Chapter Text
The windows had reinforced bars instead of just being nailed shut this time. He's gotten better...but Uzi is prepared. The bars were done from the outside, impossible to take apart from here unless the entire frame was removed, glass pane and all. She made quick work of it, using the very techniques that put them there in the first place. Maybe dad forgot all those annoying bonding projects he made her do, and signed her up for every woodshop or metalwork class every year. A natural at taking things apart and making whatever she wanted from seemingly nothing! She tossed the last piece of the frame on top of the already ridiculous pile by her bed. It was a good ways down, but yet again, dad forgot to cut the tree branch he always threatens to whenever she escapes. Throwing on her bookbag, Uzi made her way down, not even pausing to look at where she grabbed. Sliding down familiar groves and notches, in no time her feet touched solid ground. A well earned laugh cut through the usually quiet night, "Hah! Nice try dad--" And just as she pivoted around to start down the usual path, a stern, familiar figure blocked the way. "--...shit."
"Uzi--" Khan began, he was clearly tired, probably stayed up waiting for exactly this.
"It's a Friday night, can't make me stay, see ya!" Uzi yelled, sprinting past and ducking just in time to avoid his reach.
"You're grounded!" He shouted after her, the distance let her know he definitely wasn't going to follow her. He never could catch her anyway.
"Whateverrrr." She called back, breaking past the treeline to a gravel road, finally slowing down. It didn't take long to catch her breath, doing this every night did wonders for cardio it turns out. Anyways, where where we?
Uzi pulled out her notebook, flipping to the last page she drew on. "Next is..." A pencil traced along each previous path, X's littered the sketched out map of the town, all marking the locations of a series of disappearances already explored. A few more left, but one in particular was circled in bold. The town was surrounded by woods and 3 rivers, all pretty popular locations for teens to hang around or throw parties. The one she was going to was the farthest on the other side of Copper, past 9th Street. "...there. Rest uneasy bloodsuckers, it's your last night in Copper!"
Why exactly was Uzi single handedly tracking these allegedly supernatural creatures she suspected are the reason behind these strange disappearances and murders? Well, simple answer really. Everyone else in this whole town, they're idiots! The police think it's a regular old serial killer, which, maybe, but come on. Bodies are found ripped apart and bloodless, if they're ever found at all. No clear target, it's whoever's out after dark. And there's never a sign of struggle. Like they were surprised by an unknown predator. Full offense to the police, and especially her dad, but last she checked bears don't leave a corpse bloodless.
Vampires. Obviously it's vampires. But her stupid dad and his stupid co-workers won't listen to a damn thing she says!
A twig snapping interrupts Uzi's increasingly angry train of thoughts. Quickly and as quietly as she could, she slipped off her bookbag and nearly tearing the zipper off to pull out the big guns. Literally. She may or may not have stolen her dad's emergency house shotgun, she wasn't stupid enough to take a monster unarmed, alright? Already loaded and cocked, she swept her gaze across everything she could see. Which was barely anything, even with the moonlight reflecting off the river, shadows surrounded her. Bringing a light would have been stupid, it's just asking to get mauled...unfortunately that meant Uzi might as well be blind, while her would be hunters are likely able to see her just fine.
"Kinda hope that theory of mine is wrong--" Uzi felt the force of a truck slam directly into her, throwing her an unknown distance before she felt herself crash into a shrub. She flailed, dizzy and unable to see, her hand really hurt and the other numb from the landing, she tried to draw her hurt hand to herself only to feel the pain drag up her nerves and through the rest of her body. "Oh fuck, I'm stuck." A shadow crept over, Uzi just knew that was her attacker. The shotgun, where--she frantically felt for it with her free hand, just barely able to reach as the figure pulled the shrub back, reaching in to yank Uzi from it. She bit her tongue bloody to hold the scream from what was her hand getting pulled off a sharp branch of shrub that had obviously impaled it, her other clenching the shotgun for dear life when she realized she was able to grab it in time.
In the light of the moon, she could make out small details in the short seconds she had to react. Pale hair, almost ghostly, just barely a tad blonde. Skin an unnatural tinge of grey, the glint of long, sharp fangs--
"That's all the proof I need." It was stupid and reckless to pull the trigger, but it was maybe die in the blast, or die as food. And Uzi had way too much pride to go down that way. Unfortunately, just as she managed to shoot, she realized those fangs had already bitten hard and deep into her throat.
Khan heard the distant sounds of gunfire seconds before he got the call.
"Office Doorman, shots fired around 9th Street, do you copy?"
He scrubbed the exhaustion building from his eyes, snatching up his radio as he struggled to also get his uniform that was already laid out and ready, "Cut the formality. I already know who and what it is."
He could feel the quiet exasperation through the radio. There were a few more seconds of static before, "...your daughter, sir?"
"Certainly. Call everyone else off. I'll handle this."
"Copy that."
Uzi came to with a gasp, white noise buzzing loudly over everything else, making her movements sluggish. Or maybe it was shock. She sat up slow, tremors working their way throughout her, the chill of the night not making it much better. She swallowed, a dry and scratchy feeling making her cough, hard enough she started wheezing. It made her lean forward, a hand catching her from going face first into the dirt, unfortunately it was the one with the worst injury, making her grit her teeth. With a careful deep breath, she made herself look up.
A wave of nausea came at the sight.
Her attacker was certainly put down for the count. An entire head missing. "Damn this thing's tall..." She sluggishly crawled just a bit closer, really taking in what she was looking at. On closed inspection, it looked disturbingly human if not for the ashen skin. The clothes it had were surprisingly modern. Smarter than expected, she guessed.
"Uzi Doorman!"
Uzi groaned, turning to see familiar flashing lights. Of all the people to see her like this..."Hey dad, no don't ask if I'm fine, I'm great."
Her dad stomped over, not hesitating to haul her up to her feet, "What in gods green Earth are you doing?! Is that the emergency shotgun--Uzi!"
"How about you fucking look at what I did! Stopped your serial killer!" Uzi gestured to the corpse in front of her, uncaring at the weird twinge it sent through her hurt hand. "About damn time someone did something."
Khan deeply sighed, she hated how much it looked like he was scolding a child. "Uzi...there's nothing there."
"The hell there isn't!" She yanked herself away, nearly falling over from the force, "It's right in fucking front...of..." The words died on her tongue. There was...nothing. No shotgun blasted corpse, no blood but her own it looked like. "...what the hell...no! No! it was--dad come on I wouldn't shoot at nothing! You taught me that!"
"How about we get home, Uzi. Get you cleaned up." Her dad offered gently, "You look like a mess."
"Maybe that's because I--" Uzi started, unconsciously looking to check the actual damage her hand took from being stabbed through. "--I..." She stared, eyes widening, unknowingly getting paler by the second.
"What was that?"
Uzi snapped her gaze up, then back to her hand, before shaking her head and grabbing her bookbag and the shotgun frantically. "Nothing!" Her voice cracked, going a few octaves too high. "Nothing. Let's just go. Now."
Khan's brow furrowed, it was never this easy to bring his rebellious daughter back, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Alright...you're still grounded. And you're fixing your window the moment we get home." He added, mustering up some frustration through his tiredness.
"Uh huh, whatever. Will get right on it." Uzi threw on a pair of headphones she kept in the bookbag, pointedly ignoring anything else her dad had to say. Uzi couldn't focus on anything else, nothing except for the lack of a bleeding hole in her hand. An icy chill went through her when she remembered.
"It bit me."