Page 7 of Crimson Storm

“Help. Get him off me. Get him off,” the guard screamed, though there was no one with a pulse left to hear.

Conflicting feelings battled inside me. Dismay. Satisfaction. Thirst.

The last one was self-explanatory. I hadn’t taken my ration tonight, and the scent of fresh blood—Gatlin’s and that of the other guards—filled the night air.

Dismay because I didn’t agree with taking blood from an unwilling human, particularly a helpless, injured one.

And satisfaction because if anyone deserved to be drained, it was Gatlin. Still, I moved in their direction, intending to intervene. The death of a guard at vampire hands wouldn’t bode well for the rest of our kind.

If I’d learned anything from Sadie it was that change could only come from setting a good example for other vampires and demonstrating to the humans that we weren’t all soulless monsters driven by our unholy thirst.

By the time I reached them, the big male had been joined by his friend from the yard and a female vampire.

“Stop, please,” I begged them. “You’re going to get us all in trouble.”

One of the males raised his head, his lips shining and dark with blood. “In trouble? We’re inprison. Wake up. If you were smart, you’d join us. He deserves it. Feed on this bastard, make him pay. You can strengthen yourself and escape before the backup arrives. Either way you’d better hurry. One of the guards is bound to have made a distress call.”

The woman chimed in. “At least run. Following the rules won’t save you now, honey. When the backup arrives, they’re going to shoot first and ask questions later, and I doubt they’ll be keeping track of who’s a pacifist and who’s not. There’s not going to be any throwing yourself on the mercy of the court. You can’t trust any of the humans. Fighting back is our only chance.”

“What should we do?” Kelly asked. I turned to see her approaching with Heather. Their eyes were wide and frightened, taking in the chaos all around us.

I was paralyzed by indecision. It wasn’t like we were anonymous and could simply disappear and go back to our lives. The Safety Center had records of all our names and addresses.

If we escaped, they’d only track us down, and then they’d have a legitimate reason for holding us and confiscating all our property and financial assets.

But what if the female attacker was right? What if the arriving troops started firing at random? What if they’d been given orders to shoot every vampire in the camp?

“I don’t know. I don’t even know where to go,” I told my friends. “But I don’t think we can stay here.”

A new voice entered the conversation. “I can help you. Come with me. I’ll get you to safety.”

I turned to see one of the humans from the truck jogging toward us. He was younger than the others, around my age. He carried a handgun down by his side, but not the kind outfitted with anti-vampire ammunition.

Did that mean he was a vamp ally? Had he and his associates come to break us out?

Had Sadie sent them?

A few seconds later the answers to those questions were no longer my main concern. A group of guards dressed in riot gear burst from the doors of the Safety Center barracks, yelling for us to drop to the ground with our hands behind our heads.

They were at the far end of the yard, but we had only seconds left to decide which way to go—obey and remain prisoners, perhaps have the blame for the attack on the fence and the deaths of the other guards placed on us—or leave with the mysterious men who’d crashed their SUV through the fence.

“We’ve got to go,” the young guy said, sounding breathless. “It’s now or never. Trust me. They’ll kill you if you stay.”

“Abbi?” Kelly asked in an anxious whine. “What should we do?”

I still wasn’t sure it was the right thing, but I said, “Let’s go.”

The young guy nodded and motioned for us to go ahead of him. “Run to the truck. I’ll give you some cover.”

As we bolted toward the vehicle, which had now circled around to face away from the Safety Center, I heard several loud pistol shots followed by the sound of UV rifles firing. A glowing round whizzed by my ear.

Beside me, a vampire I didn’t know burst into flame and fell to the ground, writhing. Heather screamed, stopping in place. I grabbed the back of her bright yellow uniform, pulling her along.

“Don’t stop. Run. Keep running.”

We reached the SUV in seconds and dove into its open back door. One vampire in prison garb was already inside. Margaret. She was seated in the darkened third row, huddled into a corner.

Thank God she’s safe.

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