The Divergence

───

The group continued down the sidewalk.

Valerie shoved both hands into the pockets of her dress and grumbled to herself.

"I still wanted to punch him."

Rosaline looked over.

"Just once?"

"Okay..."

Valerie smiled.

"Maybe twice."

Rosaline nodded approvingly.

"Now that's reasonable."

Lavinia laughed.

"He really was an idiot."

"He was beyond an idiot," Valerie replied.

"He thought we'd apologize for defending ourselves."

Rosaline shook her head.

"I think he just wanted us to cry on camera."

Celestine looked up toward the moon beginning to climb higher into the sky.

"It's not even eight yet."

She smiled softly.

"We have the entire night left."

Lavinia stretched both arms overhead.

The motion pulled pleasantly at her shoulders.

"Some people are just dumb."

Adelaide sighed beside her.

"...Really dumb."

The others chuckled.

Thankfully...

Most people weren't like the reporter.

They still received wary looks.

Some pedestrians crossed the street.

Others whispered as the vampires passed.

But nobody approached them.

Nobody shouted.

Nobody followed.

The city gradually settled into the quiet rhythm of another evening.

Nearly two hours slipped by.

Conversation drifted naturally between them.

Then...

A scent drifted through the cool breeze.

Lavinia's ears perked.

"...Someone."

Rosaline sniffed once.

"Taffy."

Celestine nodded.

"And honeysuckle."

Every vampire turned toward the same direction almost simultaneously.

A heartbeat later...

A figure rounded the corner.

Long pale blue hair flowed almost to her knees.

Her skin was flawlessly pale.

Crimson eyes widened the moment they settled upon the group.

Then—

Her entire face lit up.

"I found vampires!"

She hurried over.

Not cautiously.

Not nervously.

Simply...

Excited.

"I'm so happy to meet all of you!"

Lavinia couldn't help smiling.

"I'm Lavinia."

The introductions quickly followed.

"I'm Valerie."

"Gwendolyn."

"Rosaline."

"Adelaide."

"Celestine."

"Evelyn."

The newcomer placed one hand neatly against her chest.

"Cordelia."

The instant she finished speaking...

Gwendolyn squealed.

"So pretty!"

Before Cordelia could react, Gwendolyn wrapped both arms around her.

Cordelia blinked.

"...Oh."

Gwendolyn buried her face into the pale blue hair.

"Your hair's beautiful!"

Cordelia looked down at the cheerful vampire clinging to her.

"...Thank you."

She smiled warmly.

"I quite like yours as well."

Gwendolyn beamed.

Cordelia looked around at the seven vampires surrounding her.

Then dramatically placed one hand against her forehead.

"I spent days without finding another vampire."

She sighed deeply.

"I wandered from one town to another."

"I even started wondering if the world was making fun of me."

She looked back up.

"But..."

Her smile returned even brighter.

"It was worth it."

"I found seven all at once!"

Valerie laughed.

"You hit the jackpot."

The eight vampires resumed walking together.

Naturally...

Questions began.

"So where'd you come from?"

"A small town."

Cordelia answered with remarkably proper diction.

"I traveled every night."

"And during the day?"

"I found somewhere safe."

"Were you getting blood?"

Cordelia shook her head.

"No."

"I was rather more interested in finding fellow vampires."

Valerie raised an eyebrow.

"You survived all that?"

Cordelia looked genuinely puzzled.

"Of course."

She flexed her fingers proudly.

"I simply dug a hole."

Silence.

"...A hole?"

Cordelia nodded.

"In the ground."

"If the soil isn't too compact..."

"It only takes a few minutes."

She smiled.

"Very comfortable."

Lavinia blinked several times.

"...That's..."

Valerie laughed.

"...Actually kind of brilliant."

Rosaline nodded.

"I hate that it makes sense."

Cordelia looked pleased with herself.

Then something occurred to her.

"I've been meaning to ask."

She glanced around.

"Why has everyone been looking at me rather strangely?"

Adelaide answered.

"We were attacked."

Cordelia tilted her head.

"We killed the attackers."

Understanding immediately crossed Cordelia's face.

"...Ah."

She nodded once.

"Something rather similar happened to me."

Everyone looked toward her.

"My town was much smaller."

"I left almost immediately afterward."

She shrugged lightly.

"So I never experienced..."

She gestured vaguely toward the suspicious pedestrians.

"...This part."

Lavinia rolled her eyes.

"There's not much to experience."

The words had barely left her mouth.

Evelyn stopped walking.

She turned toward the road.

A car accelerated behind them.

Its engine suddenly roared.

The rear passenger window rolled down.

Evelyn's eyes widened.

"...There might be."

The car swept alongside them.

Several sharp cracks split the air.

Gunshots.

Lavinia reacted instinctively.

Her first movement wasn't toward herself.

It was toward the phone tucked safely inside her pocket.

She twisted her body to shield it.

Nearby...

The others did much the same.

None of them truly worried about ordinary bullets anymore.

Then—

Pain.

Real pain.

Lavinia stumbled backward.

"What..."

A burning sensation spread from her side.

Then another through her upper arm.

Unlike ordinary bullets...

The wounds didn't merely ache.

They burned.

The pain worsened with every heartbeat.

Lavinia looked down.

Smoke curled lazily from the hole through her dress.

Charred flesh surrounded the wound.

Her smile vanished.

"...Silver."

Around her...

The others had stopped as well.

Celestine clutched her neck tightly.

Thin wisps of smoke escaped between her fingers.

Gwendolyn held both hands against her stomach.

Rosaline had taken two rounds through her shoulder and upper chest.

Valerie stared down at another pair lodged near her collarbone.

The car had already disappeared down the street.

Only the fading engine remained.

Evelyn hurried to Celestine immediately.

"Move your hand."

Celestine obeyed.

The wound hissed faintly.

Without hesitation...

Evelyn pushed two fingers directly into the injury.

Celestine inhaled sharply.

A moment later...

Evelyn pulled a flattened silver bullet free.

She threw it onto the pavement.

It bounced once.

The flesh surrounding the wound had blackened.

"It'll keep burning until it's out."

Everyone immediately began checking themselves.

Rosaline dug into one shoulder.

Valerie grimaced while pulling a bullet from beneath her collarbone.

Gwendolyn carefully removed another from her stomach.

Lavinia reached toward the wound in her side.

Then stopped.

"...No."

She frowned.

"It shattered."

Without hesitation...

Her nails extended.

She sliced open her own side several inches farther.

Blood flowed freely.

She reached inside the wound.

Searching.

Metal scraped lightly against bone.

"There..."

One fragment.

Then another.

Then another.

She continued pulling tiny silver pieces free along with strips of charred flesh until the burning finally began easing.

"...I never want to dig something out of myself again."

She sighed deeply.

Cordelia rubbed the shallow groove across her arm where one round had merely grazed her.

"...Sure enough."

She smiled.

"So long as there are other vampires around..."

"I really am going to have lots of fun."

Valerie slowly turned toward the road.

The scent of burned silver still lingered in the air.

Her expression had become frighteningly calm.

"We have to kill them."

She spoke quietly.

"We absolutely have to."

Nobody laughed.

Rosaline moved between everyone, checking injuries one by one.

"You?"

"I'm fine."

"You?"

"Almost healed."

Evelyn quietly wiped blood from Gwendolyn's stomach before moving to Celestine.

Adelaide stood several feet away.

She and Evelyn had avoided being hit entirely.

At the first glimpse inside the vehicle...

They had already moved.

Still...

Her fists remained tightly clenched.

She stared at the silver bullets scattered across the pavement.

Blood stained the sidewalk.

Her friends' blood.

Her jaw tightened.

Lavinia rubbed carefully at the healing wound in her side.

"...I really..."

She winced.

"...Never want to have to dig metal out of myself again."

Gwendolyn looked around at everyone.

Then quietly suggested,

"...Should we call the police?"

Valerie looked at her.

"If we were human..."

She pointed around the group.

"Lavinia."

"Celestine."

"You."

"Myself."

"Rosaline."

She paused.

"We would've died."

Silence settled over the eight vampires.

The smell of blood.

Burned silver.

And faint smoke drifted quietly into the night air.

This wasn't another blood clinic.

There had been no warning.

No confrontation.

Someone had simply driven by...

And tried to kill them.

The eight vampires stood quietly beneath the streetlights.

The scent of burnt silver still lingered around them.

Lavinia rubbed absently at the hole in her dress where the bullet had passed through.

The skin beneath had already healed, smooth and flawless once more.

"...How did they even know silver worked?"

Her question broke the silence.

Valerie folded her arms.

"They probably saw it online."

Lavinia looked over.

Valerie shrugged.

"Not every vampire would think to hide it."

"If someone's friends with a vampire..."

"They might've seen silver hurt them."

Rosaline nodded.

"They post it."

"Cameras."

"Forums."

"Livestreams."

Celestine sighed.

"Once one person knows..."

"...Eventually everyone does."

"It was only a matter of time."

Lavinia frowned.

"...That was fast."

"So was the Divergence," Adelaide replied quietly.

"The whole world's changing faster than people can keep up."

Rosaline suddenly lifted her head.

Her nose twitched once.

Then again.

"They're close."

Everyone looked at her.

"I can still smell the car."

Valerie's crimson eyes narrowed.

Without another word...

She vanished.

A gust of wind followed where she'd been standing.

"...Valerie!"

Lavinia sighed.

"There she goes."

The others immediately ran after her.

Eight figures blurred through the city.

Streetlights streaked past.

Buildings became indistinct shapes.

Barely five minutes later...

They slowed.

Valerie stood motionless outside a modest two-story house.

Her fists were clenched tightly.

"I found them."

She didn't look away from the building.

"There are three people inside."

Lavinia listened.

Three heartbeats.

Rapid.

Uneven.

"...She's right."

The house was completely surrounded now.

Nobody inside could leave without one of the vampires noticing.

Silence settled over them.

Lavinia looked around at the others.

Her expression quietly asked the question.

What now?

Evelyn spoke first.

"...We can call the police."

Valerie rounded on her.

"What good will that do?"

Her voice carried a frustrated growl.

"They just tried to kill us."

"They used silver."

"They'll just lie."

"We're standing right here."

"We can end this now."

Gwendolyn shook her head.

"...Let's vote."

Valerie sighed dramatically.

"...Seriously?"

Gwendolyn nodded.

"We always decide together."

Cordelia politely raised one hand.

"I'll sit this one out."

Everyone looked toward her.

"You don't have to."

Cordelia smiled.

"I've only just met all of you."

"I'd rather let the people involved decide."

"I don't mind either way."

The others exchanged brief glances.

The vote took only seconds.

"Lavinia?"

"...Police."

"Gwendolyn?"

"Police."

"Adelaide?"

"Police."

"Evelyn?"

"Police."

"Celestine?"

"Police."

Rosaline thought for a moment.

"...Police."

Valerie pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...Fine."

She stomped once hard enough to crack the sidewalk beneath her boot.

"We'll call them."

She let out a long breath.

"We'll follow the law."

Adelaide already had her phone out.

The dispatcher answered after only a few rings.

She calmly explained what had happened.

The shooting.

The silver ammunition.

The address.

She ended the call less than a minute later.

"They're sending officers."

Valerie looked toward Lavinia.

"...And what if those officers get hurt?"

Lavinia blinked.

"We're obeying the law."

She answered naturally.

"It'd be sad if police officers died."

"They're just doing their jobs."

"But..."

She looked toward the house.

"...Humans generally want other humans to deal with crimes."

"So..."

"We should let them."

Valerie clicked her tongue.

"...You're too reasonable."

Lavinia smiled.

"I know."

The vampires spread themselves naturally around the property.

No one spoke very much.

With eight vampires surrounding the house...

Escape simply wasn't possible.

Several minutes passed.

Then—

Blue and red lights reflected across nearby houses.

Two patrol cars pulled to a stop.

Four officers climbed out.

The moment they noticed eight vampires already waiting...

Their expressions stiffened.

Lavinia honestly couldn't tell what worried them more.

The armed suspects inside...

Or the eight flawless women standing calmly outside.

One officer cautiously approached.

"...You called?"

Adelaide nodded.

"They're inside."

"They shot at us with silver bullets."

The officers exchanged uncertain looks.

One nodded.

"We'll handle it."

Valerie muttered under her breath.

"...Hopefully."

The officers drew their weapons.

Two approached the front door.

The remaining pair covered nearby windows.

One officer banged loudly.

"Oakridge Police Department!"

"Open the door!"

Silence.

Lavinia listened.

The three heartbeats inside exploded into frantic rhythms.

"...Move."

She whispered.

Too late.

Gunfire erupted.

The front door splintered inward.

Two officers collapsed almost immediately.

One never even cried out.

The other screamed once before falling onto the porch.

The remaining officers dove for cover.

"Officer down!"

"Officer down!"

"We need immediate backup!"

"Shots fired!"

The frantic radio transmission echoed across the quiet street.

Valerie blinked.

Then slowly looked toward the others.

"...This would've gone smoother if we'd just done it ourselves."

Gwendolyn immediately shook her head.

"We still had to follow the law."

Before anyone else moved...

Lavinia disappeared.

So did Evelyn.

One heartbeat later...

Lavinia knelt beside the first officer.

She placed two fingers lightly against his neck.

Nothing.

She quietly lowered her head.

"...He's gone."

Without another word...

She gently lifted the officer into her arms.

Almost effortlessly.

Carrying him as carefully as possible...

She walked back toward the patrol cars.

Meanwhile...

Evelyn crouched beside the wounded officer.

"He'll probably survive..."

She carefully lifted him as though he weighed nothing.

The remaining officers stared.

One hurried over.

Evelyn laid him gently onto the pavement beside the cruiser.

The officer immediately knelt.

Checking breathing.

Pulse.

Pupils.

Rosaline tilted her head.

"...Were we clear enough?"

She looked toward Valerie.

"We told them there were weapons."

Valerie shrugged.

"They probably didn't believe us."

"They've been dealing with frightened people all week."

"They probably expected another misunderstanding."

One of the surviving officers stood abruptly.

He looked toward the vampires.

His face was pale.

"...Why didn't you warn us?"

Lavinia blinked.

"...We did."

The officer frowned.

Lavinia tilted her head.

"We told dispatch we'd been shot."

"Repeatedly."

"With guns."

She looked genuinely confused.

"...How much clearer were we supposed to be?"

The officer opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

He couldn't answer.

Another officer remained kneeling beside his wounded partner.

His hands shook slightly as he worked.

Adelaide leaned casually against one of the patrol cars.

"...Looks like we'll be waiting."

The distant sound of approaching sirens gradually filled the night.

One.

Then several more.

Growing steadily louder.

Inside the house...

Three terrified heartbeats continued racing.

Outside...

Eight vampires waited quietly.

None of them smiled anymore.