Hey Mr Bloodsucker, Sucks To Be You

Chapter 25

Cappa ~#~

Of course I was one of the first out into the woods. I inhaled deeply for the horrible lingering smell of Dimtri, like wisps of smoke from a candle after it had been blown out, but I found nothing but the scent of pine and dead leaves. How had he got up and walked away, yet again, even after this time I'd killed him myself?

Which begs the question: Can the guy even be properly killed at all?

I stood at the forest boundary, at a loss. They were too big, he'd had too much time. He would be gone by now. I felt like breaking down every tree in the place, but I knew Joanna would have my head. There was a pounding of feet behind me and Robert, Christopher and Lisa came jogging to a stop, looking into the woods.

"Whatcha thinking?"

"That he's gone." I shook my head. "It's hopeless."

"Mm-hm." Lisa nodded. "He's gone by now Rob, there's no point in going after him. We're not going to find him now."

"Yeah? Tell that to Joanna." Robert sighed. "You wanna go talk to her or shall I?"

"I'll go." Christopher jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "You three might want to disappear in there for a bit." He paused. "Cappa. Just out of interest..." His eyes swivelled around the group. "Has anyone...checked on Mai?"

A horrible crushing sensation suddenly latched itself around my shoulders as I remembered, and realised, just what might have happened.

Robert held his hand out. "I checked on her. Remember I went down and found the empty table."

"Yeah." Lisa looked at me. "But he might not have left the building at that point."

"So what you're saying is...."

"He could've taken her." Robert finished."He had the oppurtunity."

"Not only that." Lisa shook her head. "What if he's still in there? How do we know he came out at all?"

A biting chill hung in my blood as I realised everything she was saying could be true.

"You think he's still inside."

"Let's face it, the guy's not exactly predictable." She held her arms out. "He's come back from the dead twice for God's sake!"

"Chris, you go fill in Joanna." Robert backed up and began back towards the house. "I'll go check on Mai. Cappa, you'd better inform the guard, and Lisa...." He paused. "Mobolise people to start evac and search."

"How do you know that's what Joanna will say?"

"Trust me I've known her long enough." Robert laid his palms against the metal panels and pushed at the back door, letting us all past. "It's easier to find a needle in a haystack if there's no hay."

We split up and I headed for the tiled stairs, hurrying up them at vampire speed to save time. Truthfully if I was honest with myself I wanted to go and check on Mai...but if he had taken her it was probably best someone else did it. In case I did something stupid. I reached a heavy wooden door and flung it open, displaying a room of about seven vampires lounging around with cards and cigarettes in their hands.

One of them galnced up, caught my face, and raised an eyebrow.

"Cappa."

There was no point in mincing words. "Dimitri's gone walkabout. You guys gotta cover these exits. There's a chance he might still be in the building."

There was no stunned pause, they were up in seconds. Guards rarely carried guns, seeing as humans actually posed no threat, but instead had a surprising collection of stakes and holy water stashed in various compartments stitched into their uniforms. In this case though, seeing as I'd managed ot stab and temporarily 'kill' him, it was worth a shot.