The Conversion

Chapter Eleven

Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting. It's short, I know, but it was the best I could do, and it's better than nothing :\... I'm really struggling with this story (the pitfalls of not planning before you write...) and so I don't know what I'm going to do with it. I'm going to try to finish it for you guys, because I ain't a quitter! But I'm not promising anything, so don't be surprised if my uploads are few and far between. Sorry guys :\

In the meantime I am writing a collection of short horror stories if you think they'll tide you over. I have two posted so far and many more coming.

Chapter Eleven

"You okay?"

I grunted out an answer to Zane's question, not even bothering to think about what his words actually meant. Slyly I darted from beneath the safety of one crumbling building and sidled along the next. Rolling his eyes he followed, crouching in front of me.

"I'm serious, Harlow. You've barely said two words, and the ones you have said sounded more like they belonged to an uncivilised primate. You won't look at me‒ Harlow? Have you even been listening to a word I've said?... Harlow!"

Flinching from the sharp flick I received, I turned my shocked yet angry gaze to him.

"What is your problem?" I hissed, my voice sounding less lethal and more robotic as it crackled through the muzzle of my mask.

"My problem is you've been so self-absorbed with your own pity party you've forgotten what we're actually doing here!" he hissed back quietly, pointing around the corner of the wall.

Peeking around the edge I saw a small cluster of vampires rummaging through the worn down buildings. Five, maybe six at most.

"Oh. Right. I didn't forget!" I snapped at the last minute. He gave me a flat look in reply as he crouched closer to the wall.

"You stay here, long distance defence. After you shoot I'll keep them away by close distance," he said, switching the button on his claws that had the blades flipping and sliding out with strong metal clicks.

"Who died and made you leader?" I asked through a scoff.

"It's more a question of who's going to die if I don't act like the leader," he shot back under his breath. I shot him a glare he took no notice of but positioned myself so I could grab a hold of the red tiled roof that stuck over the half crumbled wall before us like a ledge.

With Zane's unwanted helping hands I swung up on top of the roof and shimmied forward on my belly. Grabbing my sniper and sliding it together, I locked it into place on a nook in between two loose tiles and set up my aim. I gave Zane a low whistle to go ahead and watched as he made his way through the alleyways, hiding behind crumbling buildings and loose brick.

As he nimbly flew into our targets' view I put a little pressure on my trigger, freezing when he stood stock still and hid his claws behind his back. One millimetre of pressure would have my gun firing straight into the heart of a vampire that was smiling at Zane as if they were long lost brothers.

My mind raced along with my pulse as my eyes darted over the exchange. A handshake. A hug. A grin. A smack. A gun to his chest. It turned from friendly to life threatening in a split second. Raising his hands Zane manoeuvred himself so I had a clean line of fire before waving a finger at me.

With a simple squeeze the bullet hit the armed vampire in the back, slicing straight through. One of the vampires dropped to the ground, another slunk behind a wall, and two went for Zane's throat.

His claws slashed through the throat of one as I took out the other from distance. He made his way to the one scrambling on the ground. Kicking him back with the steel toe of his boot he held the blades of his claws under his chin.