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And it only takes a few steps for him to reach Miles, wrapping one hand around his neck while the other is holding on to his head.

Even Miles' gaze is now full of horror as he realizes what he's unleashed.

A little pressure from his fingers and his neck bends sideways, his eyes dead to the world. Just like him. But Vlad doesn't stop. No, that's not right.ThisVlad doesn't stop.

He continues to turn the head around until the vertebrae are all broken, a flap of skin the only thing holding the head attached to the rest of the body.

Bracing his knee on his shoulders, though, he pulls at the head until even the skin gives way, blood gushing out and splattering all over Vlad's naked body.

"What the…" Adrian is flabbergasted as he and Bianca stare at this display of savagery.

Except it doesn't end.

He takes Miles' head and crushes it against the ground until the brain is scattered all over the floor, the skull shattered in a million pieces.

He's sheer force and brutality.

No humanity left.

I feel like I can't breathe as I look at him like this.

Sweat and blood cling to his skin, his eyes dark and unyielding, and somewhere in my heart I know.

I lost him.

My entire world collapses as I grasp the full implications, and once more I try to get free.

Vlad's already turned his attention to the newcomers, a brutal grin on his bloody face as he saunters toward them.

They attack full force—all at once. But no one stands a chance. Not when he moves twice as fast, his thirst for blood the only impetus for him to continue.

He grabs the head of one girl, banging it repeatedly against the wall until her face is an unrecognizable mess. Someone tries to tackle him from behind, but even in this haze that covers his mind, his senses are sharp as he easily moves aside, dodging the attack.

Letting the girl's body drop to the ground, he starts pummeling into the man who dared disturb him.

It goes on and on, this bloodbath.

It won't ever stop.

Spurred by pure desperation coated in a desolation that tugs at my heartstrings, I give a last push, throwing all my strength in wrenching my arm free. I don't wait for Marcello to react as I race toward him.

Wait for me.

Where he goes I go.Ifhe goes, I go.

I run toward him at full force, but even that is not enough as arms surround me, holding me back.

Suddenly Bianca and Adrian are at my side too, and Vlad, seeing that there are no more victims for his taking, directs his crazed gaze toward us.

"We need to take him out." Bianca shakes her head, her gun up and ready to fire.

"Please don't!" I manage to yell, but it's all in vain.

Vlad is already wrenching the gun from her grasp, throwing it away, his hands on her throat as he lifts her in the air.

"Vlad, no!" I plead with him, though I know he can't hear me.

Adrian is immediately on him, barely managing to get him off Bianca, taking her in his arms and away from him. A shot resounds in the air, and I don't know who hit whom.