Ashley landed on the ground with a grunt and immediately rolled, sensing the knife of her opponent plunging towards her head. With the agility and instincts of a Natural gifted to fight, she moved deftly and silently, even when she was getting her ass kicked by the second largest vamp she'd ever seen.
If she hadn't been trained by the largest and fiercest vamp in existence, she'd be worried.
She leapt to her feet and blocked then unleashed a series of kicks and punches, one of which pierced the vamp's defenses. He gasped and doubled over, leaving her ample target area to pound into until he finally fell unconscious on the ground.
Chest heaving, she lowered her guard and reached up to straighten the mask she wore to hide her identity. It was perfectly quiet for a moment, and she used her Natural gift to explore the area around her without looking.
The four vamps were down. Not dead, though, which meant she had to hurry. She spun and crossed to the two women and one teenage boy tied together in one corner of the warehouse she'd been monitoring. It was a popular spot for the vamps, but this was the first time she had seen them bring any innocent humans with them. She hadn't intended to fight them this night; she'd never fought more than two at a time. But the innocents caught in the grips of monsters changed everything.
"You okay?" she asked and knelt beside the woman nearest to her. She cut her free and moved on.
"Y… yeah," came the uncertain response.
"What the hell just happened?" the teen boy asked.
Ashley's hands paused. She'd planned for the day she decided to face the vamps but she hadn't thought about what to tell the people who witnessed either her otherworldly fighting or the monsters with fangs.
"I don't know," she said and then kicked herself mentally. "But you're safe. You all need to leave."
Two of them got to their feet and looked around. She helped the third up.
They were moving too slowly for her comfort. With a glance at the four unconscious vamps, Ashley raced to the exit and opened the door in the hopes of hurrying them along.
They went, but not before one of the vamps started to get up.
Ashley snatched the wooden doorstop and flung it, her aim as true as her instincts. "Stay down," she hissed. The doorstop smacked into the back of the vamp's head. He dropped.
"What?" one of the rescued people asked.
"Nothing. Go to the nearest cop and have them take you home." She pushed the last out of the warehouse and closed the door, locking it. When the three left her range of sensing, she strode to the vamps and considered them.