BOOM
The office ceiling exploded inward wood cracking, metal beams groaning as debris crashed down like a avalanche. Dust billowed through the air, choking the room in a suffocating haze. Splinters rained like falling knives.
Aric hit the floor hard, his ears ringing, vision spinning.
"Shit shit shit…" The words tumbled out uncontrollably. His pulse hammered against his skull, every breath sharp and frantic. He pushed himself upright, eyes sweeping the dark corners.
"Where is he?"
Aric's stomach knotted, his jaw tightening.
Emily dropped into a low stance beside him ready to pounce… or run. She looked cool, calm and collected, but Aric saw a tiny flicker in her eyes. A sliver of fear. She was just hiding it better.
Rubble shifted behind a fallen beam.
A familiar, foul scent slithered into Aric's nose cold, metallic… like dried blood on rusted steel. His skin prickled. His throat tightened. His hands shook against his will.
"Oh wow… I may have overdone that," a voice purred through the dust.
The vampire stepped forward, grin wide, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Now then," he continued, licking a fang, "shall we have a little fun? It's been ages since I last killed an Animorph."
Emily moved in front of Aric, shielding him with her body.
"I am Emily Townsend, Animorph of the Order," she said sharply. "Identify yourself."
What is she doing? Aric thought, swallowing hard as he listened.
The vampire blinked in mild surprise.
"The Order…" he murmured, intrigued. "My, that's unexpected."
He gave a mocking bow.
"I am Hans Krueger. Charmed, really."
Emily didn't flinch. "Do you still wish to fight me — knowing I am on a mission from the Or—"
"I think that's enough talking," Hans cut in, stepping closer. His smile grew wider. "Don't you agree… girl?"
Aric's entire body locked muscles stiff, heart ice-cold. Move. Do something. Anything.
But fear pinned him to the ground like a knife.
Suddenly something grabbed his arm.
Emily.
In one motion she hurled him toward the emergency exit.
"Run, Aric! NOW!" she barked, darting forward before he could protest.
Hans didn't even look fazed. He strolled toward them with a predator's calm, that chilling smile never leaving his lips.
Aric slammed into the exit door, breath knocked out of him. He staggered to his feet, throat tight, watching helpless as Emily charged into the monster that killed his mother.
---
Emily's paws slid across the splintered concrete, claws screeching as she launched forward. Storm Leap. Wind surged beneath her legs, explosive and sharp, propelling her straight toward the monster strolling toward her.
"Oh I guess I get to play with you first," Hans said as he prepared himself.
She snapped her jaws wide—Gale Fang—a roaring blast of wind spiraling like invisible blades toward his chest.
He laughed.
A blur of black and silver vanished from her sight and then pain. Fangs? No. Fingers like iron spikes grazed her ribs in passing.
Emily crashed into a pile of crates, wood exploding around her. Dust choked the air, and she shook her head, amber eyes narrowing, searching.
Nothing.
Her ears twitched.
Behind—
She spun, too late.
A boot slammed into her flank, sending her skidding across the warehouse floor. Her white fur tore open, streaks of red blossoming across her side. A shallow wound… but another reminder that he wasn't trying.
Emily released a low, feral growl — a warning pulled from the deepest corners of her instincts. Her breath misted in the cold air. Gale Charge. She kicked off with explosive force, becoming a streak of white fury.
Debris erupted in her wake. Splintered boards flipped, metal shelves screeched across the floor — everything between her and the vampire turned into weapons or cover. Use the environment. Blind him. Corner him. Anything to disrupt his calm arrogance.
Wind roared beneath her paws, the warehouse office blurring in her periphery as she accelerated. The debris scattered ahead of her, blocking his view — a storm of chaos hiding her true path.
She was a white comet, a missile forged from instinct and desperation, determined to drive him into the ground before he could vanish again.
He stood there taken aback for a moment before he smirked.
Suddenly he was gone
Then a blur of black leather and pale skin appeared right at her flank.
Emily's eyes widened too late.
CRACK
His arm scythed across her side like a blade. Pain exploded through her ribs. She spun mid-charge, claws scraping the concrete as she tried to regain balance.
Warmth spread down her fur, thick and fast.
Red splattered across white.
Her growl choked into a gasp, breath hitching as the wound burned like fire beneath her coat. Even so… the cut wasn't deep enough to kill. Not yet.
He stepped back casually, shaking blood from his fingers like he'd merely brushed against wet paint.
"Better," he cooed as he liked his fingers, amused. "At least you're interesting when you bleed."
Emily braced herself, forcing air into her lungs, lips curling back to bare gleaming fangs. She couldn't show weakness. Not in front of him.
The vampire tilted his head, smile growing sharper — like he wanted to see what she'd do next.
She leapt high, claws glowing with faint wind. Storm Leap again, faster this time aimed straight for his throat.
But the vampire simply tilted his head aside.
His hand flashed.
Emily crashed down, ribs rattling, vision spinning. She forced herself up—every strand of fur raised—heart hammering. She was experienced, trained. A direwolf of storm. Yet every move she made, he read before she thought it.
He drifted behind her like a living shadow and slammed his elbow into her spine. A howl tore from her throat—more red staining her snowy coat. Her lungs burned; her legs trembled.
I'm…losing.
But she couldn't stop.
Aric.
He was still there—frozen behind the fallen debris—eyes wide, fists useless at his sides. Emily's rage surged hotter than her fear.
Another swing—she dodged barely. The vampire's nails slashed across her shoulder, opening a deep cut. This one didn't feel like the others.
This one… was meant to hurt.
Emily fell to one knee, panting, blood dripping in thin crimson trails onto the concrete.
The vampire clasped his hands behind his back, strolling in a lazy circle around her.
"So polite of you…" His voice oozed mock admiration, crimson eyes flicking toward Aric. "…to wait your turn, Aric."
Emily's gaze shot to Aric—anger blazing through the pain.
"You idiot… Run or fight. Stop just… watching" she shouted.
She tried to rise again, but her leg buckled.
The monster smirked—expecting her to finally break.
---
ARIC POV
His heart punched against his ribs, fear screaming at him to run just run and forget all of this. But Emily's blood, her struggle … it anchored him to the ground.
His hands clenched.
His jaw trembled.
"No…" Aric whispered to himself, voice cracking, but growing stronger with every breath.
Aric charged drawing on all the strength he could muster
"I'm done running."
Aric stepped forward.
Hans Krueger's grin sharpened. "Oh? The little lamb finally wants to play?" His eyes glittered with sick delight. "Well… I'll oblige."
Aric charged.
Every instinct screamed at him to stop to turn, to hide, to survive. But something deeper overpowered fear. A heat inside him. A pulse. A fury that refused to be prey any longer.
He swung a metal bar he'd grabbed from the rubble, putting every drop of strength into the strike.
Hans raised a single finger.
CLANG.
The bar bent like cheap plastic. Aric stumbled, nearly falling but he didn't stop. He rammed his shoulder into the vampire's chest.
Hans didn't even move.
He just laughed.
"Brave," he murmured, "but useless."
"Let me show you something interesting the move that killed your dear old Mother"
A flash of crimson gathered at his fingertip a bead of red liquid that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Blood Bullet.
Aric felt the impact before he even saw the firing motion.
CRACK
Agony ripped through his shoulder. His legs buckled. Warm blood soaked his shirt instantly.
He collapsed to one knee, teeth clenched, eyes watering. His vision blurred but the fire inside him only roared louder.
Emily sprang in front of him, snarling. Gale winds whipped around her, blowing scattered rubble into a frenzy.
Hans sighed. "Still trying? Even now?"
He flicked his hand.
Bang-bang-bang—
Tiny darts of hardened blood shot through the air like bullets. Emily dashed and weaved with desperate speed, but the vampire was faster. They struck her legs. Her side. Her back.
Red streaked across her white fur.
"Emily!" Aric choked out, trying to stand — his arm numb, blood pouring freely.
The vampire kept walking toward them, calm as death itself.
"You both bleed so beautifully," he hummed.
More blood gathered at his fingertips.
Emily prepared to move despite shaking on her paws—
ROOOOAAAR.
Something dark slammed into Hans, a monstrous force. Sending the vampire crashing through what remained of a support column.
Dust exploded outward.
Aric froze. The fire inside him surged, burning hotter than pain, hotter than fear.
Emily stared too, stunned because the shape standing there wasn't Aric.
And it wasn't human.
Aric's vision flickered black… then cleared.
The predator inside him had finally awakened.