"OH," SOPHIE SAID distantly. Her mind didn't seem able to process his words. "Oh, that's nice."

Then he lunged at her.

Sophie screamed. Her body moved on its own accord as her instinct took over. She dove to the side and rolled until her feet were pressed against the ground again. As the vampire hunter whirled around after her, she jumped, and narrowly escaped a clawed punch.

When she landed, she bolted like a rabbit caught by a hawk.

The stone hallways seemed to rush past her in blurs, but she found that if she really focused, it became crystal clear. A million thoughts swirled around inside her mind like a chaotic tornado; she could hardly concentrate. Her senses blared throughout the mess, intensified by her adrenaline.

She could feel that the hunter was right behind her. She could hear the sound of his footsteps over the thunderous roar of her own. Something else pounded in the air around her. It sounded like her heart, throbbing behind her ears, but it wasn't. It wasn't anywhere near her own.

Her shock slowed her. She could hear the vampire hunter's heart.

She inhaled, and the scent of grass and purified water blasted her nostrils. There was something else too. It was musty, and had the faint hint of bleach.

A clawed hand raked across her shoulder. Sophie cried out. Her legs seemed to give up as the pain splintered through her. She tripped over herself and crumpled to the ground. Her uninjured shoulder slammed against the grass covered earth. She skidded to a stop several feet from the edge of a fountain.

She groaned and struggled to stand. She dimly realized that she'd managed to find that courtyard again, where she had found Alex's body. Alarms screamed inside her head.

The hunter loomed over her. His bulky body blocked the moonlight that streamed in from overhead. A strangled hiss burst past her lips as Sophie scrambled back. Her back slammed against the edge of the fountain. She had to fight. She knew she had to fight. But he was twice her size, and she wasn't a vampire. No matter what Eli said, she couldn't possibly be.

She lashed out and punched at his arm as he reached out. His fingers curled tight around her throat, and then he lifted her into the air. She choked. Air refused to fill her lungs, and she couldn't breathe. The pressure around her throat hurt, and a familiar ache started to burn in her gums. She gasped desperately and yanked at his fingers, trying with all her might to land a solid kick to his chest.

He smiled up at her. His eyes were clouded with darkness and hatred. "Time to die, little vampire."

Somehow, Sophie managed to pull one of his fingers upward, toward her mouth. She chomped down hard.

The vampire hunter screamed.

He dropped Sophie like she was a flat-iron. Water splashed around her, and she found herself submerged within the fountain. The water filled her mouth, her lungs, and it burned. She jolted upward and coughed. Her chest pounded as she struggled to inhale enough air.

A terrifying growl ripped through the air. Se scrambled onto her feet and just barely dodged another lunge. She leaped over the edge of the fountain as he splashed against the central fountain statue. The concrete angel cracked, and a gray arm shattered against the ground.

Sophie gasped for air. Her entire respiratory system seemed to burn something fierce.

"Help," she tried to scream, though it came out hardly anything more than a hoarse whisper.

Razor sharp claws scraped across her back.

She pushed herself faster, and tried to ignore the blistering pain in her back. The courtyard was a dead end, which meant she had to double back the way she came. Another strange sound escaped her as the pain spread deeper.

Then something snagged against her hair. Sophie gasped in agony as she was wrenched backward, and then thrown across the courtyard like a doll. Her body slammed against something hard. Water flooded her senses again.

A hand grasped the collar of her shirt. She was hoisted into the air again. The hunter scowled at her. "You're quite the fighter," he growled.

"Sophie!"

A shadow rammed into the vampire hunter. A strangled snarl tore through the air, and Sophie splashed into the fountain again. She forced herself upward, to get her face out of the water. She just couldn't seem to escape the water.

Strange noises filled her ears; a symphony of snarls and growls and hisses.

She coughed out a mouthful of water and cleared her throat. Her entire body screamed with pain as she tried to move. Her bleary gaze flickered over her surroundings.

Then she saw them.

The vampire hunter was crouched low, prepared to attack. His skin was almost completely covered with a thick layer of coarse fur. His eyes were wild, and filled with hate. Sophie noticed that his hand was swollen and colored a raw purple-red --right where she had bitten him.

He bared his pointed teeth and growled.

Eli growled right back.

He stood with his back to Sophie, his entire body tense. She tried to crawl out of the fountain. She had to help him.

The hunter surged forward. It was so weird to watch him attack somebody else; her heart still pounded in fear and anticipation. Eli moved with the grace of a panther. He stepped aside and whirled around. He lashed out with a fist, his knuckles slamming against the hunter's spine.

Sophie grimaced. The movement was so fast, so direct that she would have missed it had she blinked.

The hunter grunted, and dropped to the ground.

Eli glared down at him. His mismatched eyes finally matched, and were colored a bright, crimson red. The crimson glowed against the darkness, bright and filled with anger.

"Eli," Sophie rasped. She used what was left of the fountain edge for support.

"Don't move," Eli ordered. He didn't look up. "It hinders the healing process."

The hunter made a strange gasping noise. He lifted his head and looked up at Eli, his lips curled back. "What luck," he rasped. "A full vampire."

Eli snarled. He moved faster than Sophie could comprehend, grabbing the hunter by the throat. His nails pierced the hunter's skin. Pearls of dark blood streamed down the hunter's neck, and Eli's exposed forearm.

The hunter simply smiled.

"Watch out!" Sophie screamed.

The hunter snatched a dagger from his tattered jeans. Before Eli could react, the dagger was plunged deep inside his chest. Sophie watched in horror as the dagger was wrenched out, covered in a thick dark liquid. The vampire hunter was dropped as Eli crumpled to the ground.

He landed on his feet and slashed out again with the dagger. Eli screamed. The sound he made sounded like nothing Sophie had ever heard before.

As she pushed herself upward, a sharp pain splintered up her thigh. Her leg buckled beneath her, bent at an awkward angle. She ignored it.

The hunter was too preoccupied with Eli to see her coming. She rammed against him and lashed out. Her hand plunged through something thick and sinewy. Warmth splattered across her cheeks, her throat. Her clawed fingers tangled with muscle and bone. Another strange sound filled her ears, and Sophie retracted her hand.

The hunter dropped to the ground like a limp rag-doll. Blood pooled around his head, and she watched as his eyes rolled back into the depths of his head.

Sophie whirled around, and her legs disappeared from beneath her. She crawled over to where Eli was, sprawled across the ground in a pool of blood. Her hands pushed at his hands, which pawed blindly at his chest wound.

"Stop," she gasped, and brushed the hair from his forehead. "Stop, you're going to make it worse."

Eli's pained gaze found hers. The crimson had faded from his mismatched eyes, and a dazed glaze had replaced it. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He whimpered. "Sophie."

"I'm here," she said. Her voice cracked.

"It hurts," he whispered. His own voice cracked. "It hurts so bad." Then his body convulsed. His chest arched off the ground and he screamed. His eyes started to roll back into his head.

Sophie looked around, frantic. "Help!" she shrieked. "Somebody! Please help us!" Then she looked back at Eli. "Hold on, Eli. Just hold on. Please just hold on."

Her eyes burned with tears. Her chest clenched, and she hiccuped around a sob. She pressed her hands against his chest. Blood spewed between her fingers as she struggled to stop it.

His body tensed, and then fell slack.

"Don't you dare die on me!" she screamed. Her hands grabbed his face, and pulled him closer to her. "Don't you dare leave! You can't leave me!"

He didn't respond.

Her chest heaved. She pushed at his cheeks, at his lips, screaming, trying to get a reaction. She lowered her head to his heart, ignoring the blood and gore. There was no heartbeat.

A strangled keen worked its way past her lips. It echoed, over and over again around her, as she started to sob. Her cheek remained pressed against his chest. "You can't leave me," she sobbed. "I love you, Eli, please don't leave me."

He still didn't respond. She lifted her head and stroked his hair. She pressed her forehead against his.

His warmth had already started to fade.

Her keens escalated into screams. She screamed continuously, like a banshee, until her throat hurt. Even then she continued, her tears mingling with snot and blood.

The thunder of footsteps approached. Arms suddenly pulled at her, and Sophie screamed louder. She thrashed and struggled to hold onto Eli's body, refusing to let go.

She couldn't let go. 

Please don't kill me. Just remember what I said last chapter. Eli IS a vampire, and not just a conventional one either. Don't give up on him just yet...