33 Apocolypse Ave and Then New Covington, Wednesday night
The lab had provided some answers in the form of a hastily scrawled journal written by one of scientists. They'd been working on a cure for Red Lung using infusions of vampire blood. After days of failures what they thought was their first success had turned out to be their greatest failure as the first rabid was created.
Unfortunately the visit to the lab only left Allie and Jackal with more questions. Namely why had Sarren taken some of the last samples of the cryogenically frozen virus? And why was he going back to the abandoned lab in New Covington, Allie old home?
Jackal, in his never-ending search for a cure for rabidism, was more then willing to go along with Allie, but despite his recent good behavior, she didn't trust him. If she was going to search for a psychotic vampire, she wanted someone else watching her back.
Moving fast, it didn't take long to get back to Fandom. Despite Jackal's obvious interest, Allie refused to let him cross the causeway with her. With a put upon sigh, he leaned againt a tree. "Fine, but hurry. If I get too bored, I might have to go explore."
Allie
"Please be home," Allie said to herself as she knocked on the door.
Kaidan
Kaidan was the one who opened up - home, yep, and only a little frazzled. "Allie," he said. After her message... well, he was glad to see her, that was for sure. "Thank God."
Allie
After too much time in Jackal's company, Kaidan's reaction was particularly welcome.
"Hey, it's good to see you," she said sincerely. "I'm so sorry for taking off like that, but I couldn't risk getting cut off again. I had to go."
Kaidan
"I get that," Kaidan said, but he looked worried anyway. "You wanna come in...? I got some TruBlood in the fridge."
Look, after a while, you remembered what your friends drank.
Allie
Allie glanced over her shoulder as if she could see the point near the Causeway where she'd left Jackal. She'd have to trust him to stay put. "I'll pass on the drink, but thanks. I do need to talk to you though. I need a huge favor if you're up for it."
Kaidan
Funny. Kaidan thought he'd been on alert before, but now his entire poise shifted. "What's going on?"
Allie
"Long story short? I followed what I thought was a lead to Sarren and Kanin. Instead I found Jackal," Allie explained. Yes Kaidan, Jackal, the vampire that once staked her. "I'm still not sure why, but he offered to help me look for them. We wound up in abandoned lab under DC where they'd been doing research on Red Lung before the rabids came."
She paused and looked over her shoulder again. "We were too late to catch up to him there. But we know where he's going and that's where we're going next. New Covington." The place were Allie was born and died.
"Here's where the favor comes in. Sarren's too strong. I can't deal with him on my own," she admitted. "Jackal's going to be useful, but I'd like to have someone I trust with me."
Kaidan
He was technically supposed to be on call for the Alliance, but... Kaidan hesitated, but only for a moment. "I've got time," he said. "Let me go get my guns."
Allie
She would have understood if he'd had to turn her down, but Allie visibly relaxed when Kaidan agreed to go along. "Thanks. While you're doing that I'm going to call and get us a portal. Maybe we can save some time. Jackal's waiting for us across the causeway. I didn't want to bring him on the island for obvious reasons."
Kaidan
"Got it," Kaidan said. He slipped back inside to go get his gear.
Got some extra grenades and the double omni-tools, just in case.
Fortunately it hadn't taken Kaidan all that long to gather his gear while Allie booked a portal because it turned out they had to race to the Causeway in order to get to it in time. They met up with Jackal just as the portal opened. Jackal had stared at the portal, but a quick taunt from Allie had him stepping through without hesitation.
"So," Allie said, glancing sharply around to make sure no rabids were nearby where the portal had let them out in the woods outside New Covington. "Introductions. Kaidan, Jackal. Jackal, Commander Alenko. So help me, you even look at him funny and I will end you. Now let's move."
Jackal
Jackal crossed his arms and looked Kaidan over. "But it's my duty as a big brother to inspect my sister's dates," he said. "Or at least find out what's so impressive about him that you wanted to bring him along."
Kaidan
"I'm nobody's date," Kaidan said sharply.
A minute in and this was already going well. "Aren't we supposed to get moving?"
Allie
Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"He's an ass. Just ignore him," Allie said as she started moving through the rapidly thinning trees in the direction of the city.
Jackal
"That's how she says 'I love you,'" Jackal said.
He looked the city. "Who rules New Covington anyway? I forgot." Or, rather, didn't care.
Kaidan
Kaidan ignored the first statement, because Allie had a point - wasn't worth getting worked up about.
That second part, though. "Yeah," he said, glancing at Allie. "Fill us in."
Allie
"Salazar is Prince." She wondered if Jackal knew him. If they were friends like he was with Azura.
The woods ended at the edge of the killing zone, the flat, barren area that led up to the thirty foot tall wall of steel and concrete that protected New Covington. There were supposed to be searchlights lighting up the ground, guards patrolling along the top of it.
Instead, it was dark, quiet, and eerily deserted.
"Something's wrong."
Jackal
"Oh, yeah," Jackal snorted. "Little gypsy bastard, from what Kanin told me. One of the older bloodlines, prided himself on being 'royal,' for all the good it did him here."
He scanned the wall. "Either he's getting lazy, or Sarren is wreaking his personal brand of havoc inside. I'm guessing the latter. Well, this was your city once upon a time, sister. Should we walk up to the front gate and ring the doorbell, or did you have another way in? Like another of those portals, or does your friend here have a way?"
Allie
Kaidan was a soldier and probably had plenty of ideas on how to get into the city. But this was Allie's territory and she's spent years sneaking in and out as needed.
"We can't cross out there," Allie told him, tilting her head towards the kill zone. "There's mines and traps and god only knows what else. We'll go in through the sewers."
Kaidan
Kaidan nodded, taking quiet stock of the area. "Any troops we can expect down there?" he asked. "Defenses, guards?"
Jackal
"The sewers, huh?" Jackal bitched at the same time. "You couldn't have mentioned this on the way?"
Clearly he had different priorities, such as the state of his leather duster.
Allie
Ignoring Jackal would probably be best. But given how she was feeling, that wasn't going to happen. "Why? I'm sure you and the rats are going to get along great."
Barbs traded, Allie focused on Kaidan. "The guards don't know it's there. If they did they would have sealed it a long time ago. They don't want to risk a rabid getting into the city." They'd reached the courtyard of an abandoned apartment building. The sightless eyes of the broken statue in the courtyard were a familiar landmark. "There were always rumors of mole men though. Humans that lived in the sewers to hide from the vampires. I never ran across them so they could just be a myth."
Jackal
"So, you were born here, were you?" Jackal mused as they looked around. "How positively nostalgic. How does it feel, coming back to this place as a vampire instead of a bloodcow? Any old friends to see? Any places you're just dying to revisit? I would think you'd have lots of people you'd want to contact, since you're so fond of these walking bloodbags." He jerked his head toward Kaidan. "After all, you're practically one of them."
Allie
Allie's fist clenched as memories passed through her mind. Lucas and Rat, Stick and the old school they'd called home. "No. There's no one left. They're all dead."
Jackal
Jackal shrugged nonchalantly, but he was smirking. "Oh, well. That's humans for you, always so disgustingly mortal. So very fragile, these bloodbags. You blink and another one has up and died. At least this one looks a little sturdier than most. Although, Kaidan, Kanin...daddy issues at work, sister?"
Kaidan
"How old are you exactly," Kaidan interjected, because this was getting a bit much for him, "Twelve? Can we focus on the mission here? Like adults?"
Allie
Nine. Ten. Alie counted slowly to herself before letting go of the hilt of her sword. She could be an adult. No matter how much she'd like to end this right now.
"We have to go in here," she said when she refocused on where they were and spotted the concealed entrance to the drainage tunnel "Follow me."
Jackal
"Ugh," Jackal grunted as they moved into the pipe into the darkness of the tunnels. "Well, it's not the nastiest place I've ever crawled through, but it's definitely up there. At least they're not in use anymore. From what Kanin told me, all the human crap in the city used to flow through these kinds of tunnels. Disgusting thought, ain't it? At least we don't have to breathe it." He flashed a grin at Kaidan.
Allie
The walk through the sewers was quiet. Or at least as quiet as it was possible to be when Jackal was determined to needle Allie any chance he got.
Gee Kaidan, aren't you happy you came along to chaperone the bickering siblings?
The rusty ladder was exactly where Allie remembered it. She pushed aside the heavy cover and climbed out onto the street. Nothing had changed. The buildings were still there, dark and skeletal, falling to dust beneath vines and weeds. The rusted hulks of cars sat decaying along the street and in the distance the lights of the three towers of the Inner City gleamed.
"It's clear. Come on."
Kaidan
Kaidan climbed up the ladder. The first thing he did when he came up top was take off the plastic breathing mask he'd put on when it had become too unbearable to deal with.
The second thing... Well.
"Damn," he said, looking around. "This is... damn."
Jackal
"Huh," Jackal commented as he emerged from underground, gazing around at the crumbling buildings, the roots and weeds that grew over everything and pushed up through the pavement. "This place is a right mess, isn't it? Where is everyone?"
Allie
Be it ever so humble, this had been Allie's home. Given how much she felt like she'd changed since the last time she'd see it, it was almost shocking to see how much it hadn't.
"If they're smart, they're hiding. Even with all the Registered, plenty of vampires still come to the Fringe to hunt."
She turned towards the towers, once again feeling Kanin's call. "We need to get to gate to the Inner City. Kanin's in there."
Kaidan
"Right."
Kaidan yanked his attention away from the ruins around him-- even if it was hard. Hard to imagine this had once been a thriving human city, too. "Let's just..."
He trailed off, squinted in the distance. His fingers slid to the firearm on his hip. "Uh, guys? We have company." Staggering company - didn't look like they were in good shape.
Jackal
Pawing blindly at its face, the human moved like it was drunk, shuffling, swaying from side to side. It tripped over a curb and fell, striking its head on the pavement, then began to twitch and gasp. No -- it was laughing.
"Nice. Bloodbag's either too drunk to live or has gone right off the deep end," Jackal said. "I don't know whether to laugh or put it out of its misery."
Allie
At the sound of Jackal's voice, the human raised its head and regarded them with eyes that were as blank and glassy as a mirror. It was a woman, although it was difficult to tell at first. Her hair had been cut or torn out and the top of her head was sticky with blood. Long gashes ran down both sides of her face bleeding freely. But she didn't seem to notice the blood.
Allie wanted nothing more then to step away from the disturbing figure but she forced herself to stay put. "You're hurt. What happened?"
Kaidan
Kaidan pulled the gun out of its holster, but he held it pointed to the ground as he began to walk. He was a Sentinel and a marine-- protecting the two not-quite-civilians with him was second nature.
"Ma'am?"
Jackal
The woman stared at Allie and Kaidan for a second before her face contorted in a gaping, laughing scream. She clawed at her face, tearing open the already bleeding scars. More dark blood oozed down her cheeks. "Is it...someone new?" she rasped. "Someone new, to make the burning stop?"
"What the hell-?" Jackal began.
The woman bared bloodstained teeth, then lurched to her feet and charged, swinging her arms.
Allie
"Back off," Allie snarled as she dodged out of the way. She pulled her sword but the woman was already moving away, shrieking and slashing towards Kaidan.
Kaidan
Kaidan didn't want to shoot her while he wasn't sure whether this was temporary madness or she was just feral-- instead he reached out, blue sparking around his body and centering on his hand.
The woman flew two feet up into the air, then hovered there.
He trained his pistol on her.
Jackal
That actually got an impressed look out of Jackal. "Niiiiiice," he said. "You didn't tell me your boyfriend can do tricks, sister."
Allie
Allie was feeling just smug enough that the boyfriend comment only earned a minor eye roll. "I don't think we're going to get anything useful out of her. Can you put her down somewhere out of reach?"
Kaidan
Kaidan's eyes didn't wander from the woman, not even at that stupid remark. "You're the expert," he said. "What is that?"
He hit her with a Throw, sending her flying backwards.
Jackal
"Don't ask me," Jackal shrugged. "This isn't my hometown. It's not a rabid, at least not any I've ever seen."
Allie
Dazed by Kaidan's throw the woman wasn't that fast getting to her feet. But Allie still felt it was best to put some distance between them and her.
"It wasn't like this before. Maybe a rabid got in?" But the woman wasn't like any rabid Allie had seen before.
Glass shattered suddenly. Up the street two more figures appeared shambling from a building, their faces torn and bloody. One held a pipe that and used it to bang against the cars that he passed, crumpling metal and breaking what glass was left in the wrecks.
From an alleyway came another, followed by a friend.
And another.
And another.
"It might be time to leave."
Kaidan
Kaidan fired off a few warning shots-- well, warning shots. He'd go for crippling here and there if it'd buy them some time.
"Good idea!" he called. "Get running!"
Jackal
Jackal actually had no problems with that idea.
"This way," he hissed, and darted through a hole into an apartment building.
The narrow corridors of the apartments were filled with rock and broken beams but were still fairly easy to navigate. It seemed empty at first, then a moan drifted out of a hallway. Sliding up against the wall, Jackal peered around a corner then quickly drew back, motioning for Allie and Kaidan to do the same.
A human staggered by, clutching a length of wood in one hand. As he passed uncomfortably close, it was clear he had clawed at his face until his eye had come out. He paused for a moment, looking around, but it was either too dark or his face was too ravaged for him to see clearly, for he turned his head and continued walking.
A few steps later, the one-eyed human staggered, dropping his club. Gagging, he fell to his hands and knees, heaving and gasping as if he couldn't catch his breath. Red foam bubbled from his mouth and nose, dripping to the ground beneath him. Finally, with a desperate choking sound, the human collapsed, twitched weakly for a moment and then stopped moving.
Jackal straightened, muttering a curse. "Oh, damn," he growled. "That's why the city is locked down."
Allie
That was the most serious Allie had ever heard Jackal sound. "Why? What's going on?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from the dead man.
Jackal
"Red Lung," Jackal said flatly. "What you saw right there, those are the final symptoms of the Red Lung virus. Without the crazy muttering and tearing the eyes out, anyway." That was new.
He shook his head, remembering. "I've never seen it, but Kanin told me how it worked. The infected humans would bleed internally, and eventually they would drown in their own blood, trying to throw up their organs. Nasty way to go, even for the bloodbags."
Allie
"But how can it be back? Red Lung changed, mutated. That's what caused the rabids. At least that's what Kanin told me." Because he didn't know what happened in the lab in DC, Allie realized, thinking about what was now missing from that same lab.
"Sarren did this."
Dread settled deep in Allie's bones as she remembered something else Kanin had told her one quiet night after she'd been turned. "Red Lung was airborne," she told Kaidan. "I don't know about this. But I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to get the hell out of here."
Kaidan
Kaidan shook his head, reaching over to press a few buttons on his omni-tool. A glass mouth cap slid out. He reached up to fasten it.
"There," he said. "So. What makes you think your friend Sarren is behind this?"
Allie
Friend wasn't exactly what Allie would call Sarren. Particularly since the last time they tangled, he tried to kill her and she stabbed him in the eye.
"Because stuff was missing from the lab we tracked him to in Old DC. Vials of the Red Lung virus," Allie explained. "Somehow he must have changed it. Made it into this. But why?"
Jackal
"Sarren doesn't need a reason for what he does." Jackal curled a lip in disgust. "He and his sanity parted ways a while back, and he's only gotten more deranged since. But this...." He looked around and shook his head. "You bloody insane bastard," he muttered. "Why are you screwing with the food supply? We might not survive another epidemic."
Allie
Whatever Sarren's reasons or plans, they really didn't have the time to worry about it now. The sky was getting lighter and sunrise was only an hour away. "Come on. We need to keep moving."
It was only a short distance between where they were and the gate at the Inner Wall and Allie took them through every short cut she knew. Unfortunately the roaming infected meant that they had to double back and around several times and it was uncomfortably close to sunrise when they finally made it to the gate.
The closed, locked up tight, no one there to answer their calls gate.
Jackal
Jackal swore and gave the gate a resounding kick. The blow made a hollow, booming sound that echoed down the wall, but the doors were thick, sturdy and designed to hold up to vampire attacks. They didn't even shake.
"What now?" he snarled, looking at the top of the Inner Wall, a good twenty feet straight up. Like the gates, the wall protecting the Inner City was built with vampires in mind. There were no handholds, no ledges to cling to, no buildings close enough to launch off.
Kaidan
"I could try my biotics," Kaidan offered, though his eyes slid up the wall (to make note of whatever it was that Jackal was so interested in). "But I'm not sure I can pry open something this big. Maybe explosives?"
He wasn't sure whether he brought enough grenades... damn it.
Allie
"Tempting. But probably not the best idea." Somehow Allie doubted Salazar would appreciate them blowing their way through the wall and possibily letting the infected into the Inner City. "There's a way in, through the sewers. Kanin took me that way when he took me for my sword. I can try and find it again tonight. But first we're going to need to sleep. I know a place nearby. It should be safe enough."
As if to prove the need for safety, an infected woman round the corner and immediately launched herself at Allie. Allie dodged to the side and let the woman crash into the wall, stunning herself.
"Come on," she called, bolting back into the Fringe.
Jackal
Several streets and close calls later, with the sun moments away from breaking over the jagged horizon, they squeezed through a chain-link fence at the edge of a cracked, overgrown parking lot. A squat, three-story building sat at the end of the lot.
"Nice place," Jackal said after they ducked through the doors into the shade of a hallway. He slouched against the wall, where a row of lockers rusted against the plaster. He gazed down the dark corridor, where rooms lined each wall, and curled a lip. "Let me guess -- hospital? Or asylum."
Allie
Allie rolled her eyes. "It was a school back before the plague." She pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against and started down the hallway, keeping an ear out in case any of the infected had found their way inside. "This way. There's a basement we used to hole up in whenever the vamps were out."
Kaidan
Kaidan's eyes kept scanning for exits, entrances, windows. Anything they could escape through, anything they'd have to fear attack from.
He'd kind of hoped for something more defensible than a basement, but he wasn't going to say that right now.
"Does anyone else know about this place?"
Allie
Sorry Kaidan, the best you were going to get was a basement room with only a single way in and out. But at least the heavy rusted door could be barred from the inside. It was enough to keep out the infected, but Allie realized with her new perspective, it never would have stopped a vampire.
"Everyone who knew about it is dead." Some more so then others. "Given everything going on out there, it's probably the safest place for the day."
They really didn't have much choice given the way she could feel the need for sleep pulling at her mind.
Jackal
"So," Jackal said, looking about the cold, dark room, "this was where you lived as a bloodbag. Where exactly do you expect us to sleep?"
His tone was still casual and mocking, but he was leaning against a wall so the need for sleep didn't make him fall over.
Allie
"I don't care. Just somewhere away from us."
Moving carefully, Allie reached into a dark spot behind several spots and pulled out a tattered quilt she'd stashed away what seemed like another lifetime ago. It wasn't much, but it would offer some protection against the chill of the room. "Here," she said, offering it to Kaidan. "All the comforts of home."
Pulling her sword, Allie sank to the ground, her back against the wall and her blade across her lap. No Jackal, she really didn't trust you.
Jackal
Jackal wandered around in the darkness for a few moments until he found a corner where he could get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as he could under the circumstances. He was sorely tempted to ask if Allie thought he was the type who would stay awake long enough to kill her after she fell asleep, or the type to rise early and kill her before she woke up, but the fact that Kaidan didn't have to sleep like him and Allie made him think twice. He didn't want to die, thank you very much.
"Nighty-night, sis," he said "Sleep tight."
Unfortunately the visit to the lab only left Allie and Jackal with more questions. Namely why had Sarren taken some of the last samples of the cryogenically frozen virus? And why was he going back to the abandoned lab in New Covington, Allie old home?
Jackal, in his never-ending search for a cure for rabidism, was more then willing to go along with Allie, but despite his recent good behavior, she didn't trust him. If she was going to search for a psychotic vampire, she wanted someone else watching her back.
Moving fast, it didn't take long to get back to Fandom. Despite Jackal's obvious interest, Allie refused to let him cross the causeway with her. With a put upon sigh, he leaned againt a tree. "Fine, but hurry. If I get too bored, I might have to go explore."
Allie
"Please be home," Allie said to herself as she knocked on the door.
Kaidan
Kaidan was the one who opened up - home, yep, and only a little frazzled. "Allie," he said. After her message... well, he was glad to see her, that was for sure. "Thank God."
Allie
After too much time in Jackal's company, Kaidan's reaction was particularly welcome.
"Hey, it's good to see you," she said sincerely. "I'm so sorry for taking off like that, but I couldn't risk getting cut off again. I had to go."
Kaidan
"I get that," Kaidan said, but he looked worried anyway. "You wanna come in...? I got some TruBlood in the fridge."
Look, after a while, you remembered what your friends drank.
Allie
Allie glanced over her shoulder as if she could see the point near the Causeway where she'd left Jackal. She'd have to trust him to stay put. "I'll pass on the drink, but thanks. I do need to talk to you though. I need a huge favor if you're up for it."
Kaidan
Funny. Kaidan thought he'd been on alert before, but now his entire poise shifted. "What's going on?"
Allie
"Long story short? I followed what I thought was a lead to Sarren and Kanin. Instead I found Jackal," Allie explained. Yes Kaidan, Jackal, the vampire that once staked her. "I'm still not sure why, but he offered to help me look for them. We wound up in abandoned lab under DC where they'd been doing research on Red Lung before the rabids came."
She paused and looked over her shoulder again. "We were too late to catch up to him there. But we know where he's going and that's where we're going next. New Covington." The place were Allie was born and died.
"Here's where the favor comes in. Sarren's too strong. I can't deal with him on my own," she admitted. "Jackal's going to be useful, but I'd like to have someone I trust with me."
Kaidan
He was technically supposed to be on call for the Alliance, but... Kaidan hesitated, but only for a moment. "I've got time," he said. "Let me go get my guns."
Allie
She would have understood if he'd had to turn her down, but Allie visibly relaxed when Kaidan agreed to go along. "Thanks. While you're doing that I'm going to call and get us a portal. Maybe we can save some time. Jackal's waiting for us across the causeway. I didn't want to bring him on the island for obvious reasons."
Kaidan
"Got it," Kaidan said. He slipped back inside to go get his gear.
Got some extra grenades and the double omni-tools, just in case.
Fortunately it hadn't taken Kaidan all that long to gather his gear while Allie booked a portal because it turned out they had to race to the Causeway in order to get to it in time. They met up with Jackal just as the portal opened. Jackal had stared at the portal, but a quick taunt from Allie had him stepping through without hesitation.
"So," Allie said, glancing sharply around to make sure no rabids were nearby where the portal had let them out in the woods outside New Covington. "Introductions. Kaidan, Jackal. Jackal, Commander Alenko. So help me, you even look at him funny and I will end you. Now let's move."
Jackal
Jackal crossed his arms and looked Kaidan over. "But it's my duty as a big brother to inspect my sister's dates," he said. "Or at least find out what's so impressive about him that you wanted to bring him along."
Kaidan
"I'm nobody's date," Kaidan said sharply.
A minute in and this was already going well. "Aren't we supposed to get moving?"
Allie
Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"He's an ass. Just ignore him," Allie said as she started moving through the rapidly thinning trees in the direction of the city.
Jackal
"That's how she says 'I love you,'" Jackal said.
He looked the city. "Who rules New Covington anyway? I forgot." Or, rather, didn't care.
Kaidan
Kaidan ignored the first statement, because Allie had a point - wasn't worth getting worked up about.
That second part, though. "Yeah," he said, glancing at Allie. "Fill us in."
Allie
"Salazar is Prince." She wondered if Jackal knew him. If they were friends like he was with Azura.
The woods ended at the edge of the killing zone, the flat, barren area that led up to the thirty foot tall wall of steel and concrete that protected New Covington. There were supposed to be searchlights lighting up the ground, guards patrolling along the top of it.
Instead, it was dark, quiet, and eerily deserted.
"Something's wrong."
Jackal
"Oh, yeah," Jackal snorted. "Little gypsy bastard, from what Kanin told me. One of the older bloodlines, prided himself on being 'royal,' for all the good it did him here."
He scanned the wall. "Either he's getting lazy, or Sarren is wreaking his personal brand of havoc inside. I'm guessing the latter. Well, this was your city once upon a time, sister. Should we walk up to the front gate and ring the doorbell, or did you have another way in? Like another of those portals, or does your friend here have a way?"
Allie
Kaidan was a soldier and probably had plenty of ideas on how to get into the city. But this was Allie's territory and she's spent years sneaking in and out as needed.
"We can't cross out there," Allie told him, tilting her head towards the kill zone. "There's mines and traps and god only knows what else. We'll go in through the sewers."
Kaidan
Kaidan nodded, taking quiet stock of the area. "Any troops we can expect down there?" he asked. "Defenses, guards?"
Jackal
"The sewers, huh?" Jackal bitched at the same time. "You couldn't have mentioned this on the way?"
Clearly he had different priorities, such as the state of his leather duster.
Allie
Ignoring Jackal would probably be best. But given how she was feeling, that wasn't going to happen. "Why? I'm sure you and the rats are going to get along great."
Barbs traded, Allie focused on Kaidan. "The guards don't know it's there. If they did they would have sealed it a long time ago. They don't want to risk a rabid getting into the city." They'd reached the courtyard of an abandoned apartment building. The sightless eyes of the broken statue in the courtyard were a familiar landmark. "There were always rumors of mole men though. Humans that lived in the sewers to hide from the vampires. I never ran across them so they could just be a myth."
Jackal
"So, you were born here, were you?" Jackal mused as they looked around. "How positively nostalgic. How does it feel, coming back to this place as a vampire instead of a bloodcow? Any old friends to see? Any places you're just dying to revisit? I would think you'd have lots of people you'd want to contact, since you're so fond of these walking bloodbags." He jerked his head toward Kaidan. "After all, you're practically one of them."
Allie
Allie's fist clenched as memories passed through her mind. Lucas and Rat, Stick and the old school they'd called home. "No. There's no one left. They're all dead."
Jackal
Jackal shrugged nonchalantly, but he was smirking. "Oh, well. That's humans for you, always so disgustingly mortal. So very fragile, these bloodbags. You blink and another one has up and died. At least this one looks a little sturdier than most. Although, Kaidan, Kanin...daddy issues at work, sister?"
Kaidan
"How old are you exactly," Kaidan interjected, because this was getting a bit much for him, "Twelve? Can we focus on the mission here? Like adults?"
Allie
Nine. Ten. Alie counted slowly to herself before letting go of the hilt of her sword. She could be an adult. No matter how much she'd like to end this right now.
"We have to go in here," she said when she refocused on where they were and spotted the concealed entrance to the drainage tunnel "Follow me."
Jackal
"Ugh," Jackal grunted as they moved into the pipe into the darkness of the tunnels. "Well, it's not the nastiest place I've ever crawled through, but it's definitely up there. At least they're not in use anymore. From what Kanin told me, all the human crap in the city used to flow through these kinds of tunnels. Disgusting thought, ain't it? At least we don't have to breathe it." He flashed a grin at Kaidan.
Allie
The walk through the sewers was quiet. Or at least as quiet as it was possible to be when Jackal was determined to needle Allie any chance he got.
Gee Kaidan, aren't you happy you came along to chaperone the bickering siblings?
The rusty ladder was exactly where Allie remembered it. She pushed aside the heavy cover and climbed out onto the street. Nothing had changed. The buildings were still there, dark and skeletal, falling to dust beneath vines and weeds. The rusted hulks of cars sat decaying along the street and in the distance the lights of the three towers of the Inner City gleamed.
"It's clear. Come on."
Kaidan
Kaidan climbed up the ladder. The first thing he did when he came up top was take off the plastic breathing mask he'd put on when it had become too unbearable to deal with.
The second thing... Well.
"Damn," he said, looking around. "This is... damn."
Jackal
"Huh," Jackal commented as he emerged from underground, gazing around at the crumbling buildings, the roots and weeds that grew over everything and pushed up through the pavement. "This place is a right mess, isn't it? Where is everyone?"
Allie
Be it ever so humble, this had been Allie's home. Given how much she felt like she'd changed since the last time she'd see it, it was almost shocking to see how much it hadn't.
"If they're smart, they're hiding. Even with all the Registered, plenty of vampires still come to the Fringe to hunt."
She turned towards the towers, once again feeling Kanin's call. "We need to get to gate to the Inner City. Kanin's in there."
Kaidan
"Right."
Kaidan yanked his attention away from the ruins around him-- even if it was hard. Hard to imagine this had once been a thriving human city, too. "Let's just..."
He trailed off, squinted in the distance. His fingers slid to the firearm on his hip. "Uh, guys? We have company." Staggering company - didn't look like they were in good shape.
Jackal
Pawing blindly at its face, the human moved like it was drunk, shuffling, swaying from side to side. It tripped over a curb and fell, striking its head on the pavement, then began to twitch and gasp. No -- it was laughing.
"Nice. Bloodbag's either too drunk to live or has gone right off the deep end," Jackal said. "I don't know whether to laugh or put it out of its misery."
Allie
At the sound of Jackal's voice, the human raised its head and regarded them with eyes that were as blank and glassy as a mirror. It was a woman, although it was difficult to tell at first. Her hair had been cut or torn out and the top of her head was sticky with blood. Long gashes ran down both sides of her face bleeding freely. But she didn't seem to notice the blood.
Allie wanted nothing more then to step away from the disturbing figure but she forced herself to stay put. "You're hurt. What happened?"
Kaidan
Kaidan pulled the gun out of its holster, but he held it pointed to the ground as he began to walk. He was a Sentinel and a marine-- protecting the two not-quite-civilians with him was second nature.
"Ma'am?"
Jackal
The woman stared at Allie and Kaidan for a second before her face contorted in a gaping, laughing scream. She clawed at her face, tearing open the already bleeding scars. More dark blood oozed down her cheeks. "Is it...someone new?" she rasped. "Someone new, to make the burning stop?"
"What the hell-?" Jackal began.
The woman bared bloodstained teeth, then lurched to her feet and charged, swinging her arms.
Allie
"Back off," Allie snarled as she dodged out of the way. She pulled her sword but the woman was already moving away, shrieking and slashing towards Kaidan.
Kaidan
Kaidan didn't want to shoot her while he wasn't sure whether this was temporary madness or she was just feral-- instead he reached out, blue sparking around his body and centering on his hand.
The woman flew two feet up into the air, then hovered there.
He trained his pistol on her.
Jackal
That actually got an impressed look out of Jackal. "Niiiiiice," he said. "You didn't tell me your boyfriend can do tricks, sister."
Allie
Allie was feeling just smug enough that the boyfriend comment only earned a minor eye roll. "I don't think we're going to get anything useful out of her. Can you put her down somewhere out of reach?"
Kaidan
Kaidan's eyes didn't wander from the woman, not even at that stupid remark. "You're the expert," he said. "What is that?"
He hit her with a Throw, sending her flying backwards.
Jackal
"Don't ask me," Jackal shrugged. "This isn't my hometown. It's not a rabid, at least not any I've ever seen."
Allie
Dazed by Kaidan's throw the woman wasn't that fast getting to her feet. But Allie still felt it was best to put some distance between them and her.
"It wasn't like this before. Maybe a rabid got in?" But the woman wasn't like any rabid Allie had seen before.
Glass shattered suddenly. Up the street two more figures appeared shambling from a building, their faces torn and bloody. One held a pipe that and used it to bang against the cars that he passed, crumpling metal and breaking what glass was left in the wrecks.
From an alleyway came another, followed by a friend.
And another.
And another.
"It might be time to leave."
Kaidan
Kaidan fired off a few warning shots-- well, warning shots. He'd go for crippling here and there if it'd buy them some time.
"Good idea!" he called. "Get running!"
Jackal
Jackal actually had no problems with that idea.
"This way," he hissed, and darted through a hole into an apartment building.
The narrow corridors of the apartments were filled with rock and broken beams but were still fairly easy to navigate. It seemed empty at first, then a moan drifted out of a hallway. Sliding up against the wall, Jackal peered around a corner then quickly drew back, motioning for Allie and Kaidan to do the same.
A human staggered by, clutching a length of wood in one hand. As he passed uncomfortably close, it was clear he had clawed at his face until his eye had come out. He paused for a moment, looking around, but it was either too dark or his face was too ravaged for him to see clearly, for he turned his head and continued walking.
A few steps later, the one-eyed human staggered, dropping his club. Gagging, he fell to his hands and knees, heaving and gasping as if he couldn't catch his breath. Red foam bubbled from his mouth and nose, dripping to the ground beneath him. Finally, with a desperate choking sound, the human collapsed, twitched weakly for a moment and then stopped moving.
Jackal straightened, muttering a curse. "Oh, damn," he growled. "That's why the city is locked down."
Allie
That was the most serious Allie had ever heard Jackal sound. "Why? What's going on?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from the dead man.
Jackal
"Red Lung," Jackal said flatly. "What you saw right there, those are the final symptoms of the Red Lung virus. Without the crazy muttering and tearing the eyes out, anyway." That was new.
He shook his head, remembering. "I've never seen it, but Kanin told me how it worked. The infected humans would bleed internally, and eventually they would drown in their own blood, trying to throw up their organs. Nasty way to go, even for the bloodbags."
Allie
"But how can it be back? Red Lung changed, mutated. That's what caused the rabids. At least that's what Kanin told me." Because he didn't know what happened in the lab in DC, Allie realized, thinking about what was now missing from that same lab.
"Sarren did this."
Dread settled deep in Allie's bones as she remembered something else Kanin had told her one quiet night after she'd been turned. "Red Lung was airborne," she told Kaidan. "I don't know about this. But I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to get the hell out of here."
Kaidan
Kaidan shook his head, reaching over to press a few buttons on his omni-tool. A glass mouth cap slid out. He reached up to fasten it.
"There," he said. "So. What makes you think your friend Sarren is behind this?"
Allie
Friend wasn't exactly what Allie would call Sarren. Particularly since the last time they tangled, he tried to kill her and she stabbed him in the eye.
"Because stuff was missing from the lab we tracked him to in Old DC. Vials of the Red Lung virus," Allie explained. "Somehow he must have changed it. Made it into this. But why?"
Jackal
"Sarren doesn't need a reason for what he does." Jackal curled a lip in disgust. "He and his sanity parted ways a while back, and he's only gotten more deranged since. But this...." He looked around and shook his head. "You bloody insane bastard," he muttered. "Why are you screwing with the food supply? We might not survive another epidemic."
Allie
Whatever Sarren's reasons or plans, they really didn't have the time to worry about it now. The sky was getting lighter and sunrise was only an hour away. "Come on. We need to keep moving."
It was only a short distance between where they were and the gate at the Inner Wall and Allie took them through every short cut she knew. Unfortunately the roaming infected meant that they had to double back and around several times and it was uncomfortably close to sunrise when they finally made it to the gate.
The closed, locked up tight, no one there to answer their calls gate.
Jackal
Jackal swore and gave the gate a resounding kick. The blow made a hollow, booming sound that echoed down the wall, but the doors were thick, sturdy and designed to hold up to vampire attacks. They didn't even shake.
"What now?" he snarled, looking at the top of the Inner Wall, a good twenty feet straight up. Like the gates, the wall protecting the Inner City was built with vampires in mind. There were no handholds, no ledges to cling to, no buildings close enough to launch off.
Kaidan
"I could try my biotics," Kaidan offered, though his eyes slid up the wall (to make note of whatever it was that Jackal was so interested in). "But I'm not sure I can pry open something this big. Maybe explosives?"
He wasn't sure whether he brought enough grenades... damn it.
Allie
"Tempting. But probably not the best idea." Somehow Allie doubted Salazar would appreciate them blowing their way through the wall and possibily letting the infected into the Inner City. "There's a way in, through the sewers. Kanin took me that way when he took me for my sword. I can try and find it again tonight. But first we're going to need to sleep. I know a place nearby. It should be safe enough."
As if to prove the need for safety, an infected woman round the corner and immediately launched herself at Allie. Allie dodged to the side and let the woman crash into the wall, stunning herself.
"Come on," she called, bolting back into the Fringe.
Jackal
Several streets and close calls later, with the sun moments away from breaking over the jagged horizon, they squeezed through a chain-link fence at the edge of a cracked, overgrown parking lot. A squat, three-story building sat at the end of the lot.
"Nice place," Jackal said after they ducked through the doors into the shade of a hallway. He slouched against the wall, where a row of lockers rusted against the plaster. He gazed down the dark corridor, where rooms lined each wall, and curled a lip. "Let me guess -- hospital? Or asylum."
Allie
Allie rolled her eyes. "It was a school back before the plague." She pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against and started down the hallway, keeping an ear out in case any of the infected had found their way inside. "This way. There's a basement we used to hole up in whenever the vamps were out."
Kaidan
Kaidan's eyes kept scanning for exits, entrances, windows. Anything they could escape through, anything they'd have to fear attack from.
He'd kind of hoped for something more defensible than a basement, but he wasn't going to say that right now.
"Does anyone else know about this place?"
Allie
Sorry Kaidan, the best you were going to get was a basement room with only a single way in and out. But at least the heavy rusted door could be barred from the inside. It was enough to keep out the infected, but Allie realized with her new perspective, it never would have stopped a vampire.
"Everyone who knew about it is dead." Some more so then others. "Given everything going on out there, it's probably the safest place for the day."
They really didn't have much choice given the way she could feel the need for sleep pulling at her mind.
Jackal
"So," Jackal said, looking about the cold, dark room, "this was where you lived as a bloodbag. Where exactly do you expect us to sleep?"
His tone was still casual and mocking, but he was leaning against a wall so the need for sleep didn't make him fall over.
Allie
"I don't care. Just somewhere away from us."
Moving carefully, Allie reached into a dark spot behind several spots and pulled out a tattered quilt she'd stashed away what seemed like another lifetime ago. It wasn't much, but it would offer some protection against the chill of the room. "Here," she said, offering it to Kaidan. "All the comforts of home."
Pulling her sword, Allie sank to the ground, her back against the wall and her blade across her lap. No Jackal, she really didn't trust you.
Jackal
Jackal wandered around in the darkness for a few moments until he found a corner where he could get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as he could under the circumstances. He was sorely tempted to ask if Allie thought he was the type who would stay awake long enough to kill her after she fell asleep, or the type to rise early and kill her before she woke up, but the fact that Kaidan didn't have to sleep like him and Allie made him think twice. He didn't want to die, thank you very much.
"Nighty-night, sis," he said "Sleep tight."