A/N:
Released on March 28, 2018

Sorry this chapter is being put up so late at night. It's 11:30pm where I live, so it's cutting it close.

I've been on vacation with family for Spring Break for a few days and didn't really have time to write this chapter until I got back last night. But I didn't finish the chapter until tonight because I was really tired.

I hope you enjoy this long chapter!

Word Count: 2643

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Chapter 17: Instinct and Impulsive Vengeance

"Some place where we can fight" turned out to be an empty parking lot not too far from downtown Topeka.

"This is where we're doing this? In an abandoned place with no room for cover? What if they try to shoot us?" I hissed out as we stopped in the center of the area.

"Exactly. We're going to test your telepathy, along with your acting skills." Zane announced, his tone completely serious.

I glanced at Ash, who only shrugged. He was just going to go along with whatever Zane's plan was, even though they've never gotten along before.

I could only guess that Ash realized that he couldn't argue because he didn't know anything about telepathy, while Zane had experience with it for most of his life.

"You pretend to be the hostage they think you are. We will go around the building to the back alley, where there's cover, and you stay here alone. When they ask you if you're okay, you'd better be a good actor." Zane elaborated upon seeing my confused expression.

I rubbed at my temple, wondering how in the world we would pull this off. "I've never acted in my life. This plan is suicidal." I informed Zane in exasperation.

He scoffed at me as he ran a hand through his already wind ruffled hair. "That's a load of crap! If you've ever lied, it's the same thing as acting. And I know you've lied to your parents."

"You know, maybe we shouldn't be standing out in the open arguing when the guy who reported us could still be watching our every move!" I pointed out in a hushed whisper.

"That's not technically accurate." Ash corrected me tentatively, as if he was afraid of invoking my rage, like I was some untamed beast.

Zane and I both turned to him in surprise, not expecting him to get in the middle of our argument.

"If you reach out with your heightened senses, you'll notice he's not nearby. That's because backup will be here any minute and they'll be able to track us. They would want their little spy to stay away so he goes undetected by us." Ash explained urgently.

"So in other words, the hunters want a sneak attack." I summed it up.

Ash just sighed and stayed silent as Zane went on with telling us the plan. "Okay. Alicia, you cry for help while Ash and I hide in the alley. Be sure to tell them where we are, then use your telepathy as soon as they're distracted."

I nodded my head in understanding, even though I had a small amount of hope for the plan to actually work.

"Now, the important thing to remember is-" Zane began to tell me, but Ash interrupted.

"They're coming. We have to go now." He commanded, his voice filled with an urgency that couldn't be ignored.

I opened my mouth to ask what Zane was going to say, but they were both gone before I could blink.

And that's how the vampire hunters found me, in a daze and confused on what I was supposed to do. I was inadvertently playing the part I was supposed to of the human in distress.

They pulled up in two black SUV's that looked like something the military would use. Ten men and two women hopped out of the large vehicles.

One of the women said a few words and gestured for some of them to stay there while the others approached me cautiously.

"We're here to help you, but we need you to stay calm. Can you do that?" The woman, who seemed to be the leader, said to me as she inched closer slowly.

I could see a gun strapped to each of their waists, all of the men resting their hands on the handles in preparation.

I nodded my head slowly as if I was scared. When the woman was close enough to hear me whisper, I leaned towards her. My light blue eyes widened as I quieted my voice. "They went that way." I pointed at the alley behind the building with a slightly shaky hand.

One guy in particular caught my notice because he kept glancing around nervously, like he expected to be attacked at any moment. He was in the back of the group and looked the youngest.

He was definitely the most scared of all of them, considering that they stood stoically, ready for orders.

The youngest one met my eyes for a split second before he glanced away again. Looking into his thoughts showed me that he was freaking out on the inside, worse than how scared he looked on the outside.

"What if she's a vampire pretending to be a human? She doesn't have the eyes, but she still could... No, no. That's not right. Vampires can't wear contacts. Something about their eyes dissolves contacts... If only I paid more attention in class."

I felt bad for the guy because he didn't seem like he wanted to be there, but I couldn't stop to contemplate his life choices while dealing with my own crisis.

"You're alright now." The woman in charge assured, breaking me out of my thoughts. "My name is Amy. And I promise, my group and I will catch them."

I whipped my head around and saw they had split into two groups. One was making their way towards Zane and Ash, and another smaller group was waiting for orders from the one talking to me.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked her in an urgent but hushed tone, eyes still wide to give my performance more credibility.

"We specialize in getting rid of those... things. One of our colleagues noticed those monsters with you and observed your behavior. You were watching people with a blank stare, but you were walking as if you were dizzy." Amy explained.

They must've seen when I stumbled in the beginning of my telepathic training. I was trying to listen to people's thoughts and walk, and the first try didn't work out so well. How did we not know they were watching us as soon as we stepped into town?

"That's a major sign of blood loss." The woman added. "Did they-?" She began to ask as she reached for me, pulling on the collar of my jacket.

"No!" I squealed out, shrinking away from her quickly when her fingers brushed my skin. She wouldn't see any bite marks on my neck if she checked, and that wouldn't help out my story.

"I mean... I just don't really know what's been happening." I whispered, frantically looking back and forth between her and the few standing behind her.

The second group was about to go after my friends. I could tell by the way they were standing in front of the building at the corner and holding their guns at the ready, preparing to stampede the alley. Half of them were at the left side of the building and the other half were at the right side.

There was nowhere for Zane and Ash to go, which was the plan. To make the hunters think they had us trapped.

While I was in thought Amy grabbed my arm, apparently to comfort me, but it made me jump in surprise. "Wow, you're cold. We need to get you help."

She turned towards one of the guys to give him orders. "Let's get her in one of the cars to take to the medical center." Then Amy faced me again, her voice changing to sound sympathetic, but I was freaking out inside. "What's your name?"

I glanced around frantically, wondering how to take them all out without seriously hurting anyone. I met Amy's gaze, feeling guilty but determined. If she knew what I was, she would kill me. And her colleagues were about to kill my friends.

I shook my head, causing Amy to frown, but it cleared my head enough to concentrate. "Go to sleep. You work so hard which makes you tired. So go to sleep. Lay down and fall asleep."

Amy blinked at me and the people behind her exchanged confused looks, but she did what she was told and went to sleep.

One of the three other people took action immediately, pulling out his gun and pointing it at me. "What did you just do?" He asked suspiciously.

I held up my hands and shook my head, playing as innocent as possible before really attacking. "I didn't do anything."

The scared one of the group was already kneeling down next to Amy. "Commander?" He said questioningly, reaching out to her.

I kept my gaze on the one pointing a gun at me, shooting a mental order to the one trying to shake Amy awake. Within five seconds he was lying down to sleep next to her.

"Stop it! What are you doing?" The one with the gun yelled at me, his grip tightening in fear.

I reached out with my telepathy to locate my friend and my boyfriend, checking in to see if they were alright.

~*~

Ash's POV

There wasn't anywhere for us to hide permanently, only a few places that might work as temporary cover.

I assumed it was what we needed to distract the hunters long enough for Alicia to take them out, but I couldn't be sure because Zane still hadn't told me the details of the so called plan he had.

It was a small alley, barely big enough for a fight. From my hiding place behind a dumpster I glanced at Zane, who was about ten feet away hidden at another dumpster.

I wanted to scowl at him, wondering what in the world we're doing and if we'll survive, but I kept my face blank. Zane nodded to me, expressing that it was time. I listened and could hear the footsteps of the hunters creeping around the corner, preparing to kill us.

"No killing." Zane whispered so low that no one else could possibly hear it besides a vampire. I doubted that Alicia heard, considering that she was fighting her own battle.

But how were we supposed to get rid of the hunters without killing them or getting ourselves killed? I could smell the gunpowder, but something was off about it. I feared they had some sort of new protection against us, which could cost us our lives.

It had been so long since I dealt with vampire hunters, meaning I was clueless as to what weapons they were using.

I was alerted of the attack by the crash of their boots against the concrete before I saw anyone. Bullets immediately flew in our direction, and only by flattening ourselves against the sides of the dumpsters were we able to avoid getting hit.

The clank of metal against metal echoed in my skull, reverberating through the small space and making it harder to determine where they were.

But it seemed I didn't have to know because Zane jumped out of hiding before I had to, knocking a soldier looking guy into the wall. He turned and punched the next one in the face before the guy's gun could be turned on him.

I left Zane to deal with those men as another group stampeded into the fight from the other side of the alley. I rushed into battle, fighting with my back to Zane and adrenaline rushing through me because of my instinct to survive.

I was able to knock out one person by kicking them into the wall. Right after that I had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit with more flying bullets.

One buried itself in the wall right next to my head, freaking me out more than I'd like to admit. If a bullet buried itself in an organ of mine, hits me in the head, or if I get hit with enough bullets, it could be fatal.

I used my super speed to rush the three remaining hunters. Just barely missing their bullets, I simultaneously shoved two of the men. I spun on my heel in time to see a gun pointed at my head.

I willed myself to move but knew it was too late to get out of the way. My eyes landed on the finger pulling the trigger, while my left hand came up to defend myself.

The bang exploded in my ears as pain rushed through me, paralyzing my body instantly. I fell to the ground in a heap of agony, letting go of the guy's arm. I had moved it so that the gun was aimed at the sky, but I had failed to realize the hunter had expected that.

I gasped and was finally able to move as the pain intensified. I shoved my hands over the stab wound to stop the blood flow. If I lost too much blood I could die, but that wasn't even the most important thing to worry about.

The glint of a bloody knife caught my attention as it was lifted up. Silence roared in my ears as the air seemed to part for the silver blade that was aligned with my heart.

Silver was poisonous to vampires if it entered their bloodstream, so even if I got help, there would only be a small chance of my survival.

I was powerless to stop the act that would kill me. But at least I'd be dying for Alicia, to keep her and her stupid boyfriend safe.

Unfortunately for me, it was her stupid boyfriend who saved me and not Alicia herself.

Zane caught the hunter's wrist before the knife could puncture my chest, catching both of us by surprise. Zane bent the guy's wrist until it snapped.

My hearing returned at that point, the snap of the bone bringing me back. Someone was yelling for backup and more footsteps were approaching. That couldn't be good.

~*~

I forced myself to worry about my next move, not Zane and Ash. They would be fine, especially since I didn't hear them get hurt yet. They only just began fighting.

Then someone from the alley yelled for backup and I knew I had to finish off the last two people.

I abandoned my human act by using my super speed, running forward and knocking out one of the men with a single punch. I was supposed to be using my telepathy, but my friends might've needed me.

The strong scent of blood filled my nose as I turned towards the remaining guy.

The odor wasn't very familiar, but I instinctively recognized it as vampire blood. Someone got hurt.

I glared at the person who was pulling their gun out. My eyes burned red with uncontrollable fury, my only thoughts on hurting anyone near for injuring someone I loved.

They fired their gun, but everything was moving in slow motion. I just twisted my shoulder to the side a bit to avoid the bullet.

I latched onto their shoulders and shoved them against one of the vehicles with an angry hiss of vengeance.

"Wha- What are you? How did you seem so- so human?" The guy stuttered, but I tightened my grip on his shoulders, keeping the gun away from me.

"I'm someone you'll never meet again." I answered hatefully, thinking up a painful way to deal with him.

With a cloud of rage overpowering my better judgment, I reached deep into his mind, searching for his darkest fear until I found it and pulled it to the front of his mind.

I let go of the man, leaving him to curl up on the ground with wide eyes as he whimpered in fear, unable to escape his nightmare.

I ran as quickly as I could to help out Zane and Ash, grinning to myself at getting back at someone for once.