The Intoxicating Scent of Man (Ze)

"Welp, we got somethin'" Spradlin announced.

Damn, straight we do. My body was going into an overload. I was feening. Thirsting for something that has become a rarity in the world we currently live in. Human blood. Human flesh. A fresh man to feed upon. I close my eyes to get a more detailed whiff. A more concentrated inhale. He was ripe. A virgin.

The more I began to smell him, the more I began to understand the high value/ high target he truly was. He truly was a clean slate. From his smell alone. I could tell he was extremely healthy. Good blood pressure. Amazing heart. No signs of cloning or genetic alterations. These are things that I could tell just from smelling him. There is no telling how good condition he was in person.

My mind began to race. His price for the market is WAY more than what we're getting paid for. Especially with the payout being split between us. There is no telling the amount of money that could be made from having him on the market. From cloning, to splicing, to concentrating his blood for drug use, to an endless number of possibilities that can be exploited off of him.

"Valck," I thought to myself.

I check up on everyone else.

"Everyone pick up on that?" I asked.

It was question I ask to mask the fact that I was examining everyone else. Something everyone who could smell obviously picked up on. Everest and Chickadee's faces have turned bright red. Everest more that Chickadee since from what I can guess Everest hasn't had actual human blood in a while like I had. Chickadee's fangs had been extended out and her ears more pointed than before. She almost looked ready to go feral. Everest just looked extremely horny and if that's what she looked like then that's what I looked like as well.

Vampires are creatures that usually like to feed on the opposite sex. It's because not only do we get more nutrients that usual if we feed on different sexes, but we also obtain a strong "high" from it. Our bodies lose themselves in a sea of ecstasy. A state where we almost seem to float before being quickly ground back to reality.

The clones took notice of all the vampires stopping in our tracks. They immediately pointed their guns at us. Everest, Spradlin, Chickadee, and I pointed back. My bow in hand. Arrow and draw string back.

"Amateurs," said one of the clones.

"Put the damn guns down," Spradlin said back in a low tone.

"Or what, Spradlin?" Another one blurted out.

"It seems like three of them are lost in the sauce brother," another one snickered.

"Seems the ladies can't keep it in their pants," another one laughed.

A vein formed on my noggin because A) I couldn't tell who was who. They all wore all black multi-platted battle armor that covered them from head to toe. Not a spec of skin visible to the naked eye. Probably for the best. B) They weren't wrong. Female vampires get a stronger high than male vampires when it comes to the opposite sex. Especially when it comes to virgin men.

I eye Everest and Chickadee. They seem to notice my glare as the clones began to laugh at us. We seemed incompetent. Lacking in skill when it comes to our job. Liabilities. In a sense, we might be. Well, they might. I'm not.

"I don't see what's so funny," said Everest.

A large tension was beginning to grow in between us. A tension that was beginning to overwhelm us. We didn't really know each other, we didn't trust each other, and we for sure didn't care for each other. That is at least when it comes to the clones. I knew this mission was wendixy* when the guy who hired us couldn't valcking stop shaking. Halfhearted information. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason he was being weird was because of how much danger was involved when it came to this mission. How much his ass...

"Evelyn," I thought, "Where were those red flare ups on the map again?"

We might be in a world of hurt if this is what I think it is. I close my left and watch as the map formed on my left lid. My heart dropped.

"Shit," I said aloud.

Everyone turned their attention to me. Several more red flare ups had popped up of on my display. Because we were bickering amongst each, we hadn't noticed. We had been surrounded.

"Evelyn," I thought, "trace back how long those flares have been there."

"Three minutes."

"Sheeshta," I thought.

Without moving, I darted my eyes slowly towards each individual member of my party. Then, I danced my eyes at the surrounding fauna around me. Everyone went dead still. Spellbound by the restrictions of the fear of death.

"Evelyn? Are you able to send out a layout of the surrounding enemy to all respecting parties?"

A short silence followed. A rustle could be heard far off in the foliage as a gust of wind breezed through.

"Done. Uploading now with a 360-radar scope. 36 known targets. I'm picking up interference on the radar so there are possible hidden trackers in the areas. Plan of action?"

I didn't have one at the moment. I looked as everyone else seemed to be also given the same radar information I had. Everyone stuck like statues. Yet, their eyes swayed from fro to fro. By now, our visitor must have picked up that we noticed their presence. A singular clicking sound could be heard coming from my 5'oclock. A releasing of safety on their gun.

Spradlin took notice as his visor shifted slightly towards my direction. Slowly, I watched as a bush moved irregularly behind him as he shifted his weight toward my direction. Everest took notice immediately. Someone had to make the first move and if I know anything about these rules of engagement; the opposite party had every right to engage us first. We were severely outnumbered and severely out gunned.

"Magic," I thought.

I could cast something, but what? We were surrounded with no immediate exit. Everyone in my party still had their arms pointed at each other. We needed to find a way to put the battle in front of us and not around us. In an instant, a schematic formed in my left eye. A playbook strategy from Everest. Intriguing.

I quickly took a look at the schematic. We didn't have much time. We had literal seconds before we got shot down. The eight of us were definitely surrounded. Stuck in a position that we put ourselves in. 35 irregulars in total. Possible unknowns. However, there were several daunting gaps in their formations. Behind me there were far less than there were in the front. The formation in front of me was heavy. Tight. Disgustingly armed. Sheesta.

A little more examining of the schematic and the wheels beginning to click. The oil begins to burn. I look at everyone else at my party. They look at me. Then I look at Spradlin. Without warning, Everest's voice sounds in my head.

"NOW!"

Instantly, I turn toward Spradlin and he turns towards me. I watch as the world goes in slow motion as he pulls the trigger.

Squeeze.

I let the arrow that was in my drawstring fly.

Muzzle flash. As I thought, plasma enhanced. A plasma enhanced round. Clocking in. Burning crimson. Half as bright as this systems star.

My arrow.

Silent. Nearly invisible.

I could see the wind sway and fro to the tip. Air bending as the power of my release was seen to be. The arrow flying. Sleek. I watch as it flew by his helm. I could imagine all he heard was a sharp whistle. His round nearly grazing my cheek. I could feel the intense heat on sensitive vampiric skin. Time speed up as the bullet flew by. My arrow met its target as a body flung like a ragdoll out of the foliage and slammed into a nearby tree. Mailing their head to the bark.

Action broke out. Bullets began to fly; however, we were already ahead. Two of the clones and Chickadee focused on the hostiles behind me. The other two, Everest, and Spadlin focused on the ones in front. The front let out a barrage of heat and lead as Spradlin and I poured fire in their direction. With quick action, I redrew my bow and released into the skull of another. Draw. Release. Repeat. Draw. Release. Repeat. Keep them off Everest.

In my peripheral, I could see Everest stick her hand out as bullets whizzed in her direction. A gust of cold air escaped her lips as the wind around her begin to swell.

"Backlash IV" she yelled.

A strong gust of cold wind pushed forward before us. The bullet caught wind and ricocheted back to sender. Several trees were shredded and completely destroyed as burning gaping holes pockmarked the side of the frontal hostiles. I release one more arrow before I turn my attention to the hostiles behind me.

The ones behind me hand been thinned significantly as the two of the clones dumped seemingly endless rounds into their vicinity. The idea was to get fire supremacy as over the enemy. I decided to flank from the right. Taking cover behind a tree. Peaking, I draw an arrow and release. I watched as the arrow plants itself into the shoulder of my target. He was knocked back into my parties' line of fire and eviscerated.

"That's it. draw them out," Evelyn whispered.

Me, Chickadee, and two of the clones managed to clear out the remainder of the hostiles behind us. Spradlin, Everest, and the rest clones quickly making their way to cover with me as the top assailants continued to fire. Everest was holding a barrier in front of Spradlin as they slowly made their way to me.

Spradlin and Everest made their way behind a large tree. The others weren't too far away. We established cover. Nobody was hurt.

"Valck," I muttered.

The plan had working. However, I felt like something else was coming. I felt like this was just the beginning.