The First

Chapter 64

Savannah's vision blurred. She'd landed with a thump on her butt next to a puddle of her own blood. Her thoughts turned from the human to her brood.

Stay where you are. Hide until I come to you.

There wasn't a response. They've never responded except with physical action. She looked in their direction but couldn't see much further than the edge of the building. Cobwebs of darkness threatened to blind her for good.

"Are they coming?" The human, Ross, had knelt next to her.

"No. Mine aren't. Though ... we're still being surrounded."

Ross's face dropped as he searched the perimeter. "I don't see anyone."

Savannah couldn't see them either. Their hearts didn't glow like the humans did. One of their young ones couldn't keep her out. Through his eyes, she saw the others. Entrails hung from their teeth and claws. None of them had clothes on. Wet and dried blood covered them. One male, larger than the rest by twice, still munched on a piece of flesh.

"There goes my cure," Ross whispered.

"Your cure?"

"Don't worry about it. Can you walk?"

She stood and wobbled. Ross caught her and helped her to a ladder on the side of the building.

"Don't jump. You'll injure yourself. What are the other Trills doing?"

She'd heard him say the name before but had just come to the realization it's what he called her kind.

Her feet landed on the ground. "They aren't moving."

Ross swooped her into his arms. Instinct took over and her claws extended.

"Woah! Wait a second. I'm just helping you over here ... to this ambulance." He pointed at the open end of a vehicle which had dried blood on the chrome floor, bed, and seat inside.

"Is that okay?" he asked.

Though he'd shot her, Savannah didn't feel threatened by the large man and wasn't sure why.

"Yes." Her claws retracted.

He carried her to the back of the ambulance and set her down on the bumper.

The smell and sounds of the others overcame her. More Trills than she had, maybe double, surrounded them. Most stood still, others fidgeted, seethed, and frothed.

Ross returned to her side after rummaging through the equipment.

"This is gonna sting a bit." His hands matted back his sweat-slicked hair. Then he wiped them on his pants and put a pair of thin gloves on. He situated the gloves and extracted a metal of some kind from a small bag.

Savannah flinched.

Ross sighed. "These are tweezers. I don't see an exit wound. The bullet could still be in your body. I'm not sure how fast the serum works. It may still be releasing into your system which is why you're not healing. Hold your shirt up. We need to get any bullet fragments out of your body."

With her right arm, she pulled her shirt off.

"Jesus." Ross took her shirt and draped it over her breasts. "Hold your shirt here."

Savannah complied. The hole below her right breast still bled. Her feet and hands felt like billions of those bullets had riddled them.

"I'm going in. Try not to move."

When he inserted the tweezers, it felt as if her entire body would tear in two. She inadvertently growled and snapped her teeth his direction, making sure not to bite him.

"Got it." He showed her a chunk of metal. "It's still intact. Which is a good thing."

"Small yet causes so much damage." She felt the weight of the tiny slug as he dropped it into her hand.

"You have no idea. A shot in the right place could have killed you." He tossed the tweezers onto the seat in the back of the ambulance and pulled out some bandages. "You're lucky I wasn't trying."

A whistle of wind brought the stench of death.

Ross must have sensed her anxiety. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Quiet." She no longer felt her males, nor did she feel the other brood, just a torturous jagged pain in her left side and - her.

"We need to get back to the roof. You're going to need your weapons."

I didn't want to keep you all waiting during the best action scenes in the book.

Please comment, vote, and share if you are enjoying the story.

I plan on publishing a chapter every couple of days.

Hope you all love the exciting conclusion!!