The Underground City of Cinders

Chapter 12

"Miranda, what the hell do you want with me? I thought I made it clear I never wanted to see you again!" She stared at me for a long moment before turning her attention back to the front of the car. The engine roared to life and then the car jolted forward, "What the hell are you doing? There is an injured man back there. He needs help."

Without taking her eyes off the road, Miranda sneered, "Don't worry about your stupid boyfriend, we'll take care of him. You should be more concerned about what's going to happen to you."

A small feeling of terror bubbled up inside my stomach, "What do you want with me?"

I could see Miranda smile through the rear view mirror. She was quiet for a second before replying, "You should already know by now I was hired to kill you. I am taking you to our elder to see how she wants it done."

I closed my eyes for a long minute, building up the courage to do what I knew had to be done. I knew if I sat here in this car and waited I would be going to my death. I had never been very brave in my human life but I knew for sure I did not want to die. I opened my eyes and it seemed as if everything was moving in slow motion as I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around Miranda's neck. I wasn't sure if you could suffocate a vampire but I was hell-bent on trying. Soon I felt solid arms around my diaphragm, trying to pull me back onto the seat but I was relentless. Miranda threw her hands up to pry my arms off her and the car started to swerve back and forth on the road.

I pulled tighter, hoping to snap her neck but suddenly I felt a pain in my thigh and my arms went limp. I didn't know what was going on but the burly vampire behind me pulled me back onto the seat and a flash caught my attention as the streetlights shined on a small piece of metal. My vision began to get blurry but I focused hard on what he was holding. After a while, I realized it was a syringe. Shit, they injected me with something. It must be a tranquilizer. I struggled to move my arms and legs but nothing would respond. It was only a little while longer before I passed out.

The strong stench of smoke filled Chase's lungs as he drifted closer to consciousness. He lifted himself up and groaned in pain, spitting blood on the ground. A sudden sense of urgency shot through him and he shoved himself out of his wrecked car. He desperately started searching for Elizabeth. After searching for a few long minutes and coming up with nothing he began to check over his body. Adrenaline was pumping through his system so hard it was hard to focus but he forced himself to concentrate. He did not care if he was hurt but he needed to find out if he was critically injured. He slowly turned his hands over, watching for any cuts. Chase took note of a large gash on his forearm but after a few minutes he figured he was uninjured enough to search for Elizabeth.

The last thing Chase remembered was throwing himself over Elizabeth to protect her as the car flipped. He thought for a second if it was possible for her to have been thrown from the car before beginning his search. He searched every inch in a twenty-foot radius before realizing Elizabeth might have gone to look for help.

Chase climbed up the hill to the road and instantly a pair of headlights coming at him blinded him. He shielded his eyes just enough to see the car slow to a stop in front of him and three figures appear in front of the car. Chase waved frantically at the figures, "Hey I need some help. I was in a car accident and my friend is missing. Have you seen a woman walking along the road at all?" One of the figures took a few steps toward him and moved to Chase's right.

Chase knew, from the Tae Kwon Do training he received during his childhood, when the man tensed up his muscles there was a punch coming. Without a second thought, Chase assessed the man's posture and acting purely out of instinct he leaned to the right, dodged the punch, grabbed the man's wrist, flipped it around and used his left hand to snap the man's elbow, shoving him to the ground.