Page 37 of Before We Burn

I just want a glimpse of my past, a glimpse of the love she spoke about. Maybe then I would learn what it’s like to be poured into.

I look at Bunny with so much gratitude. I know she can’t tell me more than that, but I’m grateful she told me anything.

“Thank you,” I breathe out, and Bunny nods before turning to look at the door.

About two seconds later, Everett stalks in. His shirt is still wet but he dried off his face. “I take it the conversation went well. Benny is on his way,” Bunny announces, then turns back around to look out the glass door.

“Uh, yeah,” Everett says, confused.

He moves to come closer to me, but I stand and walk away quickly. I’m not going to have a conversation with him. There is no need to. He made it perfectly clear how he was feeling toward vampires.

I sit in the living room for what feels like an eternity. The sun has come up—whatever bits and pieces you could see—and the clouds are heavy and dark, a sign of what today will most likely bring.

No one has spoken since Bunny decided to tell everyone that she knows the various ways we all die and that we have the power to change it if we all do the work. It really sent Constantine over the edge, and she left to feed one more time before the sun came up. Now that it’s up again, Connie won’t be able to help but ask questions that can give her some clarification on how she dies—when she dies.

Randomly, Bunny stands and looks around the room like she’s about to make an announcement. “It’s time to go.” I look at Constantine then Everett. We’re all confused.

“Bunny, Benny still hasn’t gotten here,” Connie says, cautiously.

I don’t question it, though. Her gift of sight was what we were counting on. If she says it’s time to go, you bet your ass I’m following her.

I stand, following Bunny outside into the thick forest behind the house. I don’t even turn around to see if the others are following me. I just know I’m not staying in that house to figure out why we have to leave.

We move in the line of trees, keeping to the darkest parts to ensure whatever we were running from doesn’t see us. Bunny stops once we circle to the front, and I see six blacked-out SUVs idling in the driveway. Men in tactical gear get out in an orderly fashion, guns in their hands and vision-enhancing goggles on their heads.

I look at Bunny who wears no emotion on her face, then to Constantine who beams with excitement. It’s not everyday you have a four-course meal presented to you on a platter.

Most of the guards split into two groups, one flanking the front of the house, the rest the back. Four guards stand around one of the SUVs in the middle. I hear the faint heartbeat of someone inside and instantly realize who it is.

“It’s Benny in there, isn’t it?” I ask, feeling Everett's worry rise.

I hate the feeling, like a pit formed in my stomach and my heart was beating with his. Every thump feels like it is in my throat, making me want to cry out in agony.

Everett is just about to charge in when I move in front of him, pushing him hard enough to fall to his ass in the snow.

“You have no idea what you’re up against. That’s a special task force. If Benny is in there, I need to make sure he’s okay. They wouldn’t take him just to take him.”

“And you think you can do what? I saw the way you held your fist. Was the gas station the first time you had to use your hands to fight? They’ll shoot you on sight.” I was whisper-shouting. Everett, however, was not.

“I don’t want to hurt you Marzana, so either move out of my way or find a way to make sure he’s okay.”

His thoughts were going haywire. ‘Benny’s my family. Benny is all I have. Did they hurt Benny?’ All valid questions; all questions we can figure out together if he takes a breath.

“You need to calm down. I’ll go get him.” I look at Constantine and say firmly, “He doesn’t leave the treeline.” Constantine nods, and I turn around to focus on the men guarding the car.

This should be an easy kill for me. Four humans is a fairly even match for a vampire less skilled than me, but I haven’t fed properly. That hack job of a feeding I did not too long ago wasn’t sufficient to keep me at my strongest.

These men likely came prepared with UV darts or bullets that could slow me down drastically, so I need to focus. I flip that invisible switch in my head—the one that allows me to hear everyone's thoughts around me. I pool my energy into my sight, speed, and hearing. Benny’s heartbeat is becoming weaker by the moment, and I need to keep track of it.

I spring into action before it’s too late. The first kill is always the easiest. They least expect it when all of them are alive. I slit the man's throat with grace. He doesn’t even register he’s dead before I kill the second man on the opposite side of the car. Once those two bodies drop, I move back to the other side where a third man is shouting the dead guy's name.

I creep up behind him, stabbing him directly in his temple before he can tell the other his friend is down. Then there was one. The last one is always the hardest.

Adrenaline makes even the most basic fighters extraordinary, because you’re no longer fighting just to fight—you're fighting to survive.

I circle the car again, moving opposite the man. But he’s smart, and his gun is trained on me, a glowing blue bullet loaded into the chamber. I can’t see his face—they always wear those masks that cover everything besides their eyes. Which is all I need to see to tell if someone is confident or not. Luckily for me, this man's eyes tell me he is nothing but afraid.

“Shoot,” I say, tauntingly. There’s a twitch in his eye—surprise that I spoke to him—and I take that as my chance to make my move.