Morganville (Justin Bieber)

Chapter 25

The living room was a mess of broken furniture, scattered papers, struggling bodies - Justin punched out some guy in a black jacket, who flew back out of the window and into the arms of some snarling vampires. Micheal was fighting a couple more, who he just bodily picked up and threw out. As me and Eve skidded into the room and broke right and left, the cop in pursuit ran headlong into Micheal and got tossed out, as well.

"They're coming in!" Eve screamed, and slammed the kitchen door and jammed a chair under the handle. Micheal grabbed the nearest bookcase - not the one with the bible on it, I saw - and pulled it over to the block the window, then leant the sofa against it.

"Upstairs!" He yelled. "Move it!"

Justin grabbed me by the hand and pounded up the stairs, half dragging me; I missed a step and stumbled, and pulled him off balance, just at the the right moment, because the bat that was swung at his head missed and thumped into the wall with a crack of wood. Another person hiding at the top of the stairs, this one female and tall. Justin grabbed the bar away from her and landed her with it, driving her back down the hallway. I recognised her - one of the dorm girls, Lillian.

"Don't!" Lillian yelled, and put her arms up when Justin pulled back the bat.

"Hell" Justin spit in disgust. "I can't hit a girl. Here, Ana. You hit her" he tossed me the bat. I grabbed it and made a clumsy batting stance, wishing I'd paid more attention in phys ed. Lillian screamed again and ran into the open doorway of Eve's room. Eve, coming up the stairs, screamed too, for different reasons.

"Hey, that's my room, bitch!" And she flew in to grab Lillian by the hair, swung her around, and threw her out into the hall, then shoved her towards the stairs. "Micheal! This one needs to go out!"

Eve shoved her again. Lillian tottered down the steps, and shrieked once more before leaving the building at speed.

"Check the rooms" Justin panted. "If one got in, there are probably more. Don't take chances. Yell for help"

I nodded and hurried to my room. It looked quiet, thank god - the windows were unbroken, and there was no sign of anybody hiding in there. Same for the bathroom. I heard crashing from down the hall. Justin had found somebody. I ran out into the hall and started to come to his defence, then hesitated when I saw Eve's door was now open a crack. She left it closed.

I opened it slowly, as silently as I could and peaked around the edge and saw Eve up against the wall, and Miranda holding a knife to her throat. I recognised the bruises and the bite marks on her neck first, then the faded blue eyes as the girls head turned towards me.

"Don't" Miranda said. "I have to do this. Charles says I need to. To make the visions stop. I want it to stop, Ana. You understand, right?"

"Let her go, Miranda, okay? Please?" I swallowed hard and stepped into the room. I could hear fighting from down the hall. Justin and Micheal were busy. "You don't want to hurt Eve. She's your friend!"

"It's too much" Miranda said. "So many people dying, and I can't do anything. Charles said he will make it go away. All I have to do is-"

"What? Kill Eve? Really, don't you want to- to do anything-" panicked, as I looked at Eve for help.

"Yeah" Eve said faintly. "I'm your friend, Mir. You know that"

Miranda shook her head so hard her dark hair flew. The knife trembled against Eve's threat, and she squeezed her eyes shut and whispered something that sounded like Charles. And when she opened her eyes she looked different.

She's going to do something. I didn't have time to figure it out; I just moved, because Eve was moving, her arm flashing up and smacking Miranda's below. In the second that the knife was away from Eve's throat, I grabbed a handful of Miranda's hair and yanked, hard, dragging her backwards. Miranda shrieks and thrashed wildly at us. Eve's upraised arm got a bloody cut, and I moved backward gasping, holding onto her hair and trying to stay out of the cutting range.