up, lovingly storing her camera away in its bag while her hair fell softly over her face. It wasn't until she had disappeared down the path to her house that Rourk finally turned and left.

Keegan sat at her small, black desk looking through the photos she'd taken that morning. Her hair had been driving her crazy for the last hour, falling over her face with nearly every movement, so she pulled it into a bun. Securing it with a pencil, she continued to study the shots. She noticed there were a few decent ones she could add to her Tumblr page; she had a small circle of followers there who seemed to enjoy her pictures as much as she loved taking them. She loved photography. Life was nothing more than a series of moments and a picture could capture that moment.

Her moments often felt empty. Sighing, she turned her head to gaze out the window, her chin resting in her hand as she let her mind wander. If she had Rourk, maybe she would feel...more fulfilled. All she knew about her partner was his name. Thaddeus, her brother, was a seer. He had told her when she was younger that if she ever felt she was in danger. she should think of Rourk's name.

Of course, she thought his name often, even when she wasn't in danger. She loved the sound of it: Rourk. She believed he would be a powerful warrior like her father, but she wouldn't know for sure until they met. It was possible he could turn out to be a seer like her brother or a healer like her mother. There were many powers passed down through their elfin bloodlines.

Keegan smiled, leaning back in her seat to prop one barefoot on the edge of her chair. Most humans automatically imagined elves as Santa Claus's little helpers with enormous ears and fuzzy green tights. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Seriously, she had never met an elf that worked for Santa.

Evolution had allowed them to blend in with the humans. The females tended to be smaller than average. Most were only between 4'9"-5'2" tall. The part about pointed ears was true. However, their ears were pointed in a cute way, and not overly large like those in most mythology projects. Due to the fact that their ancestors were from Ireland, the elves tended to have reddish hair.

Her room didn't look like an elf's room that was for sure. Two of her walls were pale lavender, a color complimentary to the vivid emerald green of the other two. She had posters of her favorite bands and several of her favorite snapshots framed all around the room. The bed was large with a fluffy purple comforter and four fat pillows upon which a few of her childhood stuffed animals were propped.

And there was the light--lots of daylight from her windows. Her room was her safe haven, almost as much as her spot in the woods...

Keegan was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening downstairs. It was too early for her parents to be home and her pesky brother was at Sam's house. She closed her eyes and pictured the front door, and what she saw brought a smile to her face. It was Anna, one of her best friends.

Anna had been trying to sneak up on Keegan since they first met in the fourth grade. It was a point of pride and stubbornness on Keegan's part; she refused to be anything but the best. It drove Anna crazy, but luckily she was too laid back to care. Keegan debated with herself whether or not to let Anna succeed just this one time. Smiling to herself, she knew that was not an option.

She focused her mind and felt the familiar tingling throughout her body that came with using her gift. She was in no hurry because Anna couldn't see her--invisibility was Keegan's main power. Personally, she thought it was the coolest ability in the family, but the others did not agree. Her mom thought it was ironic that invisibility was her ability because Keegan always wanted to be the center of attention.

Down in the kitchen, Anna wistfully looked around. She loved coming to Keegan's house. It always felt so inviting; there was a certain calmness that radiated throughout the home. It was probably the soothing sound of the rushing water from the massive wall fountain, or maybe it was the energy from the crystals collected by Keegan's mother. Whatever it was, the moment Anna stepped through the door, a sense of serenity washed over her.

The house felt empty of inhabitants. Only the chirping of birds outside the open window broke the steady hum of the refrigerator. The large wooden table was clean, all six placemats perfectly spaced around a lovely centerpiece of wildflowers Keegan's mom must have picked. Anna put a hand to the tabletop and closed her eyes, just allowing the peace of the home to overtake her. She needed it.

Anna didn't seem to be aware as Keegan crept up behind her, trying not to laugh. Her best friend was off in space and had no idea she was there. She focused her mind again and, amid the tingling, she materialized before tapping her friend's shoulder. "Gotcha!"

Anna turned and laughed, feigning surprise.

Oh Keegan, I always know when you're there. If you only knew that I have secrets of my own.

Anna never let on because she knew Keegan enjoyed winning. It was a small price to pay to keep her best friend happy.

As usual, Anna's green eyes were outlined in heavy eyeliner--blue today--and her lashes were long and thick. She had shimmery pink lip gloss on her pencil-lined lips; she looked like a rock star.

Keegan glanced over her eccentric friend's outfit to see what style she'd adopted for the day. Her bangs, which she habitually pushed to the side, were now purple beneath a black top hat that only Anna could have pulled off. The rest of the day's ensemble of choice consisted of a grey tank top, a blue cardigan, and a pink skirt with bright yellow flowers that came just above her knees. To pull the look together, she wore sparkly silver Converse shoes.

"You know I hate you," Keegan said with a grin, bumping her best friend's shoulder playfully with her own.

Anna stared at Keegan indignantly, her skinny arms crossing her chest. "Why would you hate me?"

"Who else could pull off that outfit and make it look natural?" Keegan said.

Anna gave a little curtsy and giggled. "Thank you."

"You're not going to believe what happened today!" Anna continued, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down so that her skirt flounced and her shoes caught the sunlight shining through the window. Sparkles danced across the walls of the kitchen like a disco ball.

Playing along, Keegan bounced up and down and said, "Let me guess, Xavier finally asked you out?"

"I wish!" For a brief moment, the excited look vanished from Anna's face and was replaced with sadness. Xavier had been her friend since childhood. Anna had recently realized her feelings for him were more than friendship, but sadly, he didn't return her feelings.

"All right, just tell me what has you so excited," Keegan said.

"Well, I was walking to the bus when I saw a sign for a New Age fair tomorrow!" Anna jumped up and down. "It's a sign. We must go!"

Keegan grinned. "Anna, you seriously believe in all that nonsense?"

Looking shocked Anna replied, "Certainly! There has to be something more in this world than what the average eye sees."

If you only knew Anna, there is so much more to this world than humans know, Keegan thought. However, she was not about to reveal that knowledge.

"Don't forget to call Lauren and fill her in," Keegan told her.

"But of course," Anna said, pressing a hand to her chest innocently. "If there were only the two of us we couldn't be called the three amigos."

Keegan rolled her eyes, laughing.

The girls popped some popcorn and chatted in front of the television for a while, muting the commercials and blaring the reality show they both loved. When she had to leave, Anna gave Keegan a hug and headed out.

With a little time to kill before she would be tired, Keegan decided to look through her photos again. Her favorite was a photo of a leaf blowing by itself in the wind. It reminded her of herself. She often felt all alone, just floating along. As much as she loved hanging out with her human friends, like the time she had just spent hanging with Anna, she wished she could tell them what she truly was.

Staring at her photos, she realized her favorite thing to photograph was the beauty of nature. There was something fascinating about the outdoors. It amazed her that she could document the seasons as they changed through photographs. Elves loved nature, and that was something she hoped evolution never changed.

She put the camera and computer away; Keegan knew she should go to bed. Time always seemed to get away from her when she found herself caught up in the editing and uploading of her photos. It was hard enough for her to wake up on time, not to mention when she stayed up all hours of the night.

Keegan put on her favorite plaid pajamas and crawled into bed, pulling her purple blanket under her chin. A faint smile played on her lips as she thought of Anna's eagerness for the fair tomorrow. It would probably be fun.
Chapter 2

Keegan woke up late, as usual, after hitting the snooze button too many times. The blaring of the alarm had finally gotten on her nerves. Rolling out of bed and into the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long auburn hair was a tangled mess. Mascara was smudged under her eyes, and all she wanted to do was crawl back in bed. She could hear her family downstairs having breakfast, so rather than disappear back under the covers, she decided to join them.

Her mom was standing at the counter pouring hot water over a mug of tea leaves. She was wearing a pair of pale blue jeans and a fitted white button down shirt, her feet bare on the stones of the kitchen floor. Glancing over her shoulder as Keegan trudged sleepily into the kitchen, Emerald was surprised to see her daughter. "What gets you out of bed before noon on a weekend?"

Keegan plopped down on the stool across from her father. "I have plans with Anna." She reached over and grabbed a slice of toast off her dad's plate.

"You're lucky your mother burnt the toast or you'd be in trouble." Dad grinned through a mouth full of eggs, his hazel eyes sparkling merrily at her. He had the local daily newspaper spread on the table before him and half a glass of her mom's freshly squeezed orange juice in one hand.

"The toast isn't burnt," Mom said, laughing as she took a seat next to him and tugged playfully at his full, orange beard. As usual, she had put a plate of food in front of her husband and her son, but hadn't made one of her own. Keegan's mom stared at her over the teacup. "I'm sure you guys will have fun. Don't stay out too long. Do you need any money?"

"Sure," Keegan answered, snagging her dad's other remaining piece of toast and making a funny face at her baby brother, Warrick. She loved the sound of his laugh. "I can always use a little more for Starbucks."

While her mother ventured across the kitchen to rifle through her purse, Keegan looked over at her brother, Thaddeus. He was being no more silent than usual, lost in his own thoughts as he slowly ate his Cocoa Pebbles. "Hey Thaddeus, any plans today or are you going to do your recluse act and stay in your room?"

"For your information, Sam is coming over." He gave her a dirty look across the table. "We're going to play paintball."

"You guys are lame. Get out of the house and around people instead of in the woods or locked in your room."

"Whatever Keegan, just because I don't want to go shopping all day and act like a fool with my friends."

Keegan hopped to her feet and plucked Warrick from his highchair. She sang loudly as she spun around the room, the baby babbling happily in her arms.

"Mom, make her shut up, she sucks," Thaddeus complained.

"She does not." Her mother managed to tuck a folded up bill in the pocket of Keegan's sweatpants as she twirled by.

"She only does that to get on my nerves." Thaddeus slouched in his seat, crossing his arms angrily over his chest.

"Somebody is grumpy this morning!" Keegan sang brightly to Warrick, whose laughter was maniacal in return.

"That's not true; she sings even when you aren't home," her mother said, sipping her tea. Her sparkling eyes followed her daughter around the room. She smiled. "Be careful, Keegan, that's a baby full of eggs and bacon."

Once Keegan finished the song, she swept dramatically across the room and, with one last spin, she handed Warrick to her dad. Running up the stairs, she headed to the bathroom to jump in the shower.

Wrapped in a towel after her shower, she looked through her closet and couldn't decide what to wear. What does one wear when about to find out the future? Finally, Keegan decided on a pair of dark skinny jeans and grey shirt. At the last minute, she grabbed a teal scarf to bring out her eyes. One last twirl in front of the mirror and she was satisfied with her choice. She ran down the stairs.

"See you later," she called as she rushed out the door.

Keegan jumped on her bike and rode to her favorite Starbucks. The day was shaping up to be a lot nicer than the day before as the sun beat its warmth down on her pale skin. Slightly annoyed with herself, she realized she forgot to put on sunscreen. Great, she thought, now my freckles will come out more.

The ride was just as lovely as always. The main road leading from her parents' property to the strip mall where the Starbucks sat was heavily forested. It smelled of pine and always seemed to rustle like a living body in the breeze. Keegan loved being on her bike.

When she walked in to the café, she took a deep breath. She loved the smell of Starbucks, as well as the soothing noises of the barista's machines and the way the café was always filled with chattering people.

Keegan delighted in the coffee shop atmosphere. She loved to sit for hours and take in the wide variety of people. She liked to amuse herself by trying to figure out if customers were human or supernatural creatures, and she made up full scenarios for strangers in her mind. Today, she eyed the tall, shapely brunette behind her in line who Keegan had pegged a secret agent. And then there was the short, pudgy guy with the horrible comb-over; she suspected he was an electrician who dreaded going home to his annoying family. Last but not least, the emo girl who hid in the corner with her face in a book. Something about her reminded Keegan of a fairy.

Looking around one last time before it was her turn at the counter, she noticed a sexy guy with dark, shaggy hair and piercing blue eyes watching her. Smirking to herself, she thought, Vampire or werewolf.

With her usual white chocolate mocha in hand, Keegan glanced at her friends. Anna and Lauren were already sitting at the usual table with their drinks. They knew better than to expect her to be on time. I can't really blame them, she thought to herself with a chuckle as she began to make her way across the room.

Tilting her head, she gave a sly smile to the dark haired stranger as she passed him.

Keegan took in the sight of her two best friends as they laughed together. She was still amazed that even with their different personalities, they could be such incredible friends after so much time had passed. She thought for sure when they moved onto high school they would drift apart, but their relationship proved too strong for that.

Lauren looked gorgeous as usual with her long, dark curly hair, pale skin, and her caramel colored eyes. She jumped up and grabbed Keegan in a hug, which caused Keegan to spill her drink.

"I'm so excited to go to the fair! I've never had a psychic reading before!" Lauren squealed.

"Slow down," Keegan said. "You just spilled the coffee all over me."

"Whatever, you know you can't make it through a cup of coffee without spilling it on yourself. You're worse than a toddler.

Keegan laughed. "Good point."

You couldn't help but be taken in by Lauren's positive attitude. She was always quick to smile and was the first to compliment someone. She purposely came across as not particularly bright. With her SAT scores, she could get into any college she wanted. Keegan had no idea why she downplayed her intelligence. She had once asked, and Lauren had said she didn't want people to expect too much, and then be let down. Keegan thought that was a ridiculous reason.

Lauren looked like a typical cheerleader with long legs and an athletic build, and she had the kind of wardrobe that made other girls jealous. For the fair, she had worn a knee-length, pink floral dress that oozed the runway look, and she had belted the gauzy material with a large, brown belt that matched her ankle boots. She belonged in a Hollister ad.

As Keegan slid into her chair, Lauren looked at them expectantly. "Josh sent me this long love letter. He actually hand wrote it. Do you guys think he's getting too clingy?"

"Well, you have been dating over a year. It's obviously pretty serious." Anna rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. She had topped her black, long sleeve tee with a pink vest and added matching pink leggings under her black skirt. Today, her purple bangs hung from a lacy black beret.

Keegan was secretly jealous that Lauren had a steady boyfriend. "I think you should dump him," she said. "There are so many hot guys you could date. You'll be old and married before you know it. You might as well enjoy it now."

"Keegan, just because you have dated half the school doesn't mean everyone else has to," Lauren retorted, poking her friend on the arm pointedly.

Keegan gave them a wicked grin. "There are just so many boys and so little time."

Anna laughed so hard she started hiccupping, which caused Lauren to spit her drink out.

Keegan glanced at Lauren to make sure she wasn't choking. "You guys need serious help," Keegan laughed, handing Lauren a napkin to wipe the coffee off her chin.

Keegan could joke with the girls, but what no one knew was that she only had two years left to date. She would meet Rourk, her chosen, when she turned eighteen, and she was convinced he would be perfect for her. If only the rest of the world believed as elves did, Keegan was sure the divorce rate would be much lower. A kick under the table brought Keegan back to the present. "Ow!"

"Shh, you're such an idiot sometimes." Anna jerked her head towards the door. Keegan glanced casually around to see what the kick had been for. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Anna wanted her to see. Wow.

The guy they ogled was beyond hot even though he was older. He stood over six feet tall, and his dark black hair looked like he had just got caught in a windstorm. His eyes were a striking blue, and she swore he could see into her soul as his eyes caught hers.

Way too hot to be a human. Keegan wondered if he was a sorcerer. Everyone seemed to be under his spell the moment he walked through the door. They all tried not to stare. Lauren fanned herself, and they all laughed.

From outside the coffee shop Rourk stood hidden, watching Keegan through the window as she sat laughing with her friends. Her fleeting thoughts had summoned him again, and his pulse quickened as he felt the urge to go inside. He needed to be close to her.

Pushing a hand agitatedly through his shaggy hair, Rourk tried to focus on breathing. He leaned against the brick wall of the store behind him, rubbing his temples with both hands. The urge to speak to her made his heart ache. It took everything he had to remain rooted to the sidewalk, hidden in the shadows of a storefront while she was so close. He was left to watch from a distance as usual. She laughed at something one of her friends said. He wondered what her laugh sounded like.

Suddenly, they gathered their things and left the coffee shop; Rourk made a snap decision to follow them.

The girls decided to walk to the fair instead of taking Lauren's car. The weather was perfect, pleasantly cool, and there wasn't a rain cloud in sight. The fresh air felt incredible against her skin. Keegan closed her eyes, tilted her head towards the sun, and spun in a circle. "Fall is my favorite time of year," she said wistfully.

Lauren shook her head, smiling. "Earth to Keegan, we're talking about the fair."

"Do you think they will let me know something about Xavier?" Anna wondered out loud, completely ignoring her friends' ramblings.

"Maybe, but I think you have to ask about him. At least that's how it goes on the TV shows." Lauren glanced over at Keegan, swinging her small purse at her side as they walked. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. You would think if they were real psychics they would see it without being asked," Keegan answered.

"Good point," Anna said. "I don't think I'll mention him. Besides, it's bad enough he makes it obvious he only thinks of me as a friend. I don't think I could handle psychic rejection as well."

Lauren clapped her hands and jumped around. "EEK, we're almost there! This is so exciting!"

Keegan was surprised at Lauren's enthusiasm. The fair didn't quite sound like her thing. She was probably hoping someone was going to tell her that she and Josh would be married, have three kids, and live happily ever after.

The fair was disappointing at first glance. Keegan had been expecting...well, she wasn't sure exactly what, but it looked like some boring craft fair in a church basement. A few tables and stands were arranged around the room with a bunch of old people seated at them. It didn't look like the few attendees milling around the place were actually buying anything. Still, she could hear her mother in her head. Don't judge a book by its cover, Keegan. She decided she might as well relax and try to have fun with her friends.

Keegan noticed a large red sign at the entrance of the fair that said NO PHOTOGRAPHY. Mumbling under her breath, she put her camera back in the bag.

They stopped at each stand, admiring the jewelry, crystals, tarot cards, and many other items available. There were certainly some fascinating things. Keegan picked up a moonstone necklace for her mother. The small sign next to it said it would bring considerable fortune. Keegan also knew it was a healing stone. It was one of her favorites. She loved the way you could see the colors through it when it was held to the light.

Lauren came to a halt in front of a stand where a woman sat behind a table, dressed like a stereotypical fortuneteller. She was slightly overweight, fortyish, and wearing a multi-colored dress that gave her an outrageous gypsy appearance. She had a kind face. Her long, curly hair was a brilliant red like that of a clown's nose. Gesturing to a pile of rocks on the table, she told Lauren, "Pick one and hand it to me. I can tell your future."

Lauren did so. When the woman had the rock, she closed her eyes and ran her small hands around it for a few moments before looking up at Lauren with a warm smile.

"You will do great things and succeed in whatever you put your mind to. I also see that you should put your focus into law."

Lauren's mouth gaped open; her dream was to be a lawyer. The girls all looked at each other in disbelief.

Anna jumped up and down yelling, "Me next!" She grabbed a rock and handed it across the table.

The woman did the same thing as with Lauren's, closing her eyes and feeling the rock. "Child, you have a beautiful soul but you will struggle in life if you do not let go of the sadness inside of you."

Keegan and Lauren glanced over at Anna, surprised to see her brush away a tear. "Thank you," she said quietly and put the rock in her pocket.

Finally, it was Keegan's turn. Placing her hands over the pile of rocks, she grasped the one that was calling to her and handed it to the woman. The woman kept her eyes closed for an extremely long time. When she finally opened them, she looked at Keegan warily. Keegan's heart started to race. She felt as if the woman knew she wasn't human and was going to say so.

The woman sighed, handing the rock back to her. "I'm sorry, I feel nothing."

"What do you mean you feel nothing?" Keegan balked at the woman.

"That's just how it works sometimes. I'm sorry." She shrugged.

Keegan wanted to ask the psychic some questions, but Anna and Lauren were keen to move on and dragged Keegan to the next stand. She turned to look back and the woman returned her stare with a blank look. Keegan thought for sure something wasn't quite right. Could she possibly know her elfin secret? Maybe she truly was unreadable and that's why the woman looked at her strangely. It seemed odd, not to mention disappointing. Keegan wanted to hear what the psychic had to say about her.

The three girls spent hours browsing, which turned out to be a lot of fun. The crowd steadily built in the room so that it no longer looked sad and unused, but with the dim light and the noise of guests, it felt like a fair. After enough time had passed, and Keegan's feet were starting to hurt, she yawned and stretched dramatically.

"Are you guys ready to go?" she asked, tugging at Anna's sleeve.

Lauren nodded vehemently. "I shouldn't have worn these boots. I'm exhausted."

Though she had done well hiding it for most of the day, Anna had obviously been shaken by the psychic's words. There was a haunted look in her eye as she just shrugged and said, "Sure, let's go get dinner."

As they walked towards the door, Keegan sensed someone watching her. She glanced around the room, searching for the source of the feeling, and was startled to come face to face with another elf.

Elves could recognize each other if they happened to cross paths. Unless, of course, it was one's chosen--they were cloaked from each other by magic. Keegan had never seen anything quite like this elf. The girl was stunningly beautiful, but that was not a surprise as all elves tend to be overly attractive. She had short black hair, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and the greenest eyes Keegan had ever seen on a person. She felt as if she were staring into the eyes of a cat.

What took Keegan by surprise was the darkness around the stranger. Keegan had heard of dark elves. Wherever there was light there had to be dark, but knowing something in your mind and actually seeing it is different. This was the first time she had seen a dark elf with her own eyes. She had heard they mainly lived up north and rarely made efforts to be a part of the human world like the light elves. Since her childhood, they'd almost felt like specters--boogeymen told through light elves' folklore.

Keegan's body went cold. She tensed up, and all her senses heightened as her eyes were caught by the stranger's.

"Do you know her?" Anna asked, looking between Keegan and the other girl.

Keegan couldn't talk. She felt as if her eyes were locked in place by the dark elf, and she was unable to move unless the girl allowed it.

Finally, the dark elf averted her gaze, and Keegan's body relaxed. A distracted look crossed her face as she replied, "She looked familiar, but let's get out of here." Keegan's only desire in that moment was to rush home and talk to her mother about what had happened.

From a distance, Rourk was staring with a grim expression on his handsome face.

What was that exchange all about and who was the dark elf?

He had to make a choice. He could continue to follow the girls or go inside and talk to the dark elf. As much as it pained him to watch Keegan walk away, he quickly advanced into the building. He needed to know if she was in danger.

Rourk scanned the room, but he didn't see the dark elf anywhere. Where could she have gone? Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply as he felt the coldness wash over him. He saw her with his mind's eye. The dark elf had taken the back door and was walking casually down the alley. It was times like this when he was grateful to be the descendent of a great warrior. He'd trained his whole life for his calling--from the time he got out of bed in the morning until the time he went to sleep at night. Hell, he even dreamed about the techniques he'd learned. He needed to put them to good use.

Silently he advanced. He was now the hunter, and she, his prey.

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