ALL NOVEL Chapter 19: One by One – Part 1.
While Vivienne knew that she might be needed to assist Casey and Sylvie with Brian, she also learned from the contents of the crop circle that she would have to overcome this obstacle first. Every time the corn stalks rustled or the leaves shifted, Vivienne was reminded of a crowd watching a spectacle within an arena or fighting pit. “Clever.” Vivienne muttered and started taking in all of the details of the ring and its contents with her deep-set blue eyes.
Starting with the mass of dead things in the center of the ring, Vivienne could almost feel and see the skull and crossbones warning her of possible contagion. The hill of animals pulsed with a hideous green light with wisps of ashen-colored smoke pouring out. -Biological, diseased.- She thought to herself and kept scanning. Camouflaged so that the normal eye couldn’t see the devices, Vivienne spotted three explosive’s nestled in the flattened corn by their metal spikes that emitted the same lime green light that the carcasses had. -Claymore?- She confirmed it when she saw the hallmark wording on the front, ‘Front Toward Enemy.’ Vivienne felt that the number of mines didn’t work to cover the ring and looked over her shoulder and spotted the last one. Taking a few steps forward and situating herself in the gaps where she reasoned the blast would do the least damage, Vivienne took a deep breath through her nose to confirm the last piece of the puzzle.
-Bitter Almonds and heavy garlic.- Vivienne recognized the different chemicals as very deadly versions of cyanide and arsine. Inherently knowing that her body wouldn’t react to the blood agents that filled the air of the ring, Vivienne started confidently walking to the woman at the other end. “I surmise that you are some aspect or manifestation of war.” Vivienne extended her long claws and held up one razor sharp talon. “You and your ilk have done everything you could to get my attention, so you have it.” Vivienne half growled and quickly assessed what the woman had available to her.
Captain Kino was covered from head to toe in various items that seemed to tell the tale of a warrior through time itself. Dressed in the familiar square digital pattern of green, black and brown her initial uniform looked like that of the modern soldier attempting to be both hidden from others and satellite detection.
Emulating the way a knight would have been outfitted, Kino had small gray metal plates sewn into the flat parts of her uniform. Solid gray steel covered her thighs, shins, part of her forearm, and biceps. Her shoulders had the same metal molded in such a way that it provided protection without giving up full movement of her arms.
Adorning her head, Captain Kino wore a black Kevlar helmet that sloped down to protect her ears. Attached via a green band, three feathers jutted up from the rear with a bright orange plume in the center, giving her the look of an American Indian brave. Completing the look on her visage, Kino bore a tight fitting mask with dark round goggles that gave her complete vision and covered her nose and mouth from the toxic fumes from the ring via a set of canisters attached by each cheek.
Strapped to her uniform, the warrior had a noticeable .45 caliber pistol strapped with nylon to her left hip and thigh. Hugging the Captain’s waist was a standard load-bearing belt and straps that revealed at least four grenades and two more magazines for her pistol. Adorning her back was a black spear of dark wood that had a warped and wavy gleaming silver blade honed to a perfect edge. Completing the visual, the warrior had a sword sheathed on her right thigh that bore the design of a Roman gladius.
“That was the intent, to expose the queen bee.” Kino’s voice echoed deeply from the depths of her protective mask. “Look at how effective it was. You came to us.” Without warning, Captain Kino’s right hand flashed green and her left hand drew her pistol and squeezed the trigger seven times in rapid succession.
Vivienne was faster. Her lighting reflexes allowed her to dance to the side and still maintain a distance from the clearly hidden mines. Thinking she was safe from the bullets, Vivienne stopped her quick spin and fluid movement just to be tagged by all seven bullets. Enhanced by Kino’s magic, the bullets weren’t stopped by Vivienne’s carefully designed kevlar and steel suit and drove themselves into her skin. Associating the effect of this magic to the feeling of when vampires would claw and bite her, Vivienne had begun to devote some blood to the repairs when she heard an audible click.
Changing her plan, Vivienne knew that a rapid succession of events would occur. First there would be a quick flash, next a shockwave and finally, a barrage of lead pellets meant for her. Counting the milliseconds, Vivienne suspected that every part of this triggered mine would be laden with magic much like the bullets and dissipated herself into her blue-black cloud. Loud and deafening, the explosion sent a gout of flame tinged with green rippling across the floor in a wide cone. Just as Vivienne predicted, the shockwave came after and then the mass of pellets. When the event was over, all that remained were tiny amber flames that flickered ominously across the ring. Unhappy about having to use more of her dwindling blood reserve, Vivienne quickly found a relatively safe spot and shifted back to her standard form.
Residual smoke from the small flames wafted through the air and oddly began irritating Vivienne’s eyes. -What in the?- She asked herself as she tried to watch her opponent and figure out what was going on at the same time. Taking a swift and shallow breath, Vivienne felt the air in her lungs start to burn and ache much like the scorching of her throat that she lived with. -Radioactive.- Vivienne’s spine tingled and alerted her to the presence of the magic mixed with the contaminant within her chest. -More blood to cleanse this.- Devoting the precious fluid, Vivienne cleared the burning in her chest and removed the blur from her vision. -They aren’t trying to kill you. They are trying to drain you.- Vivienne determined as she squared off with Captain Kino once more.
Kino started laughing and holstered her pistol before she pulled the spear free from her back. “I thought you’d be more of a challenge, but it turns out that you are about as dumb as the rest of your kind.” Kino watched the dark cloud reform and Vivienne appear just out of reach. “Gaia, guide my spear into the heart of the beast’s darkness.” Kino’s rune flashed and sent a green light to encase the dark wooden shaft just before she threw it at her target.
Detecting the same homing magic that the bullets had before, Vivienne didn’t bother to try and dodge the incoming missile but instead caught it without any issue and snapped it in front of the metal-clad warrior. “My turn.” The ancient vampire’s light French voice heavy with malevolence echoed. Vivienne felt the rush of the hunt flood in her veins much like how a great white would rush towards its intended prey. Baring her fangs and whipping her claws before her, Her lithe form breezed past Angelie twice before she came to a halt behind the warrior. Vivienne held the mask in one hand while her other claw dripped half-coagulated blood from the other. Upon seeing the vibrant orange plume, Vivienne plucked it from Captain Kino’s helm and shredded it.
Angelie felt her torso open and spray her dark blood across the dead corn stalks a moment before the string of her intestines plopped on the ground with a wet smack. Captain Kino fell to her knees and tried to take a breath. The chemical soup within the ring caused her lungs to seize and the brave woman began to convulse uncontrolled. Captain Kino’s brown eyes filled with blood as she lay on the ground, shaking her way to her death. “I…hate…you…” Angelie spouted her venomous words the best she could as she suffocated.
“I know.” Vivienne calmly responded and watched as Angelie kept trying to raise her hand.
“Darla…Denise…” Angelie sputtered and coughed, her vision clouding as she faded. “I..tried…”
Vivienne had seen this exact exchange of confessions and pleading throughout her long un-life. Countless times she’d held the hands of her patients as they passed into the next realm. She didn’t know what the journey held for her opponent and she didn’t care. Humanity had always found a way to kill itself in the most horrendous ways and this woman dying was the very essence of that. Vivienne watched for a few seconds as Anglie’s hand kept trying to find something to grasp. -This fight is over. The debt is paid.- Vivienne told herself and took a step forward and grasped the dying woman’s hand tightly for the few seconds that passed before death claimed her.
Vivienne dropped the former warrior's protective mask and hand at roughly the same time. “Now to find a way out of here.” She calmly walked and studied the ring’s design and where the fog seemed endless. “So.” Vivienne studied the wispy green plumes hovering around the creaking corn. “Are you playing on fear, or is there something to you?” Vivienne knelt down and pulled the gladius from the dead woman’s hip and started poking at the thick branches. Hissing and giving off the scent of heated metal, Vivienne got her answer. She pulled the blade free of the mist and saw that the blade had warped and had small divots on the once sharp edge. “Acid.” Tossing the blade on the ground, Vivienne found herself standing over one of the two mines that were still armed. Picking up the explosive device, Vivienne saw where the detonator was screwed in place and removed it, making the mine mostly inert. Still looking for a way out of the ring, Vivienne stopped over the last claymore and disarmed it before placing both of the explosives behind Kino’s lifeless body.
“You don’t want me to leave yet.” Vivienne openly commented. “The only thing left is the pile.” Vivienne walked to the pile of dead animals and started shifting and moving the carcasses until she found what she was looking for. Underneath all of the cows and sheep, another small ring of four claymore’s faced out towards where most of the animal pile had been placed. Unlike the other devices, these were all wired in a concurrent ring with a digital clock in the center.
Counting down.