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Thanks to Rebecca, Jennifer, Meghan, Diana, SM Roffey, Kristen and R Pelham Hern for all your feedback.


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The four-poster bed was broken and fragments of iron shackles were left on the bed.  The chill of an enemy nearby slipped up my spine.

My partner, Andy, had just rescued his ex-girlfriend, Katherine. She was emaciated?a week without blood was an eternity for a vampire. I stared into the empty room. Connor, my ex-boyfriend, must have escaped their captivity.

I turned to Andy and said, "You get her out of here. I'll go up to the roof and send up the signal. If I'm lucky, I might sense Connor. Meet me back here once Katherine is safe."

While Andy and Katherine took the elevator to the ground floor, I took the stairs up to the roof. Once I got there, I walked up to the edge, feeling like a superhero, with my jacket fluttering like a cape in the wind. I held onto a broken antenna and lit a signal flare. The police cruiser nearby signaled back with its lights and horn. I dropped the flare.

As I walked back to the door, the back of my neck burned.

A shadowy figure approached me, hands clenched into fists.

"You interfering little commoner!"  Desdemona?Connor and Katherine's captor and sire?"There is no way you are going to take my Connor away from me!"

I sighed as I walked towards the door, keeping my distance. "If you want to continue your undead existence, it's best you leave town. But if you attack me, you will meet your end. I already signaled for backup, anyway. They?ll take Katherine to safety and as soon as I find Connor, I'll get him out of here!"

Desdemona tried to grab my arm, but I stepped out of the way. I grabbed one of my garlic salt powder bombs, threw it at her, and rushed to the door.

As soon as I got in the stairway, I slammed the door behind me and locked it. But it won't hold for long, so I hurried down the stairs

Finally, I made my way to the ground floor of the hotel and found Andy in the hotel's kitchen. It was completely empty except for all the alcohol and kitchen utensils.

"I was able to sneak Katherine out through the exit over there," he said, pointing to the back door. "But what about Connor and Desdemona?"

"Desdemona found me when I sent the signal," I said. Just as I was about to head back into the lobby, I felt a sharp sting in the back of my neck. "Connor's close by!"

Connor came in from the door marked "Dining Room."

"I was looking for you," I said. The initial rush of sorrow and regret faded as I tightened fists.

"I didn't want to be found," he said.

He went into a fighting stance, showing off the broken shackles on his wrists. He was in full vampire mode, eyes gleaming red and fangs bared, ready to kill. He struck out first, swinging at me like a boxer. I jumped back to dodge his attack. Then Connor turned his attention to Andy, who had his lighter ready. Connor gritted his teeth and tried to kick the lighter out of Andy?s hand, but Andy dodged the attack. That gave me the opportunity to throw a garlic powder bomb at Connor. He started coughing and backed away from the smoke.

"Do you have the cure?" Andy asked.

I reached into my pocket and took out a small vial. This will turn Connor back into a human. If he accepted it.

"Connor," I said, keeping the cure safe in my hand, "do you want to take the cure?"

He coughed as he shook his head. "There is no way I?m going back to the life I once had."

I stepped closer to him. "Your family misses you. Your friends miss you. I miss you."

He leaned against the wall. "None of them miss me. And you never loved me."

Desdemona barged into the room. Connor gazed at her with awe and reverence. To him, she was the goddess who gave
him life. My heart sank into my stomach. I didn't love him anymore, but he had to take the cure. Otherwise, he would be dust and ashes.

Desdemona growled as she ran towards me, with her nails bared like claws.

As I backed away from her, Andy grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the alcohol stash and took a handkerchief from his pocket. He poured some of the contents of the bottle onto his handkerchief, stuffed it into the bottle, and lit the cloth. He threw the bottle at Desdemona, but Connor jumped in front of her and absorbed the blast.

Connor was going to choose oblivion over life. Did he really hate everyone that much? Did he hate me that much?

Desdemona screamed her fury as she ran towards me, but Connor clung to her, spreading the fire towards her. She turned her gaze to him with sorrowful eyes and cringed as she started burning. Then she went silent, resigned to her fate.
Andy touched my shoulder, jerking me from the gut-wrenching pain in my chest. "We should go."

I swallowed back the agony that threatened to overtake me and nodded. The fire was gonna spread. And I couldn't watch Connor burn to oblivion. I watched way too many people perish in the past. "Yeah, okay." Tears streamed down my face as Andy and I escaped out the back door.

An explosion behind us blistered our backs, or slammed us to the concrete of the back lot. I covered my ears. The fire must have hit the gas from the stove.

I curled up into a ball and sobbed into my hands.

He was gone.

"You get Katherine out of here," I said. "I'll go up to the top of this place send up the signal. Meet me back here."
   While Andy took the elevator down to the ground floor, I climbed up to the roof of the building, feeling kind of like a superhero, with the cape part of my top fluttering in the wind. I held onto what I figured was a broken antenna and lit up the signal flare, holding my arm out to make sure it could be seen. Once I saw the signal from Officer Reynolds's car, I dropped the flare down.
   I turned around to get back inside the building when Desdemona confronted me.
   "You interfering little commoner!" Desdemona said. "You should've just let your little grudge against Connor stay buried with your precious fairy godmother."
   "I don't have a grudge against him anymore," I said. "This is honestly gonna shock you, but I actually forgive Connor. I want to give him the cure." I held onto the small bottle I had. "I don't suppose you're gonna tell me where he is."
   "There is no way you are going to take my Connor away from me! You already got Katherine. I'm more than happy to wash my hands of her. But I am going to keep Connor!" Her scowl began to falter and her shoulders started shaking. "I cannot lose him the way I lost..."
   "So you lost someone, too? Someone you loved? Been there. Done that. And you know what I learned? You're allowed to miss the ones you love. But life goes on and you have to move forward."
   "I can never let him go. And I won't let him take your stupid cure, either!"
   I sighed as I made my way to the door that led to the stairway. "Then I'll leave you and find him myself. If you want to continue your undead existence, it's best you leave town. But if you attack me, you will meet your end."
   I shut the door behind me and locked it, but I knew Desdemona wouldn't let that stop her. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could and almost giggled when I thought about how much easier this could be with my sister's little super-speed power.
   Finally, I made my way towards a floor that had elevators and found Andy there.
   "I was able to sneak Katherine out," he said. "But what about Connor and Desdemona?"
   "Desdemona kinda found me when I sent the signal. I still haven't found Connor, though."
   "That's cuz I'm right here!"
   The two of us turned around. Connor stood in the hallway with his shackles still around his wrists. He was in full vampire mode, eyes gleaming red and fangs bared, ready to kill.
   "Shall we, my love?" Desdemona asked.
   "Let's dance!" Connor said.
   Desdemona made the first strike, using her hands to claw at us like a cat.
   Andy jumped back to dodge her attack. Then he took out a small bottle of whiskey from the inside of his coat. He poured the contents of the bottle onto his handkerchief and then stuffed it back into the bottle. As soon as he lit up the handkerchief, I knew what was coming.
   He threw the bottle towards Desdemona, but Connor went in front of her, taking the blast. He was set on fire in an instant, screaming in pain. The fire alarms started going off, but even with the sprinklers going off, the fire was still spreading. I had a feeling that the sprinklers were probably installed long ago in order to comply with keeping all the building codes intact, but they didn't use the sprinkler system in a very long time.
   Connor sunk to his knees as Desdemona reached out to him.
   "You need to come with us, Connor," I said. "We can get you out of this."
   He glared at me. "No. I can't go back. I already made my choice a long time ago."
   He took Desdemona's hand. She pulled him in, sobbing tearlessly and holding him like a child as the fire consumed the two of them and spread towards the walls.
   "We gotta get out of here," I said.
   "You don't have to tell me twice!" Andy said.

Oh wow! This is an excellent example of short/flash fiction! So much happening! You have such a unique perspective, too!

I definitely love the worldbuilding details here. It gives a very authentic sci-fi feeling. I'm excited to see where this scene may lead to!

I really like all the details you included in this scene! You made such an expansive moment from that one photo!

Holy crap! I love all the action and tension you have in this flash-post! This is something that will get the heart racing!