Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) (17 page)

I winced whenever someone bumped into me
, or
when I
brushed my still hot pink skin against so
mething. The crowd was restless,
the sound of their cries deafe
ning. The cha
os was so great
I couldn’t even tell what they were angry about.
Probably life
,
and the fact the Apocalypse kind of came and stayed on an indefinite hiatus.

It was hard to make sense of what they were saying; the words
“unjust,” “tyrant,” and “slavery” seemed to be used more than others.
People milled about, jostling us like we were
in the mosh pit at a
rock concert.
Some people were running around with torches, setting abandoned cars and whatever else they could find on fire. Others threw bricks and rocks through the windows, breaking
the few
glass panes
the jail still had intact. A short distance above us
stretched I-376. A line of
hooded figures stood there, silent and still, their black scythes standing in tall arches over their heads.

I ran cold with fear.
The Scarlet Guard.

I always thought
the Guard, which was essentially our “police force,”
was
more robotic than human. The big, bucket-like helmets they wore cou
ld probably be blamed for that.

Long, wide white ribbons
sewn
with the Allegiance to the Sovereign stretched down the front of their
red
robes, fluttering in the ember-spotted breeze. The skirt of their robes was cut into four sections, allowing them
easier mobility. The gloss of their tall black combat boots shone in the firelight.

I watched them uneasily as we followed Leo to the front of the crowd. Though they all
wielded
scythes, I knew better than to think that was the only weapon they carried. Beneath the robes, I knew they had a veritable arsenal of guns and knives.

I wondered what time it was. Civilians had a set
bedtime
– 12:00 a.m. Judging from the location of the moon,
I knew we had to be
p
ast it by now, possibly around 3
a.m. or so.

Beyond us, the
Monongahela R
iver
rolled by, its surface mirroring the scarlet moon. Thanks to the red tint of the sky, it made the river look like blood.

Leo shoved his way through
the crowd
with surprising agility. I
f they didn’t move, he’d grab a pressure point along their shoulders or arms to make them.

“Where are we going?” I shouted.

“My Jeep’s nearby,”
he said.

Leo’s uncle, who was loaded, had bought him a Jeep for his birthday. He was one of the few people I knew who still had a working car, aside from political officials and the Scarlet Guard. Some of th
e people who lived in the slums –
or the
outer areas of the White Sector –
managed to somehow keep old buses, cabs, and police cars running, but with gas prices getting steeper, running at fifty dollars per gallon, I knew it was only a matter of time before only the wealthy could afford cars.

A megaphone cracked to life above, commanding our attention. “This is your last warning,” came the cold, aut
horitative voice of one of the g
uard
s
. “Abandon your cause now, or we will open fire.”

“What?” I shouted incredulously. Open fire on unarmed civilians? Were they bluffing?

It wasn’t unheard of to hear the Guard threatening people. I’d even heard rumors they’d shot civil
ians before who ha
d gotten out of
hand. But
mostly, they just enforced the bedtime
rule, supposedly arresting anyone who was caught outdoors after hours.

Leo quickened his pace, blanching. “We need to get out of here before all hell –”

I couldn’t h
ear if he finished the sentence
because right then the Scarlet Guard let a barrage of bullets rain down upon the crowd.

“Leo!” I screamed. I dove for him, knocking him to the ground
,
using
my body
to cover
his. Beside me
, Rook did the same with Dezyre
while Arika hit the pavement, body pressed flat and eyes wide with fear despite the calm expression on her face. I bet she was one of those people whose expressions never changed.

Civilians dropped all around us
, some trying to dodge the fire
while others fell dead.

“This is murder!” I shouted. I started to get up. “I have to help them!”

“No!” Leo clamped down on my wrist. “That’s suicide and you know it. Your picture’s been all over the news, Sloane. The Scarlet Guard will recognize you.” He pulled me closer. “I can’t risk you being taken away from me again.”

I stared at him, taken
a
back.

A flash of headl
ights came at us from the side.
I turned my head just in enough time to
see a car barreling
toward us.

“Look out!” I shouted.

We dove apart as the wheezing Toyota ble
w past, full of fleeing proteste
rs.  The side of the car lit up with sparks as the Scarlet Guard turned their fire on it, and a moment later
,
the car swerved erratically and slammed into the side of the jail. The hood was bent up like a ribbon, and smoke billowed up from the engine.

Leo took my hand. “My Jeep’s too far away. We’ll never make it. Come on.”

We rose and ran toward the car. Leo pried the door open. Blood was splattered aga
inst the windshield and windows; all of its occupants were dead
. The smell of blood was stronger now than the scent of Scarlet Steel, awakening my inner demon.

I clenched my fists.

Leo’s eyes caught mine, flashing with concern. “Hey, are you okay?”

Maybe it was because I knew it was coming, and I was ready for it. But whatever happened, I
pushed back my instinct to feed. “Yeah,” I replied, smiling weakly. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look convinced, but we both knew we didn’t have time to argue.

After I
help
ed Leo clear out the car, I climbed into the backseat.
Warm, fresh blood soaked into my pants, reminding me of how we’d come by this car. I felt incredibly bad for dumping the bodies onto the street. It made me feel dirty and i
nhuman, which I technically was,
being a vampire. Those people deserved a proper burial. In a civilized world, they would have received it.

Rook went over to the other side and paused when he opened the door. He glanced over his shoulder, his jaw clenching. “We have company.”

Several old vans were pulling up as the media gathered to
pick the bones of the story like vultures. Being the Sovereign’s daughter meant added time in front of the camera
s
, and I hated
reporters
the most. They didn’t seem to have any decency, always waiting and ready to pounce at any moment. One time someone had snapped a shot of me
standing in front of
my bedroom window
,
drying tears on my face. By the next morning, some elaborate story had been made up about my
“unstable”
mental state
. R
umors began
to circulate about my mom and me
, about how I never came around much because I was me
ntally ill or had some kind of deep, dark
secret she didn’t want people to find out about. She had slapped me hard for that one. What the paparazzi didn’t know was that I was crying because it was the one year anniversary of the day I’d lost my father
to cancer
, the man who ha
d
sacrificed
e
verything to raise me
.

News reporters scoured the area while the Scarlet Guard drove
back
what was left of the crowd. That’s when I noticed something odd.

They ha
d stopped firing.

I do
n’t remember hearing the bullet
fire cease. We’d been too busy trying to steal the car for me to notice.

Arika
and Dezyre
crammed into the backseat
with me
while Rook took shotgun
,
and Leo hopped in behind the wheel. It took him a few time
s
to shut the door because the framework was badly damaged from the wreck, but at last
,
we were all in and buckled up.

The smell of blood and death
hung
heavy in the air. I tried to hide my fangs, which had protruded of their own accord. It felt very much like having a zit I was trying to cover up. Dezyre and Rook squirmed; I could tell they were struggling with it just as much as I was.

Arika glanced at
Dezyre and me
anxiously. “Can we trust them not to eat us?”

I rolled my eyes. “We’re not animals. We can control it.”

“Tch.” Arika crossed her arms and looked away. “I beg to differ,” she mumbled.
Staring out the window, she reached up and looped her index finger around a thin silver chain, grasping a pendant that looked like a bird.

“Enough.” Leo grappled with the key, trying to get the engine to roll over. After a few failed attempts, he slammed his hand against the wheel, swearing. “Hey,” he said to Rook, “see if there’s a flashlight in the glove compartment.”

Rook opened the little bin, shuffling papers around. “Ah
a
!” he said, tossing one of those
small
roadside flashlights to Leo. “We’re in business.”

Leo nodded in thanks, clicking it on and shining the light beneath the wheel. “Hold this for me, would ya?” he asked Rook.

Rook took the light, and Leo reached up under the dash, pulling out a handful of wires.

Behind us
the crowd screamed and wailed, some fallen to their knees beside
their now deceased loved ones.

My heart went out to them,
and I glared at the Guard.

Vicious bastards.

Sparks flew up from the dash as Leo gently pressed two
of the
wires together. A few seconds later, the engine rolled and the car shuddered to life.

He grinned, taking the wheel as Rook shut the light off. “Am I good, or am I good?”

Rook raised a brow and gave him a small smile back. The gesture seemed strained, as if he didn’t quite know how to respond to him yet.
Rook and Leo had been friends as humans, though I could see that
relationship
was going to take some time to repair.

Shouts came behind us.
I glanced around, seeing several blurry shapes with cameras heading toward us. Someone said my name. I don’t think I would have heard them if I hadn’t been a vampire.

“We think we’ve identified one of the people in the car as Sovereign McAllister’s daughter, Sloane McAllister…”

Rook must have heard it too
because right then he whirled around, eyes wide. “Get us out of here, man!”

“Gladly.” Leo jerked the gear into reverse and slammed down his foot
on the gas pedal. With a groan,
the car lurched backward, sending us flying against our seats. He didn’t even let the car come all the way to a complete stop before switching gears and
flooring it. T
he tires spun in place for a few seconds before the car shot off like a bullet.

“What was that all about?” I
asked
, jerking a thumb back at the jail. “What were they protesting
,
and why
were they doing it
in front of the jail?”

“Protests have become more and more common since you left,” Leo said, keeping his eyes on the road. “As the Scarlet Guard become stricter – and the Black Cross Guild more restless to take matters into their own hands – the people caught in between have started pushing back the only way they know how. Riots have cropped up all over town, growing rowdier every time. I think they chose the jail because the Scarlet Guard used it as their headquarters before they got their fancy new base downtown.”

I frowned, digesting this.

“Hold on,” Leo said, sliding around a corner. I slammed into Dezyre so hard we bumped heads.

“Ow!” she said, glaring at me.

“Oh, get over it,” I shouted back. I was all out of “give a damn” for a day, and she was seriously pressing my buttons.

The reporters tried running after us,
but we were much too fast. Soon
they became little dots
in the distance
.