Chapter Twenty (Adam)

I managed to make it to Seth's room without getting stopped by the medical personnel or jumped by any members of Zephyra that would be nearby.

I closed the door as quietly as possible behind me and went straight to the window that looked out into the hallway. I pulled the blinds down and shut so no one would see that I was inside. I turned to Seth, who was still unconscious in his hospital bed. I grimaced for a moment, studying the way he seemed to struggle to breath.

He looked so much smaller now. He was heavily bandaged around his torso to keep his busted ribs in place, bandages still around his legs. He was still hooked up to a couple of the machines, one of which being a heart monitor that beeped steadily. He was definitely still in pain, even with the IV bag dripping morphine into his system to keep him unconscious. Moving him would only hurt him more and probably be detrimental to his health, but so would leaving him here. Zephyra was going to swarm this place and if what Daimonas said was true, about the demon inside him, they would try and get their hands on him too.

They would know as soon as they saw him that something was wrong. A normal human would have been killed in this kind of accident, but Seth wasn't a regular human anymore and Zephyra would jump right on that.

I took a deep breath and approached the bed, studying the different machines as they beeped and hummed. I had no idea what unplugging these things would do. They could just kill Seth, demon or no demon. It might make things worse, it might not help at all, but I couldn't very well leave Seth here because Zephyra would find him and take him back to wherever they took Daimonas.

And I couldn't let that happen.

I could practically hear Seth bitching at me in the back of my mind, warning me not to let them take him anywhere. Seth would probably have punched me by now for even hesitating. I took a deep breath and started to slowly unplug things, taking great care to slip the IV out of his arm, pulling the wires off his chest and forehead.

I waited a while after unplugging the machines so they didn't all make loud obnoxious sounds to alert anyone to the room. I looked at Seth, waiting to see him go still, but his chest was still rising and falling slowly. He didn't wake up, though. They must have drugged him up big time, and it took a lot to subdue Seth.

I tried to find his clothes in the room, but there was no sign of them. They'd probably been torn apart during the crash, I decided and went back to the bed. I took my jacket off and carefully propped Seth up so I could slide the jacket onto him. There goes my other jacket, I sighed wearily. I pulled Seth up into my arms, finding it easier than carrying anyone else considering how small Seth was.

I started toward the door, pausing by the window to peer out between the blinds just as a couple of nurses were rushing by.

"... something major! Make sure to phone the cops!" One of them was shouting to someone else. I narrowed my eyes and stepped back, ready to go out the door when I heard someone jiggle the handle. My eyes flickered and I quickly went to the bathroom on the other side of the room. I ducked inside and carefully placed Seth down in one corner, pausing to check his pulse to make sure I was actually protecting a living person. Sure enough, there was a steady beat and I went to the door, closing it just as someone kicked down the door to the main room.

I went still on the other side of the door, listening to someone shuffling around, boots clomping, and a walkie talkie chattering statically.

"He's not here," Someone's muffled voice growled, "Someone already took him."

"Check everywhere. I'll get the bathroom, make sure Chase checked the rooms down the hall. He couldn't have gotten far." Another man's voice ordered. I took a deep breath and stepped back, just as the door opened. The vampire's eyes widened in shock and he started to attack, but I brought my foot up and kicked him under the jaw, sending him falling backwards onto the ground. I immediately went on and stomped hard on his gut, making him choke.

Two other vampires lunged at me, but I quickly ducked one so he slammed into the other and they both went toppling down. I shut the bathroom door quickly so no one could get in to Seth without going through me first.

"Come on, ladies. I'm waiting." I challenged the other two that scrambled to their feet while the one under me just groaned in pain, trying to recover. I brought my foot down on his throat, making him choke and gurgle, eyes squeezing shut in pain. I stepped away from him, ducking just as one of the other vamps went to take a swing at me. I brought my leg around and tripped him. The other one went to grab me by the throat, but I spun out of the way and brought my arm around into his throat, sending him to the floor with his friends.

The first vampire was slowly recovering, getting to his feet, but I didn't give him a chance to stand up straight as I grabbed his head and slammed it hard into my knee, hearing a sickening crack before he slumped to the floor in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

A pair of arms went around me from behind and lifted me off the ground for a split second before I brought my head back into his face. He howled and stumbled back, clasping a hand over his bloodied nose. I whirled around and kicked him hard in the face, sending him flying over the hospital bed and crashing into one of the machines that crunched under his weight and the power behind my kick. I turned back to the final guy, who stiffened and seemed to debate between fleeing or fighting me, but he had already made the mistake of being here, so death was a given.

Before he could make a decision, I caught him around the waist, heaving him off the ground and slamming him into the wall. I withdrew to slam my fist into his face, causing him to cough blood before I caught him around the head and snapped his neck. He hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and I took my chance to head to the bathroom, opening it up to find Seth still inside.

I rushed in, scooping him up in my arms and heading out of the room and into the hallway. I looked both ways quickly before rushing toward the lobby, hoping to get past the nurses quickly to the parking lot to meet Julian and Daimonas, but as soon as I approached the corner that turned out into the lobby, I saw a couple members of Zephyra walking in. I recognized them instantly and quickly backed up into the hallway. I grimaced, not wanting to waste anymore time here and hurried back down the hallway, hoping to find another exit.

"Mngh, Ada... mm..." I blinked and looked down, pausing for a moment to look down at Seth, who seemed to be struggling to open his eyes.

"Go back to sleep, Seth." I ordered, but he was never one to take orders, even if he was totally drugged up on morphine. He managed to open his dark eyes that were glazed over from the drugs and he stared up at me, blinking hard a few times to try and clear his vision, but even that didn't help as he squirmed in my arms, then hissed in pain, tilting his head back.

"Stop moving and go back to sleep, Seth." I told him as I paused at a corner and peered around it to make sure the coast was clear.

"Nooo," Seth moaned, still fighting to keep his eyes open as he reached an arm around so his hand was clenching my shirt sleeve tightly, "Where we goin'? Wha's goin' on?"

"Zephyra's looking for you." I stated. Seth didn't seem to register what I said because he brushed it off way too easily and let his head rest against my shoulder as he sighed sleepily, eyes sliding shut.

"Youuu... You smell good... Like-Like rain... Maybe. Does rain smell? I dunnoooo." He mumbled against my chest. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him until I spotted an exit at the end of one of the hallways, but just as I was about to step around the corner, a couple members of Zephyra darted out in front of the door. I winced and quickly withdrew, eyes darting around until I spotted a room and went inside, thankful to find it was empty inside and there was an open window.

I went into the room and set Seth carefully on the bed, running back to shut the door and lock it tight. I grabbed one of the machines and shoved it in front of the door with ease, which meant Zephyra could easily kick it open. It was a matter of time now.

I went to the window and pushed the pane out, looking outside onto a small green lawn with a couple trees that went to a docking area that would definitely lead to the parking lot on the other side of the building.

I whirled back around and went to Seth, scooping him into my arms, but with more hassle this time because he was squirming despite his injuries.

"Ssstop," Seth whined in frustration, his eyes still shut as he grabbed at my shirt and arm, "I'm not some... distress n damsel, put me dowwwwn!"

"It's damsel in distress, Seth," I snapped at him, making him scrunch up his nose in distaste at my tone, "And no offense, but you can fuck yourself because I'm trying to save you, so quit acting like a goddamn baby and do what I say." Seth didn't say anything to that and it took me a moment to realize he had passed out again. I sighed, frustrated as I went to the window and managed to lift myself onto the sill with Seth still in my arms. It hurt and it was difficult, but I managed to get both of us out the window and onto the lawn. I shut the window with my back before I started across the lawn, carrying Seth in my arms as I listened to what sounded like a big huge battle going on somewhere nearby.

"Shit." I cursed under my breath, then pressed myself up against a nearby wall just as someone practically barrel rolled right out in front of me and I recognized Walter as he fired a few guns.

"Where the hell did you get those?" I demanded. Walter didn't even look at me as he fired at the members of Zephyra that seemed to be advancing on him.

"Borrowed them from Hunter while he was sleeping." He told me emotionlessly, then stopped to empty out the cartridges before popping two new ones into the hand guns. He quickly ducked behind the building beside me, holding his guns up at the ready.

"We need to move," He told me, "Now. They keep coming. It's like fireworks on the Fourth of July." I nodded, narrowing my eyes to study the parking lot.

"Julian and Daimonas. Are they out by my truck?" I asked. Walter frowned.

"Didn't even see them since I left the waiting room." He told me. I cursed under my breath again, scanning the parking lot as Walter aimed a gun past me at a Zephyra member that dared to come around the corner. A single shot to the head sent him sprawling to the asphalt, moaning in pain.

"I really hate vampires," Walter muttered, then glanced at me as I gave him a droll stare, "No offense."

"None taken," I replied, then looked back out at the parking lot as Walter pumped a couple more bullets into the other guy's head, "We can't make it to my truck from here. I'll have to borrow someone else's car."

"Get an SUV this time." Walter told me, backing up against the building again. I smirked at that, then looked around until my eyes landed on a Lexus SUV that was parked just a few feet away. It would be hard to get from here to there with Zephyra tailing us, but there was no other choice and we had to move fast.

"Okay," I said slowly, making Walter glance at me, "We're gonna do this. I'm gonna make for the SUV, you need to cover me while I do that. Once I'm inside, I'll hotwire it and you can take over. Take the SUV and bring it around to the docks. I need to go inside and get Julian and Dai. Think you can handle that, Terminator?"

"Nah," Walter answered honestly, "But I'll do it anyway. Nothin' to lose." I glanced at him when he said that, but he ignored my stare and readied his guns. I sighed and looked away, waiting until there was a cease fire on Zephyra's side before I darted out quickly. A few guns went off, but so did Walter's as he sprinted across the parking lot alongside me. He aimed his guns and caught a few guys in the head, sending them smashing into the pavement.

A gun went off and Walter barked a curse of pain. I almost stopped to see if he was alright, but he shouted at me to continue on. I ducked behind a Silverado, getting beside the SUV. I set Seth down carefully just as Walter whipped around beside me, breathing hard. I glanced at him, eyes widening at the sight of blood forming a giant red splotch on his left shoulder.

"Walter--"

"Open the damn door and get in!" Walter snapped at me until there was another gun fire and Walter hissed in pain, reaching up to clasp a hand over his ear. He pulled it away to reveal more blood before he ground his teeth together and took out his guns again, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and ear. He leaned over the hood of the Silverado and started firing his guns off. I grimaced and whipped back around to the car. I ripped a strip of my shirt off and wrapped it around my fist, then reeled it back and punched a whole clear through the window, shattering the glass. I reached down carefully and unlocked the door.

The entire time, my senses were on fire. I could smell Walter's blood thickening the air. Glancing at him out the corner of my eye, I could tell he was struggling with the wound in his shoulder. The blood was spreading and dripping from his jacket onto the pavement. The scent of it was strong and it burned my nostrils. I coughed hard, turning away quickly and opening the door. I unlocked the other doors and managed to lift Seth into the back seat where I laid him out carefully and put his seat belt on.

I went around to the front and got down beneath the dash. I broke the panel off and fumbled with the wires, trying to ignore the sounds of gunshots going off around us. The wires hissed and sparked at me before the car shuddered and the engine roared to life. I sighed in relief and ducked out quickly just as Walter whirled around, his back against the Silverado. He dropped the empty cartridges and cursed, looking at me as he dropped the guns.

"All out," He muttered, then winced as another gunshot whizzed past us, "Why can't we have unlimited ammo like the movies?"

"Because in the movies, good guys always win." I told him. Walter frowned at that, but said nothing more as I gestured him into the SUV. He got behind the wheel, favoring his left side the entire time.

"Are you sure you can do this?" I asked Walter, who studied the front of the car before looking at me.

"Nah," He replied, making me frown, "But I ain't got nothin' to lose, vamp. Now go in there and grab Princess and the Frog. I'm gonna run these fuckers down." With that, he slammed the door shut. I grimaced as he screeched out of the parking spot and ran at the Zephyra members, who shouted at each other as they leapt out of the way.

God, I hope he didn't get Seth killed, or worse, captured.

I sprinted back to the hospital, relieved that Walter seemed to have the situation in the parking lot under control. I used a back exit to enter a long corridor that was completely destroyed. I stared, stunned at the damage that had been done. Tiles were uplifted and cracked to pieces, a giant hole punctured through a wall and machines busted open.

A bad feeling went through me and I started down the hallway again, listening to the sounds of people arguing and things bashing around until I heard a click and whirled around to see a Zephyra member struggling out of one of the rooms, aiming a gun at me. I ducked quickly into another room as the bullet just barely missed my cheek.

"Shit." I listened to the Zephyra member approach and walk right into the room I was hiding in, so I took my chance and swung my foot up, kicking the gun out of his hand. He whipped around and slammed my head into the wall. I winced in pain and recovered just before the guy could reach the gun. I tackled him to the floor and pinned him down, slamming my fist repeatedly and harshly into his jaw, listening to the crack of his jaw dislocating.

He groaned, laying on the floor and trying to recover from my blows, but I snatched up his gun and fired it at his forehead. He instantly went down, but judging from the other guys who'd been shot in the head lately, he'd be right back up and racing after me as soon as he recovered. I wasn't going to give him time, though. I pulled the door shut as I walked out and pushed a nearby gurney in front of the door.

I made my way down the hallway, listening to the crashes and bangs when there was a gunshot from my left and I whirled, aiming my gun until I recognized Peter standing there, shaking.

"Peter?" I asked in disbelief, coming toward him. He was definitely shaken, but he was trying to put on a brave face as he cleared his throat, lowering his gun.

"Jesus," He breathed, shuddering and shaking his head quickly before looking at me, "I thought... Well, never mind. Where are the others? Where's Walter?" I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Seth's with Walter. They're out in the parking lot waiting for us. Julian and Dai are somewhere in the hospital and as for your brother, no idea." I answered. Peter sighed in relief at that, then paused to frown.

"Wait, you don't know where my brother is?" He asked nervously. I shook my head, glancing around the room. Several Zephyra members lay in pools of their own blood, heads lopped off from their bodies or containing several bullet holes that probably killed them. For a skittish puppy that followed big brother around constantly, Peter seemed to be able to handle himself.

"No," I told him, looking up to see him nervously scanning the room as if he couldn't believe he'd done all this, "I thought he was with you. When was the last time you saw him?" Peter didn't answer and I narrowed my eyes at him to see him looking anywhere, but at me.

"Peter." I warned and took a step toward him. He went to aim his gun at me, but I caught his wrist and made him drop the gun. I snatched it up before he could and held it behind my back, watching him withdrew until his back hit the wall.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked. Peter shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck stressfully and still avoiding my eyes.

"W-Well, it's not like it's really important. Don't we need to find Daimonas and Julian first? What about your Kipp friend?" He added. I blinked at that, then glared, shoving Peter's gun back at him.

"We'll talk about this later, and don't think about running away. Or I will find you and I will make you tell me by force." I threatened. Peter gulped audibly, nodding timidly before I led the way out of the room and we headed back down the hallway just in time to hear something that sounded like a high-pitched screech of metal against metal. Peter and I shared quick looks, then bolted down the hallway, only to pull up short as a gurney flew past us and slammed into a wall. We turned to see a couple of Zephyra members ganging up on Kipp, who looked like he was having a tough time holding them off.

He was looking pale and defeated, cuts and bruised marring his face and hands. He still managed to stay standing, holding up a scalpel in defense.

"Oi," Peter shouted suddenly, surprising me with his burst of bravado and causing the Zephyra members to whirl and glare at us, "Come get me, you bloodsucking sons of bitches!" He fired his gun off at the ceiling before running at the other guys. He was pretty open about his fighting techniques, but even with his running straight into it, he seemed to do well for himself.

He caught one Zephyra member around the waist and swung him up over his shoulder and onto the floor behind him before he whirled around and scissor-kicked a pair in the face before shooting his gun off at their heads. He withdrew a bloodied machete and swung it around, beheading two at the same time. Blood spurt free like fountains, splattering the walls and floors and even Peter's clothes.

"Damn," Kipp managed as he approached Peter, who stood over the bodies of the Zephyra members, "Remind me not to get on your bad side." Peter smiled, pleased with the reaction before his eyes flickered and he cocked his head.

"Do you hear something?" He asked. I frowned, tilting my head to listen and sure enough, it sounded like someone was screaming. For a second, I couldn't make out who it was before it struck me and fear slid down my spine like an ice cube as I whipped around, only managing one word before I bolted from the room.

"Julian!"