The Vampire & the Rebel (Completed)

Part 3: Chapter 28

I woke up, just as the bus pulled to a stop. At first I was disoriented, but then the memory of what was happening returned. We were going for it, what was hopefully the final strike against the council, and not the end of our rebellion against it. A bag of blood was shoved into my hands, and I drank it quickly. I was impatient.

Pulling on gloves and a hooded cloak and grabbing my arsenal, I hurried out of the bus. The sun was still up, hovering above the horizon, but hidden under the garments it only made me feel uncomfortable.

Many of the other young vampires had already left, and I joined the next team that was going. By the time we arrived all the vampires who had not yet been destroyed would be awake, and I had no idea what we were heading for, besides more enemies.

I wanted to kill more of the council, and besides, she was there. I hurried forward with the others. If we won, I would come back and collect it later. If we lost, it would no longer matter.

Parts of the tunnel were tight, and it looked like someone had burrowed through to make space to pass through, perhaps Davidson's humans. Movement caught my eye beside me, and I saw two horribly familiar faces. "Jeremy, Darcy, what the hell are you doing here?" I snapped. Stupid kids!

"Well, we were going to loot, but then Vienne sent us back."

"Back here, or back home?"

Neither of them quite met my eyes. Without thinking, I barred my fangs at them and said. "Get going, it's not safe here."

They both jumped far more than they would have when I had been human, and they scurried away. I could feel my temper rising, and I held it in for my first encounter with the enemy. My blood ran surprisingly hot, considering I was so cold.

At the end of the tunnel, past piles of garbage, there were two human guards looking into space, the familiar expression of excessive compulsion on their faces. Beside them four of our people stood there, clearly holding the entryway. We rushed past, faster than I had ever run before and it was a heady rush.

We passed bodies and scattered ash as we climbed a flight of stairs and burst out into the city. The sounds of fighting in the distance told me the battle was not over yet. The sun was hidden by the high walls, so like the others, I threw my protective clothing to the side, it could be collected later, if there was a later in which it mattered.

We surged forward, through streets that were only vaguely familiar, but I still roughly knew the way both to the main council building and the main gate. Her favourites knew the way even better, how to avoid vampires and move quietly through the streets to get to help open the main gate for further reinforcements.

We encountered three human slaves, skeletal and holding weapons far inferior to our own. Jeffry leveled his gun at them, but the poor compelled men hurried forward regardless, clearly under the strains of compulsion.

I had no idea how to counter it, and I probably would not be able to counteract the compulsion of older vampires regardless if I wasted my energy trying or not. Instead, I brought the hilt of the dagger down on one of their heads, and the other two were taken out by the others in the group. I hoped they would wake up again, I could faintly hear the sounds of at least one of their hearts.

And then, from the edge of my vision, I saw movement, and turned just in time to see three vampires converge upon us. The humans had probably been used as a diversion, but I had no more time to consider it as a vampire far older than myself tried to shove a piece of metal between my ribs, the light armour I wore beneath my clothing barely protection at all from such a blow. I barely parried in time to save myself from what may have been a second more permanent death.