CHAPTER 113: Hell in Berlin - Part 6

CHAPTER 113: Hell in Berlin - Part 6

Deep within the subway tunnels, the stench of fresh blood permeated every corner. A thick silence dominated everything, broken only by the dripping of water from rusty pipes. Sitting atop a carelessly piled heap of corpses was Alex, drumming his fingers against his knee. His eyes moved lazily, with no real interest in the landscape of death surrounding him.

Around him, the lab-grown vampires remained expectant, motionless like grotesque statues, waiting for some signal to free them from their lethargy. The scene seemed suspended in a strange equilibrium: predators and corpses sharing the same stale air.

Alex sighed with exaggeration, tilting his head back.
"How boring..." he murmured in a drawn-out, almost childish voice. "They have me sitting here like a tied-up dog, when all I want is to have a little fun."

He let an arm drop to his side, as if it had no weight, and absently kicked one of the bodies at his feet. A crooked smile appeared on his lips.

"Darem said to stay put until he gave the order." His tone became mocking, imitating a deeper voice with scorn. "'Wait, Alex. Be patient, Alex.'" He laughed softly, with a sadistic undertone. "Always the same... And in the meantime, what? Watch these poor devils rot?"

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his smile widening as he whispered almost to himself:
"What I want is to fight... to play... to see how much noise a city can make before it completely falls apart. Sow a little chaos, that's all."

The echo of his laughter resonated through the tunnels, disturbing and light, like a child's song in an empty cemetery.

Alex stopped drumming. The smile on his face tightened, changed angle as if a spark had ignited that no one else had seen coming. He stood up calmly, like someone deciding to leave a dinner table that no longer amused him.

"You know what?" he murmured toward the row of corpses as if speaking to old acquaintances. "I'm bored of waiting for orders."

The vampires surrounding him raised their heads, like dogs attentive to a new signal. Alex raised an arm, slow and ceremonious. His voice, low but charged with an uncharacteristic authority, cut through the silence.

"Get up. Follow me."

It wasn't a question. It was an order. The red eyes of the creatures glowed, and one by one they began to move with the lethal fluidity of those who know violence as their mother tongue. They fell in behind Alex, forming a column of shadows that scraped the floor with silent steps.

Alex paused for a moment, looking into the tunnel's darkness as if awaiting an ovation that never came, then strode purposefully toward the platform entrance. The stench of blood and metal was left behind for a moment; ahead, the city waited, unaware and festive, ready to be torn apart.

As the column slid through the corridors, Alex murmured to himself, with that mix of scorn and delight:

"Let's have some fun. And if Darem doesn't like it... tough luck."

And with that, the horde followed him, emerging from the gloom toward where the night still pulsed with lights and music, ready to turn boredom into uproar.

The Berlin night was stained by smoke and the orange flashes of distant fires. The streets were chaos, but Enid, Lucian, and Vanessa managed to advance to a more residential area, where the silence was unsettling but offered the promise of a respite. Before them stood a two-story house, still intact, with windows closed and the front gate ajar.

Lucian pushed the door open carefully, his weapon ready.
"It's empty... at least for now." He took a quick look inside. "Good spot. Solid walls, reinforced windows... this could work for us."

Enid entered behind him, holding her coat stained with soot. Her gaze swept the living room, dimly lit by the moonlight filtering through the curtains.
"After what we've seen out there, this feels like a palace." She sighed and sank into one of the armchairs. "We needed a breather."

Vanessa locked the door and pushed a piece of furniture to block it.
"I don't care if it's a palace or a cave, as long as it keeps us alive." She leaned her rifle against the wall and sat on the floor, resting her back against the wood. "It's been hours since I felt we were safe... but now... now it seems like it."

Lucian settled by the window, watching the dark street.
"The important thing is we can regroup here." He turned to the two women. "At least for tonight, we'll be safe."

Enid nodded, with a slight, tired smile.
"Safe..." she repeated, as if savoring a word that had long lost its meaning for them. "Yes, even if it's just for a few hours."

Silence filled the house, broken only by the crackle of a distant fire. For the first time on that hellish night, the three of them could feel something resembling relief.