A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter Thirty

Zigzag and dodge. Zigzag and dodge, fool. I rushed the first officer with this method. He shot twice and missed. Life Ender cut through his head like butter. It was glorious. Next to me, Kai shoved her knife through the gut of another officer. Bullets flew all around us. This whole fight was going to be an easy one, I could tell.

A taser poked me in the back, then the neck. I whipped around and went for the head, again. One strike. Dead. He fell to the floor. His blood stained the beautiful, maroon flower-patterned carpet.

"You'll spend all that time training to kill a vampire to save your campus, but you won't put down a tarp to preserve the most iconic building on it?" I said.

A rushing blur, then a falling officer next to me snapped me out of my thoughts. The young man's torso separated from his legs, literally cut in half. I took a breath. My heart pounded in my ears. There was nothing left but the whirring of the fans up above.

"Was that really all they've got?" Ace asked, confidently walking towards me and toying with a knife in his hands.

Trained and skilled, Ace had taken care of every other officer. Their bodies littered the floor. I blinked a few times. I'd seen much death in my lifetime, but the bloodbath in front of me was a lot to comprehend. The smell of their blood was invigorating, however. Don't think of it like that. Look at what's in front of you. Ten officers, both young and old, large and small, laid slaughtered in the lobby where students walked to class. You did this. You did all of this. I fell to my knees. Just revel in your mistakes. One mistake and it cost you how many lives? Fifteen? Twenty?

"Eighteen, I believe," I said.

Across the room, Kai was consoling Tristan. He sat in one of the leather seats, collecting himself. His face lost all color. He'll never be the same. Never, ever. The image of myself returning to camp with Ace entered my mind. I told Kai the same thing after watching the towers go down. I'd never be the same. Don't be rash, Tali. You're still pathetic. Always have, always will be.

I sat there for a moment with my face in my hands. I wiped a few tears on the bloody sleeve of my sweatshirt and got back to my feet. Molly. The waiting area of dean's office. I went over to the door, turned the knob, and called out for her. Muffled sobs were coming from behind the second door. I opened it. There was Molly, stuffed in a corner, barricading herself with a few items.

"Molly, there you are!" I said. She let out a shriek at the sight of Life Ender, soaked and dripping with the blood of men who were supposed to protect her. I placed it on the desk. "No, no, don't do that. It's okay. It's okay, Molly." She backed away even further. "It's all over. You're safe now. I know it doesn't seem like it, but you're safe, I promise you."

"This is all a...bad dream," she said.

"I said the same thing when it happened to me. We all did, darling."

"I-is this stuff y-yours?" she asked, gesturing to the backpack.

"Yours as well. I'm your turner. What's mine is yours." I unzipped it and pulled out Dolly's blanket, placing it around her shoulders. "My good friend made this for me. I always used to wrap myself up in it when I was nervous. You may do the same, if you wish." She pulled it tighter around herself. "I'm going to find my cloak and we'll get going."

"Is that it?" she asked, pointing a shaky finger behind me.

I turned to see my cloak draped over Dean Beck's massive leather chair. Immediately, I took of the sweatshirt, ran over, and put my arms through the sleeves, then fastened the buttons and put up the hood. The bloody sweatshirt took my cloak's place on the back of the chair. I wouldn't need something so heavy where we were going.