Subject : Breakout

Chapter 16

        Noah Sprinted along the rooftops with the sole intention of finding those that had been killing and draining humans with reckless abandon in the past few days. He had had contact with his colleagues in Europe and Asia yesterday and had learned that they were experiencing a similar growth in sentient vampire populations near them. So much so that the older vampires had started using the term for newly turned that had become prevalent in Rome 2,000 years ago. The Hirudos or Leeches were a plague that the currently living generation couldn't withstand. And they wouldn't.

        The mostly independent vampires had come together over mass media just days before the collapse had begun in full. In this time it was decided that the Hirudos had to be dealt with swiftly, and viciously. Now Noah hunted every day and night to make sure that the newly turned infected wouldn't be able to come into their strength. 

        He was dashing across rooftops searching for signs of them when he had a new idea on how to approach the capture and subsequent execution of those in his area. Noah dropped to the street and ducked into a store. He was going to need to find a few things in order to complete his illusion to those he intended to capture. 

        Walking the isles, He grabbed tape, a cross, liquid fire starter, a lighter, and and air horns. Smiling at what he had snatched from the mostly looted store, he jumped over the register and walked out. He walked until he found an intersection he deemed worthy of his escapade. The buildings to either side of him were high enough for what he intended and the alleys between each building were set back a good twenty feet from the front of the street. 

        Noticing that the sun was getting lower in the sky Noah set a larger part of his plan in motion. He grabbed a burned out white jeep from the side of the road and pulled it to block one of the intersections nearby. Noticing a large bloodstain behind were the jeep was and a large number of empty shotgun shells, he contemplated what kind of battle had happened here.

        The events of what had transpired racked his brain as he dragged the other vehicles from the road into place to block off the remaining streets around his position. Noting that the whole of the street minus a few gaps had been filled Noah ran a few blocks to the north of were he had gone and dove into the shops off to the right side of the street. Then he waited for the sun to set.

        Once the sun had safely dipped behind the mountains Noah initiated his plan. He took a knife and tore open one of his blood bags, first feeding himself then pouring the rest onto his jacket and pants. He then began to limp down the street, holding his shoulder as if he had been hurt or worse.

        I was only a few minutes before he could see the first of the Hirudos watching him from a nearby rooftop. They loved to hunt at night in the beginning, he recalled that he had too at the time. The newly found night vision allowed him to see for the first time.

        He had woke up with a deep pain in his gut the fourth night after he had been attacked in the woods. He looked around and saw that the other Bandits scattered around him were all sleeping. Each time one of them snored it sounded like thunder to Noah's newly sensitive ears. His eyes rapidly adjusted to the light. He got up and walked to the mess area for the other bandits. A fresh piece of boar sat out on a carving block were the butcher had left it. Ravenous Noah ran a cross the room with remarkable speed and tore into the leg of meat. The fresh blood was warm running down his throat and only barely satiated his hunger.

        A loud bang behind him caused him to turn and cover his eyes with his hand at a garishly bright light against the background. Noah looked past the light and saw a guard standing there wide eyed. He pulled out his sword but Noah was on him before he could cry out, a gurgle came from the mans throat as an instinctual desire caused Noah to tear it out and drink deeply from it. Noah glanced down at the man's armor and froze. Two deep black pools looked back at him from his own reflection. An animalistic intent shown in them.

        When Noah had drank his fill he reverted back to his thinking self he had been ashamed. He left the body there and ran of into the darkness. He had never killed unnecessarily again.

        Noah frowned at the rest of the memory and what it had meant for him. He focused back on the task at hand and opened up his senses to detect the rest of the pack. There was the one on the building and four up ahead right in his ambush, which they surely thought they had set up for themselves.

        When Noah walked shakily into the circle of cars the pack leader of the newly turned dropped from the building across the street onto the hood of a car. Noah pretended to be astonished while he stumbled back. The way behind him was quickly cut off by the scout and the other three vampires.

        "Well what do we have here?" Asked the main vampire. He wore an impracticably long black trench coat and didn't seem to be armed. He had on black combat boots with fatigues which made him appear to be a soldier. What gave him away as something else was the punk band T-shirt and the long black hair that he had to sweep across his eyes before talking so he could see.

        "W-who a-are you?" Asked Noah hesitantly, he used the hand that was holding his "Wound" to grip a knife with his left hand.

        "We are the new kings of the wasteland" The pack leader said laughing, his arrogance was getting the better of him and would be his death sooner rather than later. Noah glanced to his left and right and noticed that the preppy woman in a business suit on his right and the former baseball player on his left were slowly getting closer.

        "You're nothing but a child." Said Noah in the oldest gruffest voice he could muster. He still held his chin low and back bent to give the appearance of an older man who was small and frail compared to those surrounding him. 

        A flash of annoyance played across the youths face and he pointed to the business woman, "Bring him to me, lets teach this old timer a lesson in respect," sneered the Young adolescent man. Noah waited for the woman to get close and lay her hand on his arm. When she did he rose up to his full height and twisted her arm behind her. She clearly had no idea what was happening and was expecting to be stronger than the being that now faced her. Noah pulled the knife from its sheath on his right shoulder and planted the blade in the chin of the female vampire. The knife penetrated through her mouth and into her brain killing her almost instantly, He dropped her body to the ground and stood to face the pack leader.

        The pack leaders eyes showed a sense of urgency and hysteria at the fact that one of his more powerful companions had just been bested by what had appeared to be an old man. Before he could recover from the shock oh his decision James was already on the scout, his hatchet flashing in the moonlight as he brought it down on the top of the scouts head. A spray of black blood covered Noah's clothes as he turned to take on the last three members of the pack.

        "R-R-RUN" screamed the leader of the pack as Noah leaned down and lit a rag in the base of one of the cars. The fire spread through the fuel that he had poured onto the cars with ease. It Created a ring of fire that would blind the remaining vampires for a short amount of time. The compressed air of the air horns blowing seconds later ruined their hearing as well. Noah walked forward and slipped the machete off of his belt.

        His first blow struck down the baseball player, a short strike to the neck cutting of his plea for mercy, replacing it with a croak as the vampire found himself without a windpipe. The second blow completely decapitated the head of the second vampire. The man in his sweater and tan pants was crawling trying to find a way through the smoke. 

        Noah finally found the last of the pack huddled against a trashcan a block away from the ambush sight. Smoke filled the air as the buildings around the site began to burn. Noah grabbed the young vampire and lifted him up the wall.

        "We have no need for cowards among us." Noah said as he looked the new vampire in the eyes. He then dropped the vampire to the ground and lifted his foot of the ground. When he brought his boot down it cut off the last scream of the pack that had started in Mexico City and ended in a burst of flame.