“I didn’t learn to read until the last few years,” Nikka said. “I love it, love finding a great book and losing myself in it. There’s not a lot of need for reading and writing when you spend centuries on a pirate ship. I’m in awe of what you’ve accomplished. Which places did you like?”
“There are only a couple of the cities I truly liked. Most of them were just places that we spent time in, waiting for the next move. Danner told us on the way to Alaska that after we got back, we were going to find a permanent place to live. It would have been the greatest gift he could give us. Riley and I were tired of moving. I sometimes felt that if eternity was about relocating every three years, and never knowing anyone, pretending to be something I wasn’t and hiding what I was, never having a friend, never a home…maybe infinity is a bit overrated.”
“I know how you feel. I finally settled in Washington just because of the nice weather and lack of bright days. I still never let myself get close to people, although I do hang with other vamps occasionally. Where did you want to settle?” Nikka asked.
“My favorite place was Lawrence, Kansas. It was perfect…for me anyway. It’s a college town, only 35 miles from Kansas City, which is convenient. It’s constantly turning over its 30,000 students, so nobody is going to notice me much, just another student. I use to grab a backpack and walk the campus in the evening, just mingling with the students, acting like I was one of them. I hung out on campus for three years, and it was good times, the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. I was looking for something, and I never found it, nor did I even know what it was I was looking for. Not until now, not until you came along. Now I know exactly what was missing in my life. I sure love Kansas, though.”
“I never would have thought about hanging around a campus like that. How original. Plenty of sex, food, and rock-n-roll. How awesome is that? Did you ever meet anyone who you wanted to stay with, you know, like take a mate?”
“Never,” Amp answered. “I’ve had plenty of…you know, partners, both male and female, although only a few males…and none in a very long time, but I never felt anything special for any of them. Just food and fun.”
Nikka laughed. “I know, right. I had a few favorites I would return to several times, start to get close to them, then slap myself back to reality.”
Amp nodded. “I thought Katy was going to be special, and she was, just not enough, you know what I’m saying? And Silas, down in L.A., I think he wanted to get with me, he certainly wanted me to stay there. But Danner always said vampire relationships don’t work well. Silas was more like an amazing older brother. I never seriously considered staying with him, but I’ve fantasized about it a lot. He’s gorgeous, and such a badass. Maybe someday I’ll go back down and give the male species another try.”
Nikka was laughing at her. “I think this whole lesbian rebel thing you got going is a sham,” she giggled. “Although it’s pretty hot. I think all you need is a big ‘ol…”
“Shut up,” Amp shouted, laughing out loud at her friend. “All I need is some pretty little undies. Just leave it at that.”
The upscale mall was packed with late nighters, and the girls spent a couple of hours walking from shop to shop, enjoying the fleeting moment of normalcy. Nikka was a shopper, Amp a looker, and Nikka ended up forcing Amp to try on different outfits, judging the styles, and buying whatever she thought looked good on her friend.
By the time they arrived at the lingerie shop, both their arms were filled with packages from a half a dozen different stores.
“When we’re finished, let’s take a taxi,” Amp smiled, putting her packages on the floor of the last shop. “No way am I carrying all this stuff.”
“Good plan. Now let’s find you something that makes you smile. The best feeling in the world is knowing you’re wearing something underneath your clothes that could make a guy or girl crazy. Puts you one up before the game even starts.
They tried on different intimate things for the remainder of the night, Nikka making a large stack of panties and bras, and sleepwear that she planned to buy.
When the manager announced it was ten minutes until closing, the girls checked out, making the clerk a very happy young lady.
Struggling out the door with their packages, they waited at a taxi stand, hoping all of their bags would fit in the vehicle.
“Thank you,” Amp said as they waited. “This is about the nicest night I can ever remember. I’ve never had a girl’s night out…ever. I’ve never had a girlfriend to hang out with. Thank you for both of those things.”
Looking at her friend’s teary eyes, Nikka felt better than she had in a very long time. “You’re welcome, Amp. Thank you for being my friend. I feel we can accomplish anything together. If we don’t, we’re going to look damn good trying.”
------
The next night found the two girls sitting atop the First Bank and Trust building, both dressed in black jeans and dark shirts. Amp had worn her dark duster, dressed for action, not sure she would find it…but craving it.
The breeze was blowing ten miles an hour, the wind cool and refreshing. There was a cloud cover hiding the stars, giving the city a dark and dangerous edge. Their legs dangled over the side of the building, the two enjoying the solitude they got from being ten stories high in the middle of the night.
“Air smells pretty good in Washington. We lived in some places that you about puked breathing it. Riley used to bitch constantly when we lived in Detroit.”
“You’ve talked a bunch about Danner, but not much about Riley. Tell me about him.” Nikka said softly.
Amp thought for a minute, the longing for her friends as strong as any emotion she had ever had.
“Riley was like my big brother, so nice, and tough and fearless. He was beautiful, inside and out. We found him in Ohio…Franklin, Ohio in 1945, met him in a bar. He was just back from the war, was all screwed up physically, had been wounded about a thousand times and had malaria that they didn’t know how to treat. He was finally home, and there wasn’t anyone there for him. His wife had taken off with somebody else, took his kid while he was fighting the Japs, and both his parents had died while he was gone. Through all that, he made me and Danner feel good, didn’t bitch or complain or whine. He was dying, was real close. We sat there with him for hours, just listening to his stories. He wouldn’t talk about the war itself, just about all his buddies and the places they had been. He had been in the Philippines for three years, and it had killed him. He just didn’t know it yet, wasn’t willing to accept it. Both Danner and I fell in love with this guy. Not the sexual thing, but we loved what he had been, loved what he was. So anyway, Danner asked him if he might want to go for a walk, and while they were gone, walking along the shores of the Miami River, Danner gave him a choice; travel with us or just go ahead and die. That’s how we obtained Riley…and I miss him so much.”
Neither girl said anything for several minutes, both lost in their own thoughts about past friends and families.
“Was it hard, putting Katy on the plane?” Nikka asked the question she had wanted to ask all day.
Amp thought a moment before answering. “Sure, but it was the right thing to do. I hate that she won’t remember me, but I never considered turning her was the right thing to do. It would have been selfish. If I ever get to the point in my life that I have to turn somebody to have a friend…or a lover…then screw that. It wouldn’t be worth living. Thankfully, you came along and showed me that.”
“How did I do that?” Nikka asked.
“By showing me what we are created to be. I’ve been living a lie, living the way Danner wanted me to live. You’re living the way I want to live. Katy was a security blanket, someone that would be there when I got home. I always had that with Danner and Riley, and after I lost them, I needed something. She was so sweet, and truthfully, she tasted so good, but that’s not what I need right now. What I need now is to be me, be what I am.”
“There’s a huge difference between you and me,
Amp. I fight, I kill, and I’m very efficient at it. You, on the other hand, are pretty much a different breed. You have vampire strength and powers, with no idea how to use them. You’re right about one thing; going to Alaska right now is a suicide mission, one you won’t return from.”
Before Amp could answer, there was a commotion on the street below, a man running down the block at half speed, being pursued closely by three others. It was as though the first guy was luring the chasers, making sure they kept up.
“He’s setting them up, like a spider,” Nikka whispered. “They think that they are the aggressor, but he’s playing with them.”
When the first man ducked into the alley bordering the other side of the building, it was obvious he was setting an ambush. Nikka and Amp moved quickly to the other side of the roof to see what was happening. As the three pursuers entered the alley together, the first man struck a lightning fast fist to the Adam’s apple of the unlucky leader and dropped him to his knees, both hands holding his throat as he struggled to breath.
The second man in line slowed his assault, pulling a knife, taking the stance of a street fighter. The third man circled, the single man caught between them. He decided to take out the knife fighter, and with a surprise move, went to the ground with a leg sweep that toppled the other man, his other foot reversing directions and connecting with nose and forehead, making a mess of the man’s face.
“Two down. That sucker is a stud,” Nikka commented as they watched the action. “This is better than TV wrestling.”
Just then, the third man made his move, and it was a death strike, a knife into the middle of the fighter’s back, catching his spinal cord and instantly dropping him, stopping any further action.
“Game over,” Nikka sighed. “That was just wrong for so many different reasons.”
“It’s not over yet,” Amp growled.
With that, she dropped the ten stories, landing lightly behind the knife wielder. Catching sight of her out of the corner of his eye, he turned, finding a young girl staring up at him.
“Get the fuck out of here, girlie. This ain’t no place for you!” he snarled.
Amp stepped towards the man, her fangs down, her senses attuned to every movement going on around her, telling her the other bad guy was back on his feet, approaching from her rear. She turned faster than either could follow, her foot shooting out and catching the man on his inner knee, breaking bone, the howl from the man’s throat rising up to Nikka’s ears 100 feet above.
Turning back to her original target, Amp never hesitated, thought only of the attack, her hand flying towards that man’s face, her open palm connecting upward with unbelievable force, her entire weight behind the strike.
The blow drove bone, and nose, and cartilage back into his skull, burying in his brain, a death strike. Amp didn’t give him the chance to die from the punch. She grabbed his head and twisted with all of her strength, breaking his neck while at the same time sinking her razor sharp teeth into his throat, almost severing the fellow’s head from his body with the absolute savagery of the bite.
One was dead, one had a broken leg, and the third was crawling away, trying desperately to exit the alley. Sensing he wasn’t going to escape, he suddenly turned, a Sig Sauer 9 mm. in his hand, the barrel pointed right at Amp’s head, 4 feet away. The sword appeared in her hands as if by magic, the girl pulling it from the sheath where it was strapped to her back beneath her duster, using the momentum to continue with her strike. The gun and the hand holding it hit the ground first, his head followed; his body finally making it a hat trick.
She turned to the broken leg guy, the man begging for his life. What he saw was a slight, teenage girl, blood covering her face and dripping from her chin, a long, razor-sharp sword in her hand, and her canines fully on display; he couldn’t have imagined a worse nightmare. Closing his eyes, he didn’t even feel the sword sever his head, the painless death a mercy killing.
Amp wasn’t alone. Nikka was bent over the man who had been stabbed in the back, holding his head and looking towards Amp.
“He has a touch of life left in him. Very faint. If I do it right now, maybe I can save him, it’s the only chance he has.”
“Why?” Amp asked, having never considered this type of situation.
“Because he is a great fighter, brave and talented, and he deserves a chance. If I can turn him, he’s one more warrior for us to take to Alaska.”
Amp heard her words: ‘for us to take to Alaska.’
She broke out into a smile, the first real smile since before Danner’s death. “Do it. I’ll clean up this shit.”
Nikka lifted the man and moved further into the darkness while Amp disposed of the three bodies and various body parts in a dumpster she found a block over. When she returned, she found Nikka sucking the stranger’s throat, at the same time feeding him her own life blood from a rip along her lower arm. The man, although unconscious, was sucking hard at Nikka’s veins, much as a babe suckles a mother’s tit, his face covered with the red blood of the vampire.
Looking up, her mouth dripping blood, Nikka told Amp what was needed. “Go find a car, use your glamour…steal one…whatever you have to do and get it back here quick. We’ll take him to the hotel through the parking garage; we can get in using our room card. We’ll take the elevator from the garage directly to our floor, and then somehow we’ll get him into the room. I can finish there. This is going to be a mess, and we have to be very careful with him when…if he awakens. I think it’s a good gamble. It’s the right thing to do.”
------
Nikka spent the rest of the night, and a good portion of the early morning with the human. She and Amp had placed him in the bathtub in Amp’s suite so that Nikka could continue swapping his blood for her blood. When she felt as though she had done everything she could to save the man, she got Amp to help strip him of his bloody clothes. They washed him from top to bottom, the man so big they had difficulty turning him over in the extra large tub. They patted him dry, and then left him alone, the rest of his recovery out of their hands.
Nikka, exhausted and weakened from the procedure, went next door and showered, leaving Amp guarding the nearly dead man.
“I think if we leave him alone in there and get some sleep, it will be okay. I’ve done all I can do, the rest depends on his system,” Nikka said, returning to Amp’s room and looking in on him. “If he moves or makes any noise, we’ll hear him.”
“You’ve done this before?” Amp asked.
“No, never had an urge or a reason, but I’ve seen it done dozens of times over the years, the last time not too long ago in New Orleans. I can only do what I think is right, the rest depends on fate…and his will to survive. The hard part is over, that is until he rises, then we have some major explaining to do. Also, we need to be very alert; sometimes the new ones get a bloodlust that they can’t control.”
“Danner said I was like that for a month, even killing a couple of times. He said he kicked my ass over and over until I got with the program.”
Nikka smiled. “I’m sure you deserved each and every ass kicking he gave you.”
“No doubt,” Amp laughed. “This guy’s a real fighter. You made the right decision. The idea never crossed my mind. And you’re right, he deserves a chance.”
“Speaking of fighters, jerk, you seem to have been keeping something from me. I feel embarrassed as hell, all my badass warrior talk, telling you that I’m such a great fighter, and you’re nothing but a Barbie girl. I was a bit off base, no…I was a lot off base, and I apologize.”
Amp smiled at the backhanded compliment. She was pleased that she had done as well as she had, but the praise from Nikka was even better.
“Yeah, I know. It was my mentor’s final piece of advice to me; never show my warrior side until I’m ready to take their head. He told me that based on my age and my size, people will underestimate me. After watching you the other night, I realized that I wanted what you have, the mentality of a warrior.
I know I have the skills, but I needed to prove that I also possessed the mental aspect.”
“Duh…I think that mission was accomplished. I watched you, and you were brilliant, like watching a ballet. A very lethal ballet. You are really great, Amp. Suddenly I look on Alaska as a mission, rather than a suicide trip. Good for us. Now if we can pull this big old boy through, we might have the beginning of something special going for us.”
“About Alaska,” Amp started. “When did you decide you were going with me?”
“From the first time you told the story to those lame guys in the Carnival Crew. Your passion…and your honor… got me. It’s a worthwhile cause…Wilson needs to be dead. And if we can figure out how to do it, then that’s what we’ll do. Together.”
Amp couldn’t get the smile off her face. “If this guy rises, you’re his sire. That’s kinda awesome. You’ll have a six foot, six inch, 250 pound child. Big guy. Glad he’s going to be on our side.”
“Yeah, he’s a big guy, that’s for sure, from his feet to his head…and everything in between,” she said, keeping a straight face for as long as she could before giggling. “His tattoos tell us that sometime in his life he served in the Army Rangers. That means he’s as well trained as any human. We have to teach him how to be vampire. He’s going to love his new powers when he fine-tunes them. This could really be a good thing for us. One other thing…sometime this week, you get a cell phone. I don’t care what kind or from where, but now we’re taking on some additional responsibilities, and I don’t want to have to wonder how to get a hold of you, or how you can get me if you need me.”
“Okay, I’ll do that right away. Tell me about New Orleans? It’s a city that Danner wouldn’t go near, said it had bad vibes for him or something. How long were you there?”
Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) Page 9
