Page 20 of Come and Get Me
“I’m all for freeing the slaves, but I don’t think we can do that without killing the guards,” Delilah said.
“If we incapacitate the guards, we can totally free the slaves,” I said.
Chandler groaned. “We’ve been through this. What the fuck? Maybe it is a good idea that we’re going over it again. The only way this shit works is if it looks like the vampires had something to do with it.”
“So, what about the guards?” I asked.
“The Drain is a dive, minimal security, that’s why I picked it. There’s only a handful of guards that we should be able to trick or avoid. I go in, claim I need to piss and just need to use their bathroom. Delilah, you’ll go with me. Once I make it to the back, I open the door and let the others in. We have to be quick when we drag the Alpha inside and into one of the murder rooms.”
“Do you really think they’ll be dumb enough to fall for that?” I asked. That was another thing that bothered me about his plan. It was based on sneaking in and out and hoping the guards were inept enough to not notice.
“I do think it will work. There’s only two or three fucking guards. One in the back and the rest are watching over the human slaves. That’s why we can’t risk giving ourselves away to save them. Now, it has to look like they were draining an Alpha for his blood. This works like a reverse heist. Instead of stealing something from that place, we’re putting something in there. The wolves will eventually track the body of their Alpha to that location and all hell will break loose.”
“They’ll also track our scents,” I pointed out.
Chandler shrugged. “Humans work there, what’s a few more human scents in the place?”
“Maybe that’s how your last crew got killed. Forgive me if I don’t want to be reckless,” I said.
“I told you how they died, and it wasn’t because I was reckless, just unfortunate. Listen, this will work, we just have to put all of the pieces into place. I can’t do it alone, or I would have. You all wanted to put a hurting on these supes, so don’t back down now.” Chandler looked at each of us.
I sighed, because he had a point. “Fine. So, we have to break into this place and kill the wolf there. Why not just kill him and then place him there? Seems like it would be less trouble for us to do it that way. I guess that’s the part I’m having a problem grasping.”
“Because if we kill him before we place him there… it would look like a set-up and defeat our purpose,” Chandler said.
“But if he’s going to die anyway, what does it matter? It will still look like the vampires did it because he’ll get drained in their machine. We’re taking him during the day, and we all know that vampires are sleep—”
“That’s what you think. Not all of them are asleep during the day. Théoden’s Generals have been spotted during the day while they’ve been investigating the missing vampire. Also, they have humans who work for them. It would make sense for them to have human scapegoats if they plan on kidnapping a wolf Alpha to steal his blood.” He paused and looked at me. “And let’s not forget that vampires like their blood fresh. The people they put in those draining machines are still alive.”
“Okay,” I said, waiting for him to continue.
“So, that tells me that my plan is working and we need to stick to the script. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it, I have already worked out all of the details in my head and this will be successful as long as you follow my lead. Don’t make any fucking alterations, or you may get us killed,” Chandler said, putting me on the spot. I didn’t like the little jibe he slipped in, trying to make it seem like I wasn’t smart enough to grasp his plan. I was. He may be talking circles around everyone else who thought it was pretty awesome, but I wasn’t so impressed. Still, I’d learned to sometimes sit back and observe.
“All right, I’ll follow your lead,” I conceded.
“Good. As for the humans, they all stay, we can’t free them. This is war and there are always casualties. Our job is to get in and out as fast as possible. Once we have Elijah bound to the blood-syphoning machines, we leave. Even if he somehow survives that, our mission will have been successful because he’ll target the vampires. Their pack will be on full alert and it’ll be them taking each other out. You’ll get your revenge, one way or another,” Chandler pointed out.
Chandler walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Look, as long as we all follow our roles, this will work. Like I said, I managed to kill a vampireandwerewolf. So, I know what I’m doing.”
Ugh, it was cocky fucking comments like that that pissed me off about this son of a bitch. “Yeah, according to you, your plan worked, but your crew still got killed, leaving you as the lone survivor. I just want to make sure the same doesn’t happen to my crew. I don’t trust you, Chandler.” I just put it out there. I was never one to sugarcoat shit.
“Yeah, I figured, and that’s okay. You’re a leader and trust is earned, not just given. But I will earn your trust. After tomorrow, you’ll see that I’m all for the cause,” Chandler said, then removed his hand from my shoulder.
According to Chandler, his last crew was killed by the wolves of the Pine Leaf territory, Laurent’s pack. They wanted to hunt humans and they just happened to be in their sights. He told us that they were in the Outskirts, which didn’t offer any supe protection for its citizens. Chandler claimed he had been lucky to get away, but because of what they did, it made him want to kill every last one of them. I didn’t know how much truth there was to his tale, but it was one I knew well.
A lot of people I knew or used to know, who aren’t alive anymore, had the supes to blame for the loss of their family. My biological parents were killed by vampires when I was four years old. I survived because I hid in the air duct and the fucking vampires couldn’t get to me. I also wasn’t important enough for them to bother trying.
After seeing my family slaughtered by vampires, I knew there were things in this world that nightmares were made of. After being made an orphan, I was placed into a foster family a year later, and they treated me very well. I dare say, they loved me and I grew to love them. When I was seven, my foster parents wanted to take me camping, because they felt it would help me get over my fear of the dark and the things that lived in it. No one believed me when I said that vampires existed. Just the wild and creative musings of a child with an overactive imagination.
The therapist they took me to assured them that it was just my way of coping with the gruesome murder of my parents. My foster family only wanted to help me and I loved them for it. Unfortunately, trying to help me only got them killed in the same manner my biological parents were killed. Only this time, it wasn’t vampires, but werewolves. God, I remember how scared I was, standing pressed against a large tree, unable to move due to my fear. I could only watch the pack of wolves tear into their bodies, blood and flesh flying in every direction.
It was a vision no person should ever have to see, regardless of age, but it was especially troubling for me to witness as a child. I had pissed and shitted myself because I had been that horrified. The wolves found my terror entertaining, as they tended to do. I’ve learned that they get off on fear and pain. In fact, the only reason I survived was because the werewolves wanted me to. The monsters wanted me afraid, and I remembered what the one werewolf said to me once he turned back into his human form.
Run.
That one word triggered something in my mind, so I gathered what little courage I had and ran as fast as my little legs would take me. I could hear them laughing and howling as I fled. All l knew was that my life was never going to be the same. Once again, I had lost two people I loved. Good people who held me while I cried. Kind people who came into my room to comfort me when the nightmares of my parents’ murders haunted me. And now, I had their blood on my hands. I felt cursed. Anyone who ever loved me died, that included Dante, too.
Maybe that was why I decided to let Chandler into my crew. I knew what he’d been through and how we were the only family any of us had. I looked at him and sighed. “All right, Chandler. We’ll get this done. Keep in mind, people, tomorrow is the full moon. Wolves are extra antsy during this time and they’ll be out in major hunt mode. Without their Alpha there, the whole pack will be looking for him.”
