Obscure

thirty eight

AUBREY THREW ANYTHING that her hands could grab.

Her screams and curses echoed all around Sophie, and shattered her eardrums. The high pitched sounds mingled with the sounds of random objects slamming against the cabinets behind Sophie. She ducked and scrambled in search of some sort of weapon to use against Aubrey. Her heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to cope.

"I didn't do anything!" she continued to shout. She was determined to make Aubrey believe her without violence. It didn't work at all.

When Aubrey ran out of ammo, a ferocious, strangled noise replaced the screams. Sophie paused and, for a second, time stood still. The world around her shifted, and everything became more focused. Aubrey bolted around the island counter and lunged at Sophie. Her fingers had grown longer, sharper, into deadly claws. Two of her canines had elongated into pointed fangs. Her eyes blazed bright red. It was the same crimson color that had glowed in Eli's eyes the night that he died.

Sophie processed it all in under thirty seconds. It was more than enough time to lash out with her foot, and catch Aubrey in the center of the chest.

Aubrey flew backward into the fridge. Sophie scrambled to her feet and bolted toward the door. A clawed hand reached out, catching her shoulder.

A scream ripped past Sophie's lips as she was wrenched backward. Aubrey grasped her throat and pinned her to the ground. Sharp claws pierced the skin of Sophie's neck. Sophie squirmed and struggled to fight, struggled to breathe.

"You killed him, you bitch!" Aubrey screamed in her face. Her eyes blazed crimson, and appeared glassy from tears. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Sophie tried to scream again, but ran out of oxygen. The alarms blarred inside her head even louder. Her hands shoved at Aubrey, her own claws scrapping against Aubrey's chest and shoulders.

Pain exploded beneath Aubrey's hand, as her fingers pushed through Sophie's skin. Frantic, Sophie raked her claws across Aubrey's face. Aubrey took the blow, hardly noticing the streaks of blood that stretched across her cheeks.

Sophie gasped. A strange gurgle followed. And she couldn't help but wonder if she'd see Eli again soon.

A darkened blur slammed against Aubrey. The vampire was thrown against the cabinets, and slumped to the ground with a heavy thunk. Dazed, Aubrey shook her head and tried to sit up. Sophie's hand flew to her throat. The skin there was jagged, and wet with warm blood. She gasped in air and struggled to stop the bleeding.

Weird noises filled the air, as Aubrey attacked the darkened blur. She shrieked with rage and lunged, only to get thrown against the cabinets again. The pattern continued until Aubrey was knocked unconscious. She thumped against the ground in a mangled heap of limbs.

A warm hand pressed against Sophie's throat. Bright blue eyes filled her fading gaze, wide with worry. "Stay with me, Sophie," a familiar voice urged.

"Get away from her, Wolfe," another familiar voice boomed across the room.

The warm hand vanished from her throat. Several more replaced it, pressing a soft cloth against the open wound instead. The hands worked to get her body onto a stretcher, and she realized that she could no longer move her limbs. Panic rushed through her system. Instinct took over and she started to fight. The hands pinned her flailing limbs to the stretcher.

Strangled, bubbly keens echoed through the air. She slumped against the stretcher, exhaused. It was hoisted into the air. As it started to move, she heard, "Get her to the laboratory," the second voice commanded. The image of Headmaster floated around her head. "And as for you, Wolfe. You are under arrest."

Sophie tried to protest. Wolfe did too. "Wait, I didn't do anything," she heard him say, his voice distant. "I didn't do anything. I just heard the screams and came to help!"

The sounds of several feet rushing forward, toward Wolfe, faded as the stretcher was carried into the hallway.

Sophie drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain in her throat started to grow faint, and was replaced with a heavy sense of numbness. Her gaze was blurred, and clouded, and her vision rolled as she struggled to focus on her surroundings. The dark browns and grays of the stone hallway swirled together, coupled with the white uniforms of the people around her.

The stretcher soon stopped moving, and was lowered to the ground. Sophie felt hands pull at the cloth on her neck. Fingers probed her throat and small sparks of pain splintered through her body. She breathed in, the sound watery, and tried to turn her head away.

Hands held her head still. The numbness quickly washed away the pain, and she felt something sharp poke her wound. The action was repeated, again and again. Her brain processed it slowly; she was being stitched up.

When the hands were finished, Sophie was lifted from the stretcher. She was placed against a hard, rounded surface. It was cold, like glass. Another cold thing was pushed against her face. It covered her nose and mouth and forced a whirlwind of weird smelling air into her lungs. A strange click resounded around her head. Then a thick, gooey substance flooded in around her.

"We have to complete the transformation now," an unfamiliar voice said. His voice was far, far away and muffled. It took Sophie a few moments to understand. "Otherwise, she will die."

"Then do it. Do not let her die."

The last voice sounded like Headmaster's, but she couldn't be certain. She dazedly listened to the voices as they drifted away. The silence that replaced them soon suffocated her.

Sophie struggled to make sense of everything. It took a moment for her brain to process it. Her body was incredibly weak. It felt so fragile, like a simple movement could shatter her into pieces. She could hardly even twitch her fingers.

'I'm going to die now,' she thought to herself grimly.

Then a gentle voice whispered inside her head, 'I won't let you.'