Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 (18 page)

Chapter 2

After hours of driving through the rough terrain, Mira’s lower body had all but gone numb. Desperate to get up and stretch her muscles, she pulled the large transport vehicle behind a boulder and shut down all external lights.

“What are you doing?” a sleepy Sarah called from the back of the vehicle. She gently kissed her husband, Curtis, on the forehead and stood.

The middle-aged woman appeared so frail in the dim light – just the skeleton of a person, barely clinging to existence – but Mira knew better. She may have been malnourished, but she had a strength of spirit and more than enough balls to tell a vampire off. That and her help in their escape had earned Mira’s respect. The old woman shot Mira a quizzical look, and after a few moments Mira realized she’d been asked a question.

“Sorry,” Mira said. “I’m a bit numb from the drive right now. Our solar battery is running low, and I need to get up and stretch a little.” Legs tingling, Mira stood. Her deathly slow circulation had her feet swelling from sitting in the same position for so long. She struggled to take a few steps without wobbling.

“Are we safe?” Worry more than fatigue colored Sarah’s voice. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and joined Mira at the side door. “Do you want me to drive? I’m awake now.”

“You’ll have your turn when the sun comes up. We’re hidden. I just need a few moments to get the blood flowing again before we can get moving, okay?”

Mira lifted the door and met the cool night air.

Sarah tightened the blanket around her shoulders. “Do… you want company?”

Shock momentarily stole Mira’s voice. Sarah had not been the friendliest of companions, with good reason. “Sure. Follow me.”

Sluggish muscles made walking more difficult than she’d expected. Mira almost toppled out of the vehicle when she stepped down to the ground.

Sarah didn’t bother hiding her amusement at the gladiator’s lack of grace. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

If Mira could blush, her face would have been crimson with embarrassment. Great warrior she was, being felled by a simple step! But thankfully her blood didn’t flow fast enough to rise to her cheeks, and the dim light hid her awkward expression. “Fine. Just more blood than normal in my system and a lot of sitting around doing nothing. Things are just moving slowly.”

Sarah’s cringe at the mention of blood did not go unnoticed, but Mira knew better than to press it. Humans as a general rule would rather gloss over the “vampire” part of Mira being a vampire. Sarah wasn’t that bad, despite the fact that she was human, but she couldn’t handle blood in any form.

“Do you think we’ll find that Sanctuary place?” Sarah asked.

Mira led the way, taking her time with each step, walking around the boulder concealing their vehicle. Slowly, her blood began to circulate. After a few moments her movements became easier. “I certainly hope so. I’ve dreamed about that place for the better part of thirty years.”

They walked in no particular direction for a little while in silence, and then suddenly Sarah blurted out, “I know I said it before, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you saving my husband.” 

Her continued thanks and appreciation was heartwarming. Things like that gave Mira faith in the human race. She’d done no more than she would have expected from any decent person in her situation, but for Sarah it had changed her entire viewpoint on vampires. That one act of healing her husband’s wounds had erased the prejudice Sarah had been raised with. “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

“Yes, I do. I would be lost without my Curtis.”

“Well, you’re not. You have him. Alive and well.”

“Thanks to you. I can never repay you for your kindness.”

“Yes, actually, you can. Remember that vampires are not all savages. Treat me and my kind as you would any other human being.”

Sarah hesitated for a fraction of a second, long enough for Mira to catch her doubt.

“We’re not monsters. And we were once human, like you. Raised human, like you. All that has changed is our longevity and diet.”

Sarah took in a deep breath and nodded but did not say anything further. She continued to follow in Mira’s direction.

Wordlessly, they continued ambling through the rocky terrain until a low rumbling sound caught Mira’s attention. She held up a hand, signaling Sarah to stop.

Unsure of what exactly was making the sound, Mira didn’t want to take any chances. She scanned the land, but large boulders and gnarly tree stumps blocked her from seeing too far into the distance.

The sound grew louder. Closer.

“Stay here,” Mira whispered to Sarah.

She bounded to the top of a large rock and spotted something moving in the distance. Lights. A vehicle. Heading in her direction, she spotted the vehicle, a smaller transport than the one she and her companions were traveling in. Like hers, it had a roof-mounted weapon and large front windows for good visibility. Although smaller, it appeared to be built for speed, and probably carried fewer personnel.

“Can you make it back to our transport?” Mira whispered to Sarah. “We’ve got company.”

“Not sure I know the way back. Everything looks the same around here.”

Forgetting for a moment the limitations of her human companion’s weak eyes, Mira wondered why Sarah couldn’t just follow their tracks back to the vehicle. But, even if she did, the timing would be off. In its current location, it was well hidden. No lights, no power, and resting in the shadow of a large boulder. No, it needed to stay put and so did they. Drawing attention to their other companions would only lead to their doom.

Sensing her companion’s worry, Mira jumped down to the ground. “It’s okay.” She attempted a comforting hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “I need you to just stay put. No matter what you see or hear, just stay here and be quiet.”

“What are you going to do?”

“They’re after me, right? I’ll take care of them. If I fail… wait until daylight and find the others. Got it?”

“I think so.” Sarah’s voice warbled with fear.

“You’ll be fine. Just don’t draw attention to yourself no matter what happens. Even if I am screaming for my life, you do not reveal yourself.” Mira would have given anything for her short sword at that moment. She’d have to settle for two fists and a pair of fangs, though.

“I’ll come back for you.” Mira didn’t wait for a response before taking off. Putting a little distance between herself and Sarah, she headed toward the oncoming transport, preparing to meet it head on.

Moving fast and following the same path she’d driven with her vehicle, Mira wondered if they had some form of electronic tracking devices homing in on them. She needed to take them out quickly, before they had a chance to get close.

Using as much supernatural speed as she could, Mira approached the vehicle and bounded on top of it, landing hard and heavy on its roof. It slammed to a halt, almost sending her over the edge, but she managed to hang on, gripping the large roof-mounted gun for dear life.

When she found her footing again, Mira stood and, with a grunt of strength, ripped the large assault-style rifle off the roof and tossed it aside.

The hatch opened under her and immediately shut.

Crouching low, she waited. They’d have to come out the side door if they wanted to get at her. Voices, two of them, argued within the belly of the beast. Mira couldn’t quite make out through the metallic walls what was being said, but she understood the nature of the conversation. She had the element of surprise on her side, and they had no plan of action to deal with her.

For once it seemed she had the upper hand.

Below her a shot was fired. The bullet pierced the roof of the vehicle and her foot at the same time. She hadn’t expected that.

Tears welled in her eyes as the white-hot streak of pain shot up from her foot, but she did not let out a sound. Staying perfectly still, she waited for their next move. With all the blood she’d ingested, the wound would take no time to heal. 

Another shot, this one toward the rear of the vehicle, missed her completely.

The idiots were going to just shoot up their roof in the hopes of hurting her. Mira wasn’t about to play that game. She leaped down and ripped the door off the side of the transport.

Inside she found three men, not just the two she’d heard. One of them was chained down to a chair, though; hardly a soldier, but he appeared to be guarded by one.

Surprise gave Mira the upper hand. She pulled out the soldier, who was wearing all black Kevlar, similar to a handler but without the recognizable insignia. She snapped his neck without a moment’s hesitation.

The driver of the transport, however, wore the same black armor but with the insignia of a handler proudly displayed on his shoulder. He’d be better trained and equipped for a vampire.

He flipped a UV torch onto Mira before she could react.

The instant searing light burned her skin. She hissed and turned her head away. Blinded by the UV torch, she’d have to rely on her other senses.

Laughing. The handler was laughing, but it wasn’t genuine. He was covering up something. A metallic tinkling. Shackles. The third man. The prisoner. Based on the sound, he was being unshackled.

Overpowering the forced laughter, another male voice began to simultaneously moan painfully and sling hateful gibberish.

“You want blood?” the handler asked. “Go, there she is. Take her.”

Unable to focus around the harsh UV light, Mira didn’t see the hulking vampire lumbering toward her, or his meaty fist on a path toward her face. The impact of it sent her to the ground.

Ears ringing and stars dancing in her vision, Mira scrambled to get up. The handler kept his UV torch trained on her, following her every movement with it, blinding her while her opponent, the vampire half-mad with rage, bore down on her like a runaway train.

He was either new or had been starved to the point of savagery. His enraged screams might have been words, but none of the garbled slurs made any sense to her. His swinging fists, however, said loud and clear he had one mission in life: the end of her existence.

Unable to see his face for that damned light in her eyes, Mira concentrated on his feet. Years of fighting in the arena had taught her much about how an opponent telegraphs his next move. This one, while certainly strong and fast, was not a well-trained fighter. His movements were predictable: lunging forward, clumsy with each swing of his fist, nearly overbalancing himself in the process. Mira caught the pattern and dipped and dodged away from two of his swings. She was avoiding getting hit but losing ground, and that damn light was still in her eyes. If she kept this up, she’d end up tiring herself out.

She needed a plan.

She needed to take out the light so she could see properly.

She needed a weapon of some kind. If only she hadn’t tossed away the assault rifle. Even blind as she was, a few shots aimed in the human’s direction would be enough to give her an upper hand.

A wild swing caught her off guard, connecting with her ear. The ringing soon stopped, but now she couldn’t hear anything. Suddenly feeling dizzy, she stumbled for a moment, yelling in a combination of pain and frustration.

Moments longer than she hoped it would take, her balance returned along with her hearing, but she was no closer to a plan of attack for her opponent.

“This ain’t the arena, slave. No one is cheering you on,” the handler teased. He fired what sounded like a gun in her direction. “Quit dancing and just die already.”

That’s not playing fair
. The handler’s taunting only enraged her further. Probably his plan. Get her mad and cause her to make a mistake.

Mira dodged another hit, but this time the lumbering vampire ducked low and swiped at her feet. Not prepared, Mira almost toppled over, but she righted herself and threw her weight towards the vampire, slamming into him instead of the ground.

He clawed at her body with his meaty hands, but Mira didn’t let go. She clung to him, digging her nails into his body. He wore the same simple tunic she had been issued in the prison, which was hardly what anyone could consider armor. She could rip through it with her nails if she really wanted too, but decided teeth would work so much better. Mira bit down through the thin layer of cloth and broke skin.

With a howl of pure rage, the vampire tried to pry Mira away from his chest. She wasn’t giving up. She dug her teeth in deeper, letting his blood dribble down his chest and her face. Something about his blood tasted wrong. Like it was pure metal, but not the coppery metallic aftertaste she was used to. This was more intense, but she couldn’t quite place the taste. Whatever it was that was making him crazy, it was in his blood, and she wanted nothing of it. She suckled at the wound and spit it right back out, draining him without the benefit of indulging herself. 

The frantic pounding and strangled screams began to die down. The handler obviously took notice. He fired his gun again, and this time the bullet made connection with Mira’s body, ripping through her arm.

Angry red hot metal tore through her flesh, but undeterred, she still clung to her prey, draining him as fast as she could, wearing him down.