[M] The Situation (1/1)

C h a p t e r T w o

The Situation

An unsettling feeling only continued to build at the pit of their stomach as they continued to walk further in through the carnage; both keeping their

eyes and ears open as they steadily made their way deeper into Southern HQ's underground facility.  "Keep your guard up," Min warned as she shined the flashlight in front of them, lighting up the path that would lead them to the storage unit. Certainly, there had to be survivors hauled up in there —especially the ones she wanted so desperately to see. But she still had to be careful. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't rush through. "There might be more." "I'd be of more use if I were free," He sneered in response, shaking his hands in the air order for her to hear the rattling sound of his chains. Min scoffed as she peered around the corner, not even taking the time to look back at him as she replied dryly,  "Not an option." He rolled his eyes. "So stubborn." The red blinking security light which had been triggered along with the alarm made everything seem eerier in comparison to before. More bodies hung from the ceiling, while others were mangled across the floor. From what Min could tell some of the workers had tried to engage the security lockdown procedure but failed to leave quick enough. Whoever was here, moved quick , worked quick and more importantly came in a group.  Poor bastards,  She thought. It was becoming too much and the smell... It was horrific. "So where the hell are we going?" The wolf asked as he watched Min pound her leather clad fists together and use her strength to pry open the hydraulic doors. If he didn't known any better, he would think she was a wolf herself with the amount of inhuman strength she had bottled up. "To find survivors," She responded with her dry tone as she continued to do her job.  The wolf watched curiously and gave a little scoff. "You seriously expecting to find any here?" "Look you," She snapped once again before seeing the smug expression on his face. Honestly, she was just about done with his bullshit. She sighed and placed her attention back at the door, knowing all too well that he was enjoying getting a rise out of her.  "Just shut your mouth and move. The faster we get this done, the faster I can be rid of you." Right now she was going to use the pent up aggression to her advantage and finally managed to open the doors with a loud metallic rumble which lead to another series of weaving and winding hallways. Once again, he concentrated on watching her and the way she moved ahead of him, her hips swaying even when in a guarded stance. It was interesting, to say the least, how someone so small was so valiant and unfazed by everything. Everything except for him, of course. He enjoyed being able to get under her skin. He had found that it was a new form of entertainment for the time being, considering he couldn't do anything else. "Oof," He grunted as he ran into her when she came to an abrupt stop along the way. He looked down at her, about ready to expect her to yell at him but instead watched as she peaked around a corner. "The least you can do is warn me," He growled and noticed how she kept his chains from jingling. "And the least you can do is shut up and pay attention," She hissed under her breath. The fact that she wasn't yelling at him told him that there was something up. He smirked at a sudden idea popping up in his head. "WHAT? IS SOMEONE THERE?" She snapped her head to look back at him, her mouth agape and her eyes narrowed and dripping in fury. A deep throated roar could be heard just a few feet away and he smiled in smug satisfaction, as it confirmed what he had suspected. Right around the corner, there were more. But Min had something under her own sleeve. Slowly opening her eyes after calming herself.  "Stupid mutt, you have no idea what you just did. You just dug a deep grave." "Aw, the wittle Hunter is scared," He mocked in amusement. Min chuckled menacingly and tightened her grip on his chains. "I didn't mean mine." Without much time to really process what was happening, Min had effortlessly swung the tail-end of the chain attached to the wolf over her head and pushed him in front of her as he took the blunt force of the impact and once again using him as a distraction as she tangled his chains with one of the monstrous looking vampires that was set on ripping their throats. Shit, the Alpha cursed. This was not what he had in mind at all. But she was just as quick witted as he was. Min was one step ahead and though he thought he could preoccupy her with fighting another demon, the last thing he had expected was for her to react fast and turn it around on him instead. And now, in order for him to survive as well, he had to fight along side of her. I'm useless with all this shit on, he thought as he fidgeted with all the chains before striking at the vampire. He had never felt so helpless without the use of his powers. As Min had him take that, she handled the other bulky vampire and materialized her weapons once again, wrapping the chain around her right arm before she began shooting at him. Both vampires were no more than six feet tall and were built like body builders. Their pale skin and burgundy eyes allowed her to identify the two Deavas as Night Walkers; A sub-race of vampires. What are they doing out in the middle of the day? She thought as she dodged his right hook and turned behind him to only see him charge up another attack and hit her with a fist full of fire which she successfully blocked. A Charge? Her eyes widened in shock, before she saw him warm up yet another attack. She turned and saw the wolf behind her and remembered what her mission was; She still needed him alive. "Move!" She yelled out and roundhouse kicked the wolf in the back only to have him fly to the other side of the open hall with the other vampire pulled by him. At the same time, Min ran and did a wall-flip, letting the large fireball that the vampire she was fighting shot, burst a hole through it before landing back on the ground. "Are you fucking insane!?" The Wolf yelled violently as he flung the vampire off of him with ease. "You could've killed me." "Be glad I didn't," She hissed, not looking at him as he threw his hissy-fit off to the side where he dodged another attack from the vampire and then quickly returned with a jab right to the face. As she assessed the situation, she continued to dodge the vampires attacks, unable to get in a good counter between his Charges. Considering he wasn't the average Daeva, Min smiled to herself and sidestepped another attacks to allow her weapons to transform into two all matte-black katana's. Been a long time since I held these. "Nice little knives you have there," The vampire finally spoke, a hint of an amused smirk playing across his lips. "You should feel honored," She responded smugly. "It's not everyday I let them come out and play." "You entertain me. What's your name, Hunter?" He asked as he charged up more flames into the palms of his hand. Min scoffed and allowed her eyes to burn bright blue as a dark mist began emitting from her katana's. "I'll tell you only because I want it to be the last thing you remember before I kill you." "What did you say!?" The vampire growled angrily in response to her words of provocation.  She closed her eyes and allowed herself to summon all of her energy as an eerie calm overcame them. The wolf watched in awe as he witnessed the frightening amount of Moxie Pressure she was suddenly exuding as his vision turned static and a low rumbling hum rumbling began to build through his sensitive ears. It was nearly overwhelming him, and it told him that until then, for whatever reason, she had been repressing her true abilities. And for some reason a lingering thought in the back of his head made him nervous because now he was suddenly recalling the fact that back in the caverns, when she first attacked him, he also hadn't felt any hint of Moxie Pressure. He only knew she was there because of her scent and even then he thought she was weak. "Somnus Mortis." Slashing an X in the air using her twin blades, Min used her previous Shadow ability and completely vanished from all of their visions, leaving the three to wonder where she had gone. Even all trace of her Moxie Pressure had vanished along with her. The arrogant vampire scoffed and looked over his shoulder. "And here I thought it was an offensive attack. Guess the little girl couldn't handle it, huh Wolfy?" The Vampire laughed heartily before making his way to his comrade and the wolf, his hands blazing with bright red flames as he eyes the Alpha with distaste. "Your kind has always disg-UGH-" A pained groan escaped his lips as he watched his comrade and the Wolf's eyes widen. The vampire followed their gazes and slowly looked down only two see two blades cleanly impaled right through him; one in his abdomen and the other in his chest. What? But I didn't even sense her presence. "Somnus Mortis allows me to use the darkness to completely wipe out my own Moxie Pressure. It leaves me undetected, almost as if I were dead." The vampire only continued to wheeze, reaching out desperately to anything in front of him. "Interesting thing is that it also allows me to leave my opponent in a semi-paralyzed state once I've impaled him with my blades. They won't be able to fight back even if they wanted to." She flashed a dark little smile. "Don't think their little knives anymore now, do you?" The vampire couldn't fathom anything except the amount of excruciating pain he was in. "My name is Min, by the way. Since you asked so nicely before," She spoke flatly, her face now in front of his as she slid the katana from out of his back and held him up by the collar despite their massive difference in height and build. "I'm the leader of the 4th Elite." His brows furrowed as he tried to recall why it all sounded so familiar to his ears. From her use of Darkness Charges as her abilities and the fact that she was from the 4th Elite. But what was it? Everything seemed so foggy to him now. "The Reaper," The other vampire gasped lowly, catching the attention of the wolf and his terminally injured comrade. The vampire's eyes widened as he watched her closely. Her blue eyes, her weapons, her ability; Stories had been passed about The Reaper and everything about her matched them despite the gender never having been disclosed in any of the tales. To think The Reaper was just a little girl. "I was slain..." His breath came out sharp and jagged as he felt his life slowly slipping away. "By... The Reaper?" He could see specs of ash forming and drifting off in front of him. A sight he never once thought would bring him such peace of mind. Before his body hit the ground, it had already disappeared from the earth. A cloud of ash fading slowly above them. Min turned slowly, her eyes still glowing, and disappeared before she reappeared right in front of the other vampire who watched her in horror. "Who is pulling your strings?" She ordered menacingly as she slammed him against the wall. "Tell me or I'll cut your head off." "I-I Won't," He growled defiantly, though it was obvious he was trembling in fear under her gaze. Min flashed a dark little smirk, catching the vampire off guard. "Then you're of no use to me." Like she promised, she sliced his head right off without hesitation and watched as his body fell toward the ground before it disappeared into the air like it had to the vampire before him. You killed my comrades, you son of a bitch. There was a part of her that felt absolutely no remorse for what she did. They deserved what they got and in actuality they deserved worse. But she quickly tried to dismiss rage building up inside of her. What's done was done. Silence befell them and for a moment Min forgot where she was and who she was with. "The Reaper, huh?" The Alpha finally broke the calm that had settled as he started toward her. "To be honest, I always thought you would be a dude after all the stories I heard. Guess you're not as weak as I thought you were." He spoke smugly as he watched her back —her weapons dematerializing from her hands. With no time to react, Min had rushed him and had him pinned against the back wall.  "Listen, mutt," She sneered as her bright blue eyes burned into his golden ones. She hadn't forgotten the little stunt he had pulled on her prior. "You forget the situation that you're in. You may be strong, but with that on," Her eyes trailed over to the shackles on his arms and legs. "Your nothing. Do you understand me? Nothing. And if you want get out of this alive, I suggest you stop eating shit. It isn't only my life on the line here. So if you're on your best behavior, I'll consider letting you go if we both get out of this alive. Do we have a deal?" His eyes narrowed as he watched carefully, his lips pursed together as he tried to control his temper. He had no other choice. "Deal."      The two continued walking deeper into the facility, now even more alert than they were before. They had been caught off guard by the Vampire who used a Charge, meaning that there were probably greater threats along the way. They had to be careful, and ironically it meant working together in a way. "Those aren't ordinary Daevas we're dealing with," Min broke the silence to look over the Alpha beside her. "Not everyone can just learn how to use a Charge like that. Especially not a Lesser-Vampire. They only have two goals in mind, destruction and blood consumption. They don't have the focus and willpower necessary to achieve a Charge." He nodded both in understanding and agreement. A Charge was an ability someone could develop with a tremendous amount of Moxie. The type of Charge they controlled reflected their soul. Daevas were powerful enough as it were; he should know because he himself was one after all. So for them to learn Charges, it either had to mean that they were superior in power or some other explanation he couldn't come up with. But the vampire the Hunter had fought was nothing of the sort. He was clearly a Lesser-Vampire, unable to exhibit self-control. So how did he learn? That was the question. "It'll be smart if we stay on guard now that we know this." Min took a step forward and felt something click beneath her foot. "SHIT!" Grabbing the wolf by his chains, Min pulled him close and yelled out "Nocte!", using her darkness abilities to envelope both her and