A Shade of Vampire 30: A Game of Risk Read Online Free PDF Page B

wide glass window.
    Now, if all was going to plan, they would be creeping, unbeknownst to the hunters relaxing in that room, toward the pile of weaponry. Then, once they sensed the moment was right, they would solidify themselves, snatch up a weapon each and…
    An explosion of bullets erupted below, followed by yells. The large window shattered.
    I held my breath, imagining the bloody massacre that was taking place as the machine guns blazed.
    The hunters would’ve been caught unawares, Lucas, Kailyn and my son moving quickly. I still hated the thought of catching a man off his guard, unarmed. It made me feel queasy. But too much hung in the balance now for us to be timid with these people.
    We waited less than a minute before deeming it time for the rest of us to descend. We couldn’t wait too long because hunters from the rest of the ship would hear the commotion and come running to see what had happened—armed with weapons, no doubt.
    “Let’s go,” I breathed into Killian’s ear. He took a dive, and the rest of the Hawks followed.
    Once level with the now jagged window pane, we gazed inside to see exactly what I’d been expecting to see. A bloodbath. Not a single hunter left standing.
    We rushed in at once and headed for the table piled with guns.
    I snatched one up and made sure it was loaded before glancing at the door, prepared for reinforcements to come bursting inside. The Hawks eyed the machine guns nervously, and I reminded myself that they had likely never picked up a gun before in their lives. Some of them probably had never even seen one before, let alone known how to fire one.
    I commanded them to each pick up a weapon before proceeding to give them a demonstration. I drove bullets into the wall of the vessel before each of them took a turn.
    Some were faster learners than others. But as footsteps thundered outside, we didn’t have time for more practice.
    The door burst open. Before even a single hunter could step inside, Lucas, Kailyn and Ben closed in. They fired, catching the hunters with a firestorm of bullets. The hunters fell to the ground, clearing the way for us to emerge in the hallway.
    It made me nervous that none of us had armor. Even Kailyn, Lucas and Ben were at risk, since while holding guns, they were forced to remain in their physical forms.
    We stepped over the bodies and headed toward the back of the ship. Our aim was to rid the vessel of every one of the hunters in order to hijack it. And we had to do it as soon as possible. Somebody might have already emergency-dialed the IBSI’s Bermuda base for help. We couldn’t have the mutants arriving—none of us would be a match for them if they arrived in hordes. And I was sure that if reinforcements did come, their mission would simply be to destroy the ship along with the trees it carried. Even if there were still some of their own men on board. The IBSI would rather be without these trees than see us take charge of them.
    More hunters emerged from cabin doors on either side of us, only to be shot within an instant.
    “We should split up,” Ben breathed. “Kailyn and I will lead half of the Hawks down to the lower levels to clear them out. And I suggest you and Lucas lead the rest to take over the control room.”
    “Agreed,” I murmured.
    Thus we split up. It didn’t take Lucas’ and my group long to find the control cabin, though a door shut us out of it. Aiming our guns, Lucas and I fired at the door at once. We shattered the lock mechanism and I was able to force it open with a powerful kick.
    Nobody was inside. Two abandoned chairs sat behind the navigation panels. A window in the far left of the room was open.
    “Looks like they’ve escaped,” Lucas muttered. He moved to the window and looked down toward the ocean. “Or they could have—”
    His speech was cut short by a hail of bullets from above him. He managed to pull his head back inside before a bullet could hit him. The next thing I knew, a group of six hunters