The Vampire's Apprentice

Alain ran through the prison at a dead sprint, trying to will himself to go even faster than he already was. His breath was coming out ragged from exhaustion and fatigue, but he didn't care – not when Az and Sable were busy fighting for their lives.

And judging by the sounds coming from the exterior of the prison, they weren't the only ones.

He'd heard it from the moment he'd begun to run through the prison halls – the gunfire had started up throughout the city once more, with most of it coming from right outside the prison, where he'd left the remainder of his and Sable's group. Alain's heart reverberated in his chest as he reached the front door to the prison and pushed it open, his shotgun already tucked into his shoulder.

The first thing that struck him was the sheer noise of it all; the second was the carnage.

All around him, people were engaged in combat with those crimson-colored Darklings. Colonel Stone's soldiers were firing and reloading as fast as they could, while vampires and Rougarou leaped into the fray, tearing at the oncoming surge of Darklings. But the red figures seemed damn near endless, from what Alain could tell – for every one that was cut down, another sprang up to take its place just a few seconds later. They were sprinting in from the depths of the fog, each one heralding its arrival with that same inhuman screech. Combined with the sound of gunfire and combat, it was a deafening cacophony straight from the gates of Hell.

But even the noise couldn't compare to the level of carnage on display. All around him, mutilated bodies – of humans, vampires, and Rougarou alike – littered the ground, in various states of disrepair. Blood and gore soaked the cobblestone roads, flooding them with an ankle-deep crimson tide of lifeblood.

Alain wasn't sure how many people they'd lost already, but he could tell right away just by looking at the scene before him that they were running out of time.

And so, despite his concern for Sable and Az, Alain didn't hold himself back.

He pushed into the fray, firing off shells from his shotgun and working the action as fast as he could. With every shot, a Darkling fell, its head having been torn from its shoulders by a storm of buckshot. This wasn't enough to kill them, though it did provide an opportunity for those soldiers who were carrying torches or some other form of light to finish them off.

"Jasper!" Alain called as he hurriedly thumbed shells into his weapon. "Tiana! Heather! Are you all here?!"

"Smith!"

At the sound of Lawrence's voice, Alain turned. He found the dark-skinned vampire rushing towards him through the crowd of fighters, a look of concern on his face. Lawrence had two wounded human soldiers leaning onto him for support, grimaces of pain etched across their faces; the deep gashes that covered their bodies told him everything he needed to know about what had happened.

"Lawrence," Alain said, even as he finished reloading and snapped his weapon back up to his shoulder, then continued sending payloads of buckshot pellets downrange. "Have you seen the other members of my group?!"

Lawrence set the two wounded soldiers down next to the prison, then hurriedly shoved some abandoned revolvers and ammo belts into their hands. Once he was finished with that, he turned back to Alain, a grimace crossing his face.

"We can't stay here," he said. "We're getting chewed to pieces!"

"I know!" Alain shouted over the gunfire. "But I need you to hold the line for us! We've found Owen, but taking him out is going to take some time!"

"Hold the line?!" Lawrence echoed. "How much time do you need?!"

"No idea! Right now, what I need from you is to help me find Jasper, Tiana, and Heather! Once we've done that, I'll need you to coordinate things here! Can you do that for me?!"

Lawrence scowled, but nodded nonetheless. "...Yes," he offered. "Okay, follow after me, Smith. Let's go find the rest of your group."

And with that, Lawrence took off, moving through the crowd of Darklings like he was wading through a deep river of blood. As he moved, he snapped out with his hands, each strike cleaving a Darkling's head from its shoulders or tearing off a limb. Still, despite his advances, Alain could tell it was ultimately for nothing – every Darkling was soon replaced by another, and Lawrence himself was not spared from retaliatory strikes from the rest of the tide.

Still, Alain knew what he was doing – Lawrence was clearing a path for him. And he wasn't about to squander the opportunity that had just been provided.

Alain took off after Lawrence, taking care to stick close to him as they both moved through the sea of Darklings. Alain fired off his shotgun into the crowd as he went, the large muzzle flash serving to drive the Darklings back.

"Heather!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Jasper! Tiana! Are you guys here?!"

There was no response after several seconds, and Alain's heart skipped a beat. But finally, just as he was about to repeat himself, he got an answer.

"Alain, we're over here!"

Alain instantly snapped towards where he'd heard his mother's voice. Sure enough, he could hear the familiar report of her revolvers, along with Jasper's rifle, as well as see their muzzle flashes illuminating the nearby streets. Alain cautiously approached Lawrence, giving him a pat on the back.

"To the right, thirty meters!" he shouted. "Think you can clear a path?!"

Lawrence nodded, then before Alain could ask any further questions, he diverted course to the right. Alain continued to follow after him, hurriedly loading his shotgun and firing it as he went, trying to keep the Darklings away from them as they made their way to the rest of his group.

Eventually, Alain found them backed up against a storefront, a single torch lying on the ground before them, almost burnt down to embers. Corpses of Darklings littered the ground around the three of them, along with the bodies of the rest of their respective groups; they were the only three still alive, and none of them were unscathed. Heather had a black eye and several deep cuts along her upper body, while Tiana was covered in small scratches and various bruises. Jasper was the worst off out of the three of them, however – as bad as the gashes across Heather's body were, Jasper had several that were even worse, mostly across his torso and legs; from what Alain could see, it would be difficult for him to even walk at this point. On top of that, he appeared to be very lightheaded as well, if the way he was staring straight through Alain was any indication.

Alain didn't waste any time. He immediately ran over to the three of them and helped Jasper up, then threw one of his arms around his own shoulders to support him.

"You two, help Lawrence clear a path back to the prison," he said. "I've got Jasper."

"Alain?" Jasper managed to get out. "Fuck me… my aching head…"

"Don't talk," Alain warned. "Here, walk with me. We've got to get back to the prison."

With that, he and Jasper began to steadily limp forwards. Heather, Tiana, and Lawrence helped keep the Darklings off of them as they went, and coupled with the incoming covering fire from the prison, they were eventually able to make their way back to the front of the building.

"Lawrence, you have to hold them here!" Alain said as he threw open the prison doors and stepped inside.

"I know!" Lawrence called. "Just make this quick, would you?! We won't be able to hold them for long!"

Alain nodded, then him and the others closed the prison doors behind them, shutting off the outside world.

And just like that, it was quiet again.

XXX

"Talk to me," Heather said, coming up alongside Alain as he gently set Jasper down. "What's going on? Where are Az and Sable?"

"Fighting Owen," Alain said. "We need to get to them, and fast. I don't know how long they'll be able to fight him by themselves."

"You left them alone?"

"I had to in order to find you three. Az, Sable, and I weren't capable of fighting him by ourselves; I figured we needed some backup."

"Only you three…? What happened to Felix?"

Alain said nothing, instead just lowering his head. Heather blinked, then gave a quiet sigh before shaking her head.

"Damn it…" she muttered.

"You really think we'll be enough to turn the tide?" Tiana questioned.

"Truthfully? I have no idea," Alain admitted. "Especially since we're down one."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Jasper growled, forcing himself to his feet. "I can still pull a trigger just fine."

"Jasper-"

"No, don't start. You're not sending my sister in without me. If I'm going to die, then so be it, but I will not sit here and let you send her in alone, so don't try to stop me."

Alain hesitated, but then turned towards Tiana. "It's your call, I suppose."

"I'm not sitting this fight out," she growled. "And if I'm going in, then so is Jasper. That clear?"

"Crystal." Alain sighed. "Okay, then let's-"

A loud bang from the prison courtyard caught their attention. They all turned towards a nearby wall, just in time to see Az come flying through it and land in a heap on the other side. Alain took a step forwards, but Az was already on his feet, his hands balled into fists.

Alain didn't miss the trail of black blood that led back to him from the courtyard, though.

Owen stood on the other side of the new hole in the prison wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze landed on Alain, and his expression suddenly brightened.

"There you are," he said.

"Spare me," Alain growled, readying his weapon. Next to him, Jasper and Heather did the same, while Tiana bared her claws, a low growl rumbling out of her throat.

For a moment, Alain wondered what had happened to Sable, but he didn't stay curious for long – movement from the other end of the courtyard caught his attention, and he was just in time to see her come rushing in for a blindside strike on Owen.

To his dismay, Owen sidestepped the attack with ease, grabbed Sable's arm, and threw her over next to Az. Sable picked herself up quickly, and as she did so, Owen shook his head.

"Enough of these games," he announced. "Smith, my offer from earlier still stands. Give yourself over to me willingly and I will spare your friends."

"Fuck off," Alain spat.

"Mm… disappointing," Owen said. "And here I thought you cared about them. But then again, perhaps what happened to Felix should be proof to the contrary."

Alain took a step forward, snapping his weapon up to his shoulder, only for Heather to hold out a hand, stopping him. He gave her a questioning glance, but she shook her head, instead motioning with her eyes to the horizon. Alain followed her gaze, his eyes widening when he realized what was happening.

The sun was starting to rise.

Even through the thick fog that had settled over New Orleans, he could see the first rays of sunlight cresting over the horizon. And as he stared, his heart began to pound.

Perhaps they still had a chance, after all.

Sable and Tiana were the first to make a move, both of them sprinting for Owen. Again, Owen moved even faster than they could, easily dodging his way out of any of their incoming strikes. Heather, Alain, and Jasper opened up with their guns, taking care not to hit either Sable or Tiana. Shots ricocheted around the courtyard, some of them coming dangerously close to taking a chunk out of Owen's flesh, but all of them frustratingly going just a little bit wide.

Finally, Alain's shotgun clicked empty, and he began to reload, taking note of his dwindling ammo count as he did so. Heather and Jasper were doing no better; he could already see that both their ammo bandoliers were rapidly being depleted, the round count on them already desperately low.

Alain finished reloading and shouldered his weapon once more, only for Az to take off running past him. As Alain watched, Az barreled directly into the fray, going not for a strike, but simply trying to reach out and grab Owen to immobilize him.

He very nearly succeeded, too, but at the last second, Owen spun away from his grasp and lashed out with a retaliatory strike of his own directly to Az's left arm. There was a loud snap, and Az grit his teeth, falling to one knee as he clutched at his shattered arm.

"Az!" Sable called.

"I grow weary of this," Owen said as Sable once again threw herself at him. Every incoming blow, he managed to either dodge or parry outright, as if he weren't even trying to fight her. "The hour grows short… time to end it."

Sable went in for a blow that surely would have decapitated Owen if it had hit, but he managed to catch her hand just inches away from his neck, stopping her dead in her tracks. Sable tried to wrench herself free, but Owen merely twisted, ripping her arm from its socket. Sable fell to the ground with a scream as her arm was dislocated, one which only intensified in volume as Owen twisted again, breaking it.

With the two of them out of the fight, at least temporarily, Owen tossed Sable aside, then began to advance upon Tiana. To her credit, Tiana didn't flinch back, instead baring her teeth and claws, a low growl rumbling up from her throat. Owen tilted his head inquisitively as he approached.

"That man over there is your brother, is he not?" he asked. "Hm… perhaps I can spare some time for pleasantries, after all."

Tiana leaped at him with a loud roar, claws outstretched. Owen tensed, waiting for her to close in, but he didn't get a chance to do anything before Alain, Heather, and Jasper opened up on him with their guns. Suddenly, whatever retaliatory strike he had planned for Tiana was abandoned in favor of dodging the incoming rounds. Tiana landed, her claws swiping at nothing but air, as they all looked around for where Owen was heading.

With a start, Alain realized far too late.

"Jasper, watch out!"

Jasper's eyes widened, and he turned around, drawing his revolver to replace his empty rifle. He angled the gun towards Owen as he closed in, but he wasn't quick enough. Owen reared back to sink his fangs into Jasper's neck, but didn't get a chance to do so before Tiana barreled into him, knocking him off Jasper. The two of them fell end-over-end, Tiana's fangs locked around his arm.

She didn't get the chance to take advantage of it before Owen plunged his arm into her chest and pulled it out.

"Tiana!" Jasper called out in horror.