Aftertaste | J.JK

I Love You

My feet skid to a stop right in front of the open door, my eyes careful and observing as I peer inside.

One man.

A silent sigh rocks my lips when I see that he is a big, burly man who looks like he can easily rip me into pieces. But I have the element of surprise—

Until our eyes meet.

We both stand there, staring at each other like we were looking at a three-headed monster instead of just a person.

I snap out.

The metal feels cold in my fingers as I lunge in, swinging the makeshift weapon with as much strength as I can muster. It thankfully hits home directly on the side of his head, and I watch him crumple to the ground.

My breath comes fast.

I can't believe that actually worked.

The room is dark, but I can catch a few flickering monitors hung up against the walls. It shows the view of the bloodstained arena— and I swallow tears when I see V's familiar figure crash into the other.

His chest is red.

Seeing him only strengthens my resolve as I look around the room, trying to find anything to help him and the others.

Then something catches my eye.

Levers. Dark, huge ones, labeled Light Control.

My breath catches when I realize what that means— pulling them down could result in the loss of electricity throughout this entire structure.

And therefore could give the vampires a huge advantage over the humans, since they could see perfectly well in the darkness as well as daylight.

There are a total of three, each labeled with some sector of the compound— all bolded in red and important colors.

I don't even give them a look as I pull down the first lever, feeling the change in the air as the electric currents cut off with a soft vibration. The next results in the same, and I hear the alarmed shouts of the guards outside.

Last one.

As I grip the last lever, clammy hands close over my shoulders and tear my hands away from the switch. A shocked scream escapes my lips as I slam onto the ground, my fingers scrabbling for the metal bar I'd dropped.

Damn it.

I should've made sure he was out cold.

The man curses loudly as he faces me, not even bothering to flip the switches back up. That tells me that once they were down, they couldn't come back up.

That tells me that the lights will stay out.

"Who the hell are you!" The man yells as I scramble up to my feet, wielding the pole in front of me like a sword. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Since I hadn't pulled down the last switch, the light in the small room still seems to be on. But I can hear the chaotic screams outside as the spectators rush like panicked animals in the darkness— where their sight has been stripped away.

And sometimes, that can be the most frightening thing in the world.

"Yeah," I say, my lips curving into a light smile.

"I fucked you up."

The man's eyes go bright with rage as he lunges at me, a mass of muscle and strength as he lets out a horrible scream of fury.