"Damali, no! Leave that one, and get back in the Jeep! Get outta here before more of 'em show up!"
She couldn't help herself. Rider's hysterical pleas seemed to drive her forward. As long as there was a human in the alley, an innocent, she couldn't stop fighting. Something fragile within her had snapped. She wanted this female vampire like a junkie craved crack. Damali rounded the Dumpster, ascending to the top of it with one pull, leveraging her weight with the bottom of her boot against the side of the metal container. A claw made a swipe. She ducked, swung her sword, but missed. Rider was circling, trying to get a shot off, but Damali's boot found the beast's chest and connected, making both the creature and Damali fall backward.
Landing on the ground with a thud, and although temporarily dazed, Damali immediately jumped up, angrier than she had been when she began. The creature hung from a precarious grip on the end of the fire escape. Rider fired a round, but missed as it swung upward and grabbed the next rungs. Damali was back on top of the Dumpster in a flash. The beast turned and smiled at her.
"You can't take my place," she hissed. "He's mine." Then it slithered through a vent and was gone.
"Damn!" Damali walked back and forth on the Dumpster top for a moment then jumped down, appraising Rider. "You nicked?"
"No," he said very carefully. "You?"
"Hell no. I wish one of them would even think about it."
His expression was very calm. Too calm. "I think they already have, li'l sis. What the hell was on your mind, going into an alley with no backup, and trying to do that many vamps alone? That's not procedure - ever."
"I don't need a lecture, Rider." Damali began walking, but didn't sheath her blade. "I need your ass to shut up and drive. And we ain't going back to the hospital until I find that bitch."
"Okay." His tone was laced with sarcasm as they reached the four-by-four. He held her arm as she opened the door. "Standard op - we always sweep a vehicle before we get in."
"Bullshit," she snapped, shrugging out of his hold. "If there's something in there, I got something for it." She hopped in, drawing a dagger from her waistband, thrusting Isis into the floor of the vehicle with vicious force.
"I'm sick of this shit! My people are dropping like flies, we're practically imprisoned in our own home! I want a life. So, either way, dead or alive, or otherwise, the bullshit ends tonight! We track that bitch, and drip holy water on her head, torture the truth out of her. I wanna know where the main lair is."
Rider climbed in behind her warily, and his gaze went to the sword stuck two inches into the steel floor of the Jeep. "I'm calling Marlene as we drive," he said, reaching for the radio, and flipping on the UV high beams that rimmed the Jeep's roof.
"You do that." Damali fumed as they backed out of the alley. Punk.
"Where are we going, and how are we supposed to find something that just slithered through a Chinese kitchen vent? Huh? Answer me that?"
"We track it - just like I brought you here. Or are you losing your skills, Rider?"
Her breaths were now coming in short bursts. Perspiration ran down the center of her back and beaded on her forehead and upper lip. The muscles in her arms and legs twitched. Her hair stuck to her scalp. Her heart was beating a hole in her chest. Images flashed in her mind, the bright colors making her close her eyes to the blur of passing traffic. She couldn't sit still. The feeling of maggots covered her skin. Each exhale was bringing a guttural sound up from her throat. She began to rock.
"West on Wilshire to La Brea," she ordered with her eyes still shut tight.
She could feel the vehicle turn and move, and although Rider had stepped on the gas, he was driving too slowly. "Now!"
"Mar, Shabazz, J.L., this is Rider. We have a situation."
"Speak to me," Shabazz replied in a tense command.
"OurNeteruis... well... going through some pretty f**ked-up changes. Dig?"
"Where are you?" Marlene yelled. "Talk to me, Rider. What's going on?!"
"I've got a lock on them," J.L. said fast. "Wilshire, in Chinatown."
"Mar, she's rocking, and burning up." Rider glanced at Damali, and then trained his eyes toward the street as he drove faster. "She jumped out of the Jeep before I could stop her, and ran down a blind alley with Isis drawn like a freakin' Samurai, and took out three of them by herself."
"Blood lust," Shabazz murmured. "Bring her in."
"Now," Marlene said, the panic clear in her voice.
"Fuck you, Marlene!" Damali came out of her daze, and put her hand on the wheel, making Rider swerve. "I'll cut his freakin' heart out if he doesn't follow this scent."
"Uh," Rider stammered. "Look, you heard the lady. I'm not arguing with her and Madame Isis. New plan, gang."
"Damali, listen, baby," Marlene crooned through the radio. "Come home. You don't understand what's happening to you."