"When you're backed against the wall
I could be the one
Who's always there to break your fall." -"Halo" by Starset

~~~~~~

The crickets chirped quietly, keeping a rhythm of their own as they communicated back and forth. The fire crackled loudly, dry wood popping with charring.

The cool night air had its own comforting smell, its darkness wrapping Nova up in a secure blanket. She sat on her bedroll, monkeying around with her bow. Her fingers worked around the broken horn that Leon had caused, fiddling with the loose strings in an attempt to keep them from sliding off at the next use. She personally enjoyed the silence. It gave her time to think and time to herself.

The fire distracted her, causing her to look up, watching the way the flames danced and licked the air. She could feel a small amount of heat radiate from the light, and it felt good verses her slightly chilled back.

A ways down from where they slept, in the building, something crashed loudly, causing Nova to jerk. She looked around to see if anyone had been woken up by the noise. Everyone else seemed undisturbed by it.

Nova's mind quickly wandered back to before she was put on guard. Christopher told her that if something raised her suspicions, she would have to rouse one of them before checking it out.

She glanced over at Christopher. He had been the last person to be on lookout. He'd be the easiest person to wake up. An image of her shaking him, followed by him ramming his staff's sharpened knife through her neck invaded her conscious, and she decided against it.

She quickly turned to Leon, shuffling over to him, so she was kneeling in front of him.

"Leon!" she hissed quietly, shaking his shoulders. In a quick movement, she had a knife pressed against her neck, a murderous glint in Leon's eyes. Then the shine faded as he noticed who it was, collapsing back onto his bed. He pulled the knife back, tucking it away.

"Holy shit, don't do that, Nova. I almost killed you! What is it?" he whispered, clearing sleep from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I heard a noise." Leon gave her a look that told her he wasn't happy. "It was a noise from something big," she argued back. Leon perked a little bit, sighing as he grabbed his crossbow and stood up. She scrambled after him quickly, grabbing her bow and one of her swords. She strapped the sword on, loosely knocking an arrow to fire when ready.

"Where did you hear it?" he asked, and she pointed towards the corner.

"It was around the corner and down a ways. Maybe on the other side of the building. Thats what makes it so concerning that I heard it," she answered back, biting her lip in hesitation.

"Well, there's only one way to find out what it is," Leon responded, nodding his head towards the side to indicate they were moving.

They made sure to stay quiet as the two prowled around the corner. They placed their footsteps slow and precise, keeping them from making a sound. They continued down towards where the noise was heard. As they went along, they peeked down perpendicular hallways to check for enemies, only to come up empty. As they were about to round to the next corridor, another loud sound echoed from the other side, causing them to still.

Leon looked at Nova with wide eyes at the noise, realizing she had been anxious for a reason. He mouthed to her 'get ready' as he raised his crossbow up defensively. Nova quickly drew the ready arrow as they leaped around the corner.

Only to find some objects had been knocked over by an animal scampering away. The two of them seemed to release a breath of relief as they lowered their weapons, looking at each other with sheepish smiles.

"I guess it was noth-" Nova drowned him out as she watched something move in her peripheral vision. She quickly spun around, bringing her bow behind a confused Leon.

Nails sliced through the bow, snapping the weapon in half as Leon skipped  backwards.

Nova brought her eyes up, feeling them widened in shock as she took in the person she saw. The person she never thought she'd see again.

Yvonne was clad in the aristocratic uniform. Her hands, seemingly crusted over with blood, shimmered with a different liquid coating in what little light the moon provided.

Nova met the vampire's eyes as the blonde's mouth twisted into a snarl.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, blood bag!" she roared, lunging forward to Nova. Leon was quick to fire his crossbow, the bolt embedding itself into one of Yvonne's outstretched arms.  The female jumped back, hissing as she pulled the bolt out. Nova was quick to discard her broken bow, drawing her lone sword in readiness.

"Everyone!" Nova hollered, hoping to startle her crew into waking up. "Everyone! Get up! We have a situation!"

Leon drew one of his throwing knives from his waist, chucking it towards their enemy. She dodged under, the knife cracking a window behind her.

"Hey, you fat bitches! Get your asses up and help us!" Leon screamed down the hall, causing Yvonne to chuckle deeply.

"I can't believe you're what we are worried about," Yvonne remarked as Nova ran towards her, preparing for her sword to strike. Yvonne bent around the tip, twirling herself out of Nova's strike range before rushing toward Leon as he readied another bolt.

By now shouting had started up from the sleeping end of the building as their squadron rushed to get themselves together to come help. Yvonne darted towards Leon, leaving hardly anytime before she stood directly in front of him.

"Boo." She smiled, her fangs showing  menacingly as she whipped her claws forward, going for his throat. Leon managed to jerk away bringing his arm up protectively.

Yvonne sliced through this shirt material easily, digging deep into the skin and drawing blood. There was a harsh inhale of breath from Leon as the pain hit him.

"Get away from him, Yvonne!" Nova hollered from behind, swinging her sword towards the woman. Yvonne used her same move as before, going to dodge the blade by turning out of the way.

Nova switched her direction, arching the sword lower to bring it back around. It sliced through one of Yvonne's thighs, blood seeping quickly into the black material. The material shined with the liquid as Yvonne bounced away, landing awkward with her hurt leg.

Nova turned toward Leon, noticing he had collapsed to the ground. His crossbow laid next to him, tossed away with the fall. He held his injured arm, the skin around it turning red. Black veins protruded against his complexion which was loosing color. She had venom on her hands... Nova thought, gritting her teeth in anger as she turned back to her assailant.

Yvonne stood, her hands laying limply toward her side. She acted like she wanted to grip her thigh, but knew better than to try.

"Next time, my hands are going to relish in the feeling of ripping your throat out and bathing in the blood that will spill from it," Yvonne announced, a sadistic look twisting her feature as she went to lunge forward.

Only to find her feet rooted to the ground. She tired a few more times, screaming in frustration as she looked to the ground. Below her, a glowing yellow circle spun lazily, patterns and symbols decorating the floor to a bare circle around her feet. Soon after, the remaining four Resistance soldiers rushed into view, Pax's quarterstaff glowing with an eerie red light.

"Hurry it up, I can only hold her for a bit longer," Pax wheezed out. As if on cue, the glowing light emitting from the crystal flickered. It dimmed slightly, but still shone. The other three pitched forward, Christopher stationing himself in front of Nova and Leon.

"Nova, look after Leon. We'll finish this." She didn't hesitate at the command, rushing to Leon's side to look at his arm. Her sword clattered loudly as she dropped it. Behind her, the spell fizzled out as Ridge swung his sword, narrowly missing the agile vampire. Tony predicted where Yvonne was going, managing to slice her scythe across the blonde's stomach.

"Let me see it," she said softly to the boy on the ground. He groaned in response, slowly moving his arm towards Nova. She wrapped her grip around his arm lightly, wincing at the wound. Closer up, it looked way worse. The venom had managed to turn his blood black. It oozed out of infected skin, which blistered with green pus. The cut was at least six inches long. Nova couldn't figure out the depth, but figured it was deeper than what could be comfortable.

Tony rushed by, picking up Leon's crossbow. This drew Nova's attention away from her wounded friend as the girl sprinted for the window that Leon's knife had previously cracked. Now the glass had been shattered, and Tony was aiming downwards, firing a bolt. Nova took in her surrounding, realizing Yvonne had disappeared.

With the threat gone, everyone huddled around Leon. Concerned faces circled around him as his vision blurred. Ridge nudged Nova out of the way, taking Leon's arm and assessing the wound.

"Venom. Very potent," he concluded, affirming Nova's suspicions. Nova kept her eyes on Leon's face, watching it pale. Sweat broke out on his brow, and his breathing was uneven and rapid.

"There's a town close by. They might have a doctor or something," Christopher shared, glancing at the window to make sure Yvonne was gone for good.

"Guys," Leon slurred out. His breathing picked up as if just speaking was difficult for him. "I can't feel my legs. This fucking sucks."