Ch. 24
Evan was seated in the middle of the back seat between two officers. Captain Miller sat in the passenger seat. Evan was bound and gagged, so he was very uncomfortable. The only good thing about his awkward arrangement was that it didn’t allow him to doze off. He was able to keep observing his captors for any signs of weakness. However, he mostly just stared out the windshield at the passing scenery.
Only trees could be seen as they drove down the empty road. Evan remembered seeing the area from above when he was flown in. There wasn’t anything outside of Tourmaline for as far as he could see. Wherever they were headed, it was sure to be a long trip.
The other occupants of his vehicle didn’t say much. They were quietly surveying the scenes outside their windows. It gave the impression that they were still on high alert for anything that might present a problem. He could tell they were highly trained and disciplined. He had also observed that they had no regard for human life.
He had seen numerous innocent researchers lying dead back at the base, and he witnessed firsthand the murder of the soldiers at the gates. These people didn’t bat an eye at the executions. They must have total conviction that what they were doing was the right thing. Or they just enjoyed killing. Either way, they were dangerous.
Evan knew that in their hands his fate was bleak. He would probably be kept alive, but only so he could act as a human battery. He would be destined to live like a prisoner, only to be allowed the freedom to participate in whatever sick experiment they were carrying out. Was that even a life worth living?
Dark thoughts filled his head as he stared blankly at the road. They were on a long stretch of straight road from what he could see. He was trying to look down as far as he could for any sign of something other than forest when he spotted a figure emerge from the trees on the left.
He was shocked to see a huge creature run out from the forest towards the road. It was upright like a man, but it didn’t look human. The lower body was covered in dark brown hair, and the feet that were running hard ended in hooves. Shorter dark hair also covered his upper body, and the muscles exposed there were huge and defined. What stood out the most, though, was the man’s head. It was just like a bull with two large sharp horns sticking out. Evan knew this monster, though he had not seen one before. This was a minotaur.
The minotaur timed its run perfectly. He charged headfirst into the side of the lead vehicle. The vehicle crumpled like cardboard and screeched to a halt. It was turned to the side blocking the road. Evan could see the catastrophic damage done by the impact, and it was hard to believe that a person had been the cause.
With the sudden roadblock, the rest of the cars in the caravan were forced to stop quickly. The second vehicle where Evan was hit the brakes hard, but they were ultimately stopped by the minotaur. After knocking the lead car out of commission, he stood in the road and braced himself to take on the second vehicle. His extended arms caught the hood of the car, and it was made to stop. Evan was thankful that the stop was gentle enough that he wasn’t thrown from his seat. He stared wide eyed at the man that had stopped them.
While Evan was unable to do anything but observe, the rest of the occupants began to take action. Captain Miller quickly exited the vehicle and moved to engage the minotaur. The other officers also exited and squared off with their new foe. Evan could hear doors slamming and people shouting. He turned around to see the soldiers from the other vehicles also getting out to fight. As luck would have it, he had managed to look behind just in time to see a curious sight.
Behind the last car, he saw a woman fall from the sky and land on the road. She stood up and faced the soldiers who were unaware of her arrival. She was a petite woman with long dark hair, and Evan was shocked to find he recognized her. The woman that had dropped from the sky was the headmaster of the school, Ms. Vaduva. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Evan panicked as the soldiers finally noticed the new threat and trained their guns in her direction, but he soon saw he didn’t need to worry. Ms. Vaduva moved faster than he thought possible for a human being as she rushed at the nearest soldier. That man didn’t even get a shot off before she slashed his throat with her claws. A spray of blood flew into the air, and the soldier dropped to the ground. The other soldiers paid no mind to their fallen brother and proceeded to open fire, and Ms. Vaduva was unable to avoid it.
However, the bullets didn’t have much effect as she began to slash away at the people firing on her. After she slashed another soldier’s throat, she finished a third by sinking her teeth deep into his neck. Evan saw her hold onto the man for a few seconds before he dropped lifelessly to the ground. Blood streamed from her smiling face as she searched for her next victim. Evan noticed she had some marks across her body that were red and lightly bleeding. It seemed that was the extent to which bullets could harm her. He apparently had much to learn about the strength of vampires.
Three other soldiers began to head towards the rear to assist in the fight against Ms. Vaduva. Before they could get close, a giant eagle swooped in from the sky and picked up two of them. The third stumbled in surprise and shot blindly into the empty air as he fell on his ass. The eagle carried the two flailing soldiers high into the air before dropping them unceremoniously back to the ground. The height from which they had been tossed was more than enough to kill any man. Their screams rang out as they fell, only to be silenced suddenly at their landing.
The third car of the caravan began to move again as the fights raged on. It swerved off road and drove around the two lead cars. Evan watched it as it passed his window, and he could see the figures of General Carn and Dr. Campbell still inside. He thought the minotaur would stop them, but he discovered that the minotaur was having a tough fight.
In fact, it looked like he was on the losing end of his fight. The three security officers looked winded, but the minotaur had streams of blood running down his nose and mouth. How was that possible? What was different about this fight compared to what he saw in the back? He started watching the fight as he saw the third SUV take off down the road and get away.
The two officers Evan didn’t know threw punches at the minotaur at the same time. The minotaur dodged one but took the other in the gut. His body buckled slightly from the hit, which surprised Evan considering how strong he looked. The minotaur used the opportunity to headbutt the woman that punched him. Evan expected to see the woman’s head explode, but instead she just stumbled backwards. That was when Evan realized what was happening.
The soldiers he saw getting picked off in the rear were normal humans. That’s why they were using guns. But he remembered what Robin told him about the security force. Most of the officers were mages. These officers that were with Captain Miller had to be internal augmenters. They were using magic power to increase their strength.
A scream from behind drew the attention of the officers facing the minotaur. It was obvious the soldiers were not faring well. Captain Miller cocked his head towards the rear after getting the attention of the other officers.
“Go help in the back,” he said. “I’ll handle this.”
The two women officers left to reinforce the soldiers in the back while Captain Miller engaged the minotaur alone. The minotaur charged and swung a mighty fist at Captain Miller’s head, but shockingly, he blocked it with one arm. He countered with his own punch which sent the minotaur reeling back a few steps. Evan’s expression hardened as he realized that Captain Miller had the upper hand when it came to sheer strength. The two combatants continued to trade blows with Evan silently cheering for his monster ally.
He turned to check on the situation behind and found that most of the soldiers had been disposed of. Instead of the shootout that had been previously taking place, there was now a standoff between four fighters. Ms. Vaduva and an unknown woman were facing the two officers sent by Captain Miller.
The unknown woman must have been the eagle he saw earlier. She was tall with tanned skin. Her hair was brown and braided, and she was wearing a sleeveless vest. Evan watched her start the fight by dodging the officer’s blows. After jumping back a short distance, the eagle woman transformed her arms into beautiful, feathered wings. She quickly used her right wing to slam the officer and send her flying into the woods. The eagle woman quickly followed out of sight with a flap of her arms.
Evan turned his attention to Ms. Vaduva’s fight. This fight was more straightforward. They both were lunging at each other with punches, kicks, and slashes. Ms. Vaduva had a lot of blood running down her face, but it wasn’t from injury. It looked like she had drained several soldiers before the officer had come to help. Perhaps due to the extra infusion of magic energy, the vampire looked to have the upper hand. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
Sure enough, the battle was decided by Ms. Vaduva a moment later. She managed to grab the woman’s arm and sharply twist it. The woman yelled with her arm hanging awkwardly, clearly broken. Like a true predator, Ms. Vaduva did not let her prey escape once injured. She quickly managed to grab the officer’s other arm and swung it behind her back. The officer was driven to her knees in submission.
Based on what Ms. Vaduva herself had taught him about the nature of internal and external augmenters, a vampire like her should not be able to so easily overpower an internal augmenter. This was why Evan thought she must be supplementing her strength with the blood she consumed. As if to prove him right, Ms. Vaduva did not miss a chance to power up after subduing the officer. She held her steady and stuck her fangs into her neck. She gorged herself on the woman’s blood before throwing her lifeless body to the ground.
A loud roar brought Evan’s attention back to the front. He turned to see Captain Miller standing over the minotaur who was screaming in pain. From the look of it, Captain Miller had gotten the minotaur on the ground and crushed his ankle before he could recover. The minotaur was having a hard time standing up, and Captain Miller looked to be in no mood for mercy. He was about to deal the finishing blow when Ms. Vaduva rushed in and kicked his side. He was knocked away just in time.
Captain Miller quickly changed his assault to target Ms. Vaduva, and the two began exchanging blows. Drunk on the power from the officer she defeated, she did not falter under the strength of Captain Miller’s blows. They both managed to land some punches, and Evan prayed with all his might for Ms. Vaduva’s victory. He didn’t know how long her boost in strength would last.
The end came only a minute into their exchange. Ms. Vaduva stabbed her claws into Captain Miller’s side, but it did not faze him. He quickly pinned her arm at his side and used his left arm to grab hold of her other wrist. Captain Miller then used a headbutt to strike Ms. Vaduva hard. Blood flew from her face from the impact. Captain Miller continued to hold her arms tightly, and she was helpless to defend herself. Evan feared he was about to witness the death of the woman that brought him to Tourmaline.
As Captain Miller reared back for another blow, a large bull horn suddenly stabbed through his chest. The minotaur had managed to gain his footing and pulled off one last charge. His horn pierced through Captain Miller’s back and exited near his heart. Ms. Vaduva dropped to her knees as her arms were released. She came back to her senses quickly and sank her fangs into one of Captain Miller’s wrists. With his heart pierced, he was helpless to defend against her draining.
Ms. Vaduva regained her strength as Captain Miller’s life faded away. As soon as she released her bite, the minotaur roughly threw off the captain’s body and sent it rolling on the pavement. With that, the battle ended. Evan felt tears of joy streaming down his face. He had all but given up on his life only to suddenly be rescued. It felt too good to be true.
The eagle woman landed next to his other two saviors, and they came over to his vehicle. Ms. Vaduva opened the door and helped pull him out. She looked at him with pity filled eyes, and he knew she must have realized what he had been through. She put her arms around him and brought him in for a gentle hug.
“You’re ok now, Evan,” she said. “We’ve got you.”
He felt relief like he had never known at her words. It was finally over. His body relaxed for the first time since he left the hospital earlier that day. Completely overstressed and literally drained of all energy, Evan’s body could take no more. He fell asleep in the embrace of his savior, getting some rest at long last.