The sun was beginning to shine brighter, as it rose higher in the sky. The drone and occasional clatter of the technicals mixed with the isolated call of some birds that nested nearby.1
Alora, the gunner, was leaning on the 50-mil, swaying slightly with the motion of the vehicle, her short black hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. I noticed Uri, the lithe young commando sitting in the co-driver’s seat, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.2
I kicked him discreetly. He immediately started to clean and reassemble his M16. I shook my head and looked in the rear mirror at my other team members. Foryd, a former SEAL before joining us – he hadn’t realised he was a half-blood until the government started their checks into rooting out the vampires, and he had fled to our side, bringing with him valuable intel and skill. He was a good soldier, a dependable chap and I almost regarded him a full-blood.3
Rick and Eddie sat on the edge of the cargo bay, legs dangling nonchalantly and providing rear cover. Brothers and extremely dirty fellows – they loved a good night of it in the woods and always emerged smelling strongly of blood, sweat and shit.4
I looked at the digital chrono on the dash – 0830hrs. New York would come up on the horizon in about an hour and then things would start to happen.5
-----6
New York is (according to me, anyway) the city where it all happens. Something goes down, it invariably starts in New York. New York is where all the shit happens. And, so, when the anti-vampire riots started, it started in NY. When the first shots were fired, it was in NY. (Some human dickhead tried to kill a vampire. Last mistake of that poor sod’s life.)7
And, so, when the first missiles were launched – NY got the first hit. When the war turned into a guerrilla free for all, NY became a hot zone. 8
Vampires have always liked New York – fresh prey. Hey, they figured, no one takes any notice of the homeless dudes, so … 9
I shook my head as the skyline of New York came into view. A city populated by skeleton buildings, and piles of smoking rubble, and underground movements of both sides. A smoky haze hung perpetually over the scene, as if that could reinforce the gloominess of the place.10
It had been a great city once – now reduced to a ghost town. 11
Juki and Gar peeled off after I gave the word, taking vanguard. They would circle the city as Marcsion, Tar and I would enter the hot zone and search for this mysterious Slayer that Baccus wanted so badly.12
I suddenly realized we had squat intel on this job. All Baccus had told me was that this Slayer had a base camp in the northern section of the Manhattan island. So we had to do it the good-old-fashioned way – trial and error. Hit all the known spots, look for a Slayer, take it – alive, preferably.13
We entered the hot zone. The technicals switched to stealth, their drone becoming a muted hiss. Not state of the art, but if the humans knew we were here, stealth or not, we would be receiving the good news soon.14
Tar branched off to the left of a smoking pile of rubble – could have been an office block once – and disappeared in the haze. 15
Marcsion and I trundled on. Alora switched off her safety and held the 50 firmly. I had the wheel in one hand, and my MP-5 in another. Uri fingered a shruiken, and Foryd hefted a Remington shotgun. Rick and Eddie had their M16s to their hips, their keen eyes roving the haze behind us.16
Over on Marcsion’s technical, his men did the same.17
The sun crept upward a tad, but appeared to us to be an orange smear against the hazy fog. 18
I shuddered to myself and lit a fag. This city was godawfully depressing. I suddenly wanted this over with.19
Half an hour later, and zilch. Nada. Nothing.20
We halted our vehicles in the shadow of the three-storey remains of a ten-storey building.21
“Nothing, mate.” Marcsion and I stood next our vehicles, and talked softly. I inhaled deeply, and blew smoke out of my nostrils. Marcsy drew slightly back. He hated the smell of smoke.22
“So now what?” He asked. 23
“I don’t know …” A thought interrupted me. “Why hasn’t Tar reported in?” I stood up straight. Tar would never deviate from protocol – such as regular check ins via radio.24
“Damn it – Uri, raise Tar’s technical,” I said tersely. Marcsion walked a few metres in front – he seemed to be trying to make out something in the haze.25
Uri tried three times, and each time got only static. 26
My heart was beginning to beat a tad faster. There had to be only one possible explanation – something had jumped Tar.27
“Crap,” I muttered, and spun around to face Marcsion. “Get back to the technical!”28
Marcsion turned and swiftly drew his hand, blade-like, across his throat in a throat-cutting gesture.29
In other words, Shut the hell up!30
I froze.31
I dimly heard Alora pulling the 50 around as I pierced the haze, trying to make out whatever had spooked Marcsion. 32
Then suddenly, a shout rang out. 33
“Incoming!” 34
And a millisecond after that exclamation, all hell broke loose.35
The RPG streaked out of the dim haze, narrowly missing Marcsion’s head as he twisted out of the way – zoomed across my field of view trailing a shower of orange red sparks in its wake – and slammed into Marcsion’s technical.36
The explosion threw me off my feet, and I hit the ground rolling, coming up with my MP-5 in one hand and a throwing star in the other.37
The shapes of two APCs emerged from the gloom. 38
“Fuck! Everyone, go!” I snarled and opened up – not on the APC, but on the dozen or more soldiers running around in between them.39
Alora laid down covering fire as Marcsion quickly went into kill mode. I watched from afar, covering him at odd intervals, as he did a quick back flip and landed lightly on the roof of the nearest APC, kicking the gunner atop in the neck in the same motion. 40
There was a snap as the hapless gunner’s neck broke. Marcsion crawled over to the edge of the APC, blew open the hatch that led to the personnel holding area, and threw in an L2 and leapt off the vehicle.41
The APC’s innards exploded in a shower of sparks, the armoured hull containing the blast and thoroughly frying the bastards inside.42
Score one for the good guys. Us, in case you hadn’t figured that.43
A thump across my head bought me down. I twisted in the dirt and fired at my attacker, watching his head explode in a fiery pink mist.44
Foryd grabbed two SEALs who were trying to bumrush him, and threw one of the guys into a pile of rubble and twisted the other guy’s arm behind him until it broke. 45
The SEAL sank to his knees, and pulled a pistol from his side-holster and jammed it in Foryd’s side. He fired once, and a gaping hole appeared in Foryd’s side. Not looking in the least fazed, the former SEAL stamped on the guy’s arm, breaking it, and then bit into his neck with his extended fangs, killing him instantly.46
I grinned and gave him the thumbs up.47
Running lightly up an adjacent hill, I surveyed the skirmish from my higher view. Looked like we were kicking their ass, but good. I only mourned the loss of Marcsion’s team – they were good vampires, and with them we could have dispatched this band of idiots in half the time.48
A machine gun’s rat-a-tat bought me around, to espy a devious human sniper on the same hill as me. Without missing a beat, I charged him. He looked up a second too late, and received a knife through the nose and up into the brain.49
I jerked out the knife, wiped it on my trousers and stood. The scent of fresh blood wafted into my nostrils, and I resisted the temptation to feed upon the dead body at my feet. There would be time enough later.50
A crunch from behind me made me wheel around, my MP-5 at the ready. 51
A lithe figure stood there, cloaked in black and sliver, with a mask covering half his face, and revealing little else, and a hood was thrown over the figure’s head. Guns hung from his belt, was well as a four inch long blade and a katana strapped crosswise across the figure’s back. Shruikens, throwing stars, and a couple of grenades were strapped to his chest. Boots crunched on the rubble hill, as the figure menacingly approached me.52
Newsflash = I think I found the Slayer.53
----54
Time seemed to slow as the two of us regarded each other. 55
Actually, time slowed for half a second, and then we attacked. Simultaneously. 56
The Slayer drew the katana and leapt at me, as agile as a panther, the sharp tip of the blade aimed for my heart.57
I dropped the MP-5, and fell to my knees, twisting my torso to the right in a 90-degree turn as I did so, and narrowly avoided the blade as it brushed past my chest.58
Close shave would be an understatement – I think that blade rid me of a few chest hairs.59
The Slayer landed on soft feet behind me, pivoting on his momentum.60
I remained on my knees and swiftly drew a pair of shruikens and threw them – the sliver stars winging their way toward the Slayer’s head and body.61
They missed, of course. They had just been a distracting tactic, for me to draw my own blade, a sabre, which I hefted with both hands and drove at my enemy.62
See, we vampires may outmatch the humans in terms of speed, strength and endurance and the like (the unique dietary requirements of our kind notwithstanding) but Slayers are a bitch to defeat with a sword. 63
Some great master or the other apparently trained them to defeat ten gun armed enemies using a blade, so us vampirencommados were trained in the art of swordsmanship, so that we could at least hold our own, and if we were to die, die well. 64
Winning would be on the cards ten percent of the time. 65
All this flashed through my mind rapidly as I clashed blades with the masked Slayer – the ring of steel on steel echoed off the metal skeletons of the surrounding buildings.66
I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that my team and Marcsy had finished with the human attack force. This Slayer must be the only one left. 67
With this in mind I pressed forward.68
I slashed the air in front of me, the flat of my blade connecting with the edge of the Slayer’s sword. I snarled at my quarry, showing my teeth. All of them. 69
The Slayer didn’t seem to flinch.70
He twisted my blade with his own, and ducked under my guard, and a second later, the Slayer’s gloved hand was wrapped around my throat. 71
Vampires couldn’t die of lack of oxygen – but they could die of a broken neck, if the neck and head were thoroughly separated.72
And this Slayer seemed intent on doing just that.73
I started to see red at the edges of my vision. My sword flailed uselessly behind the Slayer’s back. My other arm was pinned to my side.74
My side …75
I dimly noted that my fingers were close to my sidearm. Just a little wiggle more and I would have it …76
… The Slayer increased the grip and was about to begin to torque my head backwards …77
… I wiggled slightly under the pretence of trying to free myself, and my fingers grasped the pistol-grip ….78
… I pulled the weapon and held it parallel to the ground, its business end pointing toward the Slayer’s thigh 79
… And I fired, just as I bought my knee up to connect with my aggressor’s stomach.80
The Slayer’s hand loosened and I grasped the front of his clothes and threw him off me.81
Marcsion came running up.82
“God – you alright?” he asked incredulously. He glanced in awe at the bleeding Slayer on the ground, and at me kneeling before it.83
“Man …” said Foryd, coming up next to Marcsy. He grinned at me. “You’re gonna be Knighted for this, dude.”84
I smiled weakly, but coughed instead, as the air gushed back into my lungs. My throat was bruised red.85
“Strong S.O.B,” I noted, and stood.86
I looked down at the injured Slayer. The katana lay a few feet away. I kicked it away just to be sure.87
“Marcsy, get the technical over, and round up the men. And gimme a few with this bastard.”88
“Sure, skipper.”89
It was the first time he’d called me that. 90
I knelt by the Slayer and yanked off his weapons belts and ammo. Then, I made to unmask him.91
The Slayer seemed to flinch.92
I paused, and looked at the Slayer – it almost seemed wary of me now …93
Shrugging, I grabbed the cloth mask with bloody fingers and pulled it down – 94
– To reveal the face of a woman.95
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Comments
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Oyi!!! There are so many characters! My head was spinning! But I think I've got it down... err... well, maybe I'll need some practice.
I thought this battle scene was entertaining enough and I'm not one for them. I perfer my vampires clean of war scars hahaha but I still liked this none the less.
I think it's great that you install humor into your piece. It really adds a spark to it. I hate when vampire stories are so serious and can't crack a fanged smile. Is it really that hard?
I knew the Slayer was going to be a chick. Only a woman could be so badass
xoxo
PS. I really like your picture. It's trippy
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Oh, I love this. I'm not much for battle scenes, but this kept me amused (and laughing) at times.
Haha, I love how you do the time slowing thing then contradict it. It made me laugh amidst all the gory stuff.
Line 59 again had me laughing at the close shave thing.
Hehe, go female slayer. Yes I'm a feminist.
Lovely ending, and I really wanna see what happens now!!!
-HT
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The battle scenes kept you laughing? O.o
Boy.
Thanks a bunch for commenting, and let's hope you like the next one.
RJ
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