NaNo2006 -- Chapter 26
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Chapter the twenty-sixth, in which some are lost, others are saved, and the survivors test their mettle against a much superior force.
~*~
Previous Chapters Here
They had been searching for about a half hour when they heard screams. Nick’s stomach plummeted. “Greg,” he breathed as he began to run toward the sound.
“Damn,” Galen muttered as he broke into a sprint behind Nick. Thunder and Rayven followed.
As Nick rounded the corner, he saw them - a group of Wraith standing in a circle. They had hemmed in at least three humans. Nick moved forward but was caught by the back of his shirt and brought to a struggling halt. He turned quickly, fists raised, only to stare into the glowing eyes of the vampires.
Thunder hissed, warning Galen that Nick was not on the menu. Galen dropped his hand, letting go of Nick’s shirt and making the human stumble slightly.
Thunder stepped forward, stopping Nick’s impending flight into trouble. “You stay here - unless you want to become their dessert. We are stronger and faster. It is our job to rescue the humans.” He waited until Nick nodded before he, Rayven and Galen headed toward the group of Wraith at a full sprint.
The Wraith didn’t see them until they were close - and didn’t think they were a threat until they burst through their ranks. They were outnumbered two to one but managed to inflict some serious damage on the Wraith as they wrestled their prey from them. The vampires took out three of the six Wraith, killing them with close proximity shots to the chest. They were using large caliber ammunition that was designed to fragment on penetration, ripping the Wraith up from the inside out. The humans the Wraith were preying on fled, scattering in their panic.
The Wraith’s pets engaged the vampires, severely wounding Galen. He held his hands to his stomach, pressing the long gash closed with his fingers. Thunder and Rayven managed to wound the remaining three Wraith before they turned tail and ran. The vampires then turned their attention to their comrade just as he collapsed to his knees in the street.
Blood was pouring out from between Galen’s fingers. He gasped in pain as he fell to the pavement, curling in on himself. Thunder knelt beside him, peeling Galen’s fingers away from his midsection and hissing at the extent of the damage. Galen’s hands were all that was holding his organs inside his body.
Just then gunfire erupted from up the street and Rayven spun toward the sound.
“Sounds military,” Thunder murmured as he pressed Galen’s hands to his belly again. “Hang in there, Galen - we’ll get you home,” he promised. Galen groaned through clenched teeth and nodded.
Thunder worked quickly, pulling his T-shirt over his head and tearing it into wide strips. These he wrapped around Galen’s torso, making the younger vampire moan and grit his teeth as he was moved. Blood quickly soaked the bandages and, as soon as he was able, Thunder stood and picked Galen up in his strong arms. “I’m heading back,” he said as he cradled the younger vampire to his chest. “You two should come as well.”
Rayven looked around and swore. “He’s gone!” he said angrily.
Thunder sighed. “I have to get Galen back to the bar and I really don’t want you out here alone against those aliens - or the military. Those men will shoot first and ask questions later. Come back with me - the human will have to fend for himself.”
Rayven hesitated and then nodded solemnly. He knew Thunder was right - not that he would ever disobey his elder anyway - but he hated leaving the human on his own. It would be suicide for him to go after Nick on his own and they had to get Galen back to the bar before he bled out completely. It would be hard enough to heal a wound that terrible without having him bleed dry on top of it.
With a last look around, they headed out, Rayven watching Thunder’s back as they made their way quickly through the streets.
Nick couldn’t wait for the vampires to fight the aliens. Even from where he was hiding, he could see that Greg wasn’t in the group of humans being tormented by the aliens. Taking a deep breath and silently saluting the vampires, he turned and made his way down the street perpendicular to the one the vampires had run down. Suddenly he heard the rapid clatter of automatic weapons’ fire and he took off, heading quickly toward the sound.
Rounding a corner, Nick saw a military unit taking on a group of aliens. He watched as they pushed the aliens back until they were forced to flee with the military at their backs. Nick rushed forward as they disappeared down the next street. He really didn’t want to lose them now. After his ordeal, the military was an island of sanity to him and he thought if he could just get to them, he’d be saved.
As he sprinted down the street a flash of color caught his eye and he hesitated, stumbling to a stop. Bending at the waist, he gulped in huge lungs-full of air. After a minute, he straightened and looked around quickly, assessing his immediate surroundings for danger. Finding none, he frowned - something had caught his eye, but what was it. He turned in a slow circle, eyes tracking into the shadows of the buildings until he found it - there - a brief glimpse of blue.
Hand moving to his weapon holstered at his hip, he moved forward, constantly scanning the area for threats. Finally he approached the alcove where he’d seen the brilliant color - and leaned in. Damn - the blue was on a foot - a sneaker. Nick hunkered down next to the body and sighed softly. There was a jacket thrown over the person’s head and Nick knew without even looking that he had to be dead.
“Damn,” he said softly. Not wanting to leave anything to chance he reached out to check a pulse and, as his fingers closed around the wrist he pushed the sleeve back and exposed a black diver’s watch. “No,” he breathed. “No, no, no…” he whispered as he reached out and pulled the coat off the body. “Oh, Greg - man, what happened?” He looked down then and saw that his friend had been eviscerated - most likely by the alien lizard-dog. He bent his head as tears ran down his face. At least someone had covered him.
Nick covered Greg back up with the jacket and stood. Wiping the tears off his face he exited the alcove and headed back toward the bar, his steps heavy.
<><><>
No current dares --- and does anyone care about the word count anymore?
Thanks for hanging in with me over the past month and I'm sorry about the lag time between this chapter and the rest. I needed a couple of days to regroup after NaNo -- and I have new lenses in my glasses that are making me crazy. I hope this isn't too difficult to read (typos and such) since I can't see much of anything right now...
Chapter the twenty-sixth, in which some are lost, others are saved, and the survivors test their mettle against a much superior force.
~*~
Previous Chapters Here
They had been searching for about a half hour when they heard screams. Nick’s stomach plummeted. “Greg,” he breathed as he began to run toward the sound.
“Damn,” Galen muttered as he broke into a sprint behind Nick. Thunder and Rayven followed.
As Nick rounded the corner, he saw them - a group of Wraith standing in a circle. They had hemmed in at least three humans. Nick moved forward but was caught by the back of his shirt and brought to a struggling halt. He turned quickly, fists raised, only to stare into the glowing eyes of the vampires.
Thunder hissed, warning Galen that Nick was not on the menu. Galen dropped his hand, letting go of Nick’s shirt and making the human stumble slightly.
Thunder stepped forward, stopping Nick’s impending flight into trouble. “You stay here - unless you want to become their dessert. We are stronger and faster. It is our job to rescue the humans.” He waited until Nick nodded before he, Rayven and Galen headed toward the group of Wraith at a full sprint.
The Wraith didn’t see them until they were close - and didn’t think they were a threat until they burst through their ranks. They were outnumbered two to one but managed to inflict some serious damage on the Wraith as they wrestled their prey from them. The vampires took out three of the six Wraith, killing them with close proximity shots to the chest. They were using large caliber ammunition that was designed to fragment on penetration, ripping the Wraith up from the inside out. The humans the Wraith were preying on fled, scattering in their panic.
The Wraith’s pets engaged the vampires, severely wounding Galen. He held his hands to his stomach, pressing the long gash closed with his fingers. Thunder and Rayven managed to wound the remaining three Wraith before they turned tail and ran. The vampires then turned their attention to their comrade just as he collapsed to his knees in the street.
Blood was pouring out from between Galen’s fingers. He gasped in pain as he fell to the pavement, curling in on himself. Thunder knelt beside him, peeling Galen’s fingers away from his midsection and hissing at the extent of the damage. Galen’s hands were all that was holding his organs inside his body.
Just then gunfire erupted from up the street and Rayven spun toward the sound.
“Sounds military,” Thunder murmured as he pressed Galen’s hands to his belly again. “Hang in there, Galen - we’ll get you home,” he promised. Galen groaned through clenched teeth and nodded.
Thunder worked quickly, pulling his T-shirt over his head and tearing it into wide strips. These he wrapped around Galen’s torso, making the younger vampire moan and grit his teeth as he was moved. Blood quickly soaked the bandages and, as soon as he was able, Thunder stood and picked Galen up in his strong arms. “I’m heading back,” he said as he cradled the younger vampire to his chest. “You two should come as well.”
Rayven looked around and swore. “He’s gone!” he said angrily.
Thunder sighed. “I have to get Galen back to the bar and I really don’t want you out here alone against those aliens - or the military. Those men will shoot first and ask questions later. Come back with me - the human will have to fend for himself.”
Rayven hesitated and then nodded solemnly. He knew Thunder was right - not that he would ever disobey his elder anyway - but he hated leaving the human on his own. It would be suicide for him to go after Nick on his own and they had to get Galen back to the bar before he bled out completely. It would be hard enough to heal a wound that terrible without having him bleed dry on top of it.
With a last look around, they headed out, Rayven watching Thunder’s back as they made their way quickly through the streets.
Nick couldn’t wait for the vampires to fight the aliens. Even from where he was hiding, he could see that Greg wasn’t in the group of humans being tormented by the aliens. Taking a deep breath and silently saluting the vampires, he turned and made his way down the street perpendicular to the one the vampires had run down. Suddenly he heard the rapid clatter of automatic weapons’ fire and he took off, heading quickly toward the sound.
Rounding a corner, Nick saw a military unit taking on a group of aliens. He watched as they pushed the aliens back until they were forced to flee with the military at their backs. Nick rushed forward as they disappeared down the next street. He really didn’t want to lose them now. After his ordeal, the military was an island of sanity to him and he thought if he could just get to them, he’d be saved.
As he sprinted down the street a flash of color caught his eye and he hesitated, stumbling to a stop. Bending at the waist, he gulped in huge lungs-full of air. After a minute, he straightened and looked around quickly, assessing his immediate surroundings for danger. Finding none, he frowned - something had caught his eye, but what was it. He turned in a slow circle, eyes tracking into the shadows of the buildings until he found it - there - a brief glimpse of blue.
Hand moving to his weapon holstered at his hip, he moved forward, constantly scanning the area for threats. Finally he approached the alcove where he’d seen the brilliant color - and leaned in. Damn - the blue was on a foot - a sneaker. Nick hunkered down next to the body and sighed softly. There was a jacket thrown over the person’s head and Nick knew without even looking that he had to be dead.
“Damn,” he said softly. Not wanting to leave anything to chance he reached out to check a pulse and, as his fingers closed around the wrist he pushed the sleeve back and exposed a black diver’s watch. “No,” he breathed. “No, no, no…” he whispered as he reached out and pulled the coat off the body. “Oh, Greg - man, what happened?” He looked down then and saw that his friend had been eviscerated - most likely by the alien lizard-dog. He bent his head as tears ran down his face. At least someone had covered him.
Nick covered Greg back up with the jacket and stood. Wiping the tears off his face he exited the alcove and headed back toward the bar, his steps heavy.
<><><>
No current dares --- and does anyone care about the word count anymore?
Thanks for hanging in with me over the past month and I'm sorry about the lag time between this chapter and the rest. I needed a couple of days to regroup after NaNo -- and I have new lenses in my glasses that are making me crazy. I hope this isn't too difficult to read (typos and such) since I can't see much of anything right now...