Bent arrow, p.12
Bent Arrow, page 12
"That is what we are led to believe also," said Malcolm.
"Great. So, I will open the Gap, I will take Malcolm by my right hand. Malcolm, you will hold on to Spencer, then you, you, you, etc. Basically, everyone must hold on to the next person. Do not," she warned, "let go. If you do, then it's curtains. Clear? Good. So, we ready?"
The vampires agreed reluctantly and we formed a line, getting ourselves ready. We all held hands apart from Aunty and Malcolm while Aunty readied to open the Gap.
"Last chance. We good to go?"
Everyone mumbled their agreement, all of us feeling uncomfortable and weirded-out by holding hands. It wasn't natural, and vamps are cold, oh-so-cold.
Aunty began to peel off her vest then glanced around and thought better of it. She began to spin, arms outstretched, hair whirling, eyes closed. I knew it was all for show. She wasn't searching ley lines, looking for information or anything like that. She already had this thing primed and ready to go thanks to her newfound ability to gather energy more tightly and create Gaps. She did like to be a bit of a drama queen though, so I let her do her thing without calling her names or tripping her up or anything.
Before she could even get going properly, the Gap opened. A tear in the fabric of space-time. It expanded rapidly until it was like standing before utter nothingness, which is what it was. A void, a space between places. There was no tunnel, no ride to enjoy like a Path. This was devoid of space or time or anything. Aunty grabbed Malcolm, the rest of us were all holding on to each other, and without any fanfare, which was incredible for Aunty, she reached out and was sucked into the empty.
We tumbled in a heap, a mess of arms and legs and worrying teeth, on hard ground. We untangled ourselves rapidly and as silently as possible, then got to our feet to take in our surroundings. The ground was concrete, covered in old, chipped, peeling floor paint. The space was dimly lit because it was late, I supposed, with gantries above. Machines, long work benches, and assorted paraphernalia were dotted all over the place. It was organized, that much was clear, but in a rather haphazard way. Steel steps led to the gantries on either side of the building that criss-crossed up at least three levels. The walls were steel-clad, a proper industrial warehouse, and it was bloody freezing.
We spread out, everyone on ninja toes, even Boris. It was eerily quiet, and we hadn't seen a soul yet. Mimi crouched next to Ghost, or maybe it was Shadow, then followed the cat's gaze up to a first-level gantry. She nodded to the cat and off it went, padding silently across the open then up the steps. There was a muffled sound, then the head of a man thudded to the ground. All was silent after that.
Malcolm was on the opposite side of the factory near the steps leading up, then he was gone, a blur passing from one level to the next. Again, a muffled sound, then Malcolm reappeared, a knife dripping blood.
We increased our range, slowly and methodically checking the factory for more guards, but there was nobody else. Two guys? Seemed a little underwhelming. We were definitely in the right place though. There were vials by the crate full, stacks and stacks of them on pallets stored on racking, benches full of equipment, but not much else. Was this just a storage area? Were we in the wrong place?
I heard a noise from the very far end where we were yet to search. I held up a hand for everyone to stop then listened hard. It sounded like a scream, maybe a woman's although it was hard to tell. I waved everyone forward and we each took a circuitous route with maximum cover until we finally reached the source.
We gathered together behind a massive stack of boxes and I said, "This is weird. It's too quiet. Why aren't there more guards? More people? Anyone got any ideas?"
"I do, but let me check," said Malcolm. "Give me a minute."
I nodded. He took the steps up to the first-level gantry, then climbed higher and higher until he was as far as he could go. Then he moved very fast, jumping up onto huge ducts then up to a skylight and through. We heard him on the roof, ever-so-faint, then he was still. Moments later, he was back through, closed the skylight, and was beside us in a second.
"It is as I thought. They are outside. Scores of guards, many with vehicles. They are all over the grounds. There are patrols along a perimeter fence, and it is open ground between several small roads before a small woods, then fields. There are no other buildings inside the perimeter."
"Guess it makes sense. They figured we'd have to get past them all to get in. They're thinking like vampires, not Freaky Finders. Good news for us, bad news for them."
"Except when we try to leave," said a sour-faced vamp who had yet to speak.
"We go back the way we came," I told him.
"What, even if we find survivors?" he sneered, clearly not caring if we did or not. They just wanted this stopped, not to save anyone not of their own kind.
"Aunty?"
"He's right. Although it depends. One person extra? Sure. Fifty? No bloody chance. If anyone screws up we're all toast. So no, we would have to go out and travel the regular way."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I told them. "For now, let's just take it slow and see what's what."
We continued our search, moved right to the back of the building before coming together at a nondescript door. I heard another faint scream, at least I thought it was, then reached for the handle. Locked, obviously. I peered through the murky square of glass reinforced with mesh. With my eyes right up to it I could see little, but enough. I beckoned the others aside.
"Malcolm, exactly how big is this building?"
"Very big."
"I mean," I said, trying to stay calm, "when you were on the roof, could you see how far back it went? Where do you think we are?"
"It's probably at least twice as long as this. Maybe more."
"Figures. You guys should take a peek, quickly, before we get in there. We need to be on our game."
Each of them took a rapid look. We all knew the score now.
We had a fight on our hands.
Into the Fray
I hadn't seen much, but it was enough. The other side of the door was definitely where all the action was. From what I could make out, there were scores of people there, and that was only what was right in front of me. It had other floors, but without gantries, enclosed levels probably with guarded access. Directly in front of us was merely a platform, then it was open to a level beneath and it could go down further, I couldn't tell. What we had here was a proper facility.
Crates were being shifted with great haste, and that most likely had something to do with them expecting us. Would there be a fleet of vehicles along to transport this stuff? No, probably not. The vials were small, so each crate would contain hundreds if not thousands, so a single modestly sized truck would most likely be all that was needed to supply the entire country for weeks at a time, if not longer.
But maybe they were stockpiling, rapidly increasing their production to ensure they had a steady supply if things got compromised. Even if it lost its potency somewhat, it would still be better than nothing.
All speculation. Only one way to get the answers we wanted, to stop this, and that was on the other side of a very nondescript door in a seemingly semi-abandoned warehouse.
The time for thinking was over. It was time to boil heads, crack bones, and get mightily annoyed at the state of the world and the things humans and ex-humans were capable of.
"Boris, care to do the necessary?" I asked, nodding towards the door handle.
"Boris, deal with it."
Before I could shout, "Stop, you utter twat," Boris roared and hurled himself at the door, breaking the glass, and bursting the whole reinforced steel security measure from its fixings and warping the liner until the door flew inwards and crashed to the ground with an almighty clanging of metal on metal.
"You are only supposed to break the bloody handle," I shouted, but slapped him on the back anyway and added, "Good job though," after I saw his sad face. He smiled, but that was the end of our chat as half a dozen men aimed very dangerous-looking semi-automatics at us.
"We come in peace," I shouted above the commotion. "Your pieces, haha."
"That makes no sense," said Hanna languidly.
"Shut up, it does. Now get with it and kill them all."
Vamps dashed away from the firing squad, Hanna distracted them by stripping naked then disappearing entirely as her wings spread and she pulled out her sword. Boris curled up tight and toppled two guys even as they fired at him. Aunty sprang across the room thanks to the trousers and smashed, screaming, into a wall. And me? I let the Essence join with my anger and frustration until I was a flaming mass of seething vengeance, immune to their bullets, although I still dodged best I could, as I hurtled forward to take out anything that stood in my path.
Before I even reached the two closest guards, their heads toppled as Hanna did the business. Boris rolled back and forth over his marks until they were little but a mush, and I saw Malcolm and one of his team quickly dispatch the remaining vampire guards after a brief scuffle.
We weren't out of the woods though, we were deep in enemy territory and backup would arrive in about, oh, let's say NOW!
"Over there," I shouted, pointing at a door to my right where a man wearing a white lab coat had just emerged, only to duck back inside quick-smart after seeing us.
Boris rolled, Hanna flew, everyone else ran, or bounced in Aunty's case, over to the door. I yanked it open, or would have if it hadn't been locked, so melted the handle off instead and kicked it open. Everyone dashed inside but I left it open as we needed to know what was going on and steer clear of surprises. I glanced around the room. Just the one guy. A vamp told him to sit and he did as he was told, looking scared and not at all like a vampire, just a middle-aged guy with gray hair, white lab coat, and tatty trainers. The room wasn't quite a lab, but it came close. Microscopes, stainless steel benches, weird glass boxes with those gloves that you put your hands into to fiddle with whatever's in the box.
"Don't tell me, this is where you test the quality, check it's legit?" I stepped up to the cowering man. "Right?"
"Y…yes."
"And you're a human?"
He looked confused. "Of course."
"And you're involved in this? You let this happen?"
"My family, they took them. I have no choice."
I knocked him unconscious. "There's always a choice," I told him. Pointless, but that's what you do in these situations. Goes with the job.
"They're coming," said Mimi, peering around the door.
"Course they are, we made a bit of a noise." I thought for a moment, then simply said, "Everyone go apeshit. Secure this level, take everyone out. Get the guns, then we'll see what's what."
We didn't have long to wait. Like in a bad action movie, a group of men came running up the stairs and charged out into the open as if they were invincible.
I turned to talk to Hanna but saw nothing.
I looked up and spoke to the ceiling instead. "Can you sort this? Quickly."
"Course I can, handsome," came a whisper from right beside me. I jumped, and she laughed before I felt her swoop out of the room, the air tickling my nostrils.
Screaming began, and finished a second later. Heads were severed, cleaved, even diced, which was pretty clever of her, and some were even left intact but the owners were dead nonetheless.
All was quiet, all was calm.
All was about to kick off big style.
Upstairs Action
Going down into the depths of a building when the baddies are everywhere is never a good idea. For a start, it's always low ceilings so you bump your head, and second, you're trapped, what with being underground and all. So we decided to head up to the other levels first and clear it out if at all possible. A take-it-from-there kind of thing.
Light sparkled in trails from Hanna's sword as she led the way up a brightly lit stairwell and onto the first floor. Faded magnolia walls and old blue carpet squares told me the decor wasn't to impress visitors. We marched along the hallway, checking all the doors, finding a few vampires hurrying to stuff papers into bags or shredding evidence.
Several rooms had nothing but old boxes full of crap, probably from the previous business, and most were completely empty.
We went up to the top level and found it utterly deserted.
It had been a waste of time, and now we'd given our enemies time to regroup and call in for backup from outside. Not that it mattered. We'd have to deal with them at some point, so it may as well be sooner rather than later.
The good news was, there were limits to the numbers of people involved. Malcolm had said about twenty, so, judging by his mental abilities it could be anywhere between five and fifty. Worrying, daunting even, but I was feeling strangely buoyant. Confident despite the risk and effort this would involve. What I also now knew was that all activity was focused below ground, either in the large area beneath the mezzanine we had previously been on or other subterranean rooms we'd yet to notice.
We'd get there. We'd smash this thing wide open and destroy everyone involved. Human or vampire. With only time for a small sandwich or two that Mimi had packed in case we got peckish, and boy was I famished after using the Essence, or letting it use me, we were ready to go back down and get this thing done.
Aunty was having a conversation with the air, but I knew the score, and then she pulled out Hanna's clothes, offered them to the invisible menace, and our dark, beautiful angel appeared as she dressed.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"Fine. Just wanted to feel a bit more part of the team, so figured I'd let you guys see me. It's weird being invisible, you almost feel like you're not real."
"I can only imagine," I told her. "Actually, I can't, but I bet it's cool."
"Yeah, it is. Kinda." Hanna smiled almost imperceptibly. I think she was genuinely feeling a little emotional. Now that truly was freaky.
We were all set, but we were already feeling the effects and had a long way to go yet. This was like a mini-appetizer before the small appetizer before a very large seven-course meat-fest followed by multiple desserts. Then cheese. Then coffee. Then coma. Did we have it in us? Only one way to find out.
"You go first," I offered Malcolm and his goons.
Malcolm was about to say something, then nodded. Ha! He couldn't lose face.
The vamps led the way back down. We got halfway and stopped at the sound of heavy boots stomping up the stairs to greet us. They probably had feet in them, and a person attached, not just magic boots. That would just be weird.
Aunty screamed behind me as she launched into the air then plummeted to greet the guards feet-first. With the element of surprise on our side, we charged down, weapons flying, teeth gnashing, and I ripped off my shades, caught the eye of two dudes, grabbed one by the arm, and smiled as the "friendly" vamps dispatched the ones Aunty wasn't currently stabbing to buggery in the face and neck.
We surged ahead, already blood-soaked and hyped on adrenaline, and emerged back onto the mezzanine. It was clear, so with a glance over the railing to the main arena below, we wasted no time and took the stairs down.
At least I did, and Boris. As we headed down, I saw Mimi land gracefully beside Shadow and Ghost. The vamps were already down there and tearing around the large arena. Aunty yelled obscenities as she sprang up then bounced off crates and forklift trucks, causing mayhem and creating one hell of a din. Hanna was flying about swinging her sword, then she plummeted and thudded to the floor.
The air went fuzzy and sparkly around her corpse before she reappeared, stood up, kicked her own dead body and called it a nasty name, then glared at the guy who had shot her. Hanna promptly cleaved him in two right through his manly bits. No coming back from that, even if you are vampire.
We smashed our way through at least a score of guards, destroying Vamp2 crates that poured their contents over the freshly painted concrete, denting metal benches, grabbing guns and returning fire, doing all we could to clear this area and get to the poor Normals. At an underground loading bay where boxes were piled high and a large metal overhead door was currently closed, I got into a bit of bother with a burly guy who smiled at me, revealing massive canines before he was right up at my throat and poised to strike.
I grabbed him, let the Essence rise, and face-palmed the bastard. My arm burned, his flesh peeled, and he did nothing but hiss, not even scream, as his skin bubbled and popped and every capillary burst. I could feel his power, the recovery almost instantaneous, but I gripped tighter, gritted my teeth, and squeezed for all I was worth until sweat poured from me, hissing as it evaporated.
Now, vamps are strong, with incredible bone density, but my bones were like steel, so I pushed myself harder, kept on closing my hand over what I could grab of his face, until finally the bone gave way. It was one of the grossest experiences ever, to feel skin and tongue, eyeballs and gristle, all mushed up in your palm.
"Ha, get out of that one," I told the mushy headed corpse. His leg twitched and I might have done a little yelp. I booted him in the ribs. He was dead. I still had clean underwear. I checked. I really did.
I searched around me, ready to get jumped, but everyone was busy and the numbers were evening out fast. Malcolm may have been a good-looking dolt but he was more than competent. Same went for the others with him.
"Spoke too soon," I grumbled, as one of his guys got a shot through the temple and then many more until he dropped down dead. "I knew it would happen. Should have got their names. Now it's Star Trek syndrome. The dudes without names always get killed first. Apart from Hanna, but she doesn't count."
I rejoined the fray, grabbing unsuspecting arms, slapping heads, glaring at anyone not on my team, and the others were hard at it too, shooting, stabbing, bouncing about the walls screaming, "Argh," until finally, inexplicably, the place was free of vermin.
