The Recruit: Book Two (23 page)

He took another deep breath and glanced around the training
room.  “It was my idea to go after this training facility.  Not only will we
discover the other facility locations but we have a bevy of highly-skilled
humans at our disposal.  Not to brag, but it really is quite brilliant.  Where
else could we find so many young, enthusiastic humans?  Your training combined
with their eagerness to go charging into battle makes them quite effective
killers.  We will find them most useful to our cause when we turn them.”

“We’ve already killed the humans you turned.”  Hannah
replied.  “You’re fighting a losing battle.”

Samuel smiled at her.  “I’ll admit that a part of me hoped
that perhaps it would be more difficult for you to kill your friends.  I should
have known better.  You may be human but your heart is as black as mine,
Hannah.  You were meant to be one of us.  When I turn you, you’ll understand
how intoxicating immortality can be.”

He glanced behind them.  “Why don’t you ask your friends how
much they enjoy it?”

Hannah and Chen turned and Hannah gripped the handles of her
swords more tightly.  A group of about twenty leeches, she recognized many of
them from the facility, had entered the training room and they were drooling
and grinning at them.

Hannah backed away, Chen following her, as the group
scurried toward Samuel.  A few of them broke off from the group and crept
towards the two humans. 

“Stop!”  Samuel’s voice rang out and they froze in their
tracks before backing away. 

Samuel turned to a leech nearly hidden in the back of the
group.  “Come forward, my sweet.  Don’t be shy.  Let us show Hannah what she
has to look forward to.”

He took the leech’s hand and tugged her forward.  Hannah
stiffened and uttered a soft moan of dismay.

“Steady, Hannah.”  Chen murmured.

“Alison?”  Hannah whispered.

The creature that used to be Alison grinned at her.  “Hello
Hannah.”

Samuel stroked her long hair and she put her arm around his
waist before raising her face to his.  He kissed her lightly on the mouth
before smiling at Hannah.  “We found this one in the administration wing.  She
was uploading a virus to the computer system.”

He pointed to a fat teenage vampire standing to his left.  
“Lance says it would have completely destroyed the entire system once it was
fully uploaded.”

He stroked Alison’s hair again.  “Isn’t she a clever girl?  She
put up a hell of a fight.  She killed four vampires before we could take her.  Lance
– have you met Lance?  Lance, he’s a computer genius by the way, said if she
had uploaded the virus fully he wouldn’t be able to hack into the system. 
Lucky for us, we got there just in time.  Even as we stand here, Lance’s
computer program is busily working away at your security system.  It will only
be a matter of time before we break into it.”

Alison stepped forward and held out her hand to Hannah. 
“It’s so amazing, Hannah.  We were wrong to fear it.  There’s no more pain, no
more fear or doubt.  This is what we were meant to be.  Let me show you.”

Hannah took a deep breath and, without looking at Chen,
sheathed her swords and stepped towards Alison.  Alison’s eyes widened with
delight and she met Hannah in the middle of the room.  She continued to hold
her hand out and Hannah reached out with a trembling hand and linked their
fingers together.  Alison’s hand was ice cold and she made a hissing sound of
pleasure before yanking Hannah into her embrace.  She kissed Hannah’s mouth
with her cold lips and stroked her dark hair. 

“Don’t be afraid, Hannah.”  She whispered as her fangs
lengthened and she bent her head toward Hannah’s throat.  “It only hurts for a
moment and then –“

Her entire body jerked against Hannah’s and she blinked at
her in mild surprise.  Hannah rested her forehead against Alison’s.  “I’m
sorry, Allie-cat.”  She whispered.

She drew back and Alison stared down at the handle of the
blade sticking out of her chest.  As her skin began to blacken, she glanced a
final time at Hannah.  The cold emptiness in her gaze had disappeared and for a
moment the creature standing in front of her was Alison again.  She smiled and
mouthed “Thank you” before bursting into ash and blood.  The dagger fell to the
floor with a harsh clink.

Hannah moved back until she was standing next to Chen again
and pulled her swords free.  Although tears were flowing freely down her
cheeks, she grinned at Samuel and the other leeches.  “Who’s next?”

Samuel hissed with anger and stared at the leeches
surrounding him.  “Bring them both to me.  Now.”

The leeches muttered and moaned with delight and, as they
crept towards them, Hannah and Chen turned until their backs were to each
other. 

“Master…”  She whispered.

“You’ve done this before.  You can do it again.  Don’t
disappoint me, Hannah.”

“I won’t, Master.”  She replied immediately.

As the first of the leeches reached for them, she heard Chen
murmur softly, “Begin”.

Selena crouched down beside Mallorie.  She was sitting
against the wall, cradling April in her arms, and Selena placed her fingers on
April’s neck.  She gave Mallorie a look of sorrow.

“She’s gone, honey.  I’m sorry.”

Mallorie, tears dripping down her face, hugged April
closer.  “I know.”

“Fucking Christ!  That hurts!”  Ryan snarled.

Selena squeezed Mallorie’s shoulder and then stood and
walked to Reid and Ryan.  Reid was probing at Ryan’s arm, blood was flowing
steadily from a large wound in his shoulder, and Reid quickly pulled off Ryan’s
shirt and pressed it against the wound. 

“He’s going to bleed out if we don’t get him to Barb.”  Reid
said in a low voice to Selena.

“We don’t even know if Barb’s alive.”  Selena said just as
quietly.  “The leeches could be all over the farmhouse for all we know.”

Reid looked around grimly.  Mannie and a number of the
recruits were setting up a barricade against the door, using the couches and
the armchairs.  “We’re sitting ducks in this room.  We need to –“

Mannie shouted in alarm as the door to the common room
shuddered in its frame.  A few of the recruits gave frightened screams as
Mannie gripped the broken chair leg tightly.

“Get back!”  He shouted.  They backed away from the door as
it shuddered again before popping open.  It was stopped by one of the couches
and Selena cursed under her breath when a leech stuck its head into the small
opening and peered at them.

“Humans!”  It shouted with glee before disappearing from
view.  There was a loud hammering and as the door began to groan and shiver
beneath the weight of the leeches piling against it, Mannie stared at the
others.

“Protect the wounded.  Move!”

The recruits still able to fight quickly surrounded the
wounded in a close, tight circle.  Selena, standing between Reid and Mallorie,
glanced around.  Most of the recruits were babies and they were staring at each
other with pale and frightened faces.

“Reid…”  She whispered.

“I know.”  He handed a gun to the recruit standing beside
him.  “Do you know how to use this?”

The recruit shook her head and he clicked the safety off. 
“Just point and shoot.  Aim for their chests and do the best you can, alright?”

She nodded and swallowed harshly as Reid squeezed her arm
before turning back to Selena.  “How much ammo do you have left?”

She shook her head.  “Not much.  Six rounds in this one,”
she indicated to the gun in her hand, “and a full clip in this one.”  She
touched the gun strapped to her thigh. 

“Make each one count.  Do you hear me?”  Reid snapped at
her.

“I hear you.”  She replied.

Mannie turned to the recruits and grinned at them as a hard,
fierce light glowed in his eyes.  “Keep it close and tight.  Don’t let those
fucking bloodsuckers break the circle.  Do you understand?”

There was a few half-hearted murmurs and Mannie glared at
them before roaring, “Do you fucking understand me?”

A chorus of loud “Yes sir!” filled the room and Mannie
turned as the leeches broke through the door with a loud splintering crash.

“Bring it on, motherfuckers!”  He shouted at them and with
soft hissing and snarling, the vampires surged forward.  They leaped over the
couches and chairs and flew at the line of bloody and battered humans. 

Selena raised her gun and shot the leech that was about to
leap on her.  She fired continually, dropping each leech that appeared in front
of her.  Beside her, Reid was firing as well and her ears were ringing from the
gunfire. 

There was a strangled shout and she turned to see three
leeches attacking Mannie.  They bit into his arms and chest as he struggled
beneath their writhing bodies.

“Reid!”  Selena screamed.  “Mannie needs helps!”

Before they could make their way to him, Mallorie was
there.  She stabbed one of the vampires through the back with the stake in her
left hand and stabbed another leech through its thigh with the stake in her
right.  Her long dark hair whipped around her face as she yanked the stake free
and raised it over her head. 

Mannie, blood pouring from the bite wounds, threw the
vampire on top of him on to the floor and bounced upwards.  He fell on the
vampire, thrusting the broken chair leg deep into its chest.  It hissed at him
and then burst apart as Mannie lumbered to his feet and turned to Mallorie. 
She was struggling with the third leech and he plunged the chair leg into the
leech’s back just as Mallorie pushed her stake into its face with a wet,
squelching noise.  The vampire squealed in shock and pain and tore away from
them.  There was a loud cracking noise as the chair leg snapped in its back,
and Mannie dropped the small piece of wood he was left holding on to the
ground.  Mallorie handed him one of her stakes and he gave her a nod of thanks
as the vampire exploded and covered them in blood and ash.

“There’s too many!”  Selena shouted at Reid as the vampires
drove their small circle back towards the wounded.

“Keep fighting!”  He shouted back before using the butt of
his gun to deliver a hard blow to the temple of a vampire.  It dropped to the
floor at his feet and he bellowed with pain when it bit into the meaty part of
his calf.  It began to suckle eagerly and he hammered repeatedly at it with his
gun.  Mannie appeared beside them and he quickly skewered the vampire with the
stake.  It disintegrated into ash and blood and Reid helped Mannie to his feet.

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it.”  Mannie panted.

“Mannie, there’s too many of them.”  Selena muttered to him
as he squeezed in between her and Reid.

“I know.”  He replied darkly.  “But I’d rather burn in hell
than let them turn me.  Don’t stop.  We – “

There was a loud howling and Selena’s eyes widened in
astonishment when Will, in his Lycan form, burst into the room.  He was
followed by Constance and the twins and she felt a surge of hope as the two
Lycans began to tear apart the suddenly-frightened vampires.

“Fuck me sideways!”  Mannie shouted.  “What the fuck are
they doing here?”

“Who cares?”  Reid shouted back.  “They’re saving our
fucking lives!”

They watched as the Lycans, howling and snarling, killed the
remaining leeches in minutes.  The twins, panting lightly, jogged to where
Selena and the others were.

“Fucking werewolves.  Am I right?”  Luther grinned at
Selena.  She didn’t reply as she watched Will decapitate the last leech with one
swipe of his front paw.  As the vampire burst apart, he lifted his snout and
howled.  Across the room, Constance joined him in his howling and a few of the
babies cried out and threw their hands over their ears. 

With a soft pop, Will shifted to his human form and stalked
across the room to Mannie.

“Jesus H. Christ!  Am I ever fucking glad to see you, man.” 
Mannie grinned at him.  “I thought you were out hunting.”

“Where’s Hannah?”  Will grabbed Mannie by the arm and shook
him roughly, ignoring the way the smaller man winced.  “Where is she, Mannie?”

“Her and Chen left for the administration wing.  They think
that head leech might have went there to try and get the information about the
other facilities.  I have no – “

He paused, his tanned face paling, as he whispered,
“Alison?”

Without another word, Mannie turned and fled the room.  Will
shifted to his wolf form and loped after him.

“Fuck!”  Reid shouted.  “Wait for us, you goddamn idiots!” 

Selena grabbed Luther’s arm.  “Stay here.  Protect the
wounded if more leeches come through.  Do you hear me?”

“There ain’t any more, pretty sure.”  Luther replied.  “Wolf
boy and the hottie cleared out the hallways as we were going and – “

“Stay here!”  Selena interrupted him.  “There may be more!”

Tyrone frowned.  “We’re going after Hannah.”

Constance shifted and ran to Ryan.  He gave her a weak smile
and she kissed him lightly on the mouth before turning to the twins.  “I can’t
protect all of them by myself.  I need you and your brother’s help.” 

Luther grinned.  “You heard my future wife, Tyrone.  She
needs our help.”

As Selena and Reid scrambled over the couches towards the
door, Constance shouted, “Keep an eye on the ceilings.  They roost there like
goddamn vultures!”

They nodded and ran from the room.

* * *

“Hannah!  Down!”  Chen’s loud command had her dropping to
her knees and she watched as he swung his sword in a sharp arc above her head. 
A leech’s head, still hissing, dropped into her lap and she pushed it aside
with a grunt of disgust before popping back to her feet. 

“To your left!”  She shouted.  Chen turned and thrust his
sword into the leech’s chest as Hannah whirled around and sliced off the arm of
a vampire.  It screamed with rage and she cut its head off as the last two
leeches surrounded her. 

“C’mon, you sons of bitches!”  She shouted as they shuffled
closer to her.  The one on the left was Lance, the computer genius, and she
grinned bitterly at him as he bared his fangs at her.  Lance leaped toward her and
she plunged her sword into his fat belly.  He screeched like a wounded cat and
she used her other sword to slice his head from his body.  It tumbled to the
ground, rolling across the floor of the training room to bump up against the
wall.  It turned to ash as she heard the loud clashing of swords.  As the other
leech slinked towards her she glanced to her right.  Chen, his swords flashing
and dancing in the light, was battling Samuel.

She gave a small moan of dismay.  The vampire was incredibly
quick and she knew neither her nor Chen would be able to defeat him.  From the
corner of her eye, she saw the last leech pouncing at her and turned and swept
her right sword across his legs.  It cut through his thighs like butter and he
fell to the floor, screaming his outrage as he tried to drag himself away from
her.  She chased after him and cut off his head, ignoring his pleas for mercy,
before turning back to Chen and Samuel. 

She raced forward as Samuel raised his sword and brought it
down in a blinding flash of steel and light.  She stumbled to a stop as Chen’s
sword fell to the floor.  He was staring down at his left arm and she cried out
with shock.  Her master’s arm ended at mid-forearm in a bloody stump and, as
she watched, Chen swayed and fell to his knees.

Samuel, his sword covered in Chen’s blood, grinned at her. 
“Limb by limb, Hannah.”

He raised his sword and cocked his head at Chen.  “Shall we
take your other hand, Master Chen?  Or should I just take your head?”

He paused.  “Your head, I think.”

Chen, his face pale, stared up at him as he clutched at his
bleeding stump and Samuel laughed.  “Beg me for your life, sword master, and
perhaps I’ll spare it.”

Chen shook his head lightly and raised his chin, baring his
neck to him.  Samuel frowned at him like a petulant child.  “You had your chance,
human.”

He swung his sword towards Chen’s exposed throat and gave a
soft grunt of surprise when his blade met steel.  Hannah, her face grim, stood
next to Chen with her left sword blocking Samuel’s blow and her right sword
held tightly at her side.

Without a word, she thrust her right sword into Samuel’s
side.  He hissed and backed away, the sword tearing from his body.  Hannah
stared at the black blood on her blade before moving protectively in front of
Chen.

“That hurt!”  Samuel pouted. 

She raised her swords in the fighting position as he arched
one eyebrow in amusement.  “Do you really believe that you can defeat me,
Hannah?  I have defeated your master.  Is the student really better than her
master?”

She didn’t reply and he sighed with annoyance.  “Honestly,
Hannah.  This is a waste of my time.  I do not wish to fight you.  Put down
your swords.”

She raised them higher in response and said softly, “Begin.”

“Very well.”  He snapped and raised his swords.  He thrust
his right sword at her and she parried the attack before lunging at him with
her left.  It narrowly missed his throat and he gave her a look of delighted
surprise.

“You’re better than I thought.”

He looked behind her at the motionless Chen.  “You’ve taught
her well.”

He ducked back as she swung her swords at him and she
charged forward.  Every nerve in her body was on fire and her mind went blank
as she thrust and parried and swung her swords.  Samuel blocked each one, a
look of amusement on his face, until with a quick twist of his wrist, he
knocked her left sword from her hand.  It slid across the floor and Hannah gave
it a brief glance before raising her right.

“Enough, Hannah.”  Samuel said with a touch of impatience. 
“By now, my followers will have turned all of your friends.  Your master lays
dying behind you.  You have nothing left.  I will defeat you and turn you.”

“Never!”  Hannah spat at him.  She was panting heavily and
soaked with sweat, and she could feel her tired arms trembling.

He sighed.  “Why do you insist on making this so difficult
for yourself?  You and I both know you cannot defeat me, and you have nothing
left in this life worth living for.  Become one of us and fulfill your
destiny.”

An image of Will flickered through her head.  It gave her a
surge of hope and confidence and she grinned at him.  “I’m going to kill you,
just like I killed Marcus.”

He hesitated and then smiled cheerfully at her.  “I killed
your love, you know.”

She jerked in surprise and his smile widened.  “That’s
right.  Your precious dog, Will, is dead by my hand.”

“You lie.”  She whispered.

“I do not.  It was surprisingly easy to capture him and that
she-bitch while they were out hunting.  All I needed was a silver net and some
silver chain.”

She took a step back and he followed her.  “He died cursing
your name.”  He taunted.  “Of course, I did make it quite painful for him.  You
mustn’t judge him for that.  As he was dying, I carved open his chest and ate
his heart.  It was –“ he paused and winked at her, “delicious.”