Rylin Merquise flattened himself against a wall, waiting for the PDF patrol to pass.  He watched as Alysdir and the girl, named Echo, walked through the gate and close it behind them as the snow began to fall again.  If they had stuck together, it would’ve just made it easier for the PDF to kill them all.  Rylin exhaled sharply, a white puff emerged from his mouth.  After a second, the PDF armored car rolled off, down one of the cratered streets of Manhattan.  He dug through a pocket and loaded a few shotgun shells into his weapon.

Was supposed to be just a simple patrol, like always he thought as he started his trek back to the tanker.  How does that girl know Jimmy, anyway?  Rylin sighed and continued.

The city was always quiet at this time of night.  Sometimes, there would be the occasional sirens from the PDF cars, or scattered gunfire, but not right now.  It was too late for much activity.  Rylin walked onward.

After a few minutes, he found himself growing hungry.  Rylin walked into an empty, bombed-out building.  Being a vampire, he needed the nutrients from blood to stay in control.  Without it, he would grow weak and his body would begin to shut down.  There was one thing he was thankful for.  At the tanker, Saint Harriet, had ‘improvised’ rations that would help him control himself from draining the other partisans.

“They’re not here,” a voice said.  “Let’s go.”

Rylin closed his eyes.  He thought he could feel his fangs shaking with anticipation of becoming stained red.  His red eyes opened and he saw two PDF officers walk right by him.  One of them stopped though and slowly turned around.  Rylin took his chance and jumped, dropping his shotgun.  He grabbed one of them.

“Hey!” the other one shouted.  He pulled a large handgun from his belt.

Rylin opened his mouth and sunk his fangs into the neck of the enforcer.  He screamed.  Blood gushed from the wound and into Rylin’s mouth.  Rylin turned his attention quickly to the second one though and grabbed his wrist.  The second enforcer fought with Rylin for the pistol.  It fired twice.  There was a loud snap as Rylin managed to break his wrist.  The PDF officer screamed.  Rylin grabbed a knife from a sash over his chest and drove it into the officer’s thigh.  He was about to drink when he remembered Harriet’s orders.  With a sigh, he kicked him into a crumbling wall.  It almost gave way as the officer crashed into it.

“We can do this one of two ways,” Rylin said, picking up his shotgun.  He did not want to take any chances with this Breed.  At close range, he could take out the officer easily.  “You tell me what I want to know, and you die quickly.  You don’t, and you die slowly.”  He cocked the shotgun.  “Now, what do you know?”

The officer said nothing and Rylin approached him.

He slung the shotgun over a shoulder and pulled another knife from his sash.  Unlike the others, he’d seen Alysdir eyeing it for a long time now.  It had a long, jagged edge.  While not the most efficient of his knives, it was by far the most painful.  Rylin jabbed it into the officer’s right arm and twisted it.  “Gamma-Seven-Seven-Four-Delta!” he screamed.

Rylin slowly pulled the knife out, and it tore muscle apart as it left his skin.  He knew exactly what the man had said was, but it wasn’t horribly important now.  It was the code for a gate.  The deep blue Kevlar of the PDF officer was stained with dark blood.  “I’ll ask again.  What do you know?”

“Gamma-Seven-Seven-Four-Delta,” the officer replied again, gasping for breath.

Rylin sighed and jammed the knife back into him, this time near the crotch.  The officer let out an animalistic howl.    He slowly tore it out, again.

“Epsilon-Three-Nine-Two-Rho.”

This officer must’ve had some training in dealing with such actions.  Rylin, however, was cold and tired of dealing with Breed for the night.  With a growl, he put the knife away and bit into his neck.  Rylin closed his eyes as the warm blood of the Breed nourished him.  He slowly pulled himself away and dropped the body.  He had to get out of there before…

The PDF officer expired.  Just like the officers Alysdir had shot earlier, there was a loud whooping sound from his radio.  It echoed through the ruined streets.

Shit, he thought.  It would only be a matter of time before other officers arrived and all hell broke loose.  He did not want it to come to that though and slipped back out.

*****

He was still hungry as he continued walking.  Rylin stopped and squatted behind a snow drift.  Two PDF armored cars sped by.   He took a deep breath, and found an entry to the old subway system.  It was dark, as expected, but it was slightly warmer.  He attached a flashlight to his shotgun and looked around.  It was ruined, as to be expected.  The tunnels though, would lead him back to the tanker, and safety.  These tunnels were not the safest of places, but he would at least be able to evade PDF patrols some more.  He jumped into the rail pit and started walking again.

Rylin must’ve been walking for an hour before he came to another stop.  He climbed out of the pit, and walked up the steps, finding himself in the ruined city once again.  The surroundings were familiar.  He was almost there, and turned off the flashlight.  Another PDF armored car rolled through the streets, a ways off.  Rylin closed his eyes for a moment.

Still can’t believe I’m here, he thought.  Few months ago, I was in Vegas, hunting Breed.  Now, me and some survivors are here, trying to destroy The Empire.  He chuckled, and opened his eyes.  The car was long gone, so he crossed the streets, soon coming to the docks.  They were in great disrepair, but he didn’t care.  He walked towards a large tanker, docked on a rickety wharf.  He reached a simple door on the ship and knocked twice, waited a moment and tapped six times, in rapid succession.

The door opened, and a shotgun slipped out of it.  A man sighed.  “Rylin!” he said.  “Where have you been?”

“I was hungry,” the vampire replied.

The man looked around quickly.  “Get in!”  He stepped away from the door and Rylin walked in.  The door closed behind him.

Rylin rubbed his forehead.  “Where’s Harriet?”

“On the bridge, as usual.”

“Thanks.”  He walked past the man.  “Alysdir’s bringing a guest, so keep your eye out for him.”

*****
Rylin wasn’t going to go see Harriet right away.  He was tired, and he wanted to relax a little.  He walked through one of the halls of the tanker and came to his own room.  He opened the door and walked in.  At the moment, he was sharing it with two other people.  They were both vampires and had connections to the Merquise family, his family.  He closed the door behind him, seeing a girl on one of the bunks.  She was very well built, in her underwear, and had long black hair.  Her clothes were laid out on the floor, soaked.  Even her Kevlar jacket, which had once belonged to a Breed PDF, looked black because of the water.  She was reading a tattered book, and didn’t care that Rylin had entered.

“Did you fall off the wharf ‘cause you’re top heavy?” Rylin joked, taking off his jacket.

The girl lowered the book onto her chest.  “Very funny, Rylin,” she said.  “With all the stuff I’ve been doing, the twins are getting smaller.”

“Aww…”

She sat up and leaned out of the bed, combing back some of her hair.  “Besides, last time we did it, you just buried your head in them.  There are other parts to me that I’d like your hands, and mouth to touch.”

He chuckled and sat down in a folding chair.  “I know, Kylie.  Next time, I won’t.”  He smiled, showing his fangs.  “I can’t promise about the time after that though!”

Kylie laughed.  “Maybe Trell will join us that time too.”  Her own fangs glittered in the light as she smiled.  “Maybe Harriet too?  She’s Drow.  She might know a few tricks we don’t.”

“I’ll ask her.  I have to talk to her anyway.”  He looked back at her clothes.  “So, why are your clothes soaked?”

“I got buried on patrol.”  She put the book on her pillow and stood up.  “I walked under a floor in a building and the ceiling gave way.  “Trell and Victor dug me out and we headed right home after that.  I was so cold, I could barely walk.”  Kylie sat in Rylin’s lap and wrapped her arms around him.

“So, where is Trell?”

“He took Ryan’s patrol route today.  Harriet said she needed someone for the sewers, while Drak recovers.”  She cocked her head.  “What about you?  How was your patrol?”

“Pretty quiet.”  He put a hand on her bare thigh.  “Alysdir told me a little more about Talia, but, I don’t blame him not wanting to talk about her.  Close to the end of it though, we got some action.”

She frowned.

“Geez, Kylie.  Get your head out of the gutter!  Some girl was being chased by PDF.  Alysdir took ‘em out, and we started to head back.  Was my turn to open the gates.”

“Oh, God, I hate those things.”

“I’m just happy they hadn’t changed the codes yet.”  He smiled at her.  “I got a quick bite to eat after that.  I’m still a little hungry and cold though.”

Kylie’s eyes brightened.  “I can help with that.”  She chuckled.  “Trell doesn’t get back until sunrise, if he’s taking Ryan’s normal patrol route.  I’m getting a little hungry myself.  You said you have to talk to Harriet, so you can get two pints from her and bring them back here.

He gently caressed her thigh, and slipped a hand under her arm.  “And then we warm up together?”

She smiled.  “It’s cold outside, and I’ve been all alone here, for hours.”

“Then, it’s a date.  Your bunk or mine?”

“Yours.  It’s dry.”  Her dark eyes narrowed and a devilish smile played on her lips.  “But we’ll fix that soon enough.”  She slipped her tongue into his mouth, before pressing her lips around his.  They kissed a few times before Kylie pulled away and stood up.  “Now get going.”

He smiled and stood up as well.  “See you in a bit.”  As he turned to leave, he patted her butt.

*****
Rylin walked down one of the halls, looking forward to what was coming his way.  An Elf and an Orc, carried a human on a stretcher in front of him.  Rylin flattened himself against the wall and let them pass.  The man on the stretcher looked a mess.  The bandages around his arms were dark with blood now, and he was unconscious.  Soon as they’d passed, he walked down the hall and climbed a ladder at the end of it.  He turned another corner and came to a door, which he opened.

He was on the bridge now.  There was a man at the helm, ready to take the ship out at a moment’s notice.  A female Drow sat in a chair, her legs crossed and resting on a table, a man in front of her.

“Then I suggest you take another patrol out and make sure they didn’t seal the tunnel,” the Drow said to the human.

“That could cost more lives, Harriet,” the man said.

“Yeah, I know.  But all you have to do is see if it is sealed.  You and someone else can do that, and you have binoculars, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Then do it!  Yes, there’s a chance we could lose another two people, but if it isn’t sealed, we can save far more.  I know they were your friends, and I offer my condolences, but this could lead The Breed right to our doorstep.”

“Okay, okay.”

“When you get back, you can take a patrol off to grieve, okay?”

He nodded.

“Get to it.”  She turned in her chair as the man left.  Rylin saw she was wearing a simple white tank top and cammo pants.  Her boots went almost to her knees.  Her red eyes looked up at Rylin.  “I hope my brother hasn’t been giving you too hard a time.”

“Nah, Harriet,” Rylin said.  “He’s a good guy.”

“He still out there with the girl?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled.  “They must be taking the sewers, with Ryan.”

“Hey, can I get two pints?”

Harriet kicked her legs and got to her feet.  She walked over to a trunk and opened it.  “Two?”

“Kylie’s hungry too.  We’re gonna have a chat and dry our clothes.  You’re welcome to come.”

She stood up again, holding two bottles in her hand.  “Rylin, don’t.”

“What?  We think it would be a great time.”

“Oh-ho-ho, no.”

“You’re gorgeous.”

Her face didn’t change at all.  “I know.”

“You’re energetic.”

“Stop flattering me, you’re only embarrassing yourself.”  She closed the trunk.

He had no idea what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind.  “You’re a Drow though…”

Harriet rolled her eyes.  “Yes, I’m a Drow, and being a female Drow, I may have, at one time in my life opened my legs and rode anything that turned me on, but after wandering what was at one time the United States, dodging Breed patrols, not to mention my own people, hunting me, sex kind of just falls by the wayside, y’know?  I gave in to those urges, after going… months without getting laid, and it would’ve cost me my life if Ryan hadn’t come in when he did.”

“So, did you…”

“No.  If you really want to know, it’s been a little more than a year since.”

Rylin was confused.  “But…”

“Look, the old me?  I would’ve raped you and Kylie in a heartbeat, then kill you.  The new me?  The one you’re talking to?  Not interested.  Especially with the reputation you three have!”  She handed him the bottles.

Rylin took them.  “Okay…”

She folded her arms.  “If there’s one thing the surface has taught me, it’s that you value things other than material goods.  Probably because there are so few to begin with left.  You value people, memories, ideas.  And it isn’t a want out of lust.  It’s a want out of emotion.”

“That sounds very un-Drow.”

“You don’t think I know that?”  She sighed.  “Bottom line, Kylie’s not getting any from me, and you’re not getting any from me.  And until I find someone, who respects me, for me, no one is getting any from me.  End of conversation!”

Rylin lowered his head.  “Sorry.  Just thought I’d ask.”

She stifled a laugh.  “I don’t blame you for asking.  Just tell me about the patrol.”

“Pretty quiet.  A few PDF officers, chasing the girl Jimmy told us about.  Alysdir took ‘em out and we left.  I bumped into two officers.”

Another door opened.  Alysdir walked in, pulling his day-vision goggles from his head.  “Hey,” he said, walking towards the chair Harriet had been in earlier.

“Back at ya,” Harriet said.  She turned back to Rylin.  “Drained ‘em, I bet.”

“Yeah.  What was I supposed to do?”

The door opened again.  Ryan Makepeace, and the girl entered.

“Did you learn anything important before you drained them?” she asked Rylin.

“Just codes for the gates,” he said.

“Okay, Rylin.  Remember to tell your buddies that though!  We need all the info we can get about Breed activates.”

“I…”

“I know.  Legionnaires stormed the mansion, and slaughtered the occupants.”  Harriet sighed.  “Go on.  I’ll talk to them later.”

Rylin nodded and walked towards the door he’d entered through.  He closed the door behind him and climbed down the ladder.  He reached his room and opened the door, seeing Kylie on his bunk.  He raised the bottles in his hands.  “Let’s eat,” he said.