Page 48 of V for Vindictive

If I didn’t have to worry about that same thing happening to the poor souls locked in this lab, I would’ve said a little prayer for these poor bastards. Like we were trained to do all our lives, these Hunters were just following orders. It killed me to think that if not for that horrible asshole, Lux, no one would’ve died today.

“We have to go, or you won’t get out of here.”

The lady scientist seemed to recognize me, and she gasped before getting to her feet. “You’re her!”

The others looked at each other and seemed to drop their shoulders in relief. Without time to really let them digest it all, I grabbed the group like we were one big, happy family and fled like a jerk down the hallway.

Don’t ask me how I did it, because I’d say it was on pure adrenaline I somehow got them past furious flames and into the back-access elevator, but I just did.

I attacked the up button for the elevator with an angry finger, watching the doors struggle to close with a group of frightened eyes on me.

Feels like it does in the movies. Why do elevators gotta be such bitch-ass obstacles in horror films?

The hair on my neck stood at attention, and my core pulsed. Sensing them before they got close, I ducked down, evading an attack I knew wascoming. Another Hunter sailed over me, hitting the closing elevator doors, and I rushed to drag the bastard away from the fearful scientists.

We struggled for a second, but these assholes would never be stronger than I was. Sinking Blood Slayer awkwardly into my enemy’s chest, I worked quickly to get out from under the other Hunter.

I jerked my eyes up, breathing a sigh of relief to find the doors closed and the red up arrow pinging their upward escape. Then, my knee driving hard into the Hunter’s stomach, I used my strength to cut their chest open, and the body beneath me shuddered before falling limp.

I closed my eyes, head dropping down for a second, and hair fell into my face. It was only for a second, but I silently rallied.

I’d faced worse. I’d survived worse. But this was the first time I was solely responsible for so many lives on the line and lost. Grams had trained me for it, but the brutal emotions still hit me out of nowhere. The guilt, the fear, the anxiety, it all came rushing into my chest, and I had to work quickly to push them back down.

So when I finally got my emotions under control, I opened my eyes, more determined than ever. On my feet again, I rushed to go back the way I came and listened carefully for any noises that didn’t match fire or equipment. When that didn’t work, I used my keen sense of smell before finding a Hunter standing in front of a door, ensuring none of its occupants escaped.

Flames closed in around the lone figure, but they refused to move. By their shape, I concluded it was a woman, but one that gave me an odd sense of déjà vu. And when she finally turned to look at me, I was surprised to see her go straight for her mask.

Taking it off, I was suddenly face to face with someone I knew very well. Someone I never expected to see here among the same Hunters who were party to my capture. Someone I couldn’t seem to fully comprehend when her face came into view.

Tiff.

What the actual fuck…

Her curly blonde hair fell over her shoulders, her beautiful features illuminated in nothing but firelight, and she smiled at me as if we weren’t standing in the middle of a burning facility where I’d been forcibly held.

Licking her lips, she crossed her arms, projecting an arrogance I’d never seen on her before. Reaching out, she touched the flames right in front of me and wasn’t burned by them. “This sort of magic doesn’t work on me, V.”

Right, Shifters weren’t affected by this sort of offensive magic. It was the entire reason Eros feared them. I’d have to be smart with how I attacked, and that was a tough thing to do when your power ran entirely on instinct. Would it somehow know what I could use on her?

“Why…what the fuck are you doing here, Tiff?”

I refused to believe Tiff would betray me, or that she was capable of anything even remotely horrible, but the way her smile broadened and she turned to look down the hall where another Hunter walked told me that I was about to learn something I didn’t want to know.

“Topher and I really hoped we’d be the ones who got to kill you, and it’s pretty sweet to think dreams really do come true.” Her eyes gleamed dangerously, igniting to a full beam, a sign just before they shifted.

I’d seen it on Nigel plenty of times to know, but as I stood there, beyond betrayed, I was only left wondering if he knew. It didn’t make sense thatI was always right there, easily captured, and they hadn’t made a move. If Nigel had been involved, it wouldn’t make sense to leave it until now. And I wanted to hope with all my heart he wasn’t aware they were traitors all along.

Regardless of what had or hadn’t occurred, there were innocent lives at stake if I didn’t do what was necessary and end this bullshit right here. It might be staggering to face off against people who I’d once considered friends, but it wouldn’t stop me from doing what I needed to do.

I was a Hunter, and not the kind the Organization wanted me to be. I fought for justice and a better future.

The other Hunter, supposedly Topher, took his place beside Tiff. And now that I could put a name to him, I recognized his brawny shape. The way he stood was all Topher, and it only hit harder knowing that all of this wasn’t some elaborate hoax.

Tiff had fully shifted into her wolf form, quickly followed by Topher. Their weapons clattered to the floor and their clothes were torn to pieces. With two sets of gleaming wolf eyes on me, it was any wonder I found the strength to move forward at all.

But I did.

Twirling Blood Slayer, it was almost like Phillip was there with me, cheering me on. He’d say something like “I knew they couldn’t be trusted” or “Bark all you want, it’s time I put you down, dog.” The Austrian wouldn’t bat an eye, just smirk in his usual arrogant way, and then he’d take them down.

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