Darkness Falls

I looked around, and clenched my fist. I knew she was right. By looking at the amount of blood she had lost, she only had a few minutes left. I nodded. "I won't leave you." I told her, struggling to stay strong for her. I cradled her in my arms, trying to give her some form of comfort.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked to see Heather kneeling beside me.

"What the hell do we do?" Heather asked.

I looked at her with defeated eyes. "Heather, look around, there's nothing that we can do. We should never have come here." I told her, in a shaky voice.

Heather looked at Colton, who was still being held at gunpoint. "Blake, I know you're scared. I am too. If we don't do something, we're all going to die!" She exclaimed.

I shook my head. "Sarah is dying! I will not leave her!" I exclaimed, then looked over at Dr. Madison, who was now slowly changing. I recognized the telltale signs of a werewolf transformation. "That's impossible! How the hell is he turning already! It took a month for me to fully transform." I asked aloud.

Heather studied Madison, then looked back at me. "I don't know! He injected himself with werewolf and vampire blood!" She exclaimed.

I looked around. Suddenly, my eyes focused on the syringes. I whipped my head back around to look at Sarah. "Annabelle, I need a syringe, now!" I shouted. Suddenly, a syringe levitated in the air and floated in front of me.

I stroked Sarah's face, and plunged the syringe in my neck. I drew enough blood to fill the syringe, then placed it at Sarah's neck. "Sarah, I am so sorry for this. I lost Ellie, I cannot lose you too." I told her, with tears streaming down my face. I stabbed her neck with the syringe, and injected her with my blood. Then, I bit her wrist to make sure the lycanthropy would take hold.

"Annabelle, I need Maggie's blood! Fill both syringes." I whispered.

I looked down at Sarah. The blood flow had slowed, but it wasn't enough yet. All of the guards were focused on the Coalition members, and Dr. Madison was in too much pain to pay attention to what I was doing. I looked over at Maggie, and saw the syringes were being filled by an invisible force. Then, they levitated over to me. I grabbed both of them, and prepared to plunge one into my stomach.

Heather stopped me. "What are you doing? You remember what Maggie said, it could kill you!" She told me.

I looked down at the needle. "We're dead if I don't." I replied, then injected myself.

I was certain that it wouldn't make me whatever abomination Madison was becoming. For one, I was already a werewolf. As I injected myself, it allowed my healing factor to resume, and my body pushed the bullets out. When I was done, I plunged the other one into Sarah.

As I finished up, Sarah's wound closed as she gasped. She clutched my arm, and screamed in pain. I looked over at Michael and Colton. "Feed on Maggie! You need the full powers of the vampire! Annabelle, take one of the guard's weapons and shoot out the lights!" I shouted.

As the seconds went by, both Dr. Madison and Sarah's transformation progressed. At the same time, the silver was being neutralized in my bloodstream. I looked down at Sarah. "Love, you need to transform! I know it hurts, but don't fight it!" I told her.

Sarah screamed in pain as she continued to shape-shift.

I held her in my arms. "Focus on your rage, unleash it!." I told her softly.

Suddenly, a gunshot sounded and the lights were blacked out. I could still see, and could see Maggie recovering from the UV light as well as Michael and Colton feeding on her. I focused on one of the guards, and bolted over to them as a human. I snapped his neck, and took his pistol. I aimed at one of the other guards, and fired several times, dropping him. The guard right beside him aimed at me, and fired blindly in my direction. I dodged it, and fired four times until the magazine was empty.

One of the other guards ran to a power switch and turned on different lights. He saw Sarah was transforming, and aimed at her. Suddenly, a motion blur moved past him and he dropped to the ground, headless. His blood spurted all over the floor, as his heart was still beating.

The Coalition members were now running some everywhere, screaming. There was only one guard left. Suddenly, his gun was taken from his hands and levitated in the air. It then turned itself around, and shot him.

"Annabelle, focus your fire on Madison!" I shouted. I dashed to another rifle and did the same. I aimed at Madison's head, which was now completely a werewolf head.

Madison was almost completely a werewolf now, but he was different. Instead of a jet black color like me, he was silver. He had a black stripe down his back as well. His eyes, unlike my eyes, were blood red. Finally, unlike me he had significantly longer canine teeth, similar to vampire fangs.

I frantically pulled the trigger as fast as I could, achieving near fully automatic fire rate. Because of my super strength, I was laser accurate. As I emptied the magazine, I stared in horror as he healed instantly. The bullets I shot him with were silver bullets, and he had healed from every single one. "Shit!" I exclaimed.

I looked over at the humans, who were all now huddled into a corner. In a different corner, Heather and Taylor were holding each other in pure terror. I focused on Madison. He had to have some sort of weakness.

Suddenly, several motion blurs moved around Madison, creating blood sprays in all directions. They stopped for a split second, revealing Maggie, Colton and Michael. Unfortunately, Madison healed from every single blow.

I saw one additional motion blur, which sent Madison flying back into a brick wall, cracking it. Sarah was standing where Madison had just been. I was in awe at her raw strength. She seemed to disappear, and struck him again, throwing him across the room.She roared at Madison, and paced back and forth, studying him.

I got on all fours, and gave into the rage. As the familiar pain of my bones breaking set in, I remembered what he had done to Sarah. My blood boiled for a different reason, and my vision turned red. As my fingers turned into razor sharp claws, I roared. Once the transformation was complete, I charged at Madison with a speed I had never experienced before.

"Watch out, Blake has gone berserk!" Maggie shouted. A look of terror appeared on her face.

As my eyes focused on Madison, I opened my huge jaws and sunk my teeth into his neck. I bit down with all my strength, and ripped out his throat. I then bit again into his throat, trying to snap his neck but failed. I couldn't snap his neck because his bones seemed to be stronger than my bite was capable of breaking. I swiped at his stomach, disemboweling him.

Madison stumbled back, and collapsed onto the ground. The blood flow slowed and eventually stopped. His neck fully healed, and he lunged at me. I dodged out of the way, and pounced on his back. He may be stronger than I was but I had way more experience as a werewolf.

I used my claws to shred his back, exposing his ribcage.

Maggie struck him again in the chest, but it ultimately did nothing. "Blake, Sarah! Hold his arms down!" She ordered.

I did as commanded, and bit into his left front leg, pinning it against the ground. Sarah did the same. She looked identical to Madison, so whatever he was, she was as well. At least she was on our side.

Madison tried to get up, but Michael and Colton pinned down his legs. Maggie jumped onto his head, and grabbed his jaws. She forced it open with all her might, and kept pulling. She screamed in exertion as she tore his jaw. Finally, his lower jaw gave way and broke off. She threw it on the floor and shoved her arm down his throat.

Maggie screamed once more as she tore out a blood soaked hand, revealing Madison's still beating severed heart. She crushed it in her hands and held it above her head in triumph. She threw it on the ground and jumped off of Madison, doing a backflip and a one-hundred and eighty degree turn to face us.

Madison fought for a few seconds, but his strength became weaker and weaker until he ceased movement. He was not healing at all, and went limp.

I released him from my mouth, and backed away. I kept my guard up and circled him, ready to attack if he regenerated. Colton and Michael released him, with Sarah being the last to release him.

Maggie approached Sarah, who then growled. She stopped, and put her hands up in submission. "Easy, I'm not trying to help you. You did good. You can return to human form." Maggie said, and touched her snout.

Sarah slowly stopped growling, and her breathing slowed. She then started shrinking, and returned to human form. Maggie took off her jacket and covered up Sarah with it. Sarah looked at me with shame in her once blue eyes, which were now a crimson red color.

Maggie placed an arm around her, and took her to a seat. "You did good. You can relax now. We'll take it from here." She said.

I closed my eyes, and calmed myself. As I returned to human form, I kept my eyes on Madison for any sign of life. Luckily, I had thought ahead and wore spandex that stretched. I rushed over to Sarah when I was done, and embraced her. "I thought I was going to lose you!" I told her, tears running down my face.

Maggie cleared her throat to get my attention. "While this is a tender moment, we are not done here." She said, motioning to the humans who were huddled in a corner. She walked slowly to them.

I looked around the room, at the chaos which had just unfolded. Dismembered bodies, bodies riddled with bullet holes and a giant dead hybrid littered the floor with carnage. The air reeked of gunpowder, blood and bodily fluids. I looked down at my blood soaked hands and felt disgusted by myself.

The time had come for me to decide what side I would fall on. These people had been lied to, and manipulated by a crazed doctor who only wanted to fuel his own selfish interests. They believed the lies he told, up until the point that he betrayed them. While they were misguided, they were victims just like we were. Had they been told the truth, they might never have agreed to side with Madison.

I tore my eyes away from the bloodbath, and studied the humans who were cowering in fear. There was a woman who had been shot in the stomach, who was being tended to by other humans. Some were bruised, others were bleeding, and all of them were terrified. They cowered at the sight of us.

I felt conflicted. If we really killed these humans, we would be no different than Dr. Madison. I turned around to face Maggie. "We will not lay a finger on these humans." I told her firmly, and stood between her and the humans.

Maggie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "What did you say? After all the hell they put us through, you want to spare them? You'd better have a good explanation for this, especially after this shitshow." She replied in a pissed off tone.

I looked at the humans once more, then looked at the corpses of Madison and the guards. "Hasn't there been enough bloodshed? These humans were manipulated by Madison, and if we hurt them we will be no different than him. These people are victims too." I told her.

Maggie looked at the humans. "How do you know they won't rat us out?" She asked critically.

I sighed. "I don't. But, I know that taking their lives to save others is not something I'm okay with." I told her. I walked to the humans who cowered in fear.

I took a deep breath and held my hands up in a sign of peace. "You all can relax. I can promise you that no harm will come to you. You can all leave, but I want to say some things first." I said loudly. I pointed at the woman who was shot. "Maggie, I need you to heal her, she needs help." I instructed her.

Maggie groaned. "Are you kidding me?" She asked. She approached the people slowly with her hands up, showing she wasn't a threat. She slowly approached the woman who was injured, and knelt down beside her. She looked back at me.

I nodded. "Do it." I told her firmly.

Maggie gave me an uneasy look. She returned her focus to the woman. "You're hurt, and need help. I know you're scared of me but I can help you. Let me help and I'll heal your wound. I need you to lay on your back." She instructed in a soothing voice.

The woman looked uneasy but nodded. Once she laid down, Maggie lifted her shirt high enough to see the bullet wound. She flinched at Maggie's cold touch.

Maggie offered her hand, and the woman reluctantly took it. Maggie bit her wrist, drawing blood. She held it over the woman's gunshot wound and dripped the blood on it. Within seconds, the woman's wound was healed and the bullet was pushed back out. "Vampire blood has healing properties in it that can heal humans from virtually any wound." She said in a soothing voice.

Once Maggie was done she backed away. The humans seemed to relax once the woman had been healed.

I looked at the crowd. "Yes, it is true, we have killed humans. However, I can promise you, I have never killed anyone who did not deserve it. Every single person I have killed was a rapist, a would-be rapist, a murderer, a would-be murderer, or a mugger, and the list goes on and on. Not a single person of value was slain at my hands. I have asked Maggie to heal this woman as a gesture of good will." I told them.

The woman looked at Maggie with relief and gratitude, despite still being nervous. "Thank you for saving my life." She said.

Maggie had a look of surprise and it was clear she didn't expect it. "Umm, you're welcome." She replied.

I looked at each of the Coalition members before continuing. "Now, we know what the Human Coalition is, and what your goal was. I am asking that each of you reconsider your stance. We don't want war, and we don't want to shed any innocent blood. We just want peace, and to be left alone. I offer a deal instead." I said.

A man stepped forward. "What can you possibly offer, after all you are the werewolf that went on a killing spree and killed those hikers!" He shouted.

I shook my head. "No, I am not. I killed that werewolf." I responded.

"Blake, they saw the footage of Ellie!" Sarah chimed in.

I paused. "They saw what?" I asked. I turned around to look at Sarah. I did not expect to hear that name.

Sarah approached me. "They saw footage of Ellie, after she passed away." She said softly.

I breathed in sharply, and turned back to the crowd. "The woman you saw, the one that was almost torn in half, I tried to save. The other werewolf had attacked her, and I got there moments too late. The werewolf that attacked her then attacked and bit me. That's how I became a werewolf. I shot him and escaped. He then kidnapped Sarah, and I killed him because of it and all the humans he killed." I explained.

The man looked like he regretted asking the question. "What is your offer?" He asked.

I sighed. "I can't speak for everyone else, but I can promise you that I will never harm an innocent human. I will continue what I have been doing, which is protecting the innocent." I replied. I turned around to face Maggie and Sarah. "Open the doors." I told Michael, who happened to be by the doors.

Maggie sighed. "You'd better be right about this." She muttered.

I ignored her. "I promised you that you all are free to go. I only ask that you reconsider trying to expose us." I told them, and stepped out of the way.

The woman that Maggie healed approached me. "That crazy guy told us that you were monsters, incapable of human emotion and were soulless killers. You saved my life, and have shown me that he was the evil one, and you are more human than he ever will be. Your secrets are safe with me." She replied in a grateful tone.

She hugged Maggie, once again flinching at her touch but didn't back away. "Thank you for saving my life." She said, then walked out.

Maggie looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

I returned to looking at the crowd. They were all completely relaxed now. One by one, they thanked us, by shaking hands or just nodding in our direction. Finally, only the man that spoke up remained.

He approached me, and sighed. "Thank you for saving our lives. It is going to be difficult to trust you, especially after seeing what you are capable of." He said.

I nodded. "I know it will be hard, and I know that you don't want to. I never asked for or wanted this curse, but I am able to help others because of it." I responded.

The man looked around at all of the bodies. He shivered in disgust at the sight of them, and bid his farewell.

Maggie groaned. "I can't believe you did that! How do you know they won't betray our trust?" She asked once all of the humans had left.

I whipped around to face her. "We don't, but I was not about to kill unarmed innocent humans in cold blood!" I replied.

Maggie crossed her arms. "What will you do if humans come for us?" She asked.

I pursed my lips. "We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." I told her firmly.

Maggie stared at me for a long time before she sighed and nodded.

I turned my attention back to Sarah. I hugged her tightly, and kissed her neck. "I thought I was going to lose you." I whispered.

Sarah pulled away, her crimson eyes full of shame. "You did lose me. How can you possibly call me the same. I'm a-" Sarah started to argue, but shut her mouth.

I smiled. "You're a monster, just like me. Your body may have changed but inside you're still the same Sarah I love. Nothing can or ever will change that." I told her.

Sarah nodded, then looked around at the bodies on the floor. "Now is probably not a good time to tell you that I also experience the vampire thirst." She muttered.

I held out my arm. "Try taking some of mine." I told her.

Maggie stopped me by grabbing my wrist. "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea. Your blood could poison her." She informed me.

I laughed. "It could poison her? Like you thought your vampire blood could possibly poison me?" I asked.

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "You took some of my blood?" She asked.

I nodded. "It was life or death, and I had nothing to lose." I responded.

Maggie released my wrist. "You'll know immediately if it'll poison you. I suggest that you don't ingest it if it tastes bad." Maggie said.

Sarah nodded, then took my wrist. "Will it hurt him?" She asked.

Taylor nodded. "Like hell. But, he's a werewolf, he can take it." She with a mischievous grin.

I braced myself for Sarah to bite into me. I winced in pain when she did, but it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be.

Sarah's feeding became more urgent, and she grabbed my wrist with more force. She closed her eyes as she fed, clearly enjoying it.

I stroked her hair, and wiped the blood from her chin as she fed.

Finally, when Sarah had enough she released me. When she opened her eyes, they were blue again.

I was in disbelief. "Umm, Maggie?" I asked.

She nodded. "I see it." She replied, sounding just as awestruck as me.

Sarah looked worried. "What is it?" She asked.

I smiled. "Nothing. You're just very, very special." I told her.

Maggie disappeared, and reappeared with the bag of rigged propane tanks. "I hate to break this party up but there's a dead werewolf and a bunch of dead bodies that we need to dispose of. We can celebrate later." Maggie said.

EPILOGUE - MAGGIE

Disposing of the dead hybrid proved more difficult than originally planned. I knew the charges wouldn't atomize him like they would the humans, so I had to get creative. I ended up having to burn him in the crematory, and had to set it at the maximum temperature for a whole day to completely burn him. After we left the warehouse, I ignited the charges and blew up the building. We had destroyed all the evidence, and taken all of the guards' weapons. The next night, we partied once we were confident the army wouldn't blow up our house.