Emilia Vos & The Swipers' Tale

Part 11: I should have retired

Tears prickled the sides of Emilia's eyes as the dust disappeared before her.

"Em, can you hear us? Em!" Her dad's voice cut through on her earpiece.

She swallowed and clicked the button to retract her sword. "Here, Dad. No need for magic. The sword worked on the first non-vampiric creature. It faded into dust."

"Good to know. We'll add it to the data collection. This connection isn't going to be perfect. Can you handle this?" Liam asked with a note of concern.

Emilia looked at the door warily. "I don't think it matters what I think, Dad. Just gotta do it. Fuck yeah, and hip-hip-hurrah, right?"

Liam chuckled. "Always a bullseye if the target is big enough. Go get-em, hun."

Emilia smiled as she walked over to the door. She pressed her ear to it.  Muffled sounds of movement traveled through the wood. Her hand automatically went to the guns, but she stopped herself.

They don't know you didn't accept. She reminded herself. Maybe they'll let me walk on by.

Emilia opened the door as casually as one could open a door. Well, she thought it could be considered an unconcerned for her own well-being door opening. She didn't do the typical hunter, kick-open, but also didn't slowly open it to peak through. Emilia just opened it.  So, the three vampires on the other side must have been paranoid when they decided to fang out on her and hiss. 

"Sorry." Emilia shrugged and quickly pulled her gun. She shot a stake in the heart of all three before they could decide on an attack plan.

Alphie and Troy cheered on the earpiece before she heard a muffled. "Badass!"

There seemed to be a scramble for the mic before Alphie's voice added, "I cannot wait to train with you so that I can learn how to do that. It'll be so helpful for what Troy and I need to do."

Emilia scrunched her nose as her eyebrows went together. Those two were most definitely an interesting pair. And one she would need to watch if she got out of this alive.

Emilia slid against the wall as the fluorescent lights provided a soft buzz as they lit the corridor. She froze when a door opened halfway down the hall. Two vampires were dragging a half-conscious girl away. Emilia pressed her lips together. She could follow them. Her eyes tracked them until they turned a corner at the end of the hall.

But, what if there were more girls in that room?  What if Jayden's sister is in that room? Emilia pressed her lips together and felt her muscles tense. Stupid ethics class.

"I think I could have found the girls.  I will need help to get them out."

"On it," Liam said. "I'll take one of the mods with me as well. The two of us should be able to handle anything that comes after them."

She didn't bother to respond. Emilia just needed to clear the way so they wouldn't have much, if anything, to deal with when they arrived.

Emilia took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly.  She edged her way over to the room, the scent of peroxide becoming stronger with each step. Emilia felt a wave of power travel through the hall, almost knocking her to her knees. A series of screams sounded from within the room.

Her feet pounded against the dirt of the hallway as she ran towards the room. The door swung open, hitting the outside wall with a bang. Emilia had her gun at the ready. She shot the first two vampires that jumped at her and then turned to see the red-headed woman standing with her arms crossed.

Emilia took a few steps back from her and quickly scanned the room. Five to ten women hung on the walls with tubes attached to them. Emilia didn't care for the blood draw or IV but almost gagged at the tubes going down their noses.