Dog Fights

Chapter 25; Eye Of The Storm

They got from the east side base to the west side of the city fine. It was a silent and tension fueled ride, long hours caused by the zigzagged pattern of the back roads they took to avoid being seen traveling in the dark. Only once they made it into Salvation's territory did it start going downhill.

It wasn't intentional, as they found out soon after, but the car that had slammed into their left side while exiting an ally was very much a real issue.

The van they had chosen hours earlier is bulletproof, but not damage proof. Luckily the poor teenagers driving the other car had their seat belts on, other wise the late night party goers would have been thrown out the front windshield. The driver had been put in a neck brace, the passenger broke his leg, wrist, and a few ribs, the vampire in the backseat healed before he was taken by the ambulance, and the human in the backseat got away with just a concussion. The car is totaled.

The van handled the crash a little better, but is definitely no longer worthy of driving more than the necessary distance. Both windows on the left side look like spiderwebs had been woven through all the cracks and divots in the glass, and the back door had been dented in half a foot.

Luckily all the flare had been secured in the trunk as well, so no old blood had seeped from the back of the van. The only ones injured from Salvation are Hugh, who had been driving, and Ezra, who had thankfully been the one to take the blunt of the damage from his spot in the back left seat. One thing vampires can no doubt do better than werewolves, is heal. Werewolves take just as long as a human, while vampires have an entire ability dedicated to fixing injuries.

After the impact in the middle of the street the van spun so it was parallel to the car, both stunned drivers facing each other in the darkness. Neither Ezra nor the burly man in the back of the van had their seat belts on, leaving them to the full mercy of the blow. The man, who went by the nickname Null, had smacked his head against the expanding airbag, but his huge frame absorbed hitting the wall. Ezra had been thrown over Rusty, who was strapped down between them, and broke his elbow upon lodging it between the front and back seats. His lip split when it hit Null's knee, and it took a minute or two for him to register what happened after hitting his head.

They checked to make sure none of the teenagers were in immediate danger, called the police, and tucked two thousand dollars worth of Rusty's money into the dazed drivers breast pocket. They didn't need to know where the money came from, just that it was there to help with the bills since they wouldn't be getting Salvation's insurance.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Null asks again, glancing over Rusty to see him. The vampire had been forced closer to the drug dealer because of the dented door, but didn't mention anything about it. No one dare complained.

"I'm fine," Ezra says numbly, staring at the back of Hugh's headrest. He cradles his right elbow with his good arm, drawing a glance from Null every time he winces with his healing bones and tendons. Despite his enormous size and muscle build, the man appears to be the most caring for the vampire. Before the crash he only looked at him once or twice every half hour, but now he won't look away more than three minutes. It's almost as if he's afraid he'll break if he doesn't watch over him.

"We'll get you some medical attention when we get there," Eden says from the passengers seat, turning in her spot to face the vampire. She grimaces upon seeing Ezra's elbow, shifting her eyes away from his dislocated limb before regathering her thoughts. It looks like it's bending the wrong way. "We have good medics, but I think it's safe to say we don't normally have to patch up vampires. It'll have to be a bit of traditional bandaging until you can get back to S1."

"I'll survive," Ezra says, keeping his gaze forward. If he looks anywhere other than Hugh's graying hair, he might lose it. During the fights adrenaline numbed the pain of broken bones, but with no more danger and no way of healing, the pain throbs like fire with every bump in the road.