Siege At Freaktown Ch. 18

Reporter Kerry Starr, voluntarily continued doing her job above ground. The only one at the station brave enough to do the job, despite it being so life threatening. In a fully fueled chopper she continued her coverage of the town under siege. Attempts on her life were made below by the firing of grenade launchers, forcing the pilot to take action.

"This is Kerry Starr," she said, "coming to you live after too many close calls, but we are staying out here until the bitter end. The fighting has shown no signs of ending as of yet, and I fear we won't have a town left to live on.. This is a sad day for the town and its citizens. Our only hope now is the savior himself, wherever he may be."

Carlos remained in a deep sleep, experiencing horrible images of past wars. Men dying from sword fighting to intense gun battles. Graves were dug and men spilling blood for the greater good. He saw a mushroom cloud and a city turned to ashes. The young lieutenant saw his own battles, from his time in the marines to his most recent ones unfolding, including sacrificing himself for Furball. Soon Helena appeared in tears, crying her heart out, and telling Carlos how much she loved him.

"Last night was wonderful," she said, referring to their love making.

"Be careful what you wish for, Blanquita," said Carlos, during their moment on the roof.

"Just forget about today."

"I'll see you soon."

"Forever and ever, babe."

"Be gentle."

"Never."

Soon memories of Helena's past came to fruition, too painful to even experience. She once told him about her family and the tragic event that took their lives, while she was left for dead, seeing everything burned to the ground. Count Vargas would discover the helpless young woman, wounded and beaten, who he could have left to suffer a slow and agonizing death. Instead he gave her the decision to either live or die. Helena became his protege once she made the choice that would change her life forever.

The young lieutenant relived the bombing of his precinct and the carnage left behind by Bennett's people. The images got more bloody and disturbing, filled with screams of high pitched suffering. Corpses of the citizens of Freaktown burning, bleeding, and piled up like trash until Carlos finally sat up, shouting and gasping for air. The young lieutenant awakened to discover he was in the warehouse office, with Helena keeping him company all that time. In her request, Carlos was carried inside so she could be alone with him without all the distractions.

"Carly," she said, putting a hand to his chest, getting him to lie back down on the cot. "Carly. Ssh, calm down. Calm down; take a deep breath."

Carlos did what he was told, catching his breath and shaking off the cobwebs. Helena put a comforting hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating on the tips of her fingers.

"I'm here," she said, "I'm right here. You're safe."

"What, what the hell happened?" Said Carlos, calming himself down. "I was dreaming of terrible things. There was so much blood and death, and so many battlefields. It was like I was actually there."

"Those were memories; my memories."

"Memories?"

"I've walked the earth for a long time. I observed a lot of battles, and seen many wars go by. You inherited those memories the moment I bit you, and I inherited yours."

Carlos was bothered by that fact. He never intended to share all memories of his whole life to Helena or to anyone else for that matter.

"You inherited my memories?" He asked. "Including childhood memories?"

"Yes," said Helena, "and don't worry, your secrets are safe with me."

"I saw what happened to you; your family. It was exactly... how you described it. I could almost feel your pain, like I was there with you."

"I know... I know. I went through a similar situation when I inherited Vargas' memories."

"Shit, you should have warned me before you bit me, and you bite really hard I might add. You could have bitten my head off."

"Think of it as a hickey."

"Yeah, a very hard hickey."

"So sue me. How do you feel?"

"How do I feel? Well, I feel... strange."

Carlos sat back up noticing some changes in him that felt unnatural.

"I don't feel stressed," he said, "I don't feel tired. My body is not aching."

He remembered being shot and searched for the wounds that were inflicted upon him, only to find not one bullet hole or even a mark. Every bone, cell, and organ were fully healed by his newfound ability to regenerate.

"My wounds," he said, "they're all gone."

"If I hadn't turned you, you'd be dead right now."

"I feel twenty years younger, like I can run ten marathons in one day."

"We don't have time for that. You need to go back out there and talk to them about our next strategy."

Helena took his hand, helping him off the cot. Carlos continued getting a feel of the sudden changes in him.

"Damn," said Carlos, "if I'd have known being a vampire makes you feel this great, I would have let you bit me a long time ago."

"Now I get to bite you all the time, and you can't stop me."

"I can bite you, right?"

"Honey, you can bite me any time. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for that."

"I can hardly wait, carino."

On the way out, Carlos put his jacket back on, feeling the holes where the bullets made their way through. Helena was ready to open the door until she turned and gave him a hug.

"I almost lost you," she said. "I never want to go through that again."

"You won't," said Carlos. "You saved my life; I owe you."

"You owe me twice, and if you put me through that again, I'm taking away both your cock and your balls. Comprende?"

"Ouch."

Both looked into each other's eyes, planting a wet one upon their lips.

"You know," said Carlos, "you're pretty sexy when you're sad."

"You're impossible," Helena giggled.

"Sometimes."

"Go."

Helena walked out of the office, holding the door for her now vampire lover. When Carlos walked out everybody was left stunned just seeing him alive and on his feet. Many thought it was a miracle, even going as far as touching him to find out if he was actually real. The children were unafraid when they approached him, getting a better look themselves.

"Are you a god?" Asked one blue skinned child.

"No," Carlos answered with a smile, "I came close to meeting him."

"You look rested, kid," said No Face, shaking his hand. "Glad to have you back."

"How you feeling?" Lita asked.

"Better," said Carlos. "Much better."

"He does look... different," said Gemini's left side.

"Vampire or not," said her other half, "he's still a cop."

Her left side could do nothing but roll her eye up in frustration.

He made his way towards Furball, who stood there giving him a nod for saving his life, even though he didn't deserve it.

"No mas," said Carlos, patting Furball's chest with a closed fist.

Carlos noticed the line of wrapped up bodies on the side. It hit him hard to see that many casualties in the one place he thought was safe.

"How many?" He asked.

"Fourteen," said No Face, "including ten wounded."

"Son of a bitch."

"Meanwhile, I just got word that the terminal is well guarded, and more of Bennett's people are pouring in."

"We won't be able to hit it now, even if we wanted to."

"What's our next move then?"

"That's the thing, I don't know what the next move is. My one plan just went up in flames."

The crowd was stunned to hear those words coming out of his mouth. Many were worried about him giving up on them and shattering their hopes.

"We can't give up," said Furball. "I'm not giving up that easily."

"We can't just sit here in defeat," said No Face. "We need a plan of attack and we need it now."

"I know how you feel, sergeant," said Carlos, "but right now my mind is a complete blank."

"Carly," said Helena, "don't do this to yourself. You can't give up on them or this fight. We've come this far and we'll go further if we have to."

"What will you have me do, Hel? We have no strategy or anything that pinpoints a weakness to their forces. It'll be suicide to go out there without the proper plan of attack. Bennett is in there somewhere and we can't get to him. We need a miracle to pull that off."

No face's phone buzzed in his pocket. What he heard on the other end would change the mood of the conversation in a hurry.

"Lieutenant," he said, putting the phone on speaker, "I think you want to hear this."

"Talk to me," said Carlos.

"Sir," said the mayor's son, "we have a situation here. A human male just showed up."

Everyone felt agitated after hearing that bit of news, concerned over the fact that more humans may have found their base of operations.

"Is there anyone else with him?" Carlos asked.

"No, sir," said the mayor's son, "he's all alone."

"Alright, standby. We're opening the door. Keep your eyes on him, and if he's whispering, I wanna know about it."

"Yes, sir."

"Look alive people, we got company!"

Carlos and the rest grabbed their weapons and rushed right over to the door, hoping to prevent another possible massacre. Tek arrived there first, receiving the signal the open it up. With one hand he lifted the metal door up, quickly focusing on the visitor who was down on his knees, with hands on his head, and weapon laid out on the ground. Everyone else had their weapons focused on him, with the Harpy triplets pointing their bows and arrows directly behind him. Dragona and the mayor's son looked on from the roof.

"State your business, flesher," said Furball, ready to kill.

"I need to speak to whoever's in charge," said the stranger.

"Tek," said Carlos, "check him out."

"Get up," said Tek, grabbing the stranger's arm, putting him back on his feet.

His holstered his firearm and began the search for any weapon or sharp object. After today's massacre, Tek was not taking any such chances or make the tiniest mistake. He carefully checked each pocket, only to find one cell phone and nothing more; no wallet or ID of any kind.

"All good," he said.

"Cuff him," said Carlos. "Let's get him inside."