"WHAT'S THE PLAN, DOLL?" David asks as they drive onto the boardwalk, bikes rumbling beneath them. "We're going to need one."
Michael peers out from behind his Sire Brother. "We've never had a plan before."
"Plans don't go well with animal instinct and human-like minds," Nikolay says, climbing off the back of Lena's bike and straightening his clothes. "However, this may be a good time to have not just one plan, but maybe a few back ups as well, Krasimira."
Xander and Nadine pull in beside them atop Michael's bike, eyes flying around the lively boardwalk as the humans wander around, oblivious to the creatures of the night among them. Percy, Lottie, and August walk up the steps to their left, sand flicking up from the beach and adding to the layer that's already gotten rather large from tonight alone. Looking at the souls around her, a sickening sensation swirls in Lena's stomach, her skin feeling too tight against her body, and the desire to get them far away from there burns brighter by the second.
They're all on edge, bristling with unease and adrenaline; itching for the fight that will tell them whether they are to live on or die, ridding this world of the most vile creature in existence at this time. If Lena asked them to, there's no doubt in her mind that they'd die without a second thought, and that fact makes her feel sick. No one should have such loyalty, let alone a bloodthirsty creature of the night.
"You want a plan?" Lena asks, climbing off her bike and looking them all in the eye. "How's this: don't fucking die tonight. There's no way we can plan for this. He's orchestrated some of the most vicious and vile massacres and crimes over the centuries — even going as far as to using his Lure on innocents and driving them to the brink of insanity, turning them into feral serial killers. We can't plan for a fight with a monster like that."