"They have machine guns?" she asked in disbelief. She had never seen a Vampire use heavy artillery before. In fact, most of them didn't even use guns at all.
"Apparently," Cale replied.
"Shit!" Cadence spat as she slid behind a crate nearby. She felt incredibly lucky that she hadn't been hit. It didn't appear that Cale had been either, though if he had, the bullet would have simply bounced off. It still would have been painful, but it would have done no harm.
As soon as she had her composure, Cadence ducked back around the corner, utilizing her own IAC view again, and firing in the direction where the Vampire had been only a few seconds before. He was no longer there, but she could see two shapes making their way up the stairs. Behind her, she heard what sounded like more crate lids flying off. "Cover my six!" she yelled to Cale, as she stood and gave chase to the Vampires headed for the stairs.
She heard Cale firing behind her but did not hear any return fire. As she reached the stairs, she could clearly see the outline of what appeared to be a small, female Vampire cresting the top of the steps. She fired, and the figure dropped, falling backward right toward her. She fired again, and by the time the body reached her, nothing was left but ashes, which rained down in her face, causing her to temporarily close her eyes. She had no idea where the other Vampire that had made it up the stairs had gone, and she could only hope that Cale had some idea where the other three were.
Once the air cleared a bit, she began to climb the stairs. "Stay down!" she distinctly heard Aaron say through her IAC, and she immediately jumped backward toward the platform at the bottom of the stairs, landing with a thud, her knees on the bottom step. Just then, the second story exploded in a flurry of bright orange and purple flames. She was low enough to the ground that the smoke didn't affect her, but she could feel the heat from the blazing inferno above her.
"Did he get out?" she implored, wondering if they had got the second machine gun wielding Vampire.
"No!" Aurora shouted back. "He's still in there!"
Fire couldn't kill a Vampire, but it could certainly mess one up, and she knew wherever this guy had gone, he would be in excruciating pain, thinking irrationally, and hell-bent on retaliation. She couldn't go up the stairs because of the fire, but she decided to wait a few more moments, despite the fact that Cale was now engaged in heavy gunfire to her left, over by the Hummer.
"Aaron! This isn't working!" She hadn't put much thought to whether or not it was appropriate to contact him for help, under the circumstances. It had just come naturally. She was almost positive he had created whatever explosive had been hurled into the top floor. Right now, he was the only person she trusted.
"Do you want me to come in?" he asked, his voice even and calm as always.
She hesitated. She had called out to him privately so no one else knew. She didn't want to give up on Cale, not yet, but she was afraid they were in over their heads. Before she could answer, the Vampire from the top of the stairs came roaring at her, completely engulfed in flames and charging more quickly than she had ever seen a bloodsucker move. He was literally flying at her. Instinctively, she began to shoot, realizing that, even if she killed him, those flames would have to go somewhere. She fired several times, fairly certain she had inflicted some mortal wounds, and then rolled out of the way, taking cover behind a crate near the landing. She peeked around the corner just in time to see an explosion of ash and flames as the vanishing Vampire snuffed himself out.
She didn't have time to exhale, however, as it became very apparent that the shootout behind her was way out of hand. She leapt to her feet, located Cale, and made her way to where he was crouched behind a crate. "Stay down!" he yelled at her. "I've already been hit twice."
"Shit!" she replied, unwilling to test his healing powers just then. "Quit firing!" she directed, pulling on his arm.
"What?" Why?" he asked.
"Just stop!" she insisted. "They're going to be coming your way in a Hummer!" she warned Aaron.
"I'm ready for them," he replied, his voice still serene.
"Well, wait for me!" she shouted back. She knew she couldn't safely get up until the vehicle had exited the building, so she continued in her crouched position as she heard car doors opening and slamming. Then, another thought occurred to her. "Aurora? You still in front of that cargo door out front?"
"Yeah."
"Move!"
"Huh?"
She didn't have time to repeat herself as the screech of the tires fighting for traction on top of heaps of paper and shards of wood peeled through the night. The trio of Vampires took off, the driver gunning it and piling through several crates and pieces of old furniture before smashing into the cargo door, ripping it from its pulley.
Cadence could see through her IAC that Aurora had gotten clear of the vehicle. Without so much as a word to Cale, she took off, realizing the window would be her quickest exit point. She hurled herself through it, tucking into a tight ball, shattering the glass, but landing mid-stride. Aaron had the door open for her, but he didn't wait until she closed it before taking off behind the Hummer.
"Where are they?" she asked, pulling the door shut, not seeing the other vehicle in front of them.
"They just turned left up here, headed toward the freeway, I assume," he replied.
She took a deep breath, attempting to regain her composure. She still had both of her Glocks, but glancing around, she saw a Beretta propped between the seats. Pulling it out, she inspected it, making sure it was loaded and ready to fire. They rounded the corner and the gray Hummer came into view not too far in the distance, headed toward the on ramp. It wouldn't take long for the Aventador to catch up to them.
"Have you ever done this before?" he asked, driving in excess of 100 miles per hour with one hand as he reloaded his Glock with the other.
"Killed Vampires?" she asked sarcastically. "A few times."
"No, shot from a moving vehicle," he replied as they came within a few yards of the other automobile.
"No, but I've seen all of the Fast and Furious movies," she stated, rolling down her window.
"Try to hit the Vampires, obviously, but if you can't, the tires or the gas tank also work," he explained, glancing over at her.
"The last thing I need is another fireball Vampire," she muttered. She pulled herself most of the way out the window, though she was still inside from the waist down and as they neared the back end of the Hummer, she began to fire.
"Cadence, be careful!" Aaron warned, wishing he could trade her places.
"If I fall, I won't die, right?" she asked between shots.
"No, but it won't feel good."
"What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger...."
