Scuffling

Chapter 9

Scuffling

The exit to the tunnel.

Another thirty yards. Or so. Beyond the steel door.

We went through the barricade. Larry shut it behind us. Gotta be secure. Always.

We hoofed it. The short distance. Until we were dumped outside.

We stepped out. A fairly well-hidden cave. Into sparsely wooded country. I looked around.

“The scenery here is very pretty,” I remarked.

“Yeah, remote Kentucky can be quite breathtaking,” Larry replied. “If you’ve got breath to take.”

I smiled. Wanly. It was a bad attempt at humor. But at least it was an attempt. 

“The tunnel is roughly three miles long,” Larry added. “It’s one of the longer escape routes. So, we should be clear of most Elfain activity.”

“For now,” I added.

“For now,” Larry agreed.

He started walking away. From the hidden cave. From me. I followed him.

“We should find a place to dump these bodies,” I offered. “Lighten the load, so to speak.”

Larry spun. To face me. Those Owl Eyes made facial expression impossible. But I was sure he was pissed.

“Can you be respectful? Ever?” Larry demanded. 

I paused. Put on a mock look of concentration. Tilted my head to the left. Rolled my eyes that way.

“Hmm,” I hummed.

I released the pose. Stood straight. Adjusted my burden. The two dead Sentinels. Regarded Larry.

“Sorry, no,” I said. “I’m evil undead, remember? And these three self-righteous douche-nozzles did want to make you ‘forcibly retire.’ Whatever that means.”

“It means they would have killed me,” Larry explained.

“Really?” Genuine surprise in my voice.

I knew forced retirement wasn’t good. The seriousness of the situation in the tunnel indicated as much. And I knew Larry didn’t want it. I knew it was enough to fight over.

I just assumed it meant Larry’s demise. Because I’m a vampire. And my thoughts immediately turn to violence. Death.

But I didn’t KNOW.

“Oh, like you didn’t know,” Larry snapped.

I shrugged. Well, I did my best to shrug. With my burden. Two adult-sized corpses.

“I had an idea. But, I didn’t know, know. Immediate killing?”

“Yes, right there, right then.”

“Well, shit!” I exclaimed.

“Well, shit,” Larry agreed.

Something stirred. In my senses. Not physical. Not a scent. Nor a sound. A feeling.

I paused. Tightened up. Larry drew himself up. Looked at me.

Quizzically. Probably. Difficult to assess. Owl Eyes blocking his upper face.

I cocked my head. To the side. This time for real.

I reached out. With my vampire powers. Blood Pulse. Discernment Sense.

Uh-huh. Just as I suspected.

“Vampires,” I stated.

“Where?”

“Can’t you feel them?” I taunted.

“Fuck you!” Larry snapped.

I must have really gotten under his skin. Or the situation was beginning to make him unravel. Larry never swore. Much less dropped the F-bomb.

“What are you smiling at?” he demanded.

“You just swore at me,” I answered. “‘And did it well. I’m just so… happy.”

“I’ll be happy when we get rid of the vampires and get out of here,” Larry countered.

“How good are you guys at forensics?” I asked.

“What?”

“Re-constructing battle scenes. Figuring out what happened? After a fight?” I clarified.

“Fairly good,” Larry answered. “We can get a general idea of what happened.”

“And vampire dust? Can you, the Elfain, figure out if suck-facers were present?”

“Of course. Vampire ash has a distinct look and feel to it,” Larry responded. “Why?”

I dropped my burden. The two dead Sentinels.

“Because this seems about as good a place as any to dump the bodies.”

Larry gave me another quizzical look. At least, I’m pretty sure it was quizzical. It was so hard to tell. Facial expressions. Those damn Owl Eye goggles.

Five vampires approached us. Surrounded us. Before Larry could verbalize any questions. 

These were the suck-facers I’d felt. Felt their presence. Felt them getting closer.

Part of the reason I asked Larry all those questions. Draw in the undead. To us. Make noise. They’d come looking. Which they did.

The other part? Of the reason I asked those questions? I did want to know how good the Elfain were. At figuring shit like that out.

I’d never really paid much attention. But now it mattered. And I was curious.

The vampires encircled us. They probably thought to trap us. Laughable, really.

My Discernment Sense indicated not one of them was more than average. For vampires. And at least one of them was a complete weakling.

Unless one knew how to conceal their Blood Pulse. Or all of them did. Which… I doubted.

It was a learned skill. A trick reserved for only the most powerful vampires. Clever vampires.

Like me.

Larry dropped Erna’s body. Pulled his sword. All in one fluid motion. Fast.

We attacked. Without a word.