DANIEL HERON: BECOMING

24 - I'm not leaving you here all alone and defenseless.

The bloody mass fell to the ground with a thud. The arrow point rolled a few centimeters away from it. Daniel brought a hand up to cover his mouth. He didn't know which was worse; the sight of Teresa's upper arm with a chunk of flesh missing, or the said chunk of flesh lying on the ground.

As his eyes wandered to the bloody mass on the floor, he noticed thick silver liquid pouring out of the arrow point. It was hollow, Daniel realized. He swallowed, but nauseating aftertaste remained in his mouth.

Teresa stumbled. It seemed as though she was losing her balance. She tottered backwards, but luckily the doorframe was there to prevent her from falling. She managed to stagger into the house, struggling to remain standing. Very soon, the gravity won, and Teresa found herself on her knees. A stream of blood was flowing slowly down her injured arm.

The laughter escaped the lips of the vampire in black, making Daniel turn his eyes away from Teresa. A savage roar followed when Ana flew towards the demon. She jumped on his back, encompassing him with her arms like a baby primate would grab on to its mother. Only, Ana's grip was anything but gentle. She gripped the vampire, using her nails as claws. One of her hands was thrown over his face, while the other rested on his clavicle.

In an attempt to free himself from her grasp, the vampire grabbed her wrists and started pulling them apart. Her nails were ripping his skin, leaving deep marks behind. He struggled to shake her off, but Ana's superhuman strength wouldn't let him get rid of her as he planned.

It all lasted about a minute, although to Daniel it seemed as though the time was flowing much slower. And then everything stopped when the vampire got shot in the stomach with an arrow. He looked at Teresa, noticing the crossbow in her lethargic hands.

"Rip it out," she strained herself to say.

Daniel's eyes returned to the demon in black who still twitched in Ana's grip. Blood was oozing down his face in four thin streams, and tips of Ana's fingers were stained by blood as well. However, she wouldn't let go.

"Rip out the arrow," Teresa repeated. The strength was leaving her body, and she was no longer able to kneel. She lowered to the ground, her legs bent under her body, her good arm supporting the injured one in her lap.

For another moment or two, Daniel observed, not understanding how Ana could do what Teresa asked in her current position, and then it hit him: Teresa wasn't talking to her. She was addressing him.

"Rip it out! Now!" Ana's voice made him focus.

Pushing all other thoughts aside, he approached the vampire and grabbed the arrow shaft sticking out of his stomach. He gave it a strong pull and the arrow was in his hand. But it wasn't whole; its point was missing.

The vampire screamed like a deadly wounded beast. Ana's grip must have weakened, because he managed to shake her off and, jumping over the porch fence, ran to the forest.

Ana stood there, her hands stained by blood, flipping her gaze from the dark woods to the illuminated cabin, undecisive.

"Stop him," Teresa whispered.

Ana flipped her gaze three more times before rushing to the cabin where she knelt beside injured Teresa.

Daniel followed, timidly. "Will she..."

...die? That was the question he wanted to ask, but somehow, he wasn't able to let the word roll over his tongue.

"Catch him," Teresa said to Ana. Her voice sounded very frail, and her face was revealing just how much effort she had to muster to speak.

"I'm not leaving you here all alone and defenseless." Ana leaned over her to get a better look at the wound on her arm. Then she lifted her gaze to Daniel and sent him to get a clean towel from the bathroom.