The living room was a mess of broken furniture, scattered papers, struggling bodies - Justin punched out some guy in a black jacket, who flew back out of the window and into the arms of some snarling vampires. Micheal was fighting a couple more, who he just bodily picked up and threw out. As me and Eve skidded into the room and broke right and left, the cop in pursuit ran headlong into Micheal and got tossed out, as well.
"They're coming in!" Eve screamed, and slammed the kitchen door and jammed a chair under the handle. Micheal grabbed the nearest bookcase - not the one with the bible on it, I saw - and pulled it over to the block the window, then leant the sofa against it.
"Upstairs!" He yelled. "Move it!"
Justin grabbed me by the hand and pounded up the stairs, half dragging me; I missed a step and stumbled, and pulled him off balance, just at the the right moment, because the bat that was swung at his head missed and thumped into the wall with a crack of wood. Another person hiding at the top of the stairs, this one female and tall. Justin grabbed the bar away from her and landed her with it, driving her back down the hallway. I recognised her - one of the dorm girls, Lillian.
"Don't!" Lillian yelled, and put her arms up when Justin pulled back the bat.
"Hell" Justin spit in disgust. "I can't hit a girl. Here, Ana. You hit her" he tossed me the bat. I grabbed it and made a clumsy batting stance, wishing I'd paid more attention in phys ed. Lillian screamed again and ran into the open doorway of Eve's room. Eve, coming up the stairs, screamed too, for different reasons.
"Hey, that's my room, bitch!" And she flew in to grab Lillian by the hair, swung her around, and threw her out into the hall, then shoved her towards the stairs. "Micheal! This one needs to go out!"
Eve shoved her again. Lillian tottered down the steps, and shrieked once more before leaving the building at speed.
"Check the rooms" Justin panted. "If one got in, there are probably more. Don't take chances. Yell for help"
I nodded and hurried to my room. It looked quiet, thank god - the windows were unbroken, and there was no sign of anybody hiding in there. Same for the bathroom. I heard crashing from down the hall. Justin had found somebody. I ran out into the hall and started to come to his defence, then hesitated when I saw Eve's door was now open a crack. She left it closed.
I opened it slowly, as silently as I could and peaked around the edge and saw Eve up against the wall, and Miranda holding a knife to her throat. I recognised the bruises and the bite marks on her neck first, then the faded blue eyes as the girls head turned towards me.
"Don't" Miranda said. "I have to do this. Charles says I need to. To make the visions stop. I want it to stop, Ana. You understand, right?"
"Let her go, Miranda, okay? Please?" I swallowed hard and stepped into the room. I could hear fighting from down the hall. Justin and Micheal were busy. "You don't want to hurt Eve. She's your friend!"
"It's too much" Miranda said. "So many people dying, and I can't do anything. Charles said he will make it go away. All I have to do is-"
"What? Kill Eve? Really, don't you want to- to do anything-" panicked, as I looked at Eve for help.
"Yeah" Eve said faintly. "I'm your friend, Mir. You know that"
Miranda shook her head so hard her dark hair flew. The knife trembled against Eve's threat, and she squeezed her eyes shut and whispered something that sounded like Charles. And when she opened her eyes she looked different.
She's going to do something. I didn't have time to figure it out; I just moved, because Eve was moving, her arm flashing up and smacking Miranda's below. In the second that the knife was away from Eve's throat, I grabbed a handful of Miranda's hair and yanked, hard, dragging her backwards. Miranda shrieks and thrashed wildly at us. Eve's upraised arm got a bloody cut, and I moved backward gasping, holding onto her hair and trying to stay out of the cutting range.
Miranda swept the knife around and cut off the clump of hair I was holding, right by my knuckles. Fuck. Miranda lunged at me, knife held out, and I ran into the black bedside table, and toppled over onto the black satin comforter, and saw the knife coming for me.
"Hey!" Eve screamed, and spun Miranda round and slapped her, hard, across the face. Twice. When Miranda tried to stab her, Eve smacked the girls hand into the wall and twisted her wrist until Miranda's fist opened and the knife dropped to the floor.
Miranda started crying. It was a hopeless, helpless sound, and if I hadn't been angry and scared I would of felt sorry for her.
"No, no, I don't want to see anymore, I don't want to- he said he'd make it stop-" she babbled.
Eve grabbed her by the arm, opened up the closet door, and stuffed Miranda inside, then jammed a wooden chair under the handle. Her arm was bleeding all over the place. I grabbed a towel lying on the floor and pressed the make shift bandage on the wound.
"Maybe she was just under his spell. Like you were, when you-" okay, maybe it wasn't smart to bring that up, I thought.
"That's why I slapped her" Eve said. "But I don't think that's it. Miranda's always been crazy. I just thought- well...she wasn't that crazy"
My eyes turned to the broken window. Outside, there was a slight edge of sunlight climbing above the horizon, and the sky had turned a deep blue-grey.
"Micheal!" I blurted. "Oh my god!"
I left Eve and ran into the hall. Justin was coming out of his room, shaking out his right hand. His knuckles were bloody.
"Where's Micheal?" I yelled.
"Downstairs" he said. "What the hell is that?"
I realised with a shock that I was still holding on to a handful of Miranda's severed hair. I made a face and let it go, then fluttered my hand to shake it all off.
"You don't even want to know. Oh, Miranda's locked into Eve's closet, by the way" I say.
"Well, that's a bonus. Sorry, but I don't really like that kid" Justin shrugs.
"She's not growing on me either" I laugh. "Come on, we need to get to Micheal"
"Trust me, he's doing okay without us" Justin said.
"No he's not" I said grimly. "The suns coming out"
He didn't get it for a second, but when he said, and oh, boy. He was gone before I could yell at him to wait for me.
I reached the bottom of the stairs a few seconds behind, and saw him race across to where Micheal was grabbing another intruder on his way through the broken down front door.
"I don't need you!" He yelled at us both, and tossed the guy halfway to Kansas. "Get upstairs! Justin, show her where!"
Justin ignored him, plunged past him and into the hallway. Guarding the front door. Michele started to follow him, and stepped into the glowing light from the back window.
He spun to look at it, then wordlessly at me. I saw outright fear in his eyes. "No" he said. "Not now!"
"How long?" I asked.
"Five minutes. Maybe less! Fuck!" He shouted.
As if the vampires knew, there was a rattle at the window behind the bookcase blocking it. It heaved uneasily, and started to topple forward. Micheal got in between it and the floor, caught it, and flung it back upright, then braced it again with the sofa.
"Back up!" Micheal ordered me, and I retreated to the stairs. I could hear Justin fighting in the hall again. "Ana, you and Eve need to find a way to block everything. Seal it up. Don't let Justin-"
I wasn't sure what he was going to say, but just then he gasped and doubled over, and I knew that it was lost. He looked pale. Paler. Mist. Gone, along with a fading ghost of a scream.
Eve skidded to a stop beside me, eyes wide. "He's gone" she whispered, as if she couldn't really believe it. "He left us"
"He couldn't help it" I took Eve's hand. "Come on Eve, let's get the bookcase down the hall. We need to wedge it in the doorway"
Eve nodded numbly. It was like all the fight had gone out of her, and I understood why, what hope was there now? Micheal had been handling things.
"Help me" I said to Eve, and I meant it as much as I could.
Eve gave me a tiny little smile and squeezed my hand. "You know I will"
Between the three of us, we managed to block the front door pretty throughly, wedging the bookcase in place and bracing it. It got quiet. Weirdly quiet.
"Well?" Eve looked around the corner. "I don't see anything"
"Can we go to the pantry?" I ask. "I mean, I don't hear anybody.."
"Too risky" Justin said. He grabbed the phone from a pile of debris and started dialling then dropped it. "They cut the line"
Eve pulled out her cell phone and Justin grabbed for it, checked the signal and started dialling a number. "Come on" he muttered. "Pick up, pick up, pick up"
He stopped in mid step. "Dad? Oh, damn, it's the machine- Dad, listen, if you get this, it's Justin, I'm at Micheal Glass's house in Morganville, and I need shock and awe, man- come running. You know why"
He flipped the phone shut and threw it to Eve. "Upstairs, both of you. Get in the secret room. Micheal? Are you with us?"
I shivered at a sudden cold draft. "He's here" I say.
"Watch out for them" Justin said. "I-I kind of have a plan" he said as if he was half surprised himself. "Girls, upstairs. Now"
"But-" I tried to argue.
"Go!" He shouted, I was moving towards the stairs without any conscious decision to do it.
Upstairs was quiet, except for the distant sound of Miranda hammering on the closet door. "I don't like this" I said. "Oliver knows Micheal can't do anything after dawn, right?" I ask.
"I don't know" Eve said and chewed on her lip. "You're right. It's weird. Why would they just give up now?"
"They haven't" said a voice that my tingling spine could recognise before my brain. Micheal's bedroom door opened, and standing there, smiling, was Monica Morrell. Gina and Jennifer were behind her.
They were all holding knives, and that was a hell of a lot scarier than Miranda, no matter how crazy she might be.
Eve got in between me and Monica and began backing me away down the hall. "Get in your room" Eve said. "Lock the door"
"Won't do you any good" Monica said, leaning around Eve. "Ask me why. Go on"
I didn't have to. I heard the door open behind me, and whipped around to see a man in police uniform stepping into the hallway with his gun drawn.
"Meet my brother, Richard" she giggled. "Isn't he cute?"
"Shut up, Monica" he said, and nodded toward the far end of the hall. "Ladies. Downstairs, please. We don't have to make this bloody"
I backed up, touched Eve, and whispered, "What do we do?"
"I guess we go downstairs" she sounded defeated. A chill swept across us stronger than ever.
"Um I think that's a no?" Warm air flooded in. "That's a yes" More warm air. "You're kidding me Micheal, stay here?" I groan.
Eve fainted. She did it convincingly too, so well that I wasn't totally sure she wasn't really out. "She got cut" I said. "She's lost a lot of blood" I hoped that was an exaggeration.
"Leave her" said Monica's brother. "We only need you anyway"
"But- she's bleeding! She needs-"
"Move" he shoved me, and I nearly ran into the knife Gina was holding out. "Monica, for gods sake, back the hell off, will you? I think I can handle some little girl"
Monica frowned at him. "Oliver said we could have her when it's over"
"Yeah, when it's over. Which isn't now, so back the hell off" he said.
I very deliberately bolted away from the pack of them pushing Monica into the wall. That was all it took, Monica screamed in horror and slapped me, Gina grabbed me, Jennifer stepped away, and Richard stepped back and held his gun up to me.
"Hey!" Justin's voice, loud and angry. He was on the stairs looking through the railing at them. "Enough already. I'll give you the damn book, just leave her alone"
"Not fair" Monica muttered, glaring at him. "Richard, shoot him" she said.
"No" Richard said wearily. "I'm a cop and I'll only shoot who I'm told to shoot"
"Let them walk out of here" Justin said.
"Not going to happen, so just get your ass up here before I decide I don't need either one of them" Richard cocked the gun for emphasis. Justin slowly walked to the top of the stairs. "Where is it?" Richard asked.
"The book? It's safe. And it's some place you'll never get it if you piss me off" Justin said.
Richard fired the gun. Everybody, even Monica screamed, and I looked down at myself in shock. He'd missed. There was a smoking hole in Micheal's door one foot from me.
"Kid" Richard said wearily. "I am not in the mood. I haven't slept in thirty six hours, my sisters crazy-"
"Hey!" Monica shouted.
"I couldn't give a crap about you, your friends, or your problems, because for me this is personal. Monica will kill you because she's nuts. I'll kill you because you make me kill you. Are we straight?" He says.
"Well" Justin said. "That's kind of a personal question"
Richard aimed directly at me. It wasn't much of a change, but I definitely felt it, like being in a spotlight. And I heard Justin say, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! All right!"
In my side vision I saw Justin reach behind his back and pull out a book. Black leather cover. He help up his left hand, showing it empty, and held out the bible with his right.
"That's it?" Richard asked.
"Swear to god" Justin said.
"Monica. Take it" Richard ordered.
"I'm shooting the next person who talks that isn't my sister" Richard says. "Monica?"
"There's a hole in it. And another book" she says, and stopped staring inside. "Oh my god. It really is. I thought they were bullshitting us"
Justin had done it. He had given up the book. Somehow I had expected better.
"We're square. Right?" Justin asked.
"No shooting" Richard agreed. Taking the book from Monica, he walked past Justin to the stairs and started down.
"Hey, wait!" Justin shouted. "Take your psycho sister with you"
Richard stopped and sighed. "Monica let's go"
"I don't want to" she said. "Oliver said I could have them"
"Oliver's not here. I am, and I'm telling you we have to go. Now move unless you want to fry" he says.
"Enjoy the barbecue" she blew me and Justin and mocking kiss. She followed her brother down and Gina and Jennifer followed after, before turning to us.
"Monica set fire. You should get out while you can, run like hell. It probably won't help, I'm sorry" and then she was gone. Justin stared after them for a second then kneeled down next to Eve.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked.
"Taking a nap" Eve said. "I thought if you staye down you'd have it easier"
Me and Justin looked at each other before taking each of her hands and helping her up.
"Did I get that right? You actually handed it over?" Eve asked.
"You know what? I did. And it kept you guys alive, so there you go. Hate me" he was going to say something else then stopped, and frowned and nodded down the hallway.
There was a thread of smoke curling from underneath the door of my bedroom.
"Oh my god! We need to get out of here!" I shouted.
"Like they're going to let us go?" Justin asked. "And no way am I letting this house burn! Micheal?!"
"He's here" I said feeling the chill.
"Blankets, towels, whatever, get it in the bathroom and soak it down. Oh and let Miranda out, we can hate her later" Justin says.
"My clothes!" Eve yelled grabbing them and pulling them to safety in Micheal's room, as Miranda spluttered out of the closet.
"Yeah, way to stay focused, Eve!" Justin shouted.
He grabbed lots of things he had soaked in the shower and kicked open the door. My bed was on fire, and my curtains up onto the ceiling.
"Be careful!" I yelled, and hesitated to watch as Justin yanked the curtains down, threw the wet comforter on the bed, and began stomping on the flames.
"Don't just stand there! Blankets! Towels! Move!" He shouted at me.