The fog devoured Cadence, and without his IAC on, Aaron couldn’t see any of the battle unfolding beneath them. Being blind was one thing, but knowing his fiancée was down there with God knows what was something else, and he was itching to get into the fight. Having promised Cadence he’d keep Cassidy safe, however, he planted his feet on the rooftop and tried to take deep breaths. It wasn’t helping.
“Don’t worry about missing the fight,” Cassidy said, her voice slow and even, almost robotic. “It’s coming to you.”
Aaron slowly turned his head to look at her. She was standing next to him, her arms folded, Brandon on her other side, Jamie behind her. But before he could even ask for clarification, he felt a presence.
“I didn’t want Cadence to worry,” Cassidy said. “But… leaving before probably would’ve been a better idea.”
All three Guardians turned around to look behind them. The fog was rolling in over the tops of the buildings, and Aaron couldn’t see even across the length of the rooftop they were standing on, but he knew they were not alone.
“How many?” he whispered.
“Not sure. Twelve. Maybe fifteen.”
“Holy hell,” Brandon mumbled.
“Holland?” Aaron instinctively took a few steps away from her.
“No, but some freaky ass doctor.”
“How did they get up here?” Jamie asked. They hadn’t heard anything on the fire escape.
“They came up over there, on the adjacent building, and floated across,” Cassidy explained.
“Of course they did.” Brandon pulled out his Glock and took several steps to the side as the sound of footfalls echoed across the roof. “Cass, you should probably stay back.”
Aaron didn’t have to turn around to hear her scoff. “Well, for this, you should,” he said pulling out a couple of Christian’s grenades and showing them to her.
“In that case….” Jamie and Brandon both backed up to cover her, and Aaron pulled the pins on both of them, sending them into the fog where he thought the Vampires might be located. Just because she’d avoided any burns last time didn’t mean they couldn’t hurt her.
Shrieks filled the air as the grenades went off, spraying concentrated silver nitrate across the expanse of the roof. Through the fog, it was impossible to see how many of them had been affected, how many were down, and how many were just burned, but it sounded like a lot, and Aaron wished he’d collected a few more of these trinkets from Christian.
But that was all he had, so he pulled out his Glock and began to light up the rooftop, the others opening fire alongside him, Cassidy coming out to join them, much to Aaron’s chagrin. As long as they could keep them at a distance, it wouldn’t be a problem. As two hulk-like men stepped through the fog, taking fire directly in the chest and not slowing, it became evident that wouldn’t be an option, and Cassidy was about to get her first taste of hand-to-hand combat.
“We’re down to six or seven!” Cassidy shouted as Aaron hurled himself right at the giant closest to him. His hands were large enough that he could’ve wrapped them around Aaron’s skull, but when he ran into the beast, despite the size difference, the monster went flying backward, knocking a second Vampire, a much shorter one, down as he went.
Without wasting any time, Aaron began to pummel the monster in the face, hoping to weaken him enough so that he’d have enough time to pull a knife out of his pocket. It likely wasn’t as effective as the one he’d given Cadence, but it would be better than the Glock. The other Vampire, the one caught beneath them, was struggling to get up, so Aaron pulled his gun and shot her squarely in the heart, ending her. Clearly, she was not made of the same material as this beast.
Having a split second to react, the Vampire attempted to push him off, but Aaron was much faster than him and had his knife out and plunged into the creature’s chest before he could even fully sit up. This seemed to have the desired effect as the Vampire screamed in pain. It wasn’t dead yet, though, so Aaron pulled his knife back out, and holding him down with his knees began to saw at his neck.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Cassidy engaged with a tall, pale woman with long, stringy dark hair. Both of their fangs were barred, and for a second it was hard to tell which one was the good guy; Cass was certainly holding her own.
Brandon was double-teamed and seemed to be losing out against twins wearing bowler hats and pinstriped suits. They weren’t large, but since there were two of them, he was having a hard time. Aaron knew he needed to get there sooner rather than later and pressed down on the knife even harder
In the fog, it was difficult to see Jamie, but he imagined he must be engaged with the other hulk. “Jamie, do you have a knife!”
“I… do….” His breathing sounded labored. “Is it working?” Aaron severed the last tendon and the monster let out a low groan as it turned to ash. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Aaron stood, and just as he was about to run to Brandon, a screaming Vampire came flying out of the fog. He only caught a glimpse of her as he unloaded his Glock and the monster turned to ash, spraying him with debris. “Cass, are there more?”
“Only one. Dr. Psycho, but he’s too scared to come out and face us. There will be more coming, though. We need to get out of here.” With that last answer, she knocked the woman she’d been fighting to the ground with a swift kick to the gut, pounced on her, and began to twist her head.
Aaron wanted to help her, but Brandon was getting backed up now, and the edge of the roof wasn’t far behind him. Hearing Jamie’s combatant scream was a sign they were winning, and Aaron launched himself at the twin closest to him, knocking him off balance. The monster didn’t know what hit him, and seconds later, Aaron was sawing through his neck as Jamie rushed to help Cassidy.
She didn’t need it, though. Before Jamie even got there, she ratcheted the Vampire’s head free, and the woman’s scream filled the night. Cassidy wore a huge smile for only a second before she sprang up and took off running into the fog. Jamie looked surprised for a moment but then went after her.
As soon as Aaron finished the task at hand, he stood, one more scream filling the air, and peered after Cass. Brandon was backed up against the ledge, and as the first twin realized his brother was no more, he turned, giving Brandon just enough time to sidestep. Losing his balance, the second twin hung in the air for a moment before plummeting off of the roof. The crunch as his body hit the pavement was sickening.
“That won’t kill him, will it?” Brandon asked, looking over the ledge.
“No, but he won’t just hop up either. Come on, let’s find Cass.”
He didn’t have to tell Brandon twice. They took off running through the fog, shouting her name.
“We’re over here!” Jamie replied, and Aaron was able to find them a few seconds later. He stopped dead in his tracks, sticking out a hand to slow Brandon as well.
Cassidy was standing a foot or two away from a man who looked like he just stepped out of an old Frankenstein movie. Aaron would’ve found his hair comical under any other circumstances. His face was burned slightly on the left side, likely from the grenade, but otherwise he looked like he’d avoided any interaction at all.
Aaron looked at Jamie who shrugged, and then back at Cassidy. The staring match continued for a few more moments before the scientist began to chuckle and then slowly backed away, disappearing into the mist.
“Let’s get him!” Brandon shouted.
“We can’t,” Cassidy replied. “We don’t have time. He said we may have won the battle, but we haven’t won the war.”
“What does that mean?” Aaron asked.
“It means… Armageddon is coming.”
