IM02 - Hunters & Prey by Katie Salidas Page B

they changed on the phone’s display. I was relieved when the green LED told me it was 8 pm, late enough to be dark. I could finally leave and go after my friend.
    I took a cab to the address the caller had given me, an old warehouse in the industrial district. I knew the area well, having attended many parties and raves there when I was younger. The years hadn’t been kind to this place. The whole area had been neglected. Buildings carried rust and chipping paint. Broken liquor bottles and shredded newspapers lined the streets. The stench of rancid garbage hung in the air and the pitter-patter of rodents scurrying in and out of storm drains filled the otherwise silent night.
    A familiar shiver ran up my spine, spreading to all my nerves as I walked close to the old building. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. I had the distinct feeling I was being watched, but it wasn’t the same sensation that accompanied a vampire’s presence. Though different, it was no less creepy. If I hadn’t known I was walking into a trap, I wouldn’t have had a reason to fear. The Acta Sanctorum employed strange methods of destroying my kind. They were the only humans a vampire need fear.
    Trap or no trap, I have to at least try to save Fallon. I took a deep, calming breath and picked up a faint hint of sweetness in the air: a human smell. Immediately, I thought of Fallon.
    “I’m here now. Let Fallon go,” I shouted, hoping the volume of my voice would mask the fear speeding my heart. It beat like a drum roll preceding my impending doom.
    “But we haven’t had our little chat yet,” a male voice answered. I recognized the arrogant tone. It was the man who’d called earlier.
    “Why hide in the shadows?” Turning left and right, I tried to discern the direction the voice had come from. I fought to keep fear from leaching out into my voice. “Are you too afraid to face me, coward? Where is my friend?”
    “Now, now. Let’s not resort to petty name calling.” His voice was tinged with laughter. “She’s safe … for the moment.”
    A weapon discharged. The loud bang sounded mere milliseconds before I felt the sting. My ears rang from the blast, which blocked out everything but the pain. The bullet tore through my body, searing my insides. It burst through my back, taking with it flesh and bone. As if time had slowed, I felt every excruciating sensation. My eyes watered. I bit back a scream and fell to my knees.
    “Stings a bit, doesn’t it?” the man said with a mocking laugh. “I’ll bet it does. But, as I can’t have you trying to fight me for your friend, I must ensure you are not a threat.”
    I couldn’t tell where the voice came from; pain flooded every cell of my body, overcoming all of my other senses. Hunching over, I looked down to see the gaping wound in my stomach, and fought back the urge to scream. No ordinary handgun would have made an entry wound that big. It had to have been some kind of high-caliber round. Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain. I felt as if I were deflating, emptying out onto the street, as the darkened pool spread out beneath me. My vision faded in and out. My eyelids started to droop. As if from a great distance, I again heard a shot. I felt a second white-hot sting, this time whipping through my shoulder. I swayed and dropped down hard on my hands, crying out in agony.
    I’d lost too much blood. I’d failed before I could even attempt the rescue. I was at the mercy of whoever it was hunting me, having foolishly played right into their hands.
    A third shot rang out, but I was too far gone to feel it. Weakness took over. I collapsed on to the hot asphalt as my vision faded to black.
    ***
    Surprised to be alive, I awoke, finding myself laid out on a cold flat surface. Even in my groggy and disoriented state, I knew this wasn’t good. The Acta Sanctorum didn’t take vampires as prisoners. They were killers, plain and simple.
    An odor of stale blood, mixed with the tang of