“Right!” John said with a deep breath and ran out to his nephew’s aid.
Romsky knew that before the five hundred reinforcements arrived, he and his own men would have to fight with all they had. If possible, the optimal situation for the Generals in Africa, England and perhaps even the Vatican was for them to push the soldiers back to their own starting point. From there they could infiltrate and destroy as many as possible. There would also be help from the fighters who would drop as many bombs as possible to ensure maximum damage.
The Russian General’s troops ran towards the marching vampires and launched a full scale attack upon them. The storm grew even larger; lightning flashed and thunder roared through the clouds, ripping them apart. The army was at the southwestern most tip of England and pushing its way through. They did not know whether they had reached the enemy’s base or not.
“Onward!” Sergei would shout every five minutes or so at his men, making them push more fiercely. Soon enough, a fifth of the enemy was destroyed. Things seemed to be developing in their favor.
Romsky, who had trained himself in the Siberian tundra and cold mountains of the Himalayas, was like an animal when it came to fighting. For one month he roamed the Siberian wastelands and faced the bitter cold with only the barest of clothes on him. Legend had it that he faced a tiger with nothing but stones and rocks as his weapons. He ripped open the jaws of the tiger with his bare hands, and came back with the tiger’s blood all over his body and its fangs worn as a neck ornament.
With every battle, he would go into a berserk rage, not caring about his life or the outcome. He fought with such horrific sadism and was like a fearsome wild beast in the eyes of his enemies. He would use his sword just like any master swordsman, but he would also use his bare hands to poke out the enemy’s eyes and rip open their mouths. Even his own men were shocked by his brutality. The onslaught continued but soon enemy ships swooped down, dropping small but lethal bombs and killing an average of twenty soldiers with each explosion. “Do something, Ted!” Romsky shouted through the communicator to one of the squadron leaders.
“I’m on it,” Ted said. “Get those fresh fighters,” he ordered his men. And at once, the fighters were on their enemies’ tails, shooting them down and further diminishing their numbers.
The heavy rain mixed with the bodily ashes of the vampires and created dense smog that began to suffocate every soldier there. Quick to their feet, the Anisaei flew above the corporeal mist, and with their collective energy they whipped up the wind and blew the smog away. The humans, wheezing and coughing, were preoccupied with keeping themselves alive. Once the dust cleared, the vampires led a swift ambush. But soon after, fresh transport tankers flew in with reinforcements and more fighters. They blasted away at the vampires, burning them and chasing them as they ran and flew away, attempting to escape their deaths. Victory belonged to the humans.
What was I thinking!Alex rushed into the icy depths of the rough ocean to save Justus, but he figured by now he must have drowned. The water numbed his body until he felt nothing. There was no sensation, no pain, nor any thought of pain. He found that with his new temporary powers he did not need to hold his breath. He just swam, breathing in the water and expelling it out, his nasal system acting like gills to a fish.
Justus! Where the heck are you?He was agitated and worried for the soldier. It was someone he didn’t even know, but someone who had risked their life for him.
A very icy chill went up Alex’s spine as he felt something squirmy pass by his legs. This was the first time he had been in the ocean and he had heard stories as a child of monsters in the sea. Could this be one of those monsters?He shuddered, afraid to look. He wanted to swim away as fast as he could. But something in him stopped and made him turn around.
And when he did, he turned a deadly pale color. He saw a large black, lidless eye staring at him, and he had the feeling that the stare was one of hunger. As he swam back, mesmerized by the eye, he saw that it belonged to a gigantic squid. Its tentacles thrashed around in the water making it difficult for Alex to get away. He realized that the beast was pulling him towards it. Then he saw what had become of Justus.
The poor man had been taken by the creature. His neck was dislocated and his eyes were looking upward. His mouth was drooling and opened and his body was mangled in an unnatural position. He was utterly crushed and his body shook from the force of the tentacle that held him firmly. Alex wanted to yell, to get out and swim away, but he also wanted to destroy the beast and avenge the death of what would be the forgotten brave. And so, he kicked the eye of the monster.
The vampires on the main landing area were taken care of. The Rebels proved to be unbeatable with their silver bodies and sword mastery. “Well,” Orwen said as they landed softly on the ground, all looking out to sea, “that’s the last of them.”
“Not yet,” Davik said, as he pointed to the bodies of the slaughtered humans. They would have to disintegrate them totally before the bodies became possessed by the disease and will of the vampires.
“What about Alex?” Orwen said.
“Hey!” John’s voice called out, as he heaved himself forward, holding on to his ruptured shoulder. “You all okay?” he asked them. They nodded. He looked around for Alex but could not find him.
“He’s gone down,” Gavin said, “to save someone.”
“What!” John yelled, “How could you let him?”
Just behind him, Richard and the others ran towards them. “What’s happened?” Richard asked.
“They left my nephew in the bloody water!” John yelled.
The tentacles wrapped forcefully around Alex, rendering him helpless. He yelled out in pain and concentrated his energy towards the eye. After a few seconds, the tentacles blew apart from the force of his will. He slashed the eye with his sword, causing the squid to toss him out of the sea.
Alex crashed to the ground at John’s feet. “Alex!” shouted John. He took his nephew by the shoulder and stood him up. “Are you alright?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Alex said in a daze, “I wanted to help Justus, but he’s dead.”
“What? What happened?”
“A vampire left him in the sea and a giant squid killed him.”
Just then, a hollow, deep bass groan came through the waves of the ocean and a set of large tentacles smashed onto the floor. They jumped back.
John had only ever heard of such a creature in stories. But he knew this mutation resulted from nuclear waste. “Forget it!” he said. “Let’s just get into the ship.”
“What about Nick?” Alex asked.
“I’m going back there to help him.”
“I’m coming with you,” Alex said.
“No!” John yelled, “You have to get back to the Regnum, safe and sound. Stay with these men. Go!”
The transport ship landed and Hektor pulled Alex towards it.
They boarded it and, just before the entrance sealed shut, it took off into the sky.
The night grew darker and the skies over the Vatican and its neighboring forest were filled with stars. On a clear night such as this, one could see the spherical body of the Regnum eclipsing the bright full moon.
The General and his men were now inside the Vatican fighting the guards. Suddenly, General Chang and General Nakashima charged out with their men. The arrival of the reinforcements made the vampires panic. They ran for cover. The fighters attacked them with greater effort, further reducing their numbers.
“Great work, team,” Singh said, as he shot a vampire who immediately crumbled with the force of the silver nitrate. He turned to Evan and said, “Activate the sound.” Evan nodded and pushed a button on the edge of his metallic glove, and a frequency emanated from Evan’s entire armor. Every single vampire in a fifteen mile radius fell down on their knees, begging for the sound to stop. The humans couldn’t hear anything, as the frequency was so low that it could be heard only by hypersensitive ears. Ranjit approached one of the vampires who covered his ears and eyed the general with spite. “Tell us, where we can find the main computer database,” said Singh.