A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kai and Tristan's frightened faces looked to me like a savior. My fingers gripped onto my pocket knife. The only solution was to rush whoever was out there. We had no place to hide. I blocked my now, most likely, former lover with my arm.

"You stay back. Let us handle this," I said.

"No way. They've got my sister!"

"Yes, but you have no weapon. Or special abilities," I said.

"I could loan him this and start running," Kai said, holding up the knife.

"Run where, hmm? We need to think this through," I said.

A static-like noise filled the room. All three of us jumped and turned to it. In the back corner of the room, an older, tube-style television hung on a bracket connected to the ceiling. The screen went from spastic grey dots to a rainbow of colors, then to a pathetic, bald man who was grinning enough to frighten even me.

"Taliah, I thought you were smarter than this. You fell right into my trap," he said.

"Uh, who is that?" Tristan asked.

"You can't be serious. You don't know the dean of your own damn college?" I asked.

"Oh, so that's what he looks like," Kai said.

"Where's Molly? Where is she?" I went closer to the monitor. "Once again, if you hand her over to me, along with my belongings, we can do this the easy way."

"The easy way was you not harming my students," he said, clasping his hands together.

"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get," I said, marching towards the door. With my hand around the knob, I turned back to face Dean Beck. "This is your last chance. You can face me like a real man, or you can sit back in your cozy little office and watch whoever you have out there die by my hands. Take your pick."

"We have you surrounded. Drop your weapons!" said a voice behind the door.

Beck turned himself around. Tristan grabbed the chair from the other side of the room and held it over his head.

"See? Now I've got a weapon," he said.

"You might be shot," I said.

He lowered the chair. "Don't say that. Please, don't tell me that!"

"Come on, let's get these guys!" Kai said.

I pulled the door open to reveal a line of five campus officers, armed with tasers and guns.

"Put the knives down, and keep your hands up," one of them said, sweat dripping down his face.

We took down three skilled hunters, and this was what he sent? Five pudgy, scared officers who spent their days riding around in golf carts and handing out parking tickets. This may be a test, fool.

"Be smarter than your dean. Take me to Molly," I said.

"Knives down. This is your last warning. We will tase you!" the one in front of me said, his voice quivering.

My hunting instincts were taking over. I reached for his taser and he fired. I didn't even feel it. My hand, covering the top of the taser, pushed back against the officer. Our eyes met. He knew he was in trouble. All at once, I felt little pokes in my sides, my neck. Silly humans. I went straight for the groin of the officer. He fell instantly.

As the rest attempted to mob me with their tasers, Kai and Tristan had moved in. Once officer was next to my feet, half his neck bitten off. Two were barreling down the hallway, yelling for their lives. I was in hot pursuit. The one on the right too out his gun, shot a few bullets, missed, and I was on his back seconds later, twisting his neck. A sickening crack filled the hallway. I leapt off right before he fell. The other officer was right at the metal door. Don't let him get away, fool.

I grabbed the back of his uniform right as he reached for the handle, then leapt. To my surprise, he was strong enough to throw me off. Adrenaline was flowing through me like a raging river. I got a grip on his leg and pulled with all my might. A Factoris in this state could do incredible things. With one tug, the officer fell to the floor. He rolled over, backed into the wall, and aimed his gun with his shaky hands.

"Your bullets won't do much," I said.

"Please, I've got three kids," he said, his voice cracking and his eyes welling up with tears.

"Well luckily for you, I do not," I said, moving in.

"No, wait—I'll tell you where she is. I'll bring you right to her. Just please, don't hurt me!"

"I like you. You're a smart one. Get up."

He got to his feet and I followed him, pulling out the prods from the taser still attached to me. The hallway was a scene of carnage. Kai drank from the officer I'd knocked to the floor. Another laid sprawled out on the floor, face-down, blood staining the back of his dark blue uniform, his neck torn almost all the way off. I saw Tristan on the ground as well, curled up into a ball. I rushed to his side.

"They tased me. I'm good. Just give me a sec," he said.

"Do you have the key for these?" I asked the officer, pointing at Tristan's handcuffs. The officer stood in a state of frozen panic, watching his former buddies either losing their blood or being eaten. Kai paid no attention as she drank away. I snapped my fingers. "Hey, officer with the receding hairline, do you have the keys for the handcuffs?"

"I, uh...yes." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a loop full of keys.

"Don't just stand there. Let the poor boy out of these things," I said.

He obeyed. While he fiddled with the keys, I sunk my teeth into the neck of the nearest fallen officer. His head was almost off. There was no coming back from that. You selfish soul. Now is the worst time for a drink. I paid no attention. My stomach was growling for the past hour and I wanted the energy. Stop drinking. Be in the moment. You're leaving yourself vulnerable, you idiot.

I took one last gulp and wiped my mouth. Tristan was getting to his feet, now freed from his broken restraints. Kai was being a glutton, still filling up from one of the officers. I tugged on the back of her blood-stained jacket and pulled her to her feet. She wiped her bloody face on her sleeve.

"This guy's a Type O. My favorite," she said.

"Glad you had an enjoyable meal, Kai."

She looked over my shoulder. "Hey, how come we're not killing this guy?"

"First of all, pick up your knife," I said, grabbing the bloody object off the floor and handing it to her. "This one pleaded with me about his kids and told me he'd take us to Molly."

"Oh, and you're sympathetic towards that? The whole...kids part?" she said, a smile sweeping it's way across her face. "I'm glad."

"What the hell are you doing, Kai?"

"Uh, nothing." She raised her knife. "Let's go find Molly!"

"Alright! Let's do this!" Tristan said, picking up the chair.

"Hang on for a moment," I said.

I stepped over one of the bodies and into the room Tristan was being held in. My shoes left bloody footprints with each step. The television was dark, as I assumed. I looked around the room for cameras. If there were any, they were well-hidden.

"Beck, I really do hope you can hear what I'm saying to you right now," I said. "Because if you can, I hope you know how that was a poor excuse for a line of defense. You can post five new job openings in the Tribune. I always knew you were a coward."