A tall tan man with greying hair stood atop a pedestal with his arms held out, “The time has come to take what is ours! Kill the ones who wish to stop us!”

Mr. Bartlett pushed Sam behind him, “Horus! You didn’t invite us to your party. I never took you to be so rude. Especially when you showed up uninvited to my house and trashed the place.”

The vampire on the pedestal started to raise into the air above the crowd, laughing a deep bellowing howl, “Mr. Bartlett. How nice of you to join us, but I’m afraid you are outnumbered and outgunned. This won’t end up like your restaurant. You will die here.”

The large group of vampires started shuffling about, anxious to fill their stomachs with blood. Their fear of what Horus would do if they attacked without permission outweighed their bloodlust.

Sam carefully started to pull a UV grenade off her belt. Mr. Bartlett smirked at the resourcefulness of the woman behind him. She knew exactly what to do. “I’m sorry Horus, but you wrecked my restaurant, it’s my turn to wreck your party.”

Horus laughed again then he became silent, “Slay them my children.”

The crowd of vampires started to lunge forward until a small blue ball came from behind Mr. Bartlett, flying through the air. The black robed acolytes stopped and looked at the ball, curiosity plastered on their faces.

Horus’s eyes shot wide open as he flew down to his nearest acolyte, holding him as a shield from the grenade. He knew not what the device was, but it didn’t look good.

Sam shut her eyes as the bright light burst from the grenade. Shouts of immense pain were let out from the vampires around the blast. Some were vaporized instantly, their black cloaks set to flame as they dropped to the floor full of ash.

The acolyte in Horus’s hands burnt apart before his eyes. He clung to an empty cloak for a moment before tossing it to the wind. The remaining vampires let out howls of anger at the deaths of their kin. Horus took the opportunity to use their anger, “Kill the humans! Don’t let them escape! Drain their blood, children! For tonight is ours!”

Mr. Bartlett pulled his pistol from his jacket and turned to Sam, “I think it’s time we run.”

Sam nodded and jolted out of the room, Mr. Bartlett at her heels. She heard his gun fire off once, then twice. She looked to her left and saw the half open ornate Egyptian doors.

She immediately sprinted towards it, glancing around her shoulder, “B! This way!” Sam gripped her axe tight and slammed into the door with her shoulder, swinging it wide open. She kept running through the long hallway, statues lined both sides of it. She glanced up to see a man with the head of a dog, but something caught her eye behind it.

A vampire leapt down from behind the statue. She pulled her axe up, swinging it around her. She slashed the vampire’s throat before he could grab her. He burst into flames in midair, his ashes coating Sam, sticking to her sweat and turning to a grey muck.

The constant gunfire behind her reassured her that Mr. Bartlett was hot on her heels. She got to the end of the hallway and faced a set of ornate doors knocked off their hinges. She turned to see a mob of vampires rushing at Mr. Bartlett in the hallway.

A figure in a black robe jumped clear over the mob, past Mr. Bartlett, and down in front of Sam.

The man smiled, wrinkles spreading across his tan face. He sniffed the air and opened his mouth revealing his fangs, “Ahhh, you smell fresh. No wonder Mr. Bartlett keeps you around.” He pulled a long ceremonial knife from his robes and darted quickly to the left, then back in front of Sam.

He was too quick for her to ready her axe.

He slashed at her shoulder, cutting through her jacket and striking blood. He dodged backwards and licked the blood off his blade, “Mmmm, you are tasty.”

Sam pulled her axe up, ignoring the pain in her arm, “I will kill you Horus, that’s a promise.”

Horus laughed, “I am more powerful than you, quicker than you, and my race is all around the better. You will not last more than a minute against me.”

Mr. Bartlett glanced over his shoulder, slashing his cane sword at an oncoming vampire. He could see Horus standing in front of Sam, fresh blood on his blade. Mr. Bartlett clenched his teeth together, “I won’t lose you, Sam.” He pulled his revolver up and fired his last bullet into another oncoming vampire. He turned around and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

Horus smiled a devilish grin and plunged forward with lightning fast speed. His knife pointed directly at Sam’s chest.

She swung down her axe, knowing she would not hit the vampire in time, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. If anything she would kill this man and hope her partners could save Starr without her.

Sam fell backwards, her axe flying off through the doorway and into the room behind her. She landed hard on the ground as the knife stabbed into flesh, and ripped into the ribcage, but it was not hers.

She stared in horror as Mr. Bartlett stood where she had just been; Horus’s dagger plunged into his chest. Mr. Bartlett used his last strength to kick Horus, sending him flying back into the remaining mob of vampires, knocking down the crowd. He dropped to his knees and turned slightly to Sam, giving a faint smile. “I love you, Sam. Except for my daughter, I’ve never loved anyone else.”

He coughed up some blood, “And I won’t lose another love again.”

Sam crawled up to his body, pulling him into her arms, “No, B! You can’t die now.”

Mr. Bartlett gave one last smile to her, “Don’t worry about me.” He let out one last breath and was no more.

Red stood atop the roof, his anger controlling his thoughts. Andrelle had just been stabbed in the heart, and it was his fault. He let her be captured. He let her be tortured and killed.

“No, I can fix this.”

The air around Red started to swirl at an incredible speed. He slowly started lifting into the air. His head jerked up as he looked deep into the night sky. Light shot from his hands and his eyes started to burn with a white fire. His mouth was filled with the light of a white hot sun. The building around him started to quake, and the glass window shattered open.

Yerick looked in horror as the vampire he had just killed was somehow alive. The building around him started shaking uncontrollably, and the roof window shattered downward, tossing him to his knees while a shower of glass rained about him.

A man slowly started to descend from the roof, if he could be called a man. He looked more like an angel descending from the heavens, visiting wrath down upon the wicked. The air around him started swirling about and picking up loose debris. The man’s eyes shone a white hot fire and his mouth opened wide and a heavy, emotionless voice shot into the deepest corner of Yerick’s brain, “I am Red Callahan, psychic of the Institute, and you, Yerick Stronhass, filth of this earth, will be torn asunder for the wickedness you have plagued the world with.”

Andrelle opened her eyes and saw Red floating towards Yerick. The vampire was cowering in fear.

“Please, spare me!”

Red’s mouth opened again, “No.”

Yerick started to rise into the air; his arms and legs shot out, spreading his body apart.

“I will now rip you apart atom by atom, sending your matter into the depths of oblivion and beyond.”

Yerick let out a scream, but it was short lived. His body started to disintegrate before his eyes. First his hands and feet, then he slowly disintegrated upward, until his body was no more. In a matter of seconds, the vampire called Yerick was erased from existence.

Red turned to Andrelle. The stake in her chest was ripped out and the wound instantly healed. Her binds shot off, and the burn on her face slowly faded away, and soon her skin was good as new.

“Andrelle.” Red spoke her name then toppled to the ground. The air around him became still, while the debris crashing down around the room. Red coughed up blood where he lay.

Andrelle knelt next to his limp body, “Red, don’t die. I need someone for my punching bag.” She chuckled to lighten the mood, but she couldn’t help but cry.

His eyes slightly opened, and he looked at her, “My body couldn’t handle it, I’m afraid I’m breaking down myself.” He coughed up more blood and shut his eyes. His breathing was labored, his chest barley moving up and down.

Andrelle frantically looked around the room. She found a piece of glass on the floor next to her. The man had just saved her life, and she would return the favor. She cut her wrist with the glass and held her arm over Red’s mouth.

Tears streamed down Sam’s face as she held Mr. Bartlett in her arms. She looked up to see the hallway teeming with vampires rushing to kill her, but she didn’t seem to care. Life seemed to be moving in slow motion. It would take them a year to get to her, and even then, she didn’t know if she cared about them tearing her apart.

A voice snapped her out of her trance, “Sam! We could use some help!”

Sam turned and looked into the room behind her. A massive machine, with pipes jutting in all directions, towered in the middle of the dome, with a glass cylinder above it containing a girl. “Starr.” Sam saw the girl unconscious in the machine. The girl needed her help, she could at least save the girl before her demise.

“Sam!” Another shout came from the foot of the machine.

She looked at the base of the machine, seeing Brockly wrestling a vampire for a knife and Eddie shooting one of Brockly’s pistols at other oncoming vampires.

Mr. Bartlett started to emit a black mist from his body as he slowly began sinking into the ground. Sam looked at the vampires closing in on her, and she stood. She took one last glance at Mr. Bartlett. Her grief would have to wait. Her friends needed her help. Starr needed her help.

Sam glanced at the floor next to her. Seeing several guns scattered about the black scorched floor, she grabbed the nearest one and jumped a table, sliding over it, and landing back on her feet. She raised the gun and shot the vampire Brockly was wrestling.

He kicked it away before it burst to flames and smiled at Sam, “How nice of you to join us.” Blood was trickling down his leg and pooling on the floor. He looked around, “Where’s B?”

Sam looked down and shook her head. Her eyes were red, and the bags beneath them were puffed out. It didn’t take much to realize what she meant.

“Oh, I see.” He knelt down and grabbed his other pistol, “Well Sam, how about the three of us end all this?”

Sam raised her head, and a crazed smiled came across her face, “And kill every last son of a bitch vampire.”

Eddie finished off the last vampire and joined his comrades. He unslung his shotgun and cocked it, “So we’re it then?”

Brockly nodded, he had just lost one of his only friends. He wasn’t up for much talking.

Eddie sniffled, and then his face turned stone cold, “Let’s kill them all.”

The remaining mob of vampires burst through the doorway, Horus at their lead, “Mr. Bartlett has been slain, let us finish the rest, and drink their blood in salute to this new age!” The vampires all roared in unison. Their recent victory fuelled a newfound bloodlust.

Eddie fired his shotgun instantly, the explosive slug hitting the middle of the pack, blowing their numbers away. Several vampires jumped in the air, dodging the explosive, and landing around the trio, Horus being one of them.

Horus stepped in front of Sam, “It’s time to finish this foolish fight, and let the better race rule what is rightfully ours. This world will soon be consumed by darkness, and we will be kings.”

Sam raised her gun to fire, but Horus quickly swatted it way. He grabbed her by the shirt and threw her across the room. Sam slammed hard into a table. She heard a loud crack come from her rib and she winced in pain. Her chest felt like it was on fire, even breathing hurt now.

Gunfire and explosions sounded off throughout the large room as Brockly and Eddie fought the vampires.

Sam lay still on the floor, her body just hurt too much. She needed to beat Horus, but she couldn’t think of anything that’d work. She was just too slow to beat him. She looked up and smiled a little. Someone was looking out for her. Her axe was lying beneath the table next to her, and she knew what to do. She squirmed a little. Her shoulder was bleeding, and her ribs made breathing almost impossible.

She heard the voice of Horus coming upon her, getting closer. “And now we, the ultimate children of Earth, will end the human suffering. Your plague will cease after tonight, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Horus closed in on Sam, leaning down to pick her up. Sam smiled to herself as she grabbed the axe from under the table and hid it under her body. Horus grabbed the woman’s shirt collar and pulled her up, and Sam brought the unexpected gift with her.

“And now you will meet your end, just like Mr. Bartlett,” Horus grinned with victory in his eyes.

Sam used all her remaining strength to swing at Horus stomach, striking hard and cutting a deep gash across his belly.

Horus reeled back a howled in pain, dropping Sam as he did so.

Sam took this chance to strike again downwards across his chest, cutting another deep grove into his body. Then Horus fell to his knees, a large X was carved into his torso.

The head vampire looked down at his body in disbelief, “But how, I am the superior race.”

Sam raised her axe high and smirked at the vampire, “No Horus, you’re just a shit stain on the side of my boot.”

The vampire let out a shrill scream as Sam brought her axe down on his head, splitting it like a log.

Brockly kept the vampires off Eddie’s back so he could reload his shotgun, but the mob was too big. He kept shooting the vampires rushing them, but his guns started to click empty. He took a quick glance at Starr in the machine and then down at Eddie, who was bashing a vampire in the face with the tail end of his shotgun. He might not be able to make out of this alive, but he could stop the vampires.

Eddie looked at Brockly and then down at his gun. He then saw Brockly look up to Starr in the glass case above machine and knew what the man was thinking. He tossed the gun to Brockly and rushed to any cover he could find.

As Brockly raised his arm to grab the weapon, all he could think about was his love. He might not be able to find her. He might be dead in a matter of seconds, but he had to do this. He promised his friend he would do this. Brockly made one last prayer to whoever was listening, just to help him out if they could.

Brockly grabbed the gun from the air and jumped backwards, firing the gun at the giant machine. The slug flew out and smashed through the exterior of the machine, ripping though the metal and then exploding inside.

The whole building started to quake as the machine started whizzing and smoking uncontrollably. Sparks burst forth from all cracks of the machine. The vampires stopped their assault, fear started to overtake them, and they started fleeing back through the hallway they emerged from.

Sam saw Eddie dragging Brockly under a table. Brockly had a wound on his head and was unconscious from the looks of it. She started to run over to them, but another loud explosion shook the room violently. It burst forth with fire and an invisible shockwave, blasting anything close away with tremendous force.

Sam flew across the room hitting the wall hard. Pain flared in her chest. She took one last look at Starr in the machine. The girl had awoken, and she started to levitate within the glass cylinder. Light started to form around her. The shield of light around Starr flashed out violently, blinding Sam. One last explosion rang out, and Sam’s vision started to turn black. Finally, Sam sighed and slumped to the floor.

Sam woke with a splitting headache and blurred vision. She stood in the room where the former massive machine once towered over her. A large hole had been blown through the wall, and debris and rubble were scattered outside and had started falling down the cliff side.

She wandered outside and sat on a large piece of concrete lodged into the ground. She tried to take a deep breath of fresh air, but her broken ribs denied her the chance. Sam barley was able to wipe the tears from her eyes, clearing her vision, she looked back inside and saw no sign of Starr or the two men that had helped her finish the vampire threat.

She undertook another deep breath and winced at the pain in her ribs, “It’s finally over.” She laughed at the journey she had been on in just a short time. It was somewhat saddening that it was over, like the end of a good book. Then she started to think of her friends. Sam’s thoughts quickly turned to Mr. Bartlett. Tears started to form in her eyes, until she pulled her hand up as the air around her began to flurry about. Lights started forming in the sky, shining down upon Sam. The lights searched the ruins of the observatory as well. She was able to make out a large circular shape descending from the sky. Sam instinctively reached for her axe, but it was nowhere to be found.

Sam almost blew over as the craft landed nearby, slowly touching down on the ground. Normally she would have run for her life, but she was too tired and hurt to care. She just wanted to be left alone.

The circular ship landed, and the whine of its engines sounded out as it powered off. A small ramp started lowering to the ground. Among the smoke billowing out of the ship’s entrance, two figures appeared and began descending the ramp.

Sam squinted; she thought she could see the two forms holding hands. As they came closer to her, she realized they were doing exactly that. She could see a man and woman walking hand in hand towards her. Sam tried to straighten up in case they were not friendly, but the pain in her chest made her wince and bend back forward. She had no weapon either, so if they were unfriendly, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

The two figures then came close enough to Sam that she could see their strange grey clothes, but beside that and the giant flying ship, she would have thought them to be human. They stood right in front of her now. Sam could see their faces, but something seemed familiar about them, almost as if they were…

“Nict bac un tet?” The woman spoke in a strange language. She tilted her head to the side a bit, her face overcome with worry. Sam could tell the woman was on the verge of tears.

Sam had heard that phrase before when she had pulled Starr out of the crate at the warehouse. Sam flinched a bit when she spoke, “Do you know Starr? The little girl?”

The man spoke up quickly after Sam, “You know of the girl who fell from the sky? Please, tell us where she is.”

The woman pointed to the night sky, “Skeo?”

The man seemed to be as concerned about Starr as the woman, and Sam didn’t have any reason to hold back the truth. “She was inside the building when it exploded,” Sam rubbed her arm and glanced away, “I’m not sure where she is now, or if she is alive.” Sam couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer, streaks of tears ran down her face.

The mysterious woman dropped the man’s hand and ran towards the former observatory. She started to scream out in her native language, “Setta! Druq bek t’rea!” She dropped to her knees, holding her hands to her face, when a small voice interrupted her.

“It’s ok mother. Sam here saved me.” Starr came out from behind a small rubble pile. She was encrusted with dirt and grime. She smiled at her mother, then turned to the man, “It’s good to see you father.”

Starr’s mother then ran to her and grabbed her in a massive hug, lifting Starr off her feet and into the air. She twirled around once and set Starr down on her feet, “Nierra beka un trefta, cenna gudtan. Debtus, rherra un Setta!” The woman was shaking her finger at the girl while she spoke, but ended the gesture in another large hug.

Starr smiled. “Sam there, with the help of her friends, kept me safe,” Starr’s smile faded, “Joseph even died trying to protect me.”

Starr’s father looked to Sam and smiled, “Thank you so much. You protected our child from all those who would treat her with harm and misuse her power. I appreciate your selfless devotion to helping others. You keep my inner light burning bright.” He patted his chest, which glowed with a strange light.

Sam smiled a crooked smile, “Just doing what I can for Starr.”

The parents looked at each other confused.

Starr spoke up, “That is my name here, and I like it very much.”

Starr’s mother stood, “Betta un Starr then Setta,” she looked to her husband and nodded. He nodded back at her and began to walk towards Starr. He picked her up, “Sorry to cut our departure short, but we must be going. Staying on your planet for too long is not safe for us.”

“It’s not safe for anyone, really,” Sam scoffed at her own comment, but winced at her ribs again.

Starr tugged at her father’s shirt and whispered into his ear. He set her down and she walked up to Sam. She held out her hand and placed it onto Sam’s chest. A bright light came from her hand for a second, and then it started to fade. Starr took a step back and smiled, “Thank you for everything.”

A bright light in the shape of a small hand stayed on Sam’s chest for a while longer before it disappeared entirely. The pain in her chest had also left. She took a deep breath in. Her lungs felt like they were brand new.

Starr grabbed her parents hands, “Now you have a piece of my light, wherever you go,” she smiled at Sam and pulled her parents towards the ship, “Goodbye, Sam. I hope to see you again.”

Sam watched the trio walk back to their ship and ascend the ramp. They were then out of sight as the ramp pulled up, and the engines revved to life once again. The ship started to slowly rise until it was slightly off the ground, then in the blink of an eye, the ship shot off into the sky, flying towards the horizon.

Sam relaxed a bit and smiled, “Goodbye, Starr.”

Sam sat quietly, patiently awaiting the sun to rise into the night sky, where it would soon bring light in its endless cycle of life. Her ear started to twitch as a small buzzing started to ring out through the air. She turned her head at the vampire’s machine that filled the room behind her, but it lay lifeless. Then a horrific sound, as if an unstoppable force was tearing through the Earth, blasted out around Sam.

Sam finally found the origin of the noise.

A small cut formed in the middle of the air in front of her. She squinted at what looked like four silver prongs jutting from the rip in space. They slowly started to spread apart, making the small hole even bigger. Sam could start to see some things through the hole, some machines that looked far too advanced to be compared to anything she’d seen. They were strange, yet intoxicating. She couldn’t look away.

Soon the tear was pulled to the size of a large door, and before Sam stood a lone figure.

The man wore a large, dark grey cloak that covered most his head and body, except for his face. In place of his face was a plain white mask with two dark holes where Sam could barely see a set of eyes staring back at her. The bottom of the mask was chipped and broken with some discoloration around it. The figure was hunched over, and looked frail, but his stare was like daggers piercing Sam’s mind.

He finally spoke. His voice was deep and echoed through Sam’s mind, creating an almost metallic echo, “Hello Sam, it’s nice to finally meet face to face.”

Sam was petrified, unable to move at the miraculous sight in front of her. She had never before seen anything like this.

“It’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you,” the figure coughed a bit and turned his head.

Sam finally mustered courage enough to speak, “Who are you?”

The figure turned back to Sam and stared her in the eyes, “Most people call me…The Boss.”

Sam furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She thought the boss was just some mysterious high roller, or some old man hiding out in some mansion. Most of the time, she thought the boss was made up, just a myth to keep the Institute in line.

The figure spoke again, almost as if reading her mind, “I can’t speak for long, so hold your questions. Just talking to you like this is putting your world in danger.” He tried to straighten up his back but it looked as if it put him in pain. “I’ve been watching you, you are a strong warrior and you endure much for the sake of others, I admire that. That’s why I hand-picked you for this mission, to see if you could succeed in saving your world from destruction, which is the one thing the people of my world have failed to do.”

The figure turned his back to Sam and walked over to a small table in the part of the room Sam could see. The man had some sort of device hooked up to his back beneath his cloak. I looked like a pump of some sort, but it was too hidden for Sam to be sure. The man grabbed something off of his table and walked back over to the rip in space. He pressed his hand up against the invisible barrier, pushing against a transparent wall. He grunted and pushed with all his might.

A loud thunderclap rang throughout the night sky. Sam covered her ears to drown the sound, but it was in vain. The figure seemed to be in pain, but he began to press harder until a small object made its way through the tear and dropped onto the ground. The Boss leaned back against a chair nearby, “Take this, you will need it someday, a day like today, one where you save your world.” He took several deep breaths.

His deep voiced words hit Sam hard. She had so many questions in her mind, but she couldn’t help but blurt out one. “I saved the world from what? What were the vamps planning? Can you at least tell me that?”

The Boss pointed behind her, “Exactly what they said they would. That device would have put the world in endless night, where they could reign unmatched by humans. Something that already has happened in my world.” The Boss’s head quickly turned at the sound of banging and several voices yelling in the part of the room she could not see. “I can’t talk for much longer, I must go.”

Sam stood quickly, “Wait.”

The Boss stopped from leaving and turned to her.

“What happens now?”

The Boss chuckled, “What always happens when the world is saved. It goes back to normal.”

The four prongs holding the tear open soon started to close in on each other.

Sam got one last look at the Boss before the prongs soon hit each other and then sucked back into wherever they came from.

Sam walked up to the spot where the rip was and looked at the ground. The object was still lying where the Boss had dropped it. She picked it up, and it was warm to the touch. She took the item and stuck it into her belt and pulled her shirt over to hide it.

Somehow, she knew this wasn’t over.