Page 95 of Our Little Monster
Me: Are you ready for one last hunt? Just me and you against the world?
The bubbles appeared instantly.
Sam: Don’t be so dramatic, but yes, I’ve been itching to go on a hunt together again.
Me: Good, meet me at that warehouse. We are going to clean house.
Sam: See you soon.With therunninggirlemoji.
I set my phone back down on the counter and leaned my weight against it while taking a deep breath. I didn’t have time to waste. But I hoped they understood why I had to finish this and didn’t want them to get involved.
Hell, I hadn’t wanted Sam to get involved, but she wouldn’t stop insisting, and I had a feeling she would have showed up to do the job herself anyways.
I readied on quiet steps before I slipped out of the house while Bastian, Nox, and Thorne slept peacefully without me.
I hoped they would forgive me for this.
The chilled air nipped at my skin as I trudged through the dense undergrowth to the rendezvous point where Sam was waiting for me, her silhouette barely visible against the darkness of the woods.
“Sam,” I called out softly, my breath forming a ghostly mist. “Please tell me you brought the explosives.”
We had talked about them on the phone while we were on our way here. It was her idea to destroy the place, and I didn’t mind going out with a bang.
“Of course,” she whispered back, patting the hefty backpack slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and determined in the moonlight, the kind of look that said she was ready for war.
“Good,” I murmured, an icy resolve settling in my chest. Vampires despised fire. It was one of the few things they truly feared and hated.
The old warehouse loomed ominously before us, its skeletal frame well weathered. Its exterior was adorned with layers of cracked paint, graffiti tags, and most of the windows looked to be painted over, the broken ones boarded up.
Sam and I slipped through the broken gate, the scent of rust and decay clinging to the cool night air.
We edged closer to the abandoned warehouse. Victor lurked within those walls; I could feel it in my gut. His presence was palpable even from where we stood.
He’d taken so much from me. It was time I returned the favor.
“Let’s circle around,” I instructed Sam, keeping my voice low. “The shadows will cover us. We’ll set up the explosives along the perimeter as we go, then move in and set up a few more inside just to be sure we take down the building when this is over.”
Sam nodded, her face set with grim determination. We moved in tandem, slipping from shadow to shadow, placing the explosives as we went. The silence between us was heavy with unspoken thoughts.
I could feel the weight of the stakes pressing in on me, the knowledge that this wasn't just about revenge—it was survival. I didn’t want to die tonight, although I knew it was a possibility, and through the past year it was how I had always envisioned I would meet my end.
But now that I had Bastian, Nox, and Thorne, I wanted tolive. Still, this fight had been a long time coming, and I was ready to face it head-on no matter the outcome. Now, it would just hurt more.
“Watchmen,” Sam mouthed, pointing toward a pair of silent figures standing guard by a rusted side entrance. Their eyes glinted with unnatural sharpness in the moonlight, but we were silent, moving undetected.
“We’ll take care of them,” I whispered back, feeling the familiar thrill of the hunt surge through my veins.
I was careful, methodical, as I finished setting up the explosives along the perimeter of the building. Shrouded slightly by the old dumpsters’ shadows, I moved quickly back to where Sam was.
“Remember, aim for the heart,” I reminded Sam, though I knew she was well aware. It was more for myself, a ritual to keep me grounded.
“Always do,” she replied, her voice a mix of sarcasm and solemnity.
We made our way closer to the entrance, the two men distracted with their own conversation, every second stretching taut with anticipation.
I nodded for Sam to prepare so we could strike at the same moment. The guards wouldn’t be expecting us.
We leapt from the side of the building at the same time and shoved the wooden stakes through their backs. I pushed with all my strength to pierce through that beating flesh in his chest until he gasped and fell to the ground. Sam’s watchman did the same.
