Apocalypse - 4. Chapter 4: The Fight

Copper. Straight through the roses came a distinct scent of copper. My mind clung to that scent as it slowly pulled me from the depths of unconsciousness. I kind of regretted it though, because when I opened my eyes I found out that the smell wasn't coming from a copper mine (surprisingly), but rather a blood flowing from the gash on my face. Wait.. it was too much blood for it to have come from just me, and looking around I saw the hat guy on his side, facing away from me, and right next to me was Ashi holding a bloody rock. Wow, I didn't think he had it in him really, and surprisingly I didn't see any tears on his face.

Ashi didn't seem to let his guard down though, and neither did I although I was too dizzy to even stand.. Sleep. I really just wanted sleep, but I couldn't, not now, Ashi needed me, or something.. I won't really lie, I kind of liked being able to be the one to relax for once. I mean, I love him and all, but this- thunder. Damn, how could I forget?

With the new crack of thunder, a bolt shot down not far to our right, and as it smashed into a tree, the solid structure was instantly shattered to splinters. They flew everywhere, but thankfully Ashi was smart enough to dive to the ground next to me, successfully avoiding the projectiles. Of course there was little time to react as Rock-Face began to arise. He stood fairly quickly, back to us, and I would guess he was about six feet tall. He straightened his shoulders, adjusted his hat, and slowly turned to face us.

Not really thinking what I was doing, I pushed Ashi down when he tried to rise and, using his body as leverage, I rose to face the threat. I stumbled forward so I was in front of Ashi, and leaned the backs of my legs against his body for fear I would topple over. I took a deep breath, mentally gathered what little strength I had left, and lifted my head to lock eyes with the man; his vibrant green against my lifeless black.

He could sense how worn I was, I knew it. I mean, he was the one who bashed my head into the ground, so of course he knew I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight now. He just stared at me though, never blinking, and tipped the brim of his hat upwards with his index finger. He then rested his chin on his right hand, by holding his left arm horizontally across his chest, and supporting his right arm vertically on his left. He cocked his head slightly and just stared at me with those dazzling emerald eyes, a small smile playing at his lips. I noticed he turned his head slightly to the right, glancing off into the forest, and then about thirty seconds later lightning stuck. He didn't even flinch. Not even when a splinter impaled itself in the side of his neck. His grin just widened when he saw my expression, and from the corner of his mouth small droplets of blood were leaking onto his seemingly glowing pale skin. That's when I noticed his fangs. Yeah, fangs. Like a goddamn vampire.

Well, it actually kind of made sense I guess. I mean, he smelled like roses, so that's kind of like funerals; he seemed pretty damn seductive; and he just survived being bashed in the face with a rock (even though I didn't see any blemishes on his face) and being gouged in the neck with a stick. The only things that made him not fit the 'classic' description in my mind were those twinkling green eyes and his ability to bleed. I started thinking about all the vampire movies I had seen, but was suddenly interrupted when he lunged at me without warning.

He moved quickly, but no faster than a typical human could run, allowing me to dive to the side and avoid his grasp as he tripped over Ashi, still laying where I left him. I took my chance. Finding strength I didn't know I had, I jumped up and dove onto the man, sending him crashing to the ground. I thought I was doing well until he artfully flipped me over and pinned me to the ground with his legs resting on my arms. I struggled to move, but all I could do was stare up at those eyes and smell the roses beginning to overcome me again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ashi run to attack him, but he seemed to notice this as he punched Ashi in the jaw, sending him flying to the ground. The thud he made when he earth was eerily similar to the students' thuds, causing me to shiver as memories flooded my mind. Not the best idea though, as my shivering brought the man's attention back to me and he leaned in very closely.

“Are you a vampire?” I coughed out, the weight of his body beginning to cut off my oxygen. My question made him chuckle, a sound that oddly soothed me, considering I was certain he was about to kill me.

“You seem to be smarter than you look,” he laughed, “We could use someone like you on our side, but certainly you'd need to grow stronger.”

“Let me guess, strength involves you biting my neck?” What the hell was with me? Did I want to die?

“Precisely,” he grinned, and then plunged his fangs through my flesh. It kind of tickled actually. Well, not in a good way, I mean, I could feel the pressure when his two fangs poked through my neck, and it was unnerving when I felt him remove then and begin liking and sucking the holes left behind, but other than that.. nothing. I felt no other change, and that seemed to surprise him as well. He drew back and stared quizzically into my eyes.

“You haven't-” he began to ask, but was quickly cut off when I lunged at him, attacking him with the only weapon I could think of.. my teeth. I bit into that bastard's neck as he had mine, but I was careful not to be as gentle as he had. I felt the tips of my teeth dent in his skin more and more until they just seemed to pop in and warm salty blood filled my mouth.

He didn't scream, but he was certainly taken aback and he jumped away, leaving me lying on the ground. I swiftly felt around my pockets for the box-cutter, but instead pulled out a pencil, the second of the three. Really? I thought, but I didn't really have much time to search again, noticing that he dove for me. Thinking quickly, I held the pencil in my fist and drove it into his chest, using his momentum to force the pencil deeper and deeper until my hand rubbed against the pressed fleece of his suit. He screamed in agony as his eyes widened and then he just simply fell backwards.

I wasn't an idiot though. I jumped up and scanned his body quickly a few times, making mental notes of anything I thought was important: his emerald eyes, his pale skin, his fangs, the smell of roses, his height and slim figure, his suit, and where the pencil had been sent in, right through his heart. Once satisfied, well that and once another tree shattered near me, I picked up a rock, slowly turning it in my hands and enjoying the cold surface against my burning flesh. Then I rolled that rock once more in my hands and bashed the vampire's face. Once I had evenly spread his brain across the grass (yes, his literal brain, I’m not using figurative language), I dropped the rock next to his corpse and went over to check on Ashi, who had just begun to awaken.

“Panah-” he started weakly, but I cut him off.

“It's okay Ashi, it's okay,” I said, pulling him into a hug, “Let's get out of here.. Where did you put Terku?” After he pointed, we both walked back to the road where Terku was resting and I helped Ashi secure him to his back.

“I can't believe you beat him,” Ashi said, his sapphire eyes seeming to glow in wonder.

I laughed, “I know, considering all three of us have no fat or muscle I was sure he would have just tossed us to the ground.” A pause then came between us as Ashi and I seemed to realize that we might not be so lucky next time.

“So, uh, where do you think we should head to?” Ashi asked, breaking the pause.

“Well, that man said the town was like Hell, but I don't know if we can trust him. Um.. do you know where Terku's parents live?” I avoided asking about his parents as both he and I are adopted and neither of us had much of a connection with our 'families,' who seemed to have only gotten us for just for tax benefits.

“I don't know,” Ashi paused, “Do you think he's gonna wake up soon?”

“I'm not really sure, but let's find some medicine that we can use to clean his stomach.”

Ashi looked worriedly at me, “I think you need some too. I mean that gash on your cheek isn't looking too good, and your neck is.. well..” He seemed unable to finish the sentence.

“I'm fine Ashi, I promise, I’m just getting a little sleepy. Let's go find a bed before the storm shifts in this direction, okay?”

“Yeah, but Panah.. why didn't you turn into.. him?” Ashi asked, choosing his words carefully.

“I don't know Ashi, but even he seemed surprised,” I replied and again a pause fell between us.

“Well, let's head into town and see what hell we have to deal with,” I said to him, taking his hand with my right hand and putting on the bowler-hat with my left.