Dan lands his knife into something soft. He looks up expecting to see Wendy, but instead peers into Vix’s cold black eyes. Shocked to see someone else there, he loosens his grip.
A silent rage overtook Vix. In a series of fluid motions, she grasps Dan’s wrist with one hand, moves his away from the handle of the knife, and with the other hand, she removes the knife in her chest, reverses it, and stabs Dan in the neck.
Dan never had a chance to recover from his shock. Stumbling backwards, he gurgles and collapses on the floor.
Lisa turned around to see Vix also falling backwards, her hand covering the deep incision made by Dan.
Wendy watched in dismay as Vix dropped on a still intact bench. She rushes over to her. “Vix!” she yelled.
Looking down, Vix sees her hand covered in blood. Her breathing quickened as it became harder to catch her breath. She looks back up to see Wendy in front of her furiously trying to dress the wound.
Vix needed to do one thing to ensure their safety. She moved her free hand to the radio on her belt and brought it up close to her mouth. Taking as deep of a breath as she can, she clicks the radio on. “Rangers… break off… return to base… that’s an order.” Releasing the button, she drops the radio feeling her strength leaving her.
Wendy took a brief moment to look at Vix in awe. “What?” she asks quietly.
“I’m sorry… please forgive m…” Vix drew in a sharp breath. She didn’t have enough air to speak anymore.
Wendy looked down on Vix’s chest to see a small silver cross necklace. Something inside Wendy’s mind snapped into focus. She realized who Vix was.
In a blink of an eye, Wendy recalled all about her. Vix was guest speaker that occasionally visited during her training in ROTC, but Vix wasn’t her name, it was Kristen. Kristen would often speak of her own time in ROTC, and how she worked to accomplishing her goals. She was rewarded numerous ribbons and medals, several of which were the highest and the most difficult achievements in the academy, and Wendy wanted to do the same. Kristen was someone she admired. A quirk Wendy remembered about Kristen was that she didn’t join the military out of training, but instead became a police officer. In an inspiring speech, Kristen explained how she wanted to pursue her hopes of dealing justice and protecting the righteous. Wendy never knew what became of Kristen after graduating, and had forgotten about her over time. There was one thing she did remember, and that was the necklace Kristen wore.
Wendy redoubled her effort, trying to keep Vix awake. She was fading fast, her dark eyes softened. Her breathing was dangerously shallow. “No… stay with me, Kristen,” Wendy whispered. For a moment, Vix’s eyes focused on Wendy, and smiled.
Just as quickly, Vix’s expression relaxed. Unable to sit up on her own power, Vix descended, lying on her side. Immediately Wendy checked for a pulse. There was none. She positioned Vix on her back and started CPR.
Lisa hadn’t noticed Dan charging in. She was too distracted by Vix. Had Vix not charged as well, Lisa would have easily detected Dan’s attempt. She truly believed Vix was going to try to kill them. She thought she knew Vix’s motives, but now, she may never will.
Debra checked on Dan. He was dead, but that wasn’t the reason why she went over to his body. She removed a cell phone from Dan’s pocket, and dialed.
The rest of the pack gathered around Wendy, looking at her with concern.
It wasn’t like Wendy to cry, but tears trickled down. It wasn’t working. Vix was gone. Wendy shook her head. Then an idea popped into her mind. Grabbing on to a sharp splinter, Wendy cuts her hand. The pain was unsettling, but she places her bleeding palm against Vix’s wound.
Several coven members gasped at Wendy’s actions. Lisa understood, but knew better. Although lycanthropy increased regeneration, you couldn’t transmit it to a person whose heart isn’t beating. “Wendy…” Lisa softly spoke.
Wendy kept her hand against Vix’s, hoping to feel her chest rise once more.