Inferno

by Erica Stevens

Behind him, Dani kept her head bowed, her shoulders hunched up in her jacket. She carried no weapons, as none of them trusted her with them. Chris was carrying another crossbow at the ready; his eyes wildly searched the open landscape of the school grounds. They were vulnerable out here. There was nowhere to hide once they stepped out of the woods, no way to keep themselves out of sight if there were any creatures around.

  Devon stepped closer to her, his chest pressed lightly against her back as they moved slowly forward. She caught a glimpse of the gun he held. They had found the gun amidst the tangled remains of the shattered countertop. It must have been hidden in the shelves, or the register. Though it may not kill the monsters, it would help to slow them down.

  Julian reached the doors, pulling them slowly open. Dani shuddered, taking a small step back as Julian clicked on his flashlight, directing the beam inside. “Move,” Chris said softly, pushing Dani slightly forward.

  They crept inside, slipping into the darkness of the school. Though she fought against it, Cassie could not stop the shudder of dread that tore through her. Devon rested his hand lightly on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but she could find no comfort in this place. Julian flashed the light over the dark halls, its beam bounced off of the concrete walls.

  Cassie pressed tighter to Devon as the beam revealed large streaks of blood running down the walls. Julian hissed softly, his shoulders tightened as he tore his attention away from the blood soaked walls. Cassie could feel the hunger pulsating off of him, the desire to feed.

  “Julian,” she said softly.

  He held up a hand, shaking his head. “I’m fine,” he muttered, focusing the beam on the wall that was not covered in blood. “Where to?”

  Dani inhaled shakily, pointing ahead of Julian. “Straight ahead,” she whispered. They moved swiftly down the hall, the only sound the occasional soft squeak of someone’s shoe on the linoleum. Dani led them down another hallway, turning sharply to the right. “Here.”

  Cassie recognized the doors they had escaped from, the doors that had also helped to keep them captive. A sign on them read, ‘Basement, authorized personal only.’ Swallowing heavily, she pressed tighter against Devon, needing his comfort right now. The right door had been ripped from two of its hinges; it hung at an awkward angle, the bottom hinge the only thing keeping it attached to the wall.

  Julian moved swiftly through the ruined remains. Cassie remained frozen for a moment, stiff as she stared at the ruined door, trying hard to fight off the rush of memories that threatened to consume her. “You don’t have to go,” Devon murmured in her ear.

  She remained where she was for a moment, extremely tempted by the prospect of not having to return to those shadowed, dark depths of horror. But she could not back out of this, she had to face it. “Yes, I do.”

  Chris glanced back at her as he moved through the double doors. Cassie followed slowly behind, keeping her gaze focused upon Chris’s back, refusing to look around and take in her surroundings. She was greatly afraid she would flee screaming if she allowed herself to take in too much, or to think about it.

  She didn’t bother to count the floors as they wound steadily lower. Julian reached the next set of double doors. They were both firmly intact, but Julian reached forward and pulled them easily open. A shudder of dread ran down Cassie’s spine, she clearly recalled Dani locking those doors behind them. How had they gotten unlocked? And why were these doors still intact, while the ones above had been ruined? It didn’t matter why the doors were the way they were, she realized. All that mattered was that it was apparent that more of the creatures had escaped after them.

  Cassie’s hands fisted, the crossbow dug tighter into her palm. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and slowly swung it off of her shoulder, grasping it firmly in preparation for an attack. “Get us to those rooms as quickly as you can,” Julian growled at Dani.

  She nodded as they moved swiftly through the doors, sweeping into the hallway. Cassie didn’t stop to think about it before she stepped into the hall. The smell hit her instantly, causing her stomach to flip, and an involuntary gag to escape her. Dani doubled over, her hand over her mouth as she tried not to vomit. Chris took a quick step back; his hand was over his mouth and nose as he turned three shades of green.

  “What is that?” Cassie gasped, instantly wishing that she hadn’t opened her mouth because now she could also taste the foul odor.

  “Death,” Julian answered.

  Cassie’s stomach rolled again and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to vomit. Dani retched harder, her vomit splattered across the floor. Cassie turned away, pulling her shirt over her nose before she threw up everywhere too. Though it blocked the smell a little, it didn’t help much. Devon reached around her, placing his hand gently over her face, covering her nose with his jacket. She inhaled deeply, savoring in the enticing, wonderful smell of him that helped to block out the stench of the halls.

  She smiled thankfully at him. He watched her intently, his gaze searching as he pulled her tighter against him, keeping his hand firmly in place. He and Julian seemed not to be affected by the scent, but then again, they had probably smelled it many times before. They had probably caused it many times before. She shuddered at the thought, and swiftly tried to shove it aside.

  She turned her attention back to the dimly lit hallway. The emergency lights had still been flashing when they’d fled, but now there were only dim, sickly yellow lights lining the long hallway. “Why are the lights on?” Julian demanded in a harsh hiss.

  Dani straightened, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her coat. She glanced quickly around, placing her hand over her mouth as she studied the lights. “I don’t know. It must be a safety thing. These aren’t the normal lights.”

  “You don’t know?”

  Dani shook her head; her skin grew paler as she began to sweat. “I don’t think I can take this smell.”

  Julian glared fiercely at her, his eyes briefly flashed red. “Too bad. You helped create it, now you have to deal with it,” Cassie frowned over his harsh words, but didn’t protest them. “Now, where do we go?”

  Dani stared at him for a moment, trembling slightly as sweat continued to pour down her face. Finally, she lifted a shaking arm to point straight down the hall. Julian turned quickly away, striding rapidly away. They followed silently behind, hurrying to keep up as Dani pointed him down another hall.

  Cassie kept expecting to come across the source of the smell, but the halls remained clear of any blood, or human remains. But then again, they had been clear during their escape also. She knew they would not remain that way though, the horrible stench told her that much. They made another right; Cassie became painfully aware of where they were within the compound now.

  Her step faltered slightly, her hand tightened upon Devon’s over her nose. Memories roared to life, threatening to swamp her within their painful depths as stared silently into the room that she had been held captive in. Across the way she could see the window that she and Julian had spoken through, the window that had helped to keep her alive.

  She looked to Julian, hating the helpless feeling that swamped her once more. His eyes were hard as he stared into the room, his jaw locked tight. He turned slowly toward her, the force of his gaze burning into her, the struggle for control evident in the hard lines of his face. She could see his memories and hatred for this place burning fiercely in his eyes.

  Devon moved closer to her, pressing his hand tighter to her as he leaned over her to look into the room. He stepped slightly into the doorway, glancing rapidly around before turning his attention back to her. She lowered her gaze from his, unable to meet it as unreasonable shame and terror flooded her. Though she tried hard to fight against it, memories of her and Julian’s torment assaulted her. Pulling her against him, Devon wrapped his arms tighter around her, his hand wrapped through her hair as he cradled her head. Cassie burrowed against him, trying hard to keep a firm hold on herself as she stared into the tiny cell t
hat had been her home.

  Chris was watching her intently, a sad look in his caring eyes. Cassie hugged Devon harder, closing her eyes as she savored in his hard strength. He kissed her forehead roughly, pressing his lips against her for a long moment. A shudder ran through him, his hands tightened upon her. Cassie could sense the unraveling control and anger suffusing him.

  “You will never know anything like this again,” he vowed in a harsh whisper.

  She nodded as she took a deep breath. Gathering her courage, she hugged him again and stepped away. They had to get out of here before she unraveled completely, or before any remaining creature’s lurking within this place discovered their presence. Devon placed his hand gently over her mouth again, holding her firmly as they moved further down the hall.

  ***

  Devon’s senses were on high alert as they continued to make their way rapidly along, searching for any hint of danger. He would not allow anything bad to happen to Cassie again while they were down here. He would not allow anything bad to happen to her ever again, he would die first. Anger coursed through him as he recalled that sterile little cell she had been held captive in, imprisoned in, tortured in. He didn’t want to think about the misery these people had caused her. That Dani had caused her.

  He glanced sharply at the small girl, fighting the urge to rip her traitorous throat out as they turned another corner. He knew that it was not entirely Dani that had his killer instincts so aroused, or what had been done to Cassie, but also the harsh scent of death in the air. It was both enticing and repulsive. The demon in him was thrilled and excited by the mayhem and destruction that had gone on here. The man was completely repulsed by it.

  He pulled Cassie closer, savoring in her sweet scent as he nuzzled her hair gently. He drew on the strength that she always brought to him as he tried to suppress the thrumming bloodlust inside him. He could still smell something off in her blood, and knew now that it was more than just the drugs they had pumped into her, but also Julian’s blood inside of her. Devon shuddered at the reminder, trying to keep himself under control as he searched past the strange scent inside of her to find her own wonderfully sweet smell thrumming just beneath the surface. Her heart was swiftly beginning to filter out the awful remnants lingering within her.

  Julian stopped suddenly, his eyes widened, and his hands fisted as he glared into another room. Devon was certain they had come across Julian’s cell, but when Cassie began to tremble too he knew that it was something more. Chris’s eyes widened, his mouth dropped as he gaped into the darkness. The color drained from his face as he turned slowly back to Cassie, horror, sympathy, disgust, and pain was etched onto his youthful features.

  Devon’s chest clenched; whatever they had come across had to be totally awful judging by the look on Chris’s face. Devon stepped slowly forward, trying to block Cassie’s view of the room as he peered into the darkness. He noticed the table first, the straps hanging off the bottom, side, and top of it. Straps that would be used to hold down a person’s feet, wrists, and head. Straps that were extremely thick and painful looking, straps that he knew had been used to keep Julian and Cassie pinned to that table.

  Then he noticed the thing hanging from the ceiling like some twisted electronic snake. There were electrodes dangling from a thick metal rod. Devon had never seen anything like it before, but it was apparent that it was an electrical conductor of some sort. A conductor designed to send a vast amount of electricity into a person, or vampire. Designed to send a vast amount of electricity into Cassie.

  When he had fed from her, he had glimpsed part of what she had gone through in here, seen some of her pain and suffering, and fear and loss. He had understood the depth and purity of her feelings for Julian, understood her trust and love of him, even though she hadn’t. He had seen so many things, but he had never truly seen the full amount of torture that they had put her through. Never fully glimpsed the torment she had suffered at the hands of these monsters.

  And he would kill them for it. Rage burned hotly through him, searing his veins, it throbbed painfully in his skin. He would destroy every one of the people that had harmed her in here. He turned slowly toward Dani, his rage escalating higher as he glared fiercely at the girl, wanting nothing more than to rip her to shreds with his bare hands.

  Seeming to sense his murderous intent, Cassie touched his arm lightly, drawing his attention back to her. She had lost all color in her face, and she was shaking like a leaf, but she was still seeking to comfort him. She was frozen in place, her eyes dark and haunted, her lips nearly as pale as her skin as she pulled his hand slowly away from her mouth.

  He moved to block the smell from her again, but she moved subtly away, her terrified gaze locking on his. He could sense her composure slipping, sense her weakening grip on control, and if he touched her, he would be her undoing. He dropped his arm back to his side as Cassie turned away from him, her gaze clashing with Dani’s. He could feel the fierce blaze of rage that surged up through her, sense the hatred that swelled forth but she buried it swiftly, biting on her bottom lip as she tried to stay in control. Devon knew exactly how she felt.

  “Keep going Julian,” Devon hissed. Julian’s gaze was also focused on Dani, his eyes a deadly shade of red as he fought the urge to kill her. His gaze came slowly back to Devon, his lips pulled back slightly from his fangs. “Go Julian.”

  Julian hesitated for a moment, torn between destroying Dani and moving on. Devon stared fiercely at him, willing him to continue. The anger and rage was much too high in this small hall. There was a good possibility that Dani would not make it out alive, or that Devon and Julian would end up in a fight, if only to purge some of the emotions running through them.

  “Don’t Julian,” Cassie whispered shakily.

  Devon moved closer to her as Julian’s gaze spun in her direction. Devon tensed, prepared to destroy Julian if he attacked Cassie, though he was no longer certain that he wanted Julian dead. They had once been best friends; brutal coldblooded killers yes, but also friends. Well as good of friends as monsters like them could have been anyway.

  Yet Julian had somehow managed to move on from that monster, as Devon himself had. Julian had learned to care about Cassie enough to get her, and himself, out of here alive. Julian had learned to care about her enough to keep her sane and hopeful in a world of misery, loneliness, and torture. Julian had learned to care about someone more than he cared about himself, something that Devon never thought Julian would be capable of. Though Devon hated the fact that Julian fancied himself in love with Cassie, he was also grateful to Julian for everything he had done for her.

  Julian closed his eyes and nodded sharply to Cassie before spinning on his heel and heading back down the long hallway. Cassie kept her gaze focused on Chris as they followed silently behind. Dani gasped loudly, taking a stumbling step back into Chris as they turned another corner. Devon knew that they had finally come upon some of the carnage they had smelled. Cassie straightened her shoulders, bracing herself as Chris pushed Dani roughly forward again.

  Cassie reached back for him, seizing hold of his hand as they turned the corner. Devon steadied himself as excitement and disgust tore through him in equal waves. Blood splattered the hallway, mutilated bodies littered the floor. Though he had committed some awful atrocities in his life, he had never seen the destruction of the human body quite like this before.

  Cassie’s hand trembled in his; her lower lip began to quiver. The sight of her horror and misery helped him to gain even more control of his baser instincts. She needed his protection and comfort now, she could never know about the excitement tingling through him. She would be repulsed by him if she did, and that was something that he never wanted to have happen.

  “Don’t look,” he whispered, leaning closer to her. He wanted to cover her eyes with his hand, but he knew that she would not appreciate it.

  She closed her eyes, her hand squeezing tighter around his as he helped to guide her through the mutilated bodies.
Blood streaked the floor and covered the walls. The smell of it was metallic and wonderful. Though Cassie helped him to keep control of himself, Julian was on his own. Julian had only had a few small rats to eat today, and he did not have Cassie in his arms to help keep him grounded and calmer.

  Devon began to fear that Julian might not make it back out of this. There was only so much a vampire could take, and Julian had only recently stopped killing. This might be far too much of a test of his willpower and control, and Julian may not even decide to stay not killing. He may go back to it when all of this was over, and Cassie was at Devon’s side. And Devon could not blame Julian if he did; Devon knew he would instantly return to killing if he ever lost her completely.

  Though Devon would not blame Julian for returning, he couldn’t take the chance of Julian snapping in here. He would hurt people if he did, he could hurt Cassie if he did. Devon moved to stand beside Cassie, drawing her tight against him as he put her slightly behind him. He had not wanted her in the back, but he definitely didn’t want her close to Julian right now, and he wanted to be closer to Chris in order to get him out of the way if the need arose. Dani was on her own against Julian.

  They moved into another hall, this one just as littered with bodies, but housing even more destruction. It appeared to be the hall where the uprising had started. Doors littered the floor, shattered glass cracked and splintered beneath their feet. They picked their way carefully through the debris, avoiding shards of wood and metal. Devon held Cassie close to his side as he steered her through it, keeping her face buried against him.

  “How much further?” Julian growled, glancing fiercely back at Dani.

  “Not much,” she answered shakily.

  They rounded another corner, coming across more destruction before slipping into a hall that was strangely empty of all debris. Devon pulled Cassie gently out of his side; she glanced swiftly around, relief causing her shoulders to slump. “Here,” Dani said softly.