Peeping from the colossal stone, Scarlet grimaced.
Truth be told, he didn't really have to get into a fight with the Abomination. As far as he was concerned, they could slowly move away from the creature's sight and take another route. But what were the chances they wouldn't come across another Abomination?
'Curses.'
Well, for now, he could avoid trouble. He was in no shape for a battle. He had to maintain and keep his remaining reserve of energy for the bigger Abomination, or was it the darkness?
All in all, he knew drinking Mira's blood and extinguishing her life so soon would be stupid. He had to either keep her for the fight with the larger threat or leave the island safely with her. For all he knew, she was the only one keeping his sanity in check and also the one doing the damage.
Every day, he always dreamt of having a taste of her sweet, delicious, satisfying blood. Spending each day with her without having a taste of her was taking a toll on him, but on the bright side, she maintained that last piece of sanity left in him with her charismatic and jovial... if not stupid, nature.
'Things are getting a bit complicated lately.'
His thoughts were interrupted by a deafening howl that sounded more like a sonic blast.
He glanced at the monster one more time and turned his gaze to Mira, placing a finger on his lips.
The Abomination was currently keeping itself busy by dusting the chrome shards off its back. At that moment, the vampire and the human tiptoed to avoid being seen.
Scarlet scowled. It would have been much easier if he were alone, but even vampires are weak when it comes to battling fate.
And at that moment, fate decided to play a little game with the vampire's sanity.
Mira tiptoed but missed a small stone that made her trip and fall on a metal sheet. The sound caused the Abomination to twist its neck grotesquely, its eyes staring at the pale teenager with murderous intent.
Mira swallowed hard and tried to get up, only to slip on the metal sheet again, her roller boots and mask slipping from her hand. Scarlet cursed and grabbed her by the chest, breaking every rule of personal space.
He threw her over his shoulder like a sack of rice and ran. The Abomination barked, causing Scarlet's eardrums to ache.
He hissed and adjusted Mira and the chainsaw. The creature's barks were too loud considering its size as an Abomination. Yet, the size was its trump card.
The Abomination chased Scarlet at such great speed, occasionally sending its shadow tentacles, which missed Scarlet by a cat's whisker.
Mira stared at the Abomination from the comfort of Scarlet's shoulder with a terrified expression, lost for words.
She wasn't entirely numb because of the creature. Most of it was caused by Scarlet. He ran faster than she could imagine, making her head spin. Occasionally, he would perform life-ending leaps and stunts that made her beg for death.
For the past two weeks, she had known Scarlet to be some sort of fast, evasive survivalist. He had always done things beyond a human's capacity, leading to questions. But she decided to keep those questions to herself, believing he might have had a Blood Siege a long time ago and deciding not to talk about it, saving himself from joining the military.
Scarlet risked a glance up at the towering ruins, calculating the distance. He was really running out of energy. If things went south, he would have to use Mira ahead of schedule.
Gritting his teeth, he missed another tentacle, threw the mask away, slid under a collapsed building that formed a cramped triangular space, and somersaulted over destroyed transports that piled over each other.
The few seconds in the air felt as if time slowed, the gentle air brushing against Mira's face as she stared into the darkness. At that moment, the darkness shifted and cast an inhuman aura on Mira, making her feel dread.
She widened her eyes in horror, her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her cutlass falling on the ground.
A second later, they were back on the ground, still running. Mira's disorientation was destroyed when the pile of cybernetic transports exploded, sending different shapes of transport bays flying mid-air before crashing down, different sounds of heavy metal and glass against chrome and debris, causing a horrid litany.
One of the transport bays was almost landing on them if not for Scarlet's heightened senses.
The Abomination sprinted out of the explosion. It widened its mouth in the most horrid way possible, revealing sharp fangs and three tongues. This action was followed by a sonic blast that threw Scarlet off balance.
One of the shadow tentacles got to him and wrapped around his leg, and another one caught his other leg. The tentacles lifted him into the air, making his chainsaw fall to the ground. Before he was lifted too high, he slowly let go of Mira, making her roll feet away from the Abomination.
The Abomination stared at the hanging vampire with murderous intent and threw him at great speed.
Scarlet's body sailed through the air, heading straight for the fractured, chrome face of a collapsed skyscraper ten stories away. The impact would have instantly pulverized a mundane human.
As he flew, the vampire managed to twist his body, using the momentum and his rigid core strength to protect his head and chest. He hit the building with a jarring crack, the force slamming the air from his lungs and burying him deep into the weakened metal plating. Debris rained down around him.
A wave of intense, white-hot pain washed over his ribs, forcing a raw, animalistic hiss past his lips.
'Mtcheww.'
His reserve energy, the precious amount he had been guarding, was completely spent. He slid down the scarred metal face of the building, landing in a heap of rubble directly beneath an enormous gap.
He tried to stand, but his legs felt like dead weight, tingling with residual paralyzing magic from the Abomination's tentacles.
He was injured, exposed, and worst of all... hungry.
The physical pain instantly resurrected the agonizing, consuming thirst that the adrenaline had briefly masked.
"Blood.. I... need blood."
Meanwhile, Mira was scrambling. The Scuttler, satisfied with throwing Scarlet, turned its full attention to the unmoving human on the ground. It opened its misshapen jaws again, preparing for a final, catastrophic sonic bark.
Mira, still disoriented and terrified, saw the shadow tentacles extending toward her.
She didn't have time to pick up the cutlass and roller boots she'd dropped when Scarlet grabbed her. All she had was the small, rusty pipe lying beside her.
Instinct took over.
She rolled onto her back and threw the pipe at the Scuttler's head. The sudden, fast-moving projectile hit the creature's jagged, bony face with a sharp, pathetic assault.
It wasn't a powerful blow, but it was enough.
The Scuttler, or whatever it was, momentarily paused its charge, the unexpected impact disrupting its focus. The creature's grotesque neck twisted further, its eyes attempting to track the strange object that had struck it.
This was the microsecond Mira needed. She lunged for the fallen chainsaw, her hands closing around the heavy, metallic grip. The saw was cold, coated in dust, and far too heavy for her weakened state.
She didn't know how to use it, but she knew how to start it.
She frantically thumbed the power switch and pulled the cord. The heavy, gasoline-fueled engine didn't catch on the first try, or the second.
The Scuttler, having regained its orientation, was now sprinting toward her again. Its sharp, fanged mouth was wide open, ready to tear.
Third time. Mira closed her eyes, pulling the cord with the desperate, raw strength of pure fear.
RRRRRRRRRRRRR!
The chainsaw roared to life, a sound louder than the Abomination's bark, drowning out the entire ruined street. The sudden, violent noise was a shockwave.
The Scuttler screeched, halting its charge, momentarily stunned by the sheer auditory assault.
Scarlet, pinned beneath the skyscraper wreckage, blinked his scarlet eyes open. The sudden noise of the chainsaw cut through his pain, providing a brief, essential focus. He looked up at the colossal gap above him.
Alas, he saw the wing of a Sparul… Starovk?… above him. The building was still standing because of two metal pillars, and the floor above him was harboring a Sparrow.
'No need to build one anymore.'
But…
'I can't even move a muscle, and the damn dog will eat my only chance of survival. How do I get up there?'