Stalked By The Game

Chapter 14 - Survior

::MICK::

             I reached out, pulling her backwards before I had time to think. I kept one arm firmly around her waist, the other over her mouth so she couldn't scream. I drew her in towards my chest, at the same time hearing someone else moving down the hall towards us. As low as possible, but loud enough so she could hear I spoke.

               'Whatever happens, do not scream. You got it?'

               She nodded as I turned around, shoving her into the closet before she could blink. Shit, what was I doing? If they found me here with her, that would be the end of it and I would have blown my cover. Vincent stormed in, taking in the scene in front of him and then me.

               'What are you doing in here? You should be helping Benny down the hall looking for that damn book.'

               'I was doing a second sweep,' I lied. 'Just making sure we didn't leave anyone behind.'

               He looked straight at me and I could see him weighing up whether he believed me. I might not of if I was him but I wasn’t exactly lying. I had been doing a second sweep but not for the reasons I told him. As the others had ripped the place apart, I had helped get three of the younger ones out before they could be found. If I had been caught, that would have been the end of everything but I’d felt compelled to at least do something. It had made me feel sick to my stomach how they'd stormed in, not caring whether the people they dispatched were men, women or children. A man or a woman could put up a fight, no matter how small or ill intended but a child had no chance. I remembered the frightened look on their faces as I'd helped onto the window ledge so they could shimmy down the drain pipe. I knew that the fear in their eyes wasn’t just for what was happening behind them. They were afraid of me and I could see them wondering the whole time whether I was playing with them, holding no intentions of letting them live.

               I didn't care what they thought of me. I was not going to be responsible for killing a child. I'd had to make the choice - the children or the book. Vincent had sent me off with Benny and Georgia to toss the room but I had gone against that order. More fool him for thinking that I would do what he asked. The book was clearly important to what was going on, I knew that but I was not going to add to this damn body count by letting those kids die too. I’d made my choice and now I’d have to live with it.

Finally he nodded, accepting my answer seeing he had no reason to think I was doing anything else. A second check was something a smart vampire would do and I was no idiot. It made sense that with no one else alive in here, or so he thought, that I would leave Benny to his job and do something like that.

               'The rest of the job is done. Finish up here. Benny will return to me with the book, if that moron ever finds it.'

               It felt like eternity until he left without another sound. I could hear Benny banging around still but his vampire senses were nothing but a dull echo of what mine were so I felt safe enough with only him here. Still, I waited a few minutes just to be sure. At least long enough until she started banging on the closet door behind me. If she wasn't careful, Benny would hear her. Even he would ignore a banging sound like that. I didn't have much doubt that between the two of us, he wouldn't be running back to his master and squealing but I didn't want to take any chances if I didn't have to.

               My eyes still on the door, I reached backwards inside the closet, grabbing her elbow and pulling her out. Nicholls stumbled back as soon as she was free, pushing against me. Green eyes blazing, I felt damn lucky she didn't lift the gun she was still holding and shoot me on the spot. She sure looked like she wanted to.