BXBX NOVEL Chapter 140: Coin and Gauntlet
She sniffed and turned to the stairwell. As she climbed the stairs, she froze midway. Something was not right. The air felt unnaturally still, and a chill ran down her spine.
Straining her senses, she realized she couldn\'t hear a single heartbeat in the building. Silence, where there should have been life.
Anger flickered in her mind, but she shoved it aside, focusing on the sudden sound of footsteps echoing in the stairwell. They were coming from both above and below her.
Vampires.
Her kind, approaching with a predatory stealth that made her blood run cold. This could only mean one thing. All Black Spider gang members in the building had been massacred.
The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. The gang was her personal project. Something she had grown a bit attached to. Her usual smile was no where to be found on her face. Someone would be dying for this.
As Gen prepared to move, a strange wave passed through the building. The phone in a hidden pocket on her sparked and fizzled out. She pulled it out, seeing that whatever the wave was, it had destroyed the phone, severing her communications with Ezra and Olivia.
A grim feeling settled upon her. She\'d expected it, but this was confirmation. This was an ambush.
She crouched into a battle stance just as two vampires walked into view. Both were female, each exuding a menacing aura.
At the top landing stood a vampire with a wild, almost manic expression. She was tossing coins into the air, catching them with unnatural dexterity. Blood dripped down her cheeks like macabre tears, adding to her eerie appearance.
Her dark hair was styled in chaotic curls, framing a face marked by sharp, angular features. She wore a garish pantsuit that clashed violently with the surroundings. A bright red jacket with exaggerated shoulder pads and matching trousers, adorned with gold buttons and trim.
Her eyes glowed with a dangerous mix of amusement and bloodlust, never leaving Gen as she continued her coin-tossing ritual.
At the bottom landing, the other vampire\'s face was severe, reminiscent of a strict school teacher from a nightmare.
Her hair was pulled back into a tight, no-nonsense bun, highlighting her stern, almost skeletal features. Her lips were thin and pressed into a permanent scowl, and her eyes were cold, calculating, and merciless.
She wore a dark, tailored suit that fit her thin frame like a second skin, the epitome of discipline and control. Her posture was rigid, exuding an air of authority and unyielding strength.
Gen\'s mind raced as she assessed her opponents. Her mind fell into a practiced battle state.
The coin-tosser\'s unpredictable nature and the severe one\'s disciplined demeanor suggested a deadly combination of chaos and control. She had to act fast, leveraging her agility and wits to survive this encounter. With a deep breath, she charged.
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She raced towards the coin vampire, teeth bared and eyes focused. The vampire laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the stairwell, and tossed one of the coins at her.
Gen watched in horror as the coins fell towards her in slow motion. Unable to control her momentum, she braced herself for impact. The coin flashed and exploded. The force of the explosion slammed her down, fragments of metal digging painfully into her body.
Before she could recover, the school teacher was on her in an instant, moving with terrifying speed. Reacting on instinct, Gen shot a sticky line of webbing from her stomach to the bottom of the stair above, yanking herself out of harm\'s way.
She landed upside down, summoning her giant battle axe in one fluid motion. With a fierce cry, she swung it down at the school teacher.
The teacher materialized a gauntlet around her arm just in time, stopping the axe cold. The weapon\'s momentum vanished, sapped by the vampire\'s power. The gauntlet glowed with a sinister light as the coin vampire laughed in delight.
"Release it!" The coin vampire urged as she laughed.
The teacher\'s eyes locked onto Gen\'s, a malicious smile curling her lips. She pointed the gauntlet at Gen and released the stored kinetic energy.
A powerful force blasted out, hitting Gen squarely in the chest. She was thrown back, slamming into the wall above with a bone-jarring impact.
Pain radiated through her body, but she forced herself to move, to think. She shot a web to one wall, zooming to it with a graceful arc. She dismissed her axe, knowing it would slow her down in these close quarters.
The coin vampire reacted quickly, pelting her with coins that flashed ominously as they sailed through the air. Gen twisted and dodged around the tight stairwell, using her webbing to evade the explosions that followed each coin\'s detonation.
With a sudden drop, she fell between the two vampires, catching them off guard. Her leg swept out, knocking the teacher off balance.
Without missing a beat, she planted a powerful punch into the coin vampire\'s gut, causing her to stumble.
Seizing the opportunity, Gen unleashed a flurry of punches, each one landing with precision and force. Mid-swing, she summoned her axe and, with a mighty blow, bisected the coin vampire.
Before she could finish the job and strike at the heart, a blast of kinetic energy hit her from behind. The force sent her tumbling, but she quickly regained her footing and leapt away, racing deeper into the apartment building.
She knew she had to find a location that would increase her chances of victory if she wanted to win this fight.
The narrow stairwell had been a disadvantage, limiting her movements and making it easier for the vampires to corner her.
She darted through a doorway into a spacious, dimly lit hallway. Her eyes scanned for a strategic spot. Rooms branched off from both sides of the corridor, offering potential cover and choke points.
She chose a large room at the end, its layout more favorable for her agile combat style. She turned and grinned, waiting for the vampires to catch up.
Now, it was her turn.