The vampire turned and dashed back into the debris. Sami charged after him. Her foot caught on the cuff of the boy’s fatigue pants. She jerked it out and kept running. The debris slid under her and she had to use her left arm to steady herself. Josh called after her to stop but she couldn’t. She couldn’t let this bastard warn the others.
She cornered a piece of ceiling, leading with the submachine gun. Shadows were heavier here. The floor looked swallowed in darkness. Then her eyes adjusted and she realized she was looking at a hole in the floor.
Her heart pounded. It had dug its way into the basement. Maybe the nest was down there. Her hand tightened on the gun. She felt the stakes around her waist. The faces of Peter and Raj raced through her mind. Then Rick’s face appeared and she knew he would nod her forward and be ready to follow.
She jumped.
Her feet hit solid earth and she bent her knees, cushioning the blow. She allowed her body to continue the fall, rolling to the left side, letting momentum carry her back up onto her feet. The gun lifted as if a part of her arm. She swept the sight around the room. Nothing. It was empty but she saw a tunnel leading off ahead of her. The rotten stench of blood and decay floated out from the tunnel.
She hesitated. Now it was getting dangerous. She had no way to know where this tunnel went. Even the thought of it made her shudder. How had the vampire thought to dig this out? They were mindless creatures, functioning at the lowest level of thought. Digging a tunnel should have been beyond them.
She touched her throat, activating her com. “Josh, we’ve got a big problem. That vamp has gone down a tunnel.”
“A tunnel?” Josh’s voice sounded tinny in her ear bud. “What the hell is a tunnel doing down there?”
“I think they dug it out,” she said. “I’ve got to go down there. I’ll leave my com open. Get the Sister and track my signal. We’ve got to get that bastard before he finds any others.”
“Roger,” Josh said. “I’ll send Michael back to the van.”
A voice started to protest and she heard Josh’s voice arguing. She left her com open and disconnected her ear bud, leaving the signal activated. If they needed her to hear them, she’d get a tingle in her ear.
She dug out a portable glow light from her pocket and snapped it over her left ear. The light fit snug against her temple. She switched it on and headed into the tunnel.
The tunnel was less than five feet high. She had to crouch, holding the submachine in front of her. Even with her augmented muscles, moving was slower than she liked and awkward. She settled into a shuffling crab walk, using her left hand on the wall to steady herself as she moved along. The dirt was dry and crumbling in her hand. The glow light revealed only a couple of feet in front of her. She couldn’t hear anything but her own breathing and the pounding of her heart.
The tunnel angled down. Her feet slid a bit. She had to slow down to keep her footing. Her hand dug into the tunnel wall. Pain flared in her fingers as the dirt stuck under her finger nails. After what felt like eternity, the floor leveled out and she headed straight again. Her crab walk moved her even slower. Her back ached from bending down. She didn’t want to think about how much earth was above her head.
The tunnel started a wide curve to the right. Maybe it was aiming for another house. As she rounded another bend, the light hit on movement. She heard a snarl. She caught a flash of teeth in the light. Stale air moved as the vampire leaped at her. She jerked the gun up and fired. The vampire howled. It knocked her down. She landed on her back. Her left hand grabbed the stake at her waist belt. The stake came away and in a fluid movement, she stabbed upward.
She missed. The stake dug into the tunnel wall. She drove her leg up, felt it lift the vampire away. It grabbed for her with its arm. Fabric on her thigh shredded and she felt blood trickle down her skin. The vampire roared as it smelled her blood. She aimed the gun above her and pulled the trigger. The bullets knocked the vampire farther back for a moment, then it lunged at her again, driven by the smell of fresh blood. She groped for the stake, yanked it out of the wall as the vampire charged. It leaped for her throat. She brought the stake up. Its momentum drove the stake into its chest. It howled, mouth open wide. Brackish blood poured out of its mouth. She pushed at its shoulders, shoving it away from her. Her hands and legs scrambled for purchase as she fought to get out from underneath the vampire. Its arms waved feebly, still trying to get at her, get at the blood. Its mouth opened and closed, fangs glinting, reflecting the light from her portable glow light. The howl dwindled to a moan and finally to a gurgle. The body jerked a few times then lay still.
Sami sucked in air. Her hands pressed on her right thigh. She felt the slashes where the vampire had caught her. She dug into a pocket and pulled out a quick spray adhesive. Holding her head at an odd angle to get the light, she sprayed it over her leg. The coldness of it made her hiss. It wouldn’t hold for long, hopefully long enough for her to get out of these tunnels. There was definitely a nest here. No vampire alone could dig out tunnels this long. If they hadn’t heard the fight, they’d smell the fresh blood and underground like this, they wouldn’t be inhibited by sunlight.
Using the gun, she got to her feet in a crouch and started to head back. Her progress was even slower now. She triggered her throat mic but no one responded. She must be out of range, too far underground. If another vampire came upon her right now, she didn’t know if she could fight it off.
She got into the rhythm of the shuffling crab walk again, trying ignore the pain in her leg and the agony in her back. She finished the straight away and had hit the section where the tunnel angle up when she heard something in the distance. She stopped and listened. A trickle of dirt falling. Something scrapped farther back from her. A growl and snarl.
Another vampire had found her kill.
Then the scrap of footsteps coming toward her. Now she was being hunted.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The truck bounced over the uneven ground but Peter ignored it as he focused on the feel of prey in his mind. He gripped the trace enhancer so tight he felt the edges digging into his palm. Soon his skin would part and blood would flow. He could almost taste it. All he had to do was break the handcuffs and pull Lucy onto the gurney with him. The truck bounced again and he opened his eyes. No, he wasn’t in the lab, he was here in the truck following the girl.
“Peter?” Lucy’s voice seemed to come from far away. He turned his head, saw her sitting beside him. She was frowning.
“I’m all right.” The words felt strange in his mouth. “Keep going. Straight.”
The sun had progressed to the other side of the sky. The flat surface of the desert had slowed their progress. Unlike the bike, the truck wasn’t flexible enough on the uneven surface. They couldn’t go at high speed. As they traveled, the day progressed, the sun moved across the sky and Peter felt the trace of hunger grow inside him.
“To the right,” he said. “Angle over there.” He pointed at a rise of rocks. Rucas slowed and turned the truck. The doors rattled. Lucy bumped against Peter’s side. His hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm. His fingers tightened, feeling her warm flesh against his palm. He could almost feel the blood flowing beneath his fingers.
“Peter?”
The warmth of her skin distracted him. The trace of hunger became confused in his mind with the memory of her neck so close while he lay on the gurney, his head full of blood lust. All he had to do was turn his head and her shoulder was right there. He could already feel the gush of blood in his mouth as he sank his teeth into her arm…
“Stop it!” Her hand stung his cheek. He jerked his head back. Pain flared in his fingers as she dug her nails into his skin. He released her arm and yanked his hand away.
“What’s wrong?” Rucas said. “Are we going the right way?”
Peter shook his head. His mind felt fuzzy, jumbled. He couldn’t order his thoughts.
“What’s going on?” Rucas said.
“Stop the truck,” Lucy s
aid. “Do it!”
The truck screeched to a halt, tossing them all forward and then back. The violent motion helped to clear Peter’s head. He opened the door and stumbled out, clutching the trace enhancer against him. Dust from the wheels floated around him, blurring the view. Lucy appeared beside him, the only solid thing in a world of dust.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“I’m all right.”
“Like hell you are. You looked at me like…” She stopped and took a breath. “I thought you were going to…”
She couldn’t finish. He could feel her confusion twisting around him. It helped to pull him back to himself.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m okay now. Really.”
She didn’t say anything but stayed a healthy distance away. He didn’t blame her. He hadn’t anticipated this lingering reaction to the vampire infection. Had her cure really cured him completely? Maybe it had only slowed it down and now it was manifesting itself. He couldn’t think about that now. He had to focus on the girl.
He turned away from Lucy, staring over at the out cropping of rocks in the distance. He could feel the trace linger in his mind, pulling him in that direction. A glance at the trace enhancer gave him the same reading.
“Those rocks,” he said. “That way.”
“Do we keep going?” Rucas stood by the front of the truck.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Peter walked back to the truck. Lucy hesitated and then followed. He held the door open, waiting for her to get in. She gripped the door in one hand, getting ready to haul herself inside. Her mouth passed close to his ear.
“You do that again and I’ll take you out,” she whispered.
He recoiled as if she’d slapped him. Suspicion of him radiated out of every tense muscle in her body.
He’d lost her trust.
He climbed in after her and slammed the door shut. “Let’s go.”
The truck leapt forward, bouncing them around. Peter wedged himself against the door, careful to keep from touching Lucy. Her reaction bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Maybe she was right; maybe he really wasn’t safe after all.
She stared straight ahead out of the windshield. As they drew closer to the rocks, the feeling grew stronger in Peter, making him feel jumpy. The scent of Lucy’s skin was too enticing. He gripped the trace enhancer harder, digging his nails into it. He could feel a couple of them bending back. He welcomed the distraction of the pain. After a moment it wasn’t enough.
“Pull over,” he said. “There.” A couple of smaller rocks marked the beginning of a change in the landscape. Rucas stopped the truck beside them. The engine turned off and started ticking as the metal cooled.
Peter climbed out. He set the trace enhancer down in the truck bed and began pulling out the other equipment. As Rucas came around, Peter handed him the large axe and a couple of stakes.
“Slip these in your belt like this.” Peter demonstrated. Rucas nodded a little too vigorously. His face paled as he shoved the stakes through his belt. Peter noticed the slight tremor of his fingers. The man had probably never hunted like this before. Fighting off a vampire or two was quite different than stalking after them.
Peter took the submachine gun, made sure it was loaded and slung it over his shoulder. He slipped several stakes through his belt as Lucy grabbed her shot gun out of the back. She took the small axe and hung it from a belt loop. She plucked the stakes Peter offered from his hand. Her expression remained passive and closed.
He wanted to say something but every moment burned daylight, every moment was another drop of the girl’s blood. He turned away and focused on the rocks before him.
They rose out of the desert floor like they were breaking through the surface of the sand. As he moved forward, Peter noticed how the ground became harder beneath his feet. Soon the sand was a light brush across the surface of the charcoal grey floor. Crests and ridges of rock slipped through as if they were giant stubby fingers, like a huge rock monster had tried to climb out of the desert but only got as far as sticking his many fingers up into the air.
Peter felt the trace stronger in his mind here. The thread of hunger burned inside, leading him as if he was a water dousing stick. It shifted to the right and he followed. The fingers of rock rose high above his head. Soon they cast shadows across his face. He noticed a crevice in the rock, thicker than any of the others. A darker shadow of space that led into darkness.
“Here,” he said. Rucas and Lucy hurried to join him.
“How do you know?” Rucas said.
“I can feel it,” Peter said. He slipped a portable globe light over his ear and switched it on. “I’ll go first.”
He stepped sideways into the crevice. Rock walls pressed against him. The thin entry led deeper into the rocks for several meters. As he moved inside, the temperature dropped. Hidden from the sun, the rock felt smooth and cool against his fingertips. The light reflected back hues of grey and black with veins of brown in the rock. After a time the sides began to open and he could walk straight. He brought the gun up and increased his pace. He didn’t like this at all. Barely enough room to turn around and none to fight. If a vampire came at them here, they’d be slaughtered.
He moved his head back and forth and up and down, playing the light over every surface. From behind, he knew the others were doing the same with their lights. Shadows danced crazed in front of him. One looked like an arm until he moved his light. Just an outcropping of rock. He increased his pace.
Despite the temperature drop, the air tasted stale and thick. No breeze came in this deep. That wouldn’t bother a vampire.
Peter still felt the trace, like a drumming in his brain, leading him on. His fingers tightened on the gun. As spotter he didn’t usually fight hand to hand but he knew what to do. Disable and then go for the stake. He’d learned his training well from Sami and Josh.
The thought of them slowed him down, reminded him to be more cautious. As the path widened, there were more crevices for vampires to hide in. A squad member did not blunder ahead blindly.
The path curved to the left and widened into a cavern. The light from his globe flashed across the space as he paused in the entrance. Against the far wall, he saw movement. A snarl sounded.
Peter jerked the gun up and fired. A voice howled. Then the rocks around him began to move. Vampires, he realized, covering the floor. A huge nest.
“Back! Run!”
He sprayed gun fire to cover their retreat. Over the noise, he heard Lucy and Rucas scrambled away then Lucy screamed. A roar came from behind them. They’d been cut off!
Peter swung the gun to the side, using his left hand to grab a stake and plunge it into the nearest vampire. A female voice shrieked and ended in a gurgle. He shoved the body away and it fell against two males, knocking them back. Peter lifted the gun again and sprayed more bullets. Vampires ducked back, snarling. He turned and ran to join Lucy and Rucas.
Light flashed off and on from Lucy and Rucas’s glow lights. A large male leapt up from behind Rucas. It grabbed the man’s head and twisted. Rucas yelled and then jerked silent as his neck snapped. The vampire continued twisting. Lucy screamed and fired her shot gun. The shot hit the side of the tunnel, sending a cascade of pebbles down over the vampire. It didn’t pay any attention but kept twisting. Finally Rucas’s head faced backward. The vampire gave a mighty yank and the head came off. Lucy backed away, yelping as Peter grabbed her, pulling her into a small crevice in the wall. Blood sprayed from Rucas’s neck. The vampire fell on it and began to gorge.
Lucy pressed her face against Peter’s chest. He held her with one arm, holding his gun out with the other, bracing it against his hip. Sand and rock scraped behind them. He turned his head, illuminating the vampires crawling toward him from the cavern beyond.
“They’re going to take us,” he whispered to Lucy. “I can finish us first.”
He felt her nod against his chest. He swallowed. His hand trembled as he turned the gun towa
rd her. After everything they been through to end like this… She lifted her face as he brought the gun up.
“No kill,” the nearest vampire hissed at him. Peter looked over. It was a thin male. Behind it a shorter female sniffed in their direction. Peter noticed the others were sniffing at them as well.
Lucy grabbed the gun barrel and pushed it down. “What are they doing?”
The vampires had stopped advancing. They stood sniffing at Peter and Lucy.
“I’m not sure,” Peter said.
“They’re sniffing us,” Lucy said. “We must smell different from Rucas.”
“The cure,” he said.
“Yes! We don’t smell quite human any more. Maybe we smell somewhat like vampire.”
The thin male stepped forward, sliding along the wall toward them. Peter released Lucy, let his left hand drop to his side. A stake rested in his fingers. The vampire took another step. Its mouth opened and it snarled.
Peter pushed Lucy back and lunged forward. He brought the stake up before the vampire could react. It shrieked as he plunged the stake into its chest. It fell as the several others lurched forward, snarling. One knocked Peter back. He lost his grip on the submachine gun. It fell. One of the females kicked it away. He only had two stakes left. There were too many of them.
“I’m sorry, Lucy,” he said. He felt her hands on his shoulders, her face pressed against his neck. He felt her kiss him goodbye as the vampires advanced.
“No!”
A male voice rang out. The vampires stopped. They growled and shuffled around. Footsteps sounded from deeper in the cavern. Several vampires turned to look. Peter followed their glance but he couldn’t see. Whoever it was stood outside his range of vision.
“Bring them.” The same man spoke. Peter felt Lucy’s grip tighten on his shoulders. He grabbed her fingers and squeezed. The group of vampires in front of them lunged forward. Peter felt them pin his arms. He struggled but it was like struggling against steel cables. They snatched the stakes off his belt and threw them farther down the hall. Lucy’s few stakes joined his, he heard them clatter on the rocks.
The Night Killers Page 14
