Four Against One

  “There’s a woman here!” our captor yells—his breath reeks of fermented garlic, and with groping hands, he starts searching my body. 

My guide to this hellhole, two men, both in traditional beige khakis and bucket hats look like they're about to shit their pants. I don’t blame them, given the mobster-looking men surrounding us and the giant machete, one guy is holding. 

It’s not great, but at least I’m one step closer to locating what my father needs.

When I told them I needed a tour of the elaborate tunnels to locate something special, I wasn’t expecting to find illegal activity this far below the surface.

I wait, nerves on edge, as Gropy Hands searches me and more people file into the room. I keep my head down, compliant, and count seven heads, not including Khaki Pants and Bucket Hat behind me. 

Seven against three. Well, I doubt my guides will be able to accomplish much; they’re as good as dead.

Seven against one. 

I’ve had worse odds.

Before Gropy Hands can search anywhere intimate, my hidden dagger is in my hand and I slice. The rich aroma of blood fills the air and a faint gurgle slips past his lips. He looks at me, shocked, and reaches for his throat where blood pools past his fingers. 

I see it all happen in slow motion. Nostrils flare, pupils dilate, and fangs elongate. 

Three out of the seven have outed themselves as Vampires. 

Out of six, I correct myself as Gropy Hands falls to the ground. 

Two mobsters charge at me, and I down them quickly. They are slow and their movements are sloppy. In a few seconds, three dead bodies litter the ground. 

Kahki and Bucket Hat are so terrified it comes off them in waves. But there is only one way out of this underground tunnel, and currently, three Vampires and a human stand in the way. The human is the tallest of them, and seemingly unphased at the Vampires standing on either side of him. 

I watch their faces as their eyes flick between me and the dead bodies. Nostrils flare like a bloodhound as the scent reaches them. I can tell they’re hungry but not so hungry they’re fueled by bloodlust. They watch me apprehensive, knowing I will interrupt their meal if they start. 

“Who are you?” The tall one, the human asks. 

“Someone who is not easy to kill,” I say. That will be my only warning. 

He smirks in amusement but his eyes narrow in on me. “Such bravado. But I think you’ll find we are nothing like the men you’ve just killed.” 

He thinks I don’t know; I’m about to end up like the rest—a meal for the spiders. 

I falter, letting my blade drop an inch. 

He takes the bait and is in front of me in the blink of an eye. 

Not a human after all.

Four Vampires against one. Okay, these are probably the worst odds I’ve ever had. 

Instinct keeps me alive, and I duck under his clawed fingers that swipe at me. We move, locked together in a lethal dance. My dagger to his sharp claws and fangs. I don’t think, I just move, allowing my body to think for me. Step, step, lunge. Twist, duck, kick. Punch, block, slice. His vampire speed and strength are great and powerful but I manage to keep up even when he has me spinning around him, my agility keeping him from getting a foothold. 

It’s when a second later that another Vampire joins, that I struggle.

Then the third joins and I’m forced to back away.

Somewhere in the background, I’m aware of the last vampire striking at Kahki and Bucket Hat. Their blood joins with the rest on the floor. 

Facing one Vampire I can do, but suddenly I’m staring at four. All full-grown, adult Vampires. I’m half their size and don’t stand a chance of winning. 

But I’ll be damned if I give up a fight and don’t go down without one of these fuckers. 

I don’t let them make the first move. I lunge, twist, and dive between arms and legs. Slicing and stabbing violently. 

My blade sinks into the chest of one, and I rip it out. He lets out a sick groan and slumps. I’m already moving again, aiming for the next one. 

A body slams into me, and I hit the wall. I admit, after our initial dance I hadn’t expected him to move with such simple brutality. He had a more elegant, sophisticated technique to his fighting style. Yet a simple tackle does the trick too. 

My skull hits the stone wall with a soft crack and stars blur my vision. 

The tall one, whom I presume to be the leader amongst them at this point, has me pinned to the wall. I barely feel his hands as they engulf either side of my face. 

He twists and my neck snaps.

Well, shit. 

Dying isn’t what I had planned. It’s tedious and annoying. Ruins a girls' day, ya know. 

The Vampire lets my body drop to the ground. Discarded. As if I’m not worthy of being a meal. Probably for the best, I don’t want to be Vampire food. The blood from the other bodies is fresh and much more enticing. With dead, unblinking eyes, I’m forced to watch as the Vampires start feeding. 

It’s messy and gory and if I wasn’t already dead I might vomit. Good thing I skipped breakfast. Then again maybe if I hadn’t my reaction time during that fight would have been quicker. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all. Ah, well, next time. 

I focus back on the Vampires eating their breakfast. Perhaps they’ll drink too much and be in a food coma. Hopefully, they’ll leave me alone before-

Air suddenly fills my lungs again and my neck jerks with a loud crack. I gasp for oxygen, coughing and sputtering like a drowned rat. Nothing about coming back from the dead is dignifying. My body follows, broken and dislocated joints snapping back in place. It’s uncomfortable and the pain wakes me up, but it’s nothing I’m not used to. 

At some point, I’ve rolled onto my side and I sit up, finally looking at the Vampires through teary eyes. It’s nice to see the one I’ve stabbed lying on the ground, unmoving. 

I had hoped that my revival would go unnoticed, but the sickening bone snapping must have caught their attention. They’re staring at me, somehow all three of their expressions are the same: disgust mixed with fascination. I get the feeling they’ve never seen someone they’ve killed come back from the dead. 

“I know,” I tell them. “But I did tell you I’m not easy to kill.” 

I push myself to my feet. I can feel the cuts on my flesh knitting back together. Placing the palm of my hand on my chin, I push, and my neck does a final crack into place. 

“Round two?” I ask, and ready myself.

Facing one Vampire is incredibly difficult, and facing three is nearly impossible. The chances of me dying repeatedly are high. Yay me. 

“You heal remarkably fast,” the one who broke my neck says casually as if what he just witnessed is part of another Tuesday for him. 

“Faster than you,” I remark, looking at his arm. He follows my gaze to where I cut him. A human would need stitches, but already I can see the scar closing. 

“Feeding helps,” he says and lifts the body he’s holding to his lips. He holds my gaze and drinks long and deep. I should move and attack now while they’re occupied, but something in his brilliantly bright eyes pulls me and draws me in. It’s mesmerizing and I could get lost-

I shake my head violently, then shoot him a glare. “Nice try.” 

He laughs, blood dripping down his chin. “Not completely immune to that are you?” 

“You can’t mind control something that’s already dead.”