R E C K L E S S . . .

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The only good thing that could be said of the rain that night was that it gave me cover. It was impossible for even a vampire like Chris to detect the thump of a human footstep when the rain pounded down and flooded the streets, filling the night with loud splashing sounds and the sound of running water as it streamed down the drains and over the roads. Even if the loudness of it wasn’t enough, the dampness masked my scent perfectly. I was sure that even Chris wouldn’t be able to follow my trail tonight.

So as I ran down the slippery streets that led towards the hotel, keeping to the shadows and pausing at every unnatural sound, I silently thanked the heavy grey clouds above me for choosing this night to open up.

I didn’t know when the supernaturals finally realised that I had left Craig’s house, but it must’ve taken a while because there was no sign of them following me for a long time. I kept on hoping that Chris and his friends would notice my disappearance before they broke Craig’s door down and stormed inside; otherwise I would almost certainly have another two lives to add to the list of people I’d caused the death of – I was convinced that Chris wouldn’t let Craig and his mum go once he saw that I wasn’t there.

It wasn’t long, though, till I heard the yells and sounds of footsteps behind me that told me that the chase had started.

I pushed myself to run faster, cursing myself for leaving the bike outside with Chris and the others. If I’d had that bike I would’ve been at the hotel in a matter of minutes – instead I’d resorted to running in the shadows, scared of every noise and making slow progress compared to the speed I could’ve been travelling at.

Reaching the street that the hotel lay on was a relief. The fact that I’d got that far was a miracle in itself.

I was panting at that point, my heart thumping from both fear and exhaustion. When I looked back I could see the faint shapes of Chris and his friends speeding down the street behind me. I wished that I possessed their speed, that way we would at least be kind of even – right now I was grievously disadvantaged. 

Then I saw Ant bound out of the hotel, stake in hand. Alex followed a few seconds after, brandishing a bokken. For the first time that night since I’d seen Chris I felt hopeful, a faint grin stretching across my face despite of myself.

“Quick!” Ant shouted, running forwards. He was focussed on the vampires behind me.

I skidded to a halt as we reached each other and he turned to speak to me quickly. “You’ll be safe in the hotel as long as me and Alex keep the supers out here.”

“I’m staying with you,” I protested. “Give me a stake and I’ll fight.”

“We have no more weapons left,” Ant said through gritted teeth. His usual calm demeanour was failing him. “The others took them all with them. We didn’t expect any trouble tonight.”

“You can’t expect me to sit back and watch!”

“I don’t expect you to be able to fight vampires without any weapons. It would be better if you were out of the way.”

Too late. The vampires had reached us and Chris lunged forwards, fangs extended. Ant dodged out of the way, pulling me by the arm with him, and swiped at Chris with a stake. I quickly stepped out of Ant’s grip and kept on going backwards, away from the fight, till my back hit the wall of the hotel.

Alexis had gone for Alex, and the two were circling round each other. Alex stretched his sword out, a warning for her to step no further. She hissed and darted round him, but he retaliated with a swing that opened a deep cut in her shoulder.

This left Brittany, standing there quite silently, her eyes closed and her face turned up to the rain. She looked like she was in another world.

Chris let out an infuriated shriek as Ant parried his attack again. “Do something!” he growled at Brittany and she seemed to shake herself out of her trance.

She walked slowly towards him and Ant, looking as unenthusiastic as she possibly could’ve in the middle of a fight. Her eyes met mine and I saw the reluctant, sad look in her eyes.

Then Chris shouted again. “Attack him!”

All signs of hesitation were wiped from her face. She was bound to her maker; she had to follow his orders without fail. She lunged towards the two and joined in the fray.

Ant was struggling against the two and I itched to join in with the fight and help him in some way, but I had no way of helping anyone. One glance over at Alex told me that he wasn’t faring too well either. The cut on Alexis’ shoulder had already healed over and she was attacking him with a fierce vengeance, ducking and lunging out in a way that guaranteed Alex wouldn’t get another successful hit on her.

Everything was going too quickly, the hunters and the vampires were dancing around with a dizzying speed that I couldn’t begin to comprehend. Before I knew it the other supers were bounding towards us – Darren, a crazy look distorting his face; Dan, half changed into his other form of a bear; Jev, his eyes narrowed and his expression set into one of pure hatred.

I had to do something. We were as good as dead if some miracle didn’t happen right now.

Darren threw his head back and howled, the unnatural sound echoing off the buildings that lined the street on either side. It was a wonder that nobody in the area had looked out of their windows. He threw himself into the fight without a second thought. Dan followed suit, barrelling towards Alex.

Jev turned his attention towards me, smiling. He raised his hands up and I braced myself for the fierce heat of his fire. I remembered the last time I had faced him, how I had been sure I was going to die in the ring of fire that he’d encased me in.

Nothing happened. Jev’s brow furrowed for a second and he seemed to shake his hands, staring at them as if he couldn’t believe nothing was happening. A small spark of fire finally started, then quickly extinguished into a burst of steam as the rain gushed onto his hands. I smiled slightly; it looked like I had something else to thank the rain for that night.

Jev’s expression quickly turned into fury and he marched towards me. He seemed to have identified me as the easy target, a failsafe way to contribute to the fight without getting beaten. Without his fire he was nothing more than an arrogant guy with a pretty face, which right now wasn’t looking too pretty.

His first punch was easy to block, my hand stretched out instinctively to deflect his fist. The second one was packed with his anger and my hand quaked with the impact of it. His fist had grown hot with his anger, the only part of his power that hadn’t been quelled by the rain, and left a mark on my hand which immediately erupted into tiny little blisters.

Realising his advantage, Jev reached out with both hands and clutched my arms. I screamed in pain as I felt my flesh burn under his grasp. Quickly his hands moved to different parts of my body – my hands, my legs, my stomach – and I in turn felt those parts erupt into blisters. My clothes burned as he touched them, leaving singe marks. I was crippled by pain, unable to defend myself against his touch. His hands moved up to my face.

“Oh hell no,” I growled through my pain. I was so not going to have burns on my face. I ignored the agony of the burns on my body and kicked the guy in front of me in the shins with all the power I could muster.

He collapsed to the ground and his hands flew to his leg. In the second that he was down I aimed another kick at his head and watched as he suddenly stopped struggling, knocked out cold on the floor.

I surveyed the street. What I saw wasn’t good. Alex was limping, desperately trying to fend off blows from both Alexis and Dan. Ant wasn’t doing much better – though he was holding his own against Chris, Brittany and Darren there was a large gash across his face spilling blood and his opponents didn’t look injured at all. I heard him cry out in pain as he took another hit.

Rushing forwards, I desperately looked around for something to attack with. My eyes rested on the small path that led to the back of the hotel. It was as good a guess as any. I sprinted down it, away from the fight.

Just as I’d hoped there was a garden at the back of the hotel, small though it was, it held a few trees. I put all my strength behind cracking the weakest looking branch off one of the trees, hanging off it at one point to break it off from the trunk. Finally I was holding a sturdy branch in my hand, about half a metre long. Small twigs and leaves still branched off it and got in the way, but it was as good a weapon as I was going to get at that moment.

When I turned back to re-join the fight I found my path blocked by Alexis. She smiled at me, her fangs clearly showing. Faint splatters of blood stained her clothes and smudged her face.

“Hey, bitch,” she hissed.

“Well that wasn’t the cheery hello I was looking for,” I replied, sarcasm lacing my words. Then I put all my weight behind the branch and lunged forward.

She jumped out of the way just in time and landed behind me, kicking me in the back and sending me flying forwards before I had the chance to turn round and defend myself. I just managed to stop myself from falling flat on my face in the mud by stretching my arms out and I proceeded to push myself back up, branch still in my hand.

I swung round as I stood up, managing this time to catch her in the face. This time she stumbled back and I took the brief opportunity to bolt back down the path and onto to the street where the others were fighting.

The rain masked the sounds and sights of the fight, which was probably the only thing that stopped everyone on the street from opening their windows and noticing what was happening. I tried to work out whether it was a good or bad thing that nobody would be able to phone the police. It was mostly stores on the street, anyway, with dark windows and uninhabited spaces.

Alexis had already caught me up and she sprung onto my back, taking me by surprise. I tried to shake her off but she was too strong. She laughed wickedly and her teeth sunk into my shoulder, missing my neck by an inch. I struggled against her to no avail, nearly buckling at her weight.

Nobody could help me get rid of the vampire on my back. Alex, though rid of one of his attackers when she had turned her attention to me, was still struggling against Dan. He’d nearly turned completely into the bear, and only the fact that we were in town stopped him – it was one thing having a fight, but a completely different situation when he changed and let anyone who looked out their window know that there was something more than just a conflict between two groups of people happening.  Ant was still in a fierce battle with Chris, Brittany and Darren, his exhaustion apparent on his face – not even a vampire hunter as skilled as Ant could fend off two vampires and a were for long.

Alex and Ant seemed to back towards each other as I watched them, falling into positions at each other’s backs. This way they managed to fend off all of the attackers while protecting each other in the process from being attacked from behind.

Alexis withdrew her teeth from my neck, this time lunging for my throat. In the last second I swerved my head to the side, causing her to miss again. She went for a second attack and I did the first thing I could think off, throwing all my weight backwards so we both rocketed to the ground.

I fell on top of her and her grip loosened slightly, allowing me to turn and pin her down. It didn’t last long, my strength was no match for hers, and she had me pinned down underneath her in an instant. She went for my throat again and this time she didn’t miss. Her teeth made contact with my flesh and I screamed out loud.

All I could think was that I didn’t want this to happen again, I didn’t want to feel the blood draining out of me along with my will to live. I didn’t want to be defeated and weakened like that again.

Empty words if I didn’t reinforce them with actions.

I rocked back as far as I could and kicked Alexis in the stomach with both feet. She fell back, her teeth ripping painfully out of my neck, taking flesh with them and causing more blood to gush out. I could see the blood lust in her eyes, maddening and agonizing.

I scrambled back up onto my feet, slipping on the wet paving stones that were slick both with the rain and my blood. I reached for the branch again; wanting to hit her till she bled, wanting her to feel the pain that I felt at that moment.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and yells. I whipped round to see the other hunters running towards us. Just in time as well, with me slowly losing my blood, covered in burn marks and scratches, and the other two hunters looking like they were on their last legs.

In the second that I turned round Alexis lunged for me again, tackling me to the ground. My head hit the stones and I felt a momentary spot of dizziness before I rolled back round.

Mort had got to her before I could, giving her a swift hit that sent her toppling to the ground, apparently unconscious.

“You okay?” he asked as he pulled me up.

“Never better,” I said wryly, my hand straying to my neck to stop the steady flow of blood that was coming out of my wound. “Now go kill those vampires before I do it myself.”

Without hesitating he ran off to help Blake and Alex with Dan.

I looked away from them and saw Hunter and Ant send Darren off running. They turned to Chris and Brittany.

Kyle ran towards them, intent on helping. Brittany took one look at him and turned whiter than I could ever imagine a person going. Kyle’s face paled as well, so much that he resembled one of the pale-skinned vampires he was supposed to be fighting. His mouth fell open in shock and he stood there, stock still and regarding the vampire. Before he could do anything else she ran away without so much as a sign of a fight.

With the new surge of hunters it looked like we were set to win this time, though Chris wasn’t giving up easily. He couldn’t stand losing, even when everything was against him. Ant was still fighting him, just as determined as Chris to finish the fight, with Hunter and Mort on his side. They caught him on the arm and he rocked back for a second. Then he lunged forward and I heard a crack as he hit Mort in the arm, bending it back.

Hunter glanced over at me as he heard me gasp, and then his eyes focussed on something behind me. He ran forwards, shouting something undecipherable against the sounds of the rain and yelling.

Once again Alexis struck out at me and, once again, it really hurt. My head spun and my senses were momentarily deadened by the force of her punch to the back of my head.

Then Hunter was there, running forward and cutting the hand which had just punched me. I heard Alexis snarl and turn to him.

He drew the bokken from the sling on his back and tossed it to me, this time I had no problem catching it as it spun through the air. I held it with both hands and braced myself for Alexis’s next attack.

I felt Hunter’s back press against mine as he fell into the position that I had seen Ant and Alex adopt earlier.

“You ready to put those lessons into practice, sunshine?” I heard him ask, and I could tell that he was grinning that roguish, enthusiastic grin that he always wore on the most irrational of moments.

“Definitely,” I replied.

Then Alexis lunged for us again. Hunter caught her with his stake and opened a gash on her face, blood spilling out and splattering him. In a flash she had run around and was going for me, but I was ready. I shoved the bokken forward as Hunter had taught me and caught her on the shoulder. She screeched out in pain.

Hunter leaped towards her in her second of pain and barrelled into her, holding her to the ground with his stake at her throat. I rushed forwards just as she shoved him to the side and sprung back up, her neck now sporting a wide cut.

He was up again in an instant. My eyes met his and he nodded slightly.

Alexis was already running towards me and I held the bokken at the ready. At the last second Hunter sprang from behind her and caught her by the arm.

Without hesitation I brought the bokken down with all my strength on Alexis’s other arm. This time the sword cut through her flesh and bone like a warm knife through butter. Her arm fell to the ground and she let out a scream of utter agony.

I didn’t know how a vampire actually coped with decapitation and I braced myself to lunge out with the wooden sword again, but instead of attacking again Alexis took flight. She was too fast to stop, even if any of us wanted to detain her, and within a few seconds she was nowhere to be seen.

I looked down at the ground, at the severed arm that lay on the paving stones. I felt sick. I took a deep, calm breath, then another. I tried not to scream.

Hunter walked up next to me. “You did good,” he said quietly. “I’m proud.”

“I can’t believe I just did that.” I watched the blood that oozed out of the arm mix with the water on the ground, turning it a faint pink. I leaned against him.

“Nor can I,” he said, wrapping his arm around me for support. “But you did well, sunshine. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

All around us the fights were drawing to an end. The supers had no chance against all of the hunters now that more had come – they were outmatched.

Blake, Kyle and Alex were winning against Dan, gradually pushing him back down the street. He was still on all fours, brown hair covering his body and his hands half turned into paws, a grotesque mix of man and bear. As I watched, Kyle managed to get a direct hit and the shape shifter roared in pain, backing away a little. The hunters rushed forward with reaffirmed vigour.

Mort and Ant were still holding their own against Chris, despite their injuries – Mort’s arm hung at an awkward angle and he was now using his left hand to deflect hits and attack the vampire. Ant was looking as pale as the vampires, blood still seeping from the wound on his face. Nevertheless they were attacking Chris with as much zeal and energy as they had been doing at the start of the fight.

“You should go help them,” I said to Hunter.

“I’d rather stay here if it’s all the same. Nobody is going to thank me for leaving you alone while you look this traumatized.”

“I just cut off a person’s arm, Hunter. What do you expect me to look like?”

Dan yelped as Alex hit him this time and bounded back, looking like he was defeated. The three hunters look relieved till the shape shifter turned and barged towards them, leaping into the air to tackle Alex to the ground with his paw-like hands.

Hunter rushed forward, letting go of me. He wasn’t going to get to his brother in time.

In an instant Blake had pushed Alex out of the way and took out a long knife from his pocket. He stood his ground in front of the leaping bear and in the last second shoved the knife forwards, straight into Dan’s throat. The shape shifter flailed for a second, its weight sending it falling on top of Blake, squashing him to the ground, and then it stopped.

Slowly, Blake withdrew the knife from the bear’s throat and blood began to gush out of the wound.

Even Mort, Ant and Chris had stopped fighting. We all stood, watching Dan die as if we were in a trance. The bear-like body began to shift back into a