Selena
It was a relief to return to the hotel room, and even more so to hear the sound of the shower running.
“Varick?” I called, just to confirm it was him after the maid incident.
When he didn't answer, I gently pushed the door open, spying his broad back tensed, his head hung low.
“Varick?” I tried again, knowing he could hear me, even over the running water.
When he didn't move, I tip-toed into the room, holding onto the edge of the walk-in shower unit.
“What's wrong?” I reached for him and as my fingers traced his back, he turned, dragging me into the stream of water and crushing me against him.
“I did something,” he said in my ear and I could hear the fury in his voice. “I hurt someone...it was an accident, but-”
“What do you mean?” I gazed up at him through the heated stream of water cascading over his shoulders.
As he told me what had happened, fear took root in my chest. At the depravity of the people who would take part in such a thing, and of what Varick had had to go through. “It wasn't your fault. She was scared-”
“And I should have protected her,” he hissed.
I cupped his cheek, lined with a fresh day of stubble and tilted his jaw down so I could kiss him. “You tried to.”
He shook his head and I continued, “Varick, how could you have explained walking out of there without killing her? Or even if you had, someone else would have come along and done the job for you. There wasn't a way to save her.”
He gave me a dark stare. “You're right,” he agreed at last. “Like all the girls in this place.”
A razor cut into my heart as I realised I was being a hypocrite. Letting the girls from the previous games die here was the same as him killing that Vampire. We were immobilised until the final day, when we'd have an opportunity to fight back.
I nodded, bringing his wet fingers to my mouth and kissing them. “We should prepare for when we can do something. Let's go and check out the shooting range.”
I moved to leave, but he didn't let me go and the hunger in his eyes was all I needed to give in to his advances, letting him press me back against the glass wall. My dress was soon in a sodden heap at our feet and I let the moment suck me in entirely until there was nothing but me and Varick in a world of our own. We were trying to forget what had already passed, and avoid what was yet to come. But the second we parted, I knew it would find us again.
◐ ☼ ◐
Al's Shooting Barn towered above me toward the night sky. The moon wasn't visible, but a glimmer beyond the mountains hinted at its hiding place. Varick placed his hand on my spine, guiding me through the door which was lined with metal detectors. No guns could leave this place without setting off that alarm. But we'd cross that bridge when we came to it. Weapons were essential if we were going to take on the Hunters.
Country music greeted us; the interior was decorated like an old-fashioned saloon. A wooden bar curved through the heart of the space where a couple of men were drinking beer – one even wore a cowboy hat. On the walls were animal heads and displays of old hunting guns and traps.
A set of swing doors led beneath a sign for the gun range so we headed that way. A corridor led us through another metal detector and we emerged in a large weaponry. It looked onto a gun range through a long, glass window. No one was currently shooting, but the red stains on the floor of the range made my fists clench.
A man in a cowboy hat and a red checkered shirt greeted us, placing down a rifle he'd been mid-cleaning.
“Afternoon.” He tipped his hat to me and I forced a smile. The place was a goldmine in terms of weapons. Everything from a handgun to a rocket-launcher was mounted on the walls; there was even an entire section devoted to ammunition.
“I'm Al, do ya'll wanna shoot today?” He moved around the counter, smiling through his white-flecked beard.
I looked to Varick, figuring we couldn't exactly back out now that we'd turned up here. But I didn't want to be forced into killing more Vs.
“I've never shot a gun before,” I played my innocent, naive girl act. “Could I try shooting a still target?”
“O' course. I'll show you the basics, young miss. And how about you, sir? Man like you seems like he'd know his way around a gun or two.”
Varick folded his arms. “I'll start with still targets, too.”
“Alrighty then. So what would the little lady like to shoot today?” Al gestured to the vast array of guns on the walls.
Figuring I might as well get some practice in, I pointed to a handgun and Varick picked out a rifle. Al led us through the range which stretched out before us. A barrier of silver divided us from the range, but holes in it allowed us to aim our guns. Al showed me how to load the handgun whilst Varick swiftly readied his weapon and aimed it through the hole next to mine.
I gazed down the sight of my gun whilst Al explained how to aim, locking my thumbs over each other to steady it. My eye was drawn to the metal doors at the back of the enormous range and my heart rate spiked.
“Just paper targets, right?” I confirmed, glancing at Al as he placed a set of noise-cancelling headphones over my ears.
He laughed, looking to Varick to share the joke, but he didn't return a smile.
“Alright,” Al conceded, his voice muffled as he pulled on his own set of headphones. “But we don't use paper targets.” He headed to a panel behind me and tapped something in on a screen. Before me, a hologram flashed into existence. An effigy of a Vampire snarled at me around ten paces away, unmoving. I sighed my relief, taking aim. Varick put on his own headphones, though I doubted he needed them.
“You wanna try something harder?” Al called to Varick who gave him a thumbs up.
I focused on my stationary target, breathed slowly out through my nose and pulled the trigger. The hologram jerked backwards as a life-like wound appeared on its shoulder.
“Keep both eyes open,” Varick advised me as I tried again.
This time, the shot hit the V's chest and the hologram died.
“Your turn.” I raised a brow at Varick as Al programmed the range for him. Three Vampire holograms appeared side by side at the back of the room, then started running in unison toward Varick.
Varick jammed the butt of the rifle into his shoulder, aimed down the sight and in quick succession, pulled the trigger three times. Head shot. Head shot. Head shot.
I gazed at him, his expression smug as he placed the rifle down. “Your turn,” he echoed me.
We spent the next hour practicing on the holograms until I could take down some of the moving targets. I was more confident by the time we were thinking about leaving. But before we'd set down our guns, a woman walked in carrying a machine gun.
When Al tried to help her set up, she barked at him to leave her alone and in just a few seconds, she'd assembled her beast of a gun.
She muttered something to Al as he programmed her range and Varick took my arm, guiding me toward the exit at speed.
“Ready?” Al asked as we stepped out of the room. I shouldn't have glanced back, but I did, the metallic sound of doors opening drawing my ear.
Vs spilled into the room, hungry and desperate, barely clothed. With a rat-tat-tat of the machine gun, they were all cut down one by one.
Fury consumed me, but Varick didn't let me slow, taking the gun from my hand and placing it down with his rifle on the counter. We headed from the building in silence, the drilling sound of the machine gun carrying all the way back into the saloon.
“At least we know a way in,” Varick said in a growl as we walked back to the hotel.
“What?” I breathed, unable to get my thoughts aligned.
“There are chambers under this resort where they keep the Vs. If we find a way into them, we can get into the shooting range.”
I looked up at him in surprise. “That's brilliant.”
He shrugged, but a satisfied grin pulled at his lips.
“But what if it's guarded?” I questioned as we headed into the hotel and heated air washed over me.
“We'll work out the kinks later. Let's focus on finding a way in first.” Varick smiled casually as we passed through the security gates, making our way to the elevator. People were already heading toward the ballroom where tonight's dinner and show would be held. The last place I wanted to go. But with Rockley ensuring we were 'enjoying' our stay, I didn't think we'd have much choice.