The Carmen Chronicles: Rebirth

Chapter 18: Ana's Vengeance

I stared at the two people I had once been friends with, unable to believe my eyes as a peculiar sense of numbness and shock swept over my body like a tidal wave. I knelt down and gently took Mary's hand in my own, her body had already lost all of its warmth. Her scent had a small hint of parchment on her fingertips; I imagined she was reading the Bible while Victoria attacked her from behind. John had large cuts on his face and chest, as if a lion had swiped at him before hurling him into a tree and breaking his neck. But it wasn't their bodily injuries that struck me the most. It was their blood. Down to the last drop, their bodies had been completely drained.

They're not dead, they're not dead.

I pulled Mary's body over to me and held her in my frozen arms as I let out an agonising cry.

They're still alive.

I tapped Mary's pale face lightly, willing her to stop pretending and wake up. But somewhere in the depths of my mind, I knew... Their scent no longer set my throat on fire, their wide eyes were open, yet unseeing... I held nothing now but the shell that once contained their souls. They were gone...My friends, my...Family...Gone...

Ana stirred in my memory, my imagination pictured a young Ana standing over the bodies of her parents, traumatised from what she had just witnessed. And the one responsible stood right before me.

"I had to" Victoria said. "I won't risk our safety".

I looked up at Victoria as I let Mary's body slide from my arms and onto the ground. Before I knew it, I was on my feet, a furious snarl escaped my lips as I leapt at my former friend, and within a single second, we were locked in a fierce battle. And it was suddenly Queen versus Queen, predator versus predator. Victoria had over a century of experience on her side, but I had one slight advantage: my rage. In this moment, I was no longer an immortal who had lived this way for close to a decade, but an inexperienced and wild vampire who felt nothing but pure anger. I no longer cared about my own life, I no longer cared about her life. My mind was frozen on the image of the orphaned Ana, the bodies of John and Mary, and the body of Emily that lay alone somewhere in these woods. The animals who had been observing us from a far distance fled in terror as we fought, even the bugs scattered as we twisted and turned in the night, scratching wildly at each other and snarling like a vicious pair of lions. The more we fought, the more hatred rose within me, the depths of which I had never felt before. I threw myself over Victoria and lunged for her neck, but she was too fast, her skill in evasion was too high. I lunged again, within a flash Victoria had thrown me to the ground, attempting to pin my arms behind my back. I threw her off in the same second and darted after her as she fled through the forest before finally turning and crouching, awaiting my attack. Leaping through the air, Victoria jumped and met me, our bodies clashing in midair as I quickly spun, throwing Victoria to the ground. With a quick twist, her feet had barely touched the ground before she sprinted off again and leapt into a tree. I crossed the woods in a second and shoved against the tree hard until it groaned and threatened to tip over. A flash of red above me; and I knew Victoria had crossed to another branch. I leapt in front of the next tree and pushed again before it too leaned at an awkward and unstable angle. Another flash of red.

"I'll knock over every tree in the forest if I have to!" I shouted up at her, shoving the third tree.

A swing of heavy branches, a growl of frustration and a quick flash of red appeared before my eyes. Before I could react, Victoria had me in a vice grasp, twisting my arms as hard as she could behind my back. An odd sound came from either side of my body, as though ice were shattering.

What is that?
Victoria yanked at my arms once again and placed her foot firmly against my back, forcing me to the forest floor. The overpowering smell of the woods filled my nose as I struggled, my feral snarls only matched by the now wild Victoria. Then, with a loud crashing sound behind me, Victoria vanished. I sprung to my feet as one of the trees I had pressed firmly against began to fall. I jumped out of the way, my eyes darting across the woods for any sign of the redhead. A quick flame of red darted through the thick trees to my right. I sprinted after her, wild with fury and desperate to attack. But Victoria was skilled. The moment I drew close and reached for her, she would throw me off. My body hit the trunk of several trees, most of which crashed to the ground from the impact. I approached her again.

"Stop running and fight!" I shouted at her as I launched myself at her again, this time her foot met my torso and kicked, throwing my body back a hundred metres.

But I was not about to give up. I leapt to my feet once more and ran as fast as I could before finally jumping up into the trees and climbing high. I followed Victoria silently as I leapt from branch to branch...I had never felt this before...Everything was on high alert, like if I were hunting. But I wasn't hunting now, was I? Perhaps I was hunting a different type of prey... A lioness hunting a lioness? My senses were magnified to a level I had never experienced before in any hunt I had ever done. I now heard far beyond the woods, I saw the detail of everything imaginable, my sight was already perfect, but now my body automatically took in the details of everything it saw without even thinking of it. Nothing was tuned out, not a single sense, I felt the muscles in my body working perfectly, not growing weary or tired at all, but rather they were primed for attack, ready to pounce without a single hesitation. I had embraced my natural senses on hunts long before this moment, though this was the first time I felt I had fully given myself over to the huntress that lived within me. My anger fuelled my body, my determination seemed to give me a strength I did not know I had. Finally, after what felt like an age, Victoria slowed, eventually stopping. I froze on my tree branch above her and crouched, ready to pounce. My scent would give my position away any moment now... All I had to do was wait... She looked around the woods cautiously... As soon as I heard her take a breath, I leapt from the tree branch, tackling her body to the ground. She swirled around in shock and hissed at me as her teeth sunk into my arm.

Pain.

I was surprised to feel it. I threw her head back and wrapped my hands around it, turning it with such force that if she were human, it would have decapitated her. I sunk my teeth into her neck as she shouted and growled in pain.

"Where is Emily's body?" I demanded in her ear as I held her head captive in my hands, her neck exposed, the both of us knowing my teeth were only too willing to bite her again.

Victoria snarled and hissed in response as she struggled wildly, her hands scratching and pulling at my skin.

"WHERE?" I repeated as I set my teeth on her neck.

With a loud growl, Victoria threw me off with as much force as she could. My body rocketed through the air, I wrapped my arm around an oncoming tree and spun as I clung to it, before leaping off and launching myself once more at Victoria. Our bodies loudly collided once again like two solid, unyielding statues.

"Where is Emily's body?" I demanded as I lunged at Victoria's throat again.

She sprang over me, grabbed my shoulders, and tossed me through the air as hard as she could. Several tree trunks cracked under my impact before I twisted in the air and landed on my feet, sprinting back to where my former companion had last stood. But the forest was deserted. I screamed in rage as I sped through the woods following her scent, quicker than ever before. I ran for hours, following her trail until I reached the Mediterranean Sea, the waves having washed away all traces of my elusive friend. Victoria was gone.