“We must be close to outside,” she said.
Hope flared in him. Maybe they weren’t deep in the caves but on the outer edge. He wet his fingers and held it up, walking the perimeter of the cave. In the far corner, he felt the breeze, stronger. He explored the wall with his hands. Lucy joined him.
The wall was solid. Peter felt the breeze stronger near the ceiling.
“It must be on the other side of this wall,” Lucy said. “We’ll have to make a run for it.”
Before he could respond, she turned and headed for the door.
“Lucy!” he hissed and hurried after her. He caught up with her just as she put her hand on the door to push it open.
“You can’t just go out there.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned on him and he saw the wild desperation in her eyes.
“We have to get out of here,” she said.
“We will. Just take it slow. We don’t want to get caught again.”
Her head jerked down in a nod. He held onto her arm for a moment longer and then released her. She stood trembling before him, her body vibrating with the need to run. But she stayed.
He moved to the door and put a hand on it. Extending his mind, he felt for anyone else nearby. No one yet. He opened his eyes and nodded to Lucy.
“Okay now.” He opened the door and peered out. Darkness swallowed the hallways. Of course, vampires did not need light.
“We have to take the glowglobe with us,” he said.
Lucy scurried over and grabbed the globe. Her hands moved over the surface and the light dimmed. She dragged it over.
“We don’t want to be too obvious.”
He smiled at her. “Good idea.”
The praise seemed to relax her a little. Her shoulders released. He took the globe from her and moved into the hallway. It was empty as far as the dim light extended. He hurried to the left, to where the wall had been. The walls of the hallway stretched unbroken before him. He’d walked more than far enough past the wall of the room. He turned to Lucy who was right behind him.
“There’s no way to get there.”
In the dim light, he could still see the muscle along her jaw jump as she clenched her teeth. He could feel the tension in her rise.
“I have to get out of here now.”
She was almost vibrating. The whites of her eyes shone in the dimness. He had to stop her before she darted away.
“Go back to the room,” he said. “I want to try something.”
Her eye brows drew together and she looked like she wanted to argue. Finally she huffed out a breath, then spun and hurried back to the room. Peter followed close behind.
He hurried over to the wall where he’d felt the breeze. It was still there, still coming from the ceiling. He grabbed one of the chairs and hauled it over. Climbing on it, he tried to find the source of the breeze. There, in a darker patch at the ceiling, farther away from the corner.
He put his hands again the wall and closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, he pictured the breeze as a white light emanating from the wall. Show me where you come from, he thought. The light flickered and then steadied. After a moment it began to pulse back and he followed it in his mind.
It curved up inside the wall into a natural duct formation that ran along the top of the caves and straight outside. He imagined markers along the way, pointing him in the right direction when the path curved into several branches. They could do it, he thought. It might be a bit cramped in spots but they could do it.
He then asked the breeze to show him an easy entrance to its path. It continued past their current room to another one down the hallway. There, it came out in a larger hole near the ceiling.
Peter opened his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Lucy whispered. Her hand tugged at his pants.
“There’s another spot where the breeze comes out that we can get to.” He jumped down from the chair. “Let’s go.”
In the hallway, he turned left and led her down to another cave several meters away. It was misshapen, with the ceiling curving down. In the far corner, Peter noticed the darkness deepened. The hole. The glowglobe confirmed his suspicion.
“You first,” he said to Lucy.
She shook her head. “I don’t want to go in there.”
He sighed. “Okay. I’ll go first but you will follow.”
She didn’t look convinced.
Bending his knees, he jumped and caught hold of the outer edges of the stone. Muscles protesting, he pulled his body up into the hole. Light from the glowglobe showed the natural duct led toward the right. Already he felt more of the breeze against his face.
The area was just large enough for him to bend double and twist around. He lay down on the stone and ducked his head out. Lucy’s pale face was turned up to him. Concern etched deep furrows in her face.
“Come on.”
“I can’t jump that high,” she said.
He reached his arms down. “Try. I’ll catch you.”
She hesitated.
“I trusted you with your cure. Trust me to catch you.”
Still, she hesitated. He waited and finally she nodded. She crouched and jumped, reaching for his hands. He felt the tips of her fingers brush his as she missed and landed back on the cave floor. She stumbled back and he thought she might refuse to try again but she took a couple of steps back and then made a run and jump.
This time he caught her wrists. Her body swung a little. He used the momentum to help swing her closer to the edge. Her left hand grabbed the top and he was able to help hoist her under her arm and then around her waist.
She sprawled in the tunnel beside him, her body pressed against his and he felt her heart pattering like a trapped bird. Her hands clutched him.
“We have to go,” he said. She nodded and released him.
He led her forward, following the whispered promise of the breeze. The glowglobe threw up weird shadows that hurried along the walls and the floor beside them. After a short time, he heard her gasp.
“I feel it,” she said. “The breeze!”
It was definitely more prominent now. Peter could almost feel the tunnel opening up for them, allowing easier passage. Finally a break. They could sure use one.
The tunnel curved and began to arch upward. Peter followed. He scanned ahead of them, testing with his mind, looking for any sign of vampires following or tracking them. Although his nose bleed had stopped, he knew it would still be like a beacon for them. The sooner they reached the outside, the better. Was it too much to hope they came out near the truck? Probably.
Around another bend, he noticed another hole off to the right on the floor. He stopped. Lucy bumped into him.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“I’m not sure.” He sensed something below, someone but it wasn’t vampires and it wasn’t quite human. He shook his head. It didn’t make sense. He crept to the hole and peered down.
It opened to another small chamber. Small figures lay curled on the ground. As he watched, one stretched like a cat then the head jerked up and a young girl looked right at him. They stared at each other for a moment until Peter reached his hand down the hole.
The girl stood up and crept past the others to stand beneath the hole. She stared at Peter’s hand. He felt her mind questioning. He sent back a feeling of calm and protection. Safety. She crouched down and leapt up.
He caught her hand and helped haul her upward. She crouched on the tunnel floor and looked at him and then Lucy.
“Are there any others you want to come with us?” Peter said.
Her gaze flashed down to the sleeping figures. Her hand pointed.
“My brother.”
“Can you call to him?” Peter said. “In here?” He tapped the side of his head.
She closed her eyes. After a moment, one of the figures stirred and sat up. A younger boy yawned and rubbed his eyes. His head turned one way and then other, then he looked up. Peter reached his hand through the hole again.
<
br /> The boy didn’t even hesitate. He leapt like a gazelle and scrambled up through the hole. He crouched by his sister.
“I’m Peter and this is Lucy,” Peter said. “We’re getting out of here. You can come.”
The girl nodded and after a moment, the boy followed suit. Neither seemed inclined to give their name. Peter didn’t think this was the time to press it.
He pointed ahead and they began to move. He sent the children before him so he could watch them. The inhuman feeling of them echoed in his mind but he knew they weren’t vampires. What were they? Maybe Lucy could tell back at the lab. If they made it back to the lab.
He wondered briefly if he should ask them about the girl taken last night but they probably wouldn’t know about her. Rucus had died in vain.
Maybe not quite in vain, not if they could escape and figure out what the vampires were doing because Peter was quite convinced now that they were up to something. And he had to know what, he had to get to that knowledge to the Night Killers.
“Peter.” Lucy’s voice whispered from behind him. “Do you feel it?”
He did. The breeze blew steady now and he saw the girl’s hair flutter back behind her. They were close. He knew it.
“Keep going,” he said. “Straight ahead.”
They hurried onward. The glowglobe tracked behind them making them chase their shadows. The girl stopped. Her hair was waving now. Peter felt the breeze blowing strong. He sensed Lucy’s excitement behind him.
“Keep going,” he urged the girl but she didn’t move. The boy huddled by her heels. Peter pressed past them, feeling their bodies brush against him as he slid by. They felt cooler than they should. Another sign of their unhumanness. Peter pushed it to the back of his mind. He had other things to focus on right now.
This close to the girl he could see the fear in her eyes. She looked at him and then her gaze flicked past him. He followed it and saw the hole in the wall on the left. Did it lead to another passage? No, he realized, it was the way out. The darkness meant it was night outside.
Night. But the truck was out there. They might make it.
He looked over the children’s head back to Lucy. “When we get through the opening we have to move fast. Head for the truck. It’s night time.”
Awareness dawned in her eyes and she nodded, one sharp movement. Even from here he sensed her entire body tense, every muscle quivering and ready. Good girl, he thought.
The children made no acknowledgement, as if they hadn’t heard him at all. Would they follow, he wondered. He sent a query to the girl in his mind. She turned her face to him and blinked. No other response. He would just have to wait and see what they did.
He turned back to the wall. The hole was an irregular shape, only a foot at its widest. He’d have to widen it for them. But how? He had no tools.
He sensed Lucy and the children waiting behind him. Soon Lucy would get impatient and her panic would return. He needed her focused and calm. Vampires would have an easier time tracking her strong emotions.
His fingers brushed the edges of the hole. He could feel the wind stronger out there, just on the other side of this rock. So close. If only he had something to work on the edges. The rock felt crumbly in his hands. A few good blows could widen the hole enough to let them escape.
Vibration, he thought. A strong enough vibration… It could be worth a try.
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, he pictured the hole. He felt the crumbling edges and imagined them weakening. The solid rock fragmenting and separating into smaller and smaller pieces, pebbles and dust as it showered out of the hole. He imagined the size of the hole increasing, widening and growing, two feet across then three feet. It continued to widen. He could almost hear the crumbling rock falling away, cascading outside into the desert air. Dust tickled his nose. He heard the girl cough behind him. He resisted the urge to open his eyes and kept focusing on the hole, imaging it growing, the rock falling away. Finally he felt it was large enough to get through without trouble. He opened his eyes.
Dust obscured the hole for a moment but as he propelled the glowglobe closer, he saw the hole had widen enough to crawl through. His heart started pounding or he just became aware of its thunder in his ears. He felt Lucy’s hand on his shoulder.
“Your nose is bleeding again,” she said.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’re getting out. You first, then the kids.”
She climbed past him to the hole. She looked out and then back to him.
“It’s really bad, Peter.” She yanked off another piece of her turban and pressed it into his hand. He took it from her.
“Go on,” he said.
“Once you take care of your nose,” she said.
He sighed and pulled out the old soaked pieces of cloth. Blood flowed from his nose. He stuffed the cloth up his nostrils and noticed how the children stared at the blood. Naked hunger reflected in their eyes but they didn’t move. What were they, he wondered.
“Okay, go on.” His voice sounded muffled because of the cloth.
Lucy nodded, satisfied. She headed out the hole and began to climb. He looked out to follow her progress and saw they had come out twenty feet or so above the desert floor. As she got close to the ground, he turned to the girl.
“You next, just follow her down.”
The girl hesitated, glancing at her brother. Something seemed to pass between them then she climbed out the hole and started down. The boy followed close behind her.
Peter dialed the glowglobe to minimum and sent it out the hole. It floated downward on the air. He waited a few more moments and then followed. The fresh air filled his lungs as he climbed down. It tasted crisp and clean. He wished he could smell it but he couldn’t even breathe through his nose with the fabric stuffed in it. He had to settled for breathing through his mouth.
His fingers groped for holds as he worked his way down. He wanted to see if Lucy had made it safely but one glance made his head spin with vertigo. He felt the world tilt. He stopped climbing and clung to the rock. Several deep breaths settled things and put the world back in its proper order. He started down again and didn’t take another look.
A few minutes later his foot scrapped the ground. In the faint glow from the glowglobe, he could see Lucy and the children waiting. Lucy’s shoulders hunched up around her neck as she looked around them. No sign of anyone so far.
Peter hurried to them. “We have to find the truck,” he whispered. Lucy nodded. She looked up into the sky. Her mouth moved silently then she jerked her head to the right.
“That way.”
She hurried off. Peter brought up the rear, making sure the children stayed in the middle. They seemed to understand and, holding hands, followed Lucy. The glowglobe followed like an obedient puppy.
They just rounded an outcropping of rocks and Peter caught a glimpse of the truck. Then he noticed the girl glance up at the rock. He didn’t need to look.
“Lucy, run!” he shouted.
The first vampire landed in front of him. Peter bent double and lowered his right shoulder. He ploughed into the vampire, hitting it on its left side, knocking it off balance. It spun and fell. Peter kept running.
He heard snarls all around him. He kept running. His feet pounded the ground. It was hard to draw breath in from just his mouth. He yanked the fabric from his nose, felt the blood start up again. The snarls increased, filled with excitement. An idea formed in his head. Diversion. He could be a diversion.
He angled to his left, away from the rock, away from the truck.
He heard footsteps behind him, coming up fast. He gulped in air, the fresh desert air, and pushed himself harder. They couldn’t make him a vampire but they could bleed him dry. Probably would. Fear gave him extra energy and he raced faster.
But still the footsteps gained. His toe caught a slight indent in the ground and he stumbled but managed to right himself and keep going. But it cost him a precious second. He heard the growl of triu
mph behind him as the footsteps drew closer.
An engine roar drowned out the footsteps. The roar grew as the truck drew up alongside. Lucy stuck her head out of driver’s window.
“Jump in the back!”
She angled the truck toward him. He saw the back hanging open. As the truck passed, he put on a final burst of speed and made a wild leap. He landed in the back, his legs hanging off from the knees down. He pulled his legs up and rolled into the truck bed. Lucy hit the gas and the truck raced off.
Peter sat up in time to see a vampire clinging onto the open door. It was dragging itself up inch by inch. As he watched, one of its finger nails snapped as it dug its hand into the truck bed. Peter looked around and saw a shovel. He picked it up and staggered toward the back. He hoisted it and swung. The vampire shrieked as the shovel severed its right arm. Something brackish sprayed Peter’s feet. He lifted the shovel again.
The vampire let go and fell off the truck. The darkness swallowed it.
Peter dropped the shovel and staggered to the front of the truck bed where he crouched down. Wind whipped around him as they fled deeper into the darkness.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Rick sipped a coffee as he watched the first rays of the rising sun brush the sky. Behind him, several industrial buildings reached up toward the top of the dome. Few people ventured to the southern part of the dome around the crowded buildings. Most stayed in the northern end where there was some open space. But here the density of the buildings was perfect for thwarting any surveillance. Rick set up some counter jammers just in case. As he sipped his coffee, he knew Raj would have been proud that Rick had absorbed some of his constant lectures about security.
A crunch of gravel behind him caught his attention. Rick didn’t turn. He sipped his cup again and let his left hand hang casually by his belt and the slim modified spitter. Another one of Raj’s experiments, the spitter’s range had been extended several yards and it shot tranquilizer darts. Those darts had been treated with a fast acting paralyzer that became permanent if the antidote wasn’t supplied within a certain timeframe. This little addition had been Sami’s contribution.
The Night Killers Page 18
