VICTORIA FINALLY ARRIVED at the valley. Reality finally struck her; Victoria realized she was really at a battle. Her hands felt sweaty, fear creeping in.
She got down from the van with her disguise still on. She grabbed a bow, a quiver filled with silver-tipped arrows, and a dagger.
I've got this! I won't mess up this time- I won't,
The moon shimmered down on the valley, giving it more life. It didn't seem too deep, grass and signs of life around.
As a vampire, her senses were more heightened. She felt the chilly air dancing on her skin. The chirping of crickets filling the air; fireflies and mosquitoes going on with their dailies. Below, the grass was so tall as if they would rise and tangle the army and herself. It was nice; Peaceful.
It would be a shame it would be gone in a few minutes. Three warriors had gone ahead to mark the location of the antis. Victoria had managed to remain undetected so far; There was no turning back now. She spotted her father further down the valley giving out orders. If there weren't many antis, it'd be an easy task.
Victoria crept forward, making sure to be silent. She tucked her hair behind her ear, trying to eavesdrop on her father. "Stay on guard. We don't know what to expect from those savag-" Her father abruptly stopped talking, turning towards the other side of the valley.
Crunch! Thump! The sound of fast-paced footsteps began to get louder. Someone was coming.
A figure came into view; he was a vampire, but something wasn't right. He kept waving his hands erratically in the air, mouthing something. Her father and the others started running back towards them. Something was definitely wrong.
Victoria focused on his lips, listening closely.
... bush ... Amb ...
Victoria's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. It was a trap!
The air became tense as the other vampires quickly took notice. Victoria tightened her grip on her bow. Suddenly, an unfamiliar scent spread throughout the valley.
They're coming, Victoria thought, her hands quivering.
STOMP! STOMP! The sound of footsteps boomed from across the valley.
I thought it was only a few antis, Victoria thought. That doesn't sound like a few.
"Incoming!" Her father yelled.
It was time to prove herself.
The ground began to rumble. From the other side of the valley, figures appeared. Victoria spotted some looked human, while others were in animal form. One, two, ten; they kept on coming.
Victoria quickly spotted the werewolves, but something else caught her attention. Other creatures became visible among the incoming party.
"Is that a jaguar... and a fox!" She exclaimed. The humans; their hands were ... glowing?
There were at least fifty of them and only about a dozen vampires; It was not at all what Victoria expected. They all brazed themselves to counterattack.
"CHARGE!!!" She heard, and they all charged forward, Victoria following behind, a loud cry ringing loud.
BANG!
As both sides clashed, everything became messy. Sound of metal clanking, the sound of bones snapping, bodies dropping, and the blood- the smell of blood filled Victoria's nose, fangs instinctively popped out. She steadied herself, looking around for an opponent.
She was finally doing it-finally at the battle. She couldn't say that she didn't feel guilty for disobeying my father, but the feeling that she had was indescribable.
One of the reasons she was so hellbent on proving herself was to feel closer to her mother. Amelia, her mother, was also a fighter. Victoria didn't remember much about her. All Victoria wanted was to be like her- the fighting part, and not that of dying, if she could help it.
Victoria wasn't that strong though she was a vampire. Everything was almost a struggle, so she had to choose someone she would at least have a chance at fighting.
Out of the corner of her eye, Victoria caught something headed towards her- a werewolf! It was grey with a bit of white mixed in and at least seven feet tall; teeth bared, charging at her. She leapt as high as she could, jumping over it and landing on its back.
She quickly wrapped and linked her arms under its jaw, holding on for dear life. The wolf moved around violently, jerking, trying to shake Victoria off, but she tightened her arm even more.
An idea crossed her mind; a risky one, but it was her best bet. She had to be quick, or else she would end up as breakfast. Rapidly she unlinked her right arm, reaching for her dagger. Clasping it tightly, then plunged into the wolf's neck, taking it out and driving it back in, stabbing continuously.
The wolf let out a loud cry that sounded like a combination of a whimper and a growl. The blade was coated with silver and should weaken the wolf. Regardless, the wolf shook with more vigour, sending Victoria flying across the grass, scarping her skin against rocks.
Victoria was coated in blood- hers and the wolf. Her head was banging, beanie missing and mask torn. Before she was able to could hear growling. The wolf was still on its feet, the blade still in its neck, blood dripping all over its fur, staring ferociously at her.
Oh, screw me. Victoria cried mentally, her hands reaching for her bow. It wasn't over yet.
It lowered its head, baring its teeth and charged forward.
Victoria quickly grabbed an arrow from her quiver, positioning and aiming it hastily; the wolf was just a few steps away from her. She let the arrow fly just as the wolf leapt, landing on her, sending them both a few feet through the wet grass.
Was this it? The end
Victoria wailed as she felt the wolf's claws sink into her side, growling towards her. She grabbed another arrow, sinking it into wherever it landed.
For the next few seconds, she just kept on stabbing until she felt the wolf go limp on her. It was dead.
Holding her breath, she used all of her strength to push the wolf off, whimpering as the claws came out of her shoulder. She reached over to yank out her dagger, cleaning the blood on her trousers.
Turning back to the fight, she came face to face with a raven-haired woman; a long knife in one hand and the other glowing a smoky dark blue. A witch!
She yelled something, stretching her hand towards victoria.
Victoria quickly leapt out of the way, as a blaze of fire flew past her head hitting the dead wolf instead, setting it ablaze.
Victoria quickly aimed an arrow at the witch, but she sliced through it with her blade. Victoria quickly shoots another, aiming at her feet this time.
"Shit!" The witch screamed as she rolled down; she was hit!
Victoria swiftly vamps towards the witch, climbing on top of her, before grabbing her free arm and snapping it backwards, erupting a howl from her opponent.
She grabs the blade from her other hand and flicks it against her throat, killing her.
Rolling on her side, Victoria laid flat on the grass, body aching as she regained her strength. The smell of burning flesh plugged the air around her. She could feel her self healing, but she hadn't feasted yet, so it'd take a while.
None of that mattered at that moment. Victoria was elated- tired, but elated nonetheless. She was doing it; she was winning. Maybe it was just dumb luck, but it was all her. Sure, she could have died- twice, but she didn't. She was fine!
She stood and ran back into the fight. The enemy warriors were scattered all over the valley. There was smoke and little fires everywhere. She could smell sweat and blood. She didn't even know who was winning.
Dad! Victoria thought. She glanced around for her father until she found him.
There he was, a few feet away fighting a jaguar, brown with black spots, about 6 feet long. Her father grabbed the jaguar by the head, pulling it till he yanked it off its body.
He started looking for his next opponent until his eyes settle on Victoria, making him stop in his tracks. He had fear radiating from every part of his brown eyes.
"VICTORIA!" He yells, running towards her. Everything slowed down. She was confused.
"Behind y-!" He cried out as Victoria ran towards him.
A whooshing noise cut them off.
A flare of orange light blazed between them, stunning Victoria, and she heard something heavy drop to the ground, and a deafening scream pierced her ears. Afraid of what she was about to see, she slowly opened her eyes.
Her father laid on the ground before her, flames engulfing him; he was still. He was dead.
For a split-second that felt like forever, Victoria stared at her father's burning body, black and charred like the fireplace in the hall of their building; at the sparks the fire gave off, which ironically looked a bit like tiny fireworks.
And then, before Victoria could even wrap her head around what was happening; before she could do anything but stand there frozen, she felt a pair of hands clasp her face and twist aggressively.
Snap!
That was the last sound Victoria before she finally felt something; the feeling of her whole body going numb before everything started to get blurry till it all went dark.