Vampire Knight Chapter Fourteen: Race Against Time

This chapter is written from Yuki's perspective. Zero, Yuki and Seiren compete in a race against time to get back to safety before Shizuka Hio finds them. Do they win, or do they die?

[Yuki Cross’s Perspective] Chapter Fourteen: A quick glance skyward showed that the sun was dipping below the apex in the sky, making it around one O’clock. A few hours had passed since we stopped to rest, and we had covered considerable ground. We were still trekking through the forest. At times, the canopy was so thick that it was almost completely light free underneath it. Because of this, Seiren had to readjust our angle every time we had come out of one of these dark areas of the forest; because she lost her bearings in the dark. “How much farther?” I asked Seiren. “There is a lot more ground to cover between here and the villa.” Came Seiren’s vague answer. I sighed. My feet were starting to get sore again.

We came upon another small mountain, we began to ascend it. No sooner than we started climbing, we heard a noise behind us. I heard Seiren gasp. Seiren ran over to Zero and I and tackled us into a large bush. I was about to question her motives, but she raised a finger to her lips along with a glare that clearly said ‘make a sound and I’ll kill you.’ I remained as silent as a corpse, and as still as one, too. Seiren turned her back to Zero and I and peeked through the bush. I heard footsteps in front of us, on the other side of the bush.

Seiren turned her attention back towards Zero and I. “It is only a Level E vampire, there is only one, and he should leave soon. For now, we should stay hidden.” Seiren said. Zero shot her a questioning look. “But why not just kill him now, and continue our long journey to the villa?” Zero asked. Seiren looked out at the Level E vampire and back to Zero. “I will not kill him now because if we do need to fight Shizuka Hio and her followers at sundown, I will need all of my strength, as will you both. The best thing for us to do now is wait.” Seiren advised. I sighed. “Alright.” I said. Zero remained silent, with a frustrated glare directed at the Level E vampire on the other side of the bush.

***

We sat in that bush for what seemed like ours, and very well might have been. The canopy above blocked out our view of the sun, and with Seiren checking back on the Level E vampire every few minutes, it really made the time pass in a blur. There was also nothing to do, so boredom may have distorted my perception of time. After what seemed like Seiren’s millionth peek out at the Level E vampire, she turned to Zero and I. “Alright, he is gone. We have a lot of ground to cover, we need to get moving right away.” She said. Finally, we could get going! Zero and I stood up and followed Seiren, who was already starting to re-ascend the mountain that we had previously attempted to climb before being interrupted by the Level E vampire.

This time, there were no interruptions, and we reached the apex of the mountain in no time. From the apex of the mountain, we could see the forest sprawling out for miles below us, and in the far distance, almost in perfect alignment with the golden horizon, we saw a small wooden house; Shizuka’s villa, and beyond that was Cross Academy and Arbough. I noticed that the horizon was being tinted a golden color because the sun was going to set in a short while. “Curse that Level E, if it weren’t for him, we could have been safely back at Cross Academy by now.” Seiren said, her voice practically dipped venom.

Seiren led us down the far side of the small mountain. “Come, we just may be able to reach that villa before dusk, if we can do that, then we have a chance.” She said encouragingly. Zero and I started after her. Keeping the setting sun on our right shoulders, we ran through the woods. We were now in a big hurry. If we walked, there would be no way we would make it to the villa before nightfall. When Seiren started to pull away from Zero and I, she looked over her shoulder and shouted at us. “Come on! We are almost there!” She yelled. I pushed myself to run faster, I ran faster and faster until my lungs ached.

It took nearly all I had, but I finally caught up to Seiren. Beneath the canopy of the trees now was pitch black, I could not see a thing except for the dim light cast by the setting sun on the other side of the trees. I kept my gaze fixed on that light, and eventually made it out from under the dense canopy. I saw Zero and Seiren around ten feet to my right, and I adjusted my angle and ran towards them. It was now twilight. We were almost out of time. We ran for a few minutes longer, and we finally reached the base of a small mountain. I glanced upwards to find a small wooden house on the top of it. This was Shizuka’s villa. I was sure of it.

Seiren and Zero did not break stride or lose speed when they ran up the mountain. My stamina lacked a little more than theirs, so I took a little more time reaching the villa at the top of the mountain. Eventually, however I did, and so did Zero and Seiren. We quickly found the stairs that led to the front door of the villa and ascended them. Seiren did not waste a second. She punched through the window and unlocked the door, not bothering to see if the door was already open. She opened the door from the inside and ushered us in. Once both Zero and I were in the villa, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. We heard a sound. It sounded like laughter. Amused laughter. Zero readied Bloody Rose as Seiren, Zero and I walked down the corridor towards the source of the laughter.

The laughter was coming from the throne room. Fear tightened inside me. As we pushed open the already ajar door, I saw the familiar sight: A dead hunter on the ground, his blood smeared on the floor, the other bloodstains on the floor, and the pool of blood next to the throne. On either side of the throne stood Yori and Toga Yagari. Sitting atop the throne with her legs crossed was Shizuka Hio herself. She was laughing. Her laughter stopped, and she opened her mouth and spoke. “Oh, my deepest apologies, but it appears your time has run out.” With that, Shizuka Hio, Toga Yagari and Yori all dashed forward towards us in one quick motion.

Reviews

[Tina Kline]

Very suspenseful chapter.
Good writing, very interesting story and likeable characters.

[Ryan Henderson]

Thank you for the review!

[Tina Kline]

You are most welcome.

[John Mcnab]

I love the whole 'race against time' concept! I love the slow build of suspense! the detail in this book so far is amazing! I cannot wait to read the final chapter!

[Ryan Henderson]

You will not be disappointed with the final chapter! Thank you for reviewing!