'Qui: The Fall of Ottawa' Part 2, Chapter 11

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Previously: After Sam witnessed a battle between Qui and a rogue vampire, Qui decided to take her into his confidence. To ensure her silence and preserve his own unlife, Qui fed her a small portion of his Blood, enhancing her strength, but also creating a weak blood bond. Sam returned home where she encountered the same vampire she'd shot earlier, hiding in a hoodie it stole from a homeless man. The vampire grabbed her arms, long nails piercing her skin as it drew her toward its waiting maw.

Chapter 11:

Sam snarled and swung herself toward the creature–it was holding her out by both arms but her legs were free, and she drove both feet into its crotch as hard as she could. 

At first she thought the thing was howling in pain, but with horror she realized that the gurgled exclamation was actually laughter. 

"Oh, mortal," it rasped. "This brings me such joy! I carved away the weaknesses of male flesh years ago. You cannot harm me!"

"I can do more than harm you," she said, trying to put up a brave front. She wasn't sure how convincing she was, but at this point she'd say anything to survive, anything to give her an edge, even if it was to throw off its confidence and give her time to think. "We almost put you down before and we can do it again, freak. You haven't even healed the hole I put in your head!"

"This is true," the creature said through a grimace. "You caused me great pain and I nearly ran myself dry hunting you down before sunrise. Lucky for me, you'll fill me right back up again before you die. And besides…" It leaned in and sneered. "Your master isn't here to save you."

Something lurched out of the dark corner of the room and smashed into the monster while it was focusing all of its attention on Sam. It hung onto the vampire's back and latched on with both legs, hammering its right fist into the creature's back. In a moment of wild understanding, Sam realized that the new attacker was wielding a knife, and they were stabbing the vampire over and over again.

The creature opened its claws and dropped Sam in a heap as it twisted to deal with the new assailant. When it turned its back to her, she was astonished to see the homeless man she'd let in earlier clinging to the weakened vampire. He kept shouting "Bastard took my coat!" over and over again as he stabbed the creature in the back and neck. 

Sam staggered to her feet, unconsciously willing her body to mend the damage to her hands. She didn't have time to overthink her new abilities–she had to do something or the man who just gave her a second chance was as good as dead. 

The door out of the lobby burst open at her touch, revealing the first floor hallway beyond. If she remembered correctly… "Ah!" she exclaimed. There it was in a recessed box along the left wall–an old fire axe behind glass that must have been installed when the building was built back in the 40s. No one had ever used it before, but its time to shine had come at last. She smashed her elbow through the glass and reached in to pick the weapon up. It had a surprising amount of heft to it despite not being designed as a weapon–she wasn't surprised that modern buildings were opting not to include them anymore. For once she was pleased that the owners refused to modernize the place. 

A scream tore through the open door to the lobby and she rushed back just in time to see the vampire sinking its fangs into the man's neck. She stood there for a second, stunned. The feeding wasn't like she expected at all, no thin pinpricks, no sipping–these were ragged holes torn by too-long teeth and a greedy slurping. 

She only hesitated a moment before bringing the axe down on the back of the vampire's exposed neck. The heavy blade bit deep, lodging itself several inches into the monster's flesh. There was no blood–the thing was cold and dead–and yet it still attacked its victim with ravenous hunger. She pulled the axe free with a grunt and then brought it down again with all the power she had in her body, channeling what little she had left of James's gifts into the blow.

The vampire's head came free from its shoulders with a sickening tearing sound. It collapsed with a thud, motionless. 

"Are you okay? Sam rushed over to the homeless man and put her hand to his neck, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"Bastard…took my coat…" He coughed and tried to pull her hand away. 

"What the hell happened?" someone exclaimed from behind her. Another person screamed. She supposed it was only a matter of time before the commotion woke the entire floor of residents up.

"Call an ambulance!" Sam shouted. "He's losing blood!"

She heard someone running back into their apartment, hopefully to follow her instructions. 

"He's dead, hun," someone said from behind her. "You did your best."

She looked up into the elderly face of Mrs. Allred, the superintendent. "I…" Sam didn't know what to say. How could she possibly explain the dead monster beside her? 

The monster!

Sam's breath caught in her throat when she looked over at the dead vampire. She expected to see ash-white skin, bony fangs…but all she saw was a very human-looking old man. A decapitated old man, but an old man nonetheless. "What…?"

"I know, deary," Mrs. Allred said with a sad shake of her head. "It's just dreadful what these vagrants get up to. Did they follow you in when you came home from work? I think I recognize that one." She pointed at the man Sam had been trying to save.

She had to say something. Anything to explain. "He tried to help me," she said. "It all happened so fast!" None of that was a lie, even if it left out the most important bits. 

"My husband, bless his soul, used to tell me about things like this from the war," the old woman said as she guided Sam to her feet and walked her up the stairs to her apartment. "It's shocking what men can do to each other when they lose their minds." She released a stuttering breath as another newly awakened resident let out a scream of terror upon discovering the corpses. 

"Are you okay?" Sam asked. 

"Let's get you lying down," Mrs. Allred said, ignoring her question. "You must be in shock, poor dear. The police will be here soon; they'll take care of those frightful men, don't you worry." She patted Sam on her head gently. "You'll get through this, I promise. We've all seen things in our lives that we wish we could unsee."

Sam chewed her lip to keep from replying. The kindly woman was trying to comfort her, but she must be scared half to death, herself. Sam was grateful for her help, but even more grateful that she hadn't arrived on the scene a minute earlier or the old woman would have witnessed her hacking off one of the men's heads with an axe.

Oh hell…the axe! Her fingerprints would be all over it! She'd have to answer dozens of very uncomfortable questions–and while she had little doubt that James could help her avoid any charges, if word got out at the station that she'd decapitated a man, her reputation would be irreparably damaged.

"Do you know what time it is?" Sam asked. "Are we close to sun-up?"

"You shouldn't worry about that," Mrs. Allred said. "But I think it was just before six when I heard the screaming. Sun's not up for another hour or so at least, so don't worry."

"There's still time," Sam muttered to herself.

"What was that, deary?"

"Nothing," Sam said. she took the old woman's hand gently. "Thank you so much for getting me out of there," she said. "But I'd like a moment to get myself together. Alone. You understand?"

"Of course," Mrs. Allred replied. "But I have a feeling someone will eventually come knocking to ask questions. They'll need a statement to get things in order. You know how the police can be–you are one of them after all." She smiled. "You'll be okay."

Sam reached her door and unlocked it with shaking hands. It took her three times to get the key in the lock but Mrs. Allred was kind enough not to comment. "Thank you, again," she said before pulling the door closed behind her. 

She wanted to break down and cry, to fall to the floor and scream in fear and revulsion. Instead, she made a phone call, hoping to god that James was still in the station.