kathierif_fic: (fandom: csi:ny)
[personal profile] kathierif_fic
Title: Hunting
Author: [personal profile] kathierif_fic
Fandom: CSI:NY
Rating: FRT-13
Prompt: V is for Vampires, [profile] au_abc
Warnings: AU, vampires
Disclaimer: Not mine, no matter how much I wish for it.
Summary: The creature was following her, sniffing her out and would attack soon.
Word count: 2,163



The thing was behind her, following her on silent feet, almost inaudible if not for the loud sniffing that sent shivers down Lindsay’s back and made her quicken her steps as much as she could in her high-heeled shoes. Sweat prickled the back of her neck and ran down her spine, making her light summer dress cling to her skin.

It wasn’t the right thing to wear, she thought desperately, not at night, at least: too much of her skin was revealed, her arms, legs and her neck were unprotected. She’d thought she could make it home before sundown, but that hadn’t worked out due to unforeseen circumstances – another nest had been found in one of the subway tunnels, and that had meant that they had needed to wait for the specialists to take it out, which had taken longer than expected.

And now, she was here, on her way home, and that thing was following her, getting closer after sniffing out the smell of her skin and sweat and blood.

She could already smell it, herself: a slimy mixture of wet mud, decay and blood that almost made her gag, no matter how often she’d smelled this particular mix.

Trembling fingers wrapped more tightly around the strap of her bag, fumbled with the snap and reached inside, feeling around for the strong flashlight, her cell phone, her gun – anything that could help her fight off this thing, should it attack.

Her fingertips felt smooth plastic and metal, scrabbled along its surface, wrapped around something – her gun – but before she could even pull it out of her bag, she felt icy hands on her shoulder, ripping away the strap of her bag and pieces of her dress, and sharp, splintered nails, almost claws, dug into her skin.

The sudden pull made her lose her balance, and with a small, surprised outcry, she fell, her ankle twisting painfully under her weight. Within seconds, the thing was upon her, its knees splayed wide over her chest, pinning her to the ground with inhuman strength while it bent down, sniffing her like a dog would sniff a juicy bone before starting to chew on it.

The creature’s foul breath brushed her face, and she gagged again, the shock keeping her frozen when he nosed under her chin, seeking out the prominent vein pulsing with blood at the side of her neck.

A hopeful sigh escaped the creature, and Lindsay could feel dry lips press against her throat and the tell-tale pinprick of sharp, pointy teeth.

It brought her back to her senses, and her ability to move and fight came back as well, even if she knew that it would only last until the creature actually bit her and the enzymes from his saliva would get into her blood, paralyzing her once more.

This was her last chance to escape.

Kicking out suddenly, she bucked and tried to dislodge the creature from her, to get away, get her bag and her gun, anything…but it was too strong, too thirsty, too determined to give up so easily, and Lindsay felt herself weaken by the minute. When the teeth finally sunk into her throat, ending her struggle, she could only sob quietly.

The creature hissed in pleasure as the first warm mouthful filled him, but the sound was quickly stopped when it realized that there was something wrong.

Lindsay couldn’t fight anymore, but she could twist her face into a triumphant grin at the howl of disappointment that rose from the creature’s throat, together with the spluttering when it tried to spit out the artificial fluid that had taken the place of her blood cells, making it not only unappetizing, but downright poisonous for the creature and every other one of its kind.

Only seconds later, the cavalry finally came, in the form of two black-dressed men, their badges gleaming brightly where they’d clipped them to their chests. Lindsay saw heavy, black boots and black pants, and when she looked further up, black body armor with high collars and long sleeves. Hands, covered by heavy gloves, steadily held weapons and pointed them at the creature above her.

It took them only two of the specially designed bullets to kill the creature. Without hesitation, one of the two men came over with three big steps and fell to his knees next to her.

“You all right, Montana?” he asked gruffly and pressed his hand to her throat, to stop the flow of the blood substitute.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she murmured, still dazed. “What took you so long? I called for backup as soon as I noticed the sucker.”

“Sorry,” Danny muttered while moving her chin gently to the side, to check out the damage. “Subway nest was bigger than we’d expected. Mac and Stel are still working on cleaning it up.”

“Let’s get you back to let Hawkes check out your throat,” Don called from where he was still standing, a few feet away from them. He was still holding his gun in his hands, securing the scene, in case more of the creatures had caught wind of the attempted feeding and would try to attack them while they tried to help their co-worker. They were a dangerous opponent; all three of them knew that. When the bloodlust and hunger overwhelmed them, they didn’t think about personal safety, only the blood that coursed, hot and tasty, in the humans’ veins.

“I’m fine,” Lindsay called back and tried to sit up.

“Someone ripped a piece out of your throat, you’re definitely not fine,” Danny replied sharply. He spoke loud enough to let Don hear what was going on while reaching into one of his many pockets and started to dig through it for a few seconds. Finally, he found a bandage to put on her still dripping throat.

Lindsay rolled her eyes, but she allowed him to wrap the bandage tightly around the wound. She knew that, if she had actual blood in her veins, she probably had already bled to death, and allowed herself a brief second of being thankful for the fast-clotting substitute while Danny gripped her arm and hauled her to her feet.

He almost carried her toward their vehicle, moving quickly. It was dangerous in the dark, and he didn’t want to spend more time out here.

Lindsay caught a glimpse of Flack snatching up her purse before following them, but she didn’t allow herself a sigh of relief until she was in the car, strapped into a seat in the back, where she was surrounded by weapons and strong flashlights that blinded the creatures and kept them away, and Don was pressing the gas pedal down to bring them back to the headquarters and its relative safety.

“How are you holding up?” Don called over his shoulder when they reached the safe zone.

“I can feel my hands,” Lindsay reported back. “Dizzy.”

Don and Danny exchanged a brief glance while driving along the brightly lit street. Their car’s windows were blackened, to dim the glare of the lights, but it still was enough to bring tears to their eyes.

“Dizzy,” Danny repeated. “Should we get her to a hospital?”

Don shook his head. “We’re almost here anyways,” he said and turned another corner. “Doc can treat her just as well as the hospitals, and give her a shot.”

Danny glanced over his shoulder at Lindsay again, but her eyes had fallen closed, and he straightened in his seat again and drummed his fingers nervously on his thigh.

It was only a few more moments until they arrived at the Hunting Unit’s headquarters. Sheldon Hawkes was already waiting for them, a white lab coat thrown over his black uniform.

Danny swallowed, feeling the microphone move against his throat, and gave Don a brief look. They had been partners for long enough to communicate without words, and Don just nodded at Danny’s silent question. It had been him who’d alarmed Hawkes that one of their own was down.

They helped Hawkes to get her on a stretcher and followed him into the building. Like every other building in New York, where more creatures lived than rats, it was brightly lit, to protect the humans inside, the façade made from strong glass to illuminate the area around it.

Danny shook his head as he followed Don down the hallways, toward the locker rooms. “They are getting more aggressive.”

Don made a small noise at the back of his throat, agreeing with Danny’s assessment. “That nest was pretty huge,” he replied thoughtfully. “You think they actually managed to get themselves organized somewhat?”

Danny shuddered while pulling off his gloves and dropping them on a bench. “I hope not.”

“They just need a strong and smart leader,” Don mused while shrugging out of his protective jacket and hanging it in his locker. “One they all agree to follow.”

“Yeah,” Danny replied thoughtfully and sat down, to unlace his boots. “But what are the odds of them finding someone like that, and not killing him in a fit of rage and jealousy?”

Don shrugged. “I don’t know, Dan,” he admitted. “You’re the smart guy.” He scratched absent-mindedly at an old scar on his neck, a line of white teeth marks that connected two larger puncture wounds. “What are the odds?”

Danny sighed again. “I don’t think they found someone like that,” he admitted. “They’re being hunted every day. It’s more likely that they’re getting too hungry and too desperate to be careful.”

Don didn’t say anything, and they changed into civilian clothes in companionable silence. Both of them pretended not to notice that their style of clothing had changed over the years, from t-shirts to turtlenecks, for example. It was one of the things the job brought with it – the awareness of how a little piece of fabric could go a long way to discourage one of the creatures to attack.

“Are you going home?” Don finally asked while shrugging into his jacket and folding the collar up.

Danny shook his head. “I wanted to check up on Lindsay,” he admitted. “You coming?”

Don hesitated for a split second, but then, he nodded and followed Danny to the infirmary. Lindsay was more than a co-worker, after all, she was a friend, and no matter how much he disliked the subterranean level where the infirmary and the morgue were situated, she deserved her friends checking up on her.

Sheldon stepped in their way as soon as they entered.

“She’s going to be fine,” he said. “You don’t have to worry.”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean, doc?” he asked and bounced nervously on the balls of his feet.

Sheldon gave him a long look over the rim of his glasses. “It means that she will be fine as soon as the poison is out of her system,” he clarified calmly.

“Wait a minute,” Don interrupted. “That sucker was long enough on her to poison her? For real?” Almost despite himself, his hand moved toward his gun.

“Every time you get bitten you get poisoned,” Sheldon explained patiently. “That’s why so many people got infected in the first place. The creature’s saliva is in her bloodstream and needs to be filtered out – there will be no lasting damage, you got her out fast enough, don’t worry. Until then, she’s under observation.”

Danny nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Can we visit her?” he asked.

Sheldon hesitated, but nodded. “I gave her a sedative,” he said. “Don’t get close enough to get bitten by her.”

Danny nodded, and Sheldon gave him one more warning glance before leading them through the room toward the back, where curtains offered a little privacy to the occupants of the beds.

Lindsay was the only one here at the moment, and Danny pulled a chair close and sat down next to her bed, doing his best to ignore the bandage on her throat and the pallor of her face. He pretended not to see the heavy cuffs on her wrists or the way her teeth looked a little sharper than they were supposed to.

He knew how it was, lying in a bed like this, waiting for the poison to stop pulsing in his veins. A lot of them had been injured in the line of duty, and they hadn’t been able to save everyone.

However, Sheldon was sure that Lindsay was going to make it, and Danny was sure that he would wait by her bedside until she was healthy again.

Hunting creatures was a dangerous job – but someone had to do it, and that someone was Mac Taylor’s Hunting Unit, one of the best in New York City.

And, Danny thought while staring at Lindsay’s unconscious body, if today showed anything, it was that the job never stopped.

But neither did they.

Vampires and the other creatures they were dealing with were dangerous.

They always needed to be prepared.

And they were.

~end.

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June 2013

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