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Kira confronted the men bravely, cracking a few heads and biting several others, but succumbed quickly to the pain. The bitten men were tied by others and dragged somewhere unknown. So they also knew about vampire venom. The only thing I heard Kira whisper was: “Run.”
I listened and ran toward the armored vehicle Gabriel was trapped in. The bangs emerging from inside resounded just as loud. Gabriel truly never got tired, especially not now. I tried to find a way to open the iron mammoth but to no avail. From my limited knowledge of tanks, the sole entry stood on top of the vehicle. Just climbing it represented a challenge. Nonetheless, I dragged myself up the mountain of steel, expecting Gabriel’s bangs to almost knock me out. If I spoke, I would betray my location immediately. So I knocked three times. Gabriel stopped for a moment, then continued deforming it. I knocked again and whispered, “It’s me, Gabriel. Petra. I’m trying to help you.”
This time, the bangs stopped. I climbed on top and tried to untwist the round handle, but from the looks of it, I needed the strength of a couple of Turkish mercenaries to open it. Unfortunately, it was hard to find spare mercenaries camping around these days, so I had to figure out another way. Everything in this world had a weakness, including a tank. Something that looked like a seam. I traversed the armored vehicle spider-style, ignoring the risk of exposing myself. Time already wasn’t on my side. I had to do the most of it. By the time I reached underneath the tank, the men had yelled to seize me. My hands trembled like leaves, and my heart could jumpstart a car, but my mission to free Gabriel somehow superseded my instinct to live.
After touching the surface underneath the tank, I felt an obvious seam in the upper left corner. But before I could verify, a rough hand grabbed my leg. As I got dragged on the asphalt, I whispered, “Aim for the upper left corner.”
Once dragged from underneath the tank, my entire back and arms were covered in bloody scrapes. Mr. Iglesias ignored the utter pain reflected on my face and simply welcomed me with the most mocking grin ever. “Your attempts at freeing your beloved are admirable. Unfortunately, the armored vehicle is impenetrable. Come,” Mr. Iglesias said as he grabbed my bleeding forearm. “It’s time to negotiate. We already know The Count will do anything for you.”
I tried my best to rip myself from him, but he twisted my arm to the back. Given my battered arms, this time, the pain doubled. We were several feet from where we heard a rumble, as if an earthquake shook our ground. The armed men looked confused at one another, uncertain of what to do next. But thankfully, the rumble stopped, the tank began levitating, and a new force of nature appeared. Gabriel had ripped through the seams and almost threw the tank at his enemies. Except I stood in the midst of them, so he decided to throw it to the side. At such a sight, some of the armed men scrambled, but Mr. Iglesias and a couple of his men confronted Gabriel.
“I don’t think you wish your Milady harm, Count,” said Mr. Iglesias.
The crazed look in Gabriel’s silver eyes made them shudder for a split second.
“If you dare come any closer, she’s dead,” Mr. Iglesias said, placing a knife at my neck.
Gabriel didn’t say anything. He just looked to the side and chuckled in disbelief. In the next blink, Gabriel stood next to Mr. Iglesias, already holding the knife meant to cut my neck. He whispered in Mr. Iglesias’s ear: “My name is Gabriel, the Immortal, Stoica, King of the Undead. It’s good to know the full name of the one who’ll take your last breath.”
The next thing I heard was a crack. Then another, and another. I turned and saw the three men lying on the ground like puppets without strings.
“My love,” Gabriel said and embraced me.
“Ow, ow,” I said.
“You are hurt, Milady.” Gabriel’s face turned ashen while his silver eyes turned closer to red. “Can you bear it for a bit?”
I nodded and felt a swoosh pass by me. I knew Gabriel went on a killing spree and expected yelps and cries of despair, but no, they probably didn’t even know what hit them before their unexpected demise. The eerie silence descended upon my surroundings. Once I felt calm enough to move, I went straight to the electric dome. “Troy, are you able to hold on for a bit longer?” I asked.
But Troy couldn’t answer. He simply blinked, and I took it as an affirmative answer. I scurried to find a button or something to stop the electric current. When the vampires saw what I intended to do, they all yelped, “Milady, no. Don’t do it. If you touch it, His Majesty won’t have mercy even on his people.”
I shuffled a few steps back. “You might be right,” I said, and they sighed in relief. “Did you see Kira anywhere?”
“She was dragged inside probably to be tortured,” said one of the vampires.
“I should probably look for her,” I said.
“No,” the vampires yelled in unison. “Milady,” said one of them, “even if we are behind the fence, you are still safer where we can see you.”
“I understand,” I said. “I’ll just wait for Gabriel.”
A deep sigh of relief rippled in me. My mortality did not do my generosity any justice. I suppose I was still helping by not getting myself in any more trouble. Fortunately, Gabriel returned, all covered in blood and with a grin on his face.
“I see you’re enjoying this,” I said.
“My beast hasn’t gone hunting for decades,” he said and went to the electric dome. At first, Gabriel burnt his hands to a crisp, trying to rip through the connecting wires covered in a silver alloy, but in the end, he succeeded. “My fellow vampires, today you fought with valor. Thus, you deserve a feast. Please, aid those who need help with a meal and then enjoy a few yourselves. There’s enough for everybody.” Gabriel then turned toward me, gripped my face, and kissed me in a frenzy.
“I cannot breathe, Gabriel,” I said as he loosened his grip.
“How are you?” He scrutinized my wounds. “Your arms and back are bleeding,” he said with an anguished tone.
“They dragged me from underneath the tank. I was bound to get a few scrapes here and there,” I said, trying to diminish the seriousness of the situation.
But Gabriel didn’t take any of it and bit his wrist, “Drink. It’ll help.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I insist. You’ve done so much for me when I was supposed to protect you. It’s the least I can do.”
