Chapter 4 Introductions are in order

Jane lets out a hiss as Nicole cleans out the wound on her shoulder.

"What do you mean he 'committed suicide''?"

"Just that. He wanted to die, even told me as much, and he walked up to my gun even knowing what kind of ammunition I carried," she answers and winces as Nicole touches the wound again.

Nicole had been her best friend for years. She had this uncharacteristic way of figuring out just about anything thrown at her and because of that she couldn't escape the nickname 'brains' even if she tried. Her dirty blonde hair reached down to her mid-back and was cut in layers so that she could hide her crystal blue eyes if she chose. Her five foot and hundred something pound figure could take down enemies six times her size. She still stood unrivaled with a bow, something Jane hoped to change in the near future. Her slender fingers gave her a distinct advantage when working with electronics or medical emergencies. Life had certainly become interesting ever since the two had met and she can't help the smile that spreads across her lips.

"Hsss, ow. How long are you going to poke at it?!" she snaps.

"You're going to need stitches," Nicole answers, unrepenting and Jane stifled a groan. She looks over to Novan's pale figure leaning against the far wall and he shrugs before giving her an encouraging smile. Nicole follows her gaze and notices the tension he carried in his shoulders. "You need to feed," she says matter-of-factly. He opens his mouth to protest. "Don't start with me. I think there's still some TypeX in the fridge." Nicole turns on their radio and flips through the channels until she finds the hunter's broadcast. The light flashes off the curved needle and Jane rotates her neck to relieve any tension. Forcing on a straight face, she lets out a slow breath as the needle touches her skin. Painkillers seemed to be a rarity these days.

This was going to hurt...

Novan watches as Nicole slowly sews up the wound on Jane's shoulder, faintly listening to the hunter broadcast.

"Reports of movement at the Georgia border with Florida. 'Rising Sun' has moved to take them out. So far they've suffered heavy casualties, these Vamps aren't going down easy. Anyone in the immediate vicinity is suggested to vacate the area or take shelter if fleeing isn't easily available. Anyone worthy of their blade is asked to join in.

"Next we have news from the city of Dallas, Texas. The city is still flourishing and the walls seem to be holding. There seems to be no progress yet as to taking out the Vamps controlling the city. Citizens are still unawares to the goings on in the world.

"Air force one has been sighted in Nebraska. Rumors are, there is a Dragon keeping the plane grounded."

"That's a new one," Nicole murmurs, rolling her eyes.

"Perhaps there is a Dragon, one never knows," he replies and puts the container of TypeX in the microwave. Nicole gives him a dry look.

"It's Nebraska. Why the hell would a Dragon want to be in Nebraska? Worst possible place for the thing to be. What's it going to do, eat corn?"

"It just needed ketchup for its tasty barbequed humans," Jane mumbles with an evil grin and he bursts out laughing again. He catches sight of Nicole's smile even as she chastises Jane.

"...We have one final warning for our listeners before we head out for the day." The man's voice seems to grow dark and sinister. "We of the 'Rising Sun' wish to remind you that Vampires are not our friends. Some may look like people we knew, people we loved, but they're not. The Vampire scourge runs through their veins and they will kill you without thought. Stay prepared and keep a weapon with you at all times. Do not travel by night and always travel in groups. And with that, Hunter is signing off." Then the voice is replaced with the sound of static. He turns the radio off. After all the years they spent together, did they still think that way towards him?

Did they see him only as a monster?

"I wonder if his name really is Hunter?"Jane muses aloud and he bursts into laughter, the question surprisingly enough to lift him from his dark thoughts. Nicole rolls her eyes again with a small chuckle.

"If we ever run into those 'Rising Sun' assholes again, I'll be sure to ask, until then I think we should still steer clear of them."

He remembered all too well what had happened last time. Jane would have faced a firing squad because of him, because they discovered she traveled with a Vampire. Had he not rushed to her...

He rushes into the corridor to find Jane blindfolded and tied against the far wall with a small army standing before her. Their guns raise and he can feel his bloodlust take over. He rips into the first hunter before him, ripping out his throat. He flicks his wrist and his whip curls around the next one's throat and its victim has a moment to let out a startled scream before he yanks back hard on the whip, decapitating him. Mass confusion breaks out and all guns turn to him. Dodging bullets, he races toward the right wall, keeping their guns pointed away from Jane. This would only take a moment to clear them all out...

He just pray the blindfold over her eyes would stay in place so she didn't have to see it.

Novan shakes his head to clear the memory. They'd unwittingly made a new friend, Alexander, and yet Novan had almost lost her. But if she didn't travel with him...

"Would it not be safer if you all traveled with them?"

"Number wise, yes," Nicole answers. "But Alexander made it clear that the moment they found out we ever traveled with a Vampire that they would execute us on the spot. It's a humans only club remember? Why do you think Alexander left?"

"But could you not-"

"Besides," Jane interrupts. "Vampires aren't the sole beings behind everything. They may be the main portion of the enemy but there are just as many humans doing horrible things of their own free will. The 'Rising Sun' jerks are just a bunch of heretics trying to focus everyone's attention on how 'horrible' Vampires are only to justify their actions. We'd end up fighting them again and I'm surprised they're even still alive, broadcasting like they do. Someone is sure to track them down eventually."

"I tried actually," Nicole laughs. "They seem to be a tad smarter than they sound because their broadcast is heavily encrypted. It would probably take me a full week to get past it all."

"And why did you attempt?" he asks.

"I was bored." Jane bursts out with bubbling laughter at that and he can't help the smile that takes over his face. Nicole was nearly finished with Jane's shoulder and it amazed him that she didn't look to be in pain. She hadn't even flinched this entire time, merely carried on a normal conversation.

"How do you do that?" He blurts out. Twin orbs of blue sapphire look over at him again.

"Do what?"

"Sit there and get stitched up as you are."

"I used to get hurt like this a lot as a kid," she answers. "Times were rough even back then. After a while you find a way to deal with the pain." Her full lips never quivered, her flawless face never changed and he couldn't help but feel drawn into her as she radiated calm and relaxation. The microwave chimes and she closes her eyes as he retrieves the TypeX. He grimaces as he takes a sip.

I do not think I could ever become accustomed to this...

And it wasn't like it helped him for long. TypeX was a blood substitute that could get him by for a day or two but the hunger usually came back with a vengeance if he didn't feed before the effects wore off. Vampire scientists had begun development on TypeX before the war broke out of the shadows and weren't able to finish it. All they were able to do was make this solution which kept the bloodlust down and enabled a Vampire to go longer between feedings. The downside was it enhanced the pull of the bloodlust each time it was used so living solely off of it was impossible because the bloodlust always won in the end.

Always...

A strand of ebony hair catches his eye as it falls across her face. She makes no move to tuck it back behind her ear and he found himself resisting the urge to run his fingers through her silken hair. The strand brushes over the hollow of her throat and his eyes linger on the pulse beating there. The sound was like music to his ears, seemingly beating out a rhythm only he could hear, calling him to the sensitive flesh that begged him to run his lips across. Porcelain skin covered the rushing river within her and his mouth begins to water at the thought of how sweet she would taste.

He closes his eyes and imagines burying his face against that tender part of her. He can almost hear the gentle moan escape her lips as he savored the vanilla scent of her, his fingers entangling themselves in her long hair, tilting her head back before placing a feather soft kiss along her pulse.

His lips part as a silent moan escapes him.

"Can I get some help with this one?!" A voice calls from the front door, snapping him out of his fantasy. He realizes he'd begun to lean toward her and he pulls back, shocked at how truly close he'd been to giving in.

"Can you help him, Novan? I've got my hands full here."

"Of course," he answers with a slight nod. Anything to get him out of that room.

He closes the door behind him and finds Alexander in a hallway, dragging a barely conscious man behind him. Novan inhales the man's scent and bites back a snarl.

Alexander had found a human servant, one of the select few humans to bind themselves to Vampires in order to gain power. All they ever gained was eternal servitude.

Like selling your soul to a demon...the stupid fool.

They drag the man to a soundproof room, the only furnishing a steel chair bolted to the floor. They secure him to it with plastic ties and Alexander dumps a bucket of cold water over him, waking the man with a start.

"I was going to need your help. He's very devoted to whoever is pulling the strings and he's been one pain in the ass." Novan notices how his friend was favoring his left side. He nods slightly before turning to the man before him

"You shall yield to me," he whispers, forcing his way past the man's mental barriers. Shuffling through the man's memories, he pauses before the image of a woman with raven dark hair as she stood before him with a midnight dark veil around her. She was at Jane's home and had been a true handful.

Lady Serena...

The man's thoughts echo through his mind and he moves on to the next memory. He'd have to ask around about her later. The next was of a man clad in deep blues but the image was blurred. He frowns and uses more power, blocking out the man's groans of pain, but the image wouldn't clear. He was willing to bet this was the man behind the attacks. He couldn't get a name so he moved on to the next memory. There was a map with four locations marked. One was of the house Jane was staying in. Layouts of the buildings lay alongside it on the table and Novan's eyes widen as he recognizes the rest.

He pulls out from the man's mind.

"They know where we are and were planning a stream of attacks six hours ago. The first target was Jane's house. This one is the third step."

"I'll get the girls." They turn and the man lets out a half-crazed laugh. They pause.

"We'll pick you off...one by one."

Novan watches Alexander closely. His green eyes harden at the man's words and his well-built body becomes still. His five foot eight figure radiates danger at the threat on Nicole's life. In one fluid motion he turns with his fist in the air and lands a blow to the man's head. He pulls back when he realizes he had snapped the spinal cord and the man had stopped breathing. All light left the man's eyes and Novan turns away.

"Take Nicole with the car and tell Jane to go by bike. I shall leave on foot and we can meet up again at the old warehouse off interstate 89."

"You mean the remains of interstate 89," Alexander states dryly. He nods with a sad smile before Alexander takes off and they all part ways.

Be safe dear friends...