by Derek Gunn
Chapter 24
Falconi sighed. They had managed to rescue seven vehicles before the fire had grown too intense for his men to continue. He had lost a total of ten thralls to the heat and the numerous explosions. But it was a fair trade, he judged, as he scanned the line of vehicles. Four trucks idled in front of him and his men were already piling into the back. There was even one armored jeep with an imposing Browning fitted to a swivel panel in the back. He had one tank still functional and the rest were armored pick-ups that could take a lot of damage along their metal shields.
He ordered those who could not find room in the vehicles to follow on foot. He also decided to keep a small, but potent, force in the camp itself, just in case his new ally decided to take advantage of the situation. The trucks rumbled past and he jumped into the front seat of the armored jeep as it passed by and headed back to town. In the distance he could hear the crack of a high-powered rifle and he urged his driver to hurry.
Angelo hurried along an alley and motioned for his men to spread out. They hadn’t heard any gunshots for the last few minutes, so either the snipers had gone or they were moving to another position. Either way, he declined to send any men into the building they had been in before. He’d have to be stupid to think the building was not booby-trapped.
As they came towards the end of the alley he could see that the street opened out into the town centre. He flattened against the wall of the alley and quickly scanned the square and felt a cold hand grip his heart. The cage was empty. Most of the lights around the large square were off, but there was enough light from the moon above to let him see that most of the humans were gone. He could see a number of people still gathered at the far end of the cage, and he could see that a number of them were armed. They seemed to be directing the zombie-like captives from the cage back towards the south end of the town. Shit, he thought. There had been almost a thousand humans in there earlier and their presence was the only thing between the vampires’ hunger and his throat. How the hell did they get them all out so quickly? And how the hell were they going to transport that many?
He didn’t know who these people were. It was unlikely that they were thralls from another state; there just weren’t enough of them for it to be a full-scale attack. It didn’t really matter anyway. He had to stop them or he and his men would likely take their place on the menu. There didn’t seem to be many of them and there didn’t seem to be scouts keeping watch. Bloody amateurs! He sent three of his men into the square and ordered the rest to approach around the back of the buildings that made up the town centre on the right. He cursed the fact that he didn’t have a radio, but the batteries were far too valuable to waste on a mere Lieutenant. He would have to hope that his other men were still on track and would take up their positions as ordered. He followed his patrol into the square, keeping low and in the shadows. He had to reach the rest of his men and get them to surround these bastards who were putting his very existence in jeopardy. He grabbed one of the three men with him and sent him back to find Falconi and let him know what was happening.
Looks like he’d need the Captain, after all.
Dee Ratigan ran from the building and dodged through the shadows back towards the square. It wouldn’t take the thralls long to figure out they’d left their positions so they had to hurry. The explosion had slowed the advancing thralls down, and they had managed to kill a few but there were still too many to deal with. Sherman had set four more traps on the route but either the thralls had managed to avoid them or the charges had not detonated for some reason. Either way, they had more thralls on their tails than they could hope to deal with. Just before she had left she had also seen the lights of a number of vehicles leave the ruined camp though her scope. It wouldn’t be long before the main force made their way here and overwhelmed them.
The rifle on her back was her pride and joy, but it was damned heavy. She found it hard to slip easily through the alleys when she had to watch that it did not catch against the walls and she knew she was losing time. Suddenly she was through and the square opened out before her. The cage looked almost empty and she offered up a prayer of thanks that they were almost ready to go.
As she approached she could hear the hissing of a train but there were no signs of trouble so she continued on towards the cage. She was used to Harris and his changing strategies. A train though, she smiled to herself, Jesus, where did he get that? The train was making a hell of a racket now that she was in the square and she was surprised that she had not heard it sooner. The snow or the town’s buildings must be muting the noise, she thought as she hurried on. She saw Rodgers perk up as he spotted her and she couldn’t help but smile as he waved at her like an eager teenager meeting his date. A warmth flooded through her despite the danger, and she increased her speed as she ran to meet him. It was at that point that she heard the chatter of gunfire to her right and her body exploded in pain.
Angelo saw a figure darting across the square, and he held up his fist to halt his men. There was a strange hissing noise on the other side of the square beyond the buildings but it was so out of place in the otherwise quiet night that it took him a moment to recognize it. Those buggers have a train, he realized with a start. No wonder they blew the camp to pieces. He had to stop that train.
Shadows danced around the figure as those lights that still cast their glow around the square swayed in the rising wind. It was difficult to be sure, but it looked like the figure was female. As the figure darted towards the cage he saw the large rifle slung across her back and he cursed. That’s the bitch that nearly took my head off. He signaled for his men to kneel, brought up his own weapon and took aim. The train could wait a few minutes.
There she is, Rodgers felt his heart skip as he saw Dee burst from the shadows and cross the square toward him. He shot up and waved as he turned back toward the others for a moment.
“Dee’s here!” he shouted and then the sound of gunfire snapped his head back towards her just in time to see her fall to the ground. He screamed and ran toward her, taking only enough care to follow the noise of the gunfire with his eyes as he ran. In the far corner he could see small spits of light from a number of weapons as they continued to fire towards Dee. He couldn’t be sure but he thought there were three of them, and he opened up with his XM8 and sprayed the entire area around the thralls with a deadly hail of bullets. He didn’t care that most of his bullets went wild as he ran. He had to get to Dee.
The spurts of light seemed to stop as he had reached Dee. He dropped his weapon as he fell to his knees and gathered her in his arms.
Angelo threw himself to the ground as bullets flew past. Shit, I didn’t see that other guard. He heard his own soldiers grunt behind him and then they both fell to the ground. One of them simply slumped forward, dead before he hit the ground. The other one rolled around and screamed in pain for a moment before he too stopped moving. Angelo paled and looked over at the bodies. He saw bullet holes stitched along their chests and legs. Painful yes, but nothing that should have killed them that quickly. And Peters had screamed as if he had been torn apart. Angelo felt fear grip him. Bullets shouldn’t kill thralls that easily. Just who are these guys?
He saw the human fall to the ground and bend to hold the female. He watched as the man frantically checked the woman for wounds and then grinned as he pulled her still body towards him.
Wouldn’t want to leave you all alone now, he sneered as he lined up his sights.
Warkowski saw Dee fall as he reached the end of the alley. His first impulse was to run out to her, but the thralls were still firing so he held back and brought his rifle forward from its sling on his back. Suddenly he heard an agonized cry and he saw Rodgers bolt from his position and run toward her. He saw Rodgers fire on the thralls and was surprised to see two of them fall immediately and remain still. He frowned at their quick deaths until he realized that Rodgers must have used his special ammunition. It was worth noting that the thralls too were vulnerable to their special amm
unition—very vulnerable, from the evidence. It would be worth mentioning that to the others.
Warkowski brought his rifle up to his shoulder and used its sights to sweep the area more closely. He saw three thralls flat on the ground. Good, he nodded and then lowered his rifle and hurried out toward Rodgers and Dee.
Rodgers ripped at Dee’s jacket and pressed cold-numbed fingers to her throat as his eyes swept her body to judge the damage. She wasn’t breathing, he thought with a hollow feeling, and then he saw her eyelids flutter. He still couldn’t feel a pulse but his hands were so cold that he abandoned the search and gripped her hand instead. He looked into Dee’s eyes and felt a tear drip from his eyes.
“Where are you hit?” he asked as he grinned like an idiot.
“That’ll do your reputation no good at all,” she smiled weakly as she brushed away a tear.
“Shush.” He smiled, feeling relief flood through him.
Just then he heard the metallic click of a magazine being slammed home. He heard a shout to his left and he looked up with a sudden feeling of dread. One of the thralls was still alive and was already preparing to fire.
Warkowski screamed a warning but the thrall was already firing before Rodgers could react. Bullets struck him, rocking his body with each impact, and Warkowski watched as if in slow motion. He heard Dee scream, first in shock and then despair as Rodgers slipped away from her. The thrall stopped firing for a moment, taking the time to lower his angle of fire. Bullets stitched along the ground and then Dee’s body began to convulse as he found the range. Warkowski drew his pistol and screamed his rage as he ran forward, pumping shot after shot into the thrall.
The bullets each hit their target and the thrall collapsed, but Warkowski continued to pump the trigger until the magazine was empty. By the time he reached the thrall all that remained of his head was a wet pulp.
Warkowski forced himself to calm down, and then crossed to where Rodgers and Dee lay. He knew long before he reached them that he was too late. He only took a moment to look at them and tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he saw their hands still firmly clasping each other. And then the square erupted in more gunfire and he ran as fast as he could toward the train.
Chapter 25
Harris saw the thralls spread out into the square, ripping down the barriers that had only hours before held nearly a thousand humans captive. Warkowski was still halfway across and bullets sparked in the night as they slammed into the ground around him. Harris laid down covering fire but there were far too many thralls. He glanced quickly behind him but there were still too many prisoners waiting to be loaded onto the train, and Sandra and the others were far too busy to help.
Harris glanced over the far side of the square and saw the still forms of Dee and Rodgers on the ground. He felt his stomach knot. It was all happening again, he thought and a demobilizing fear began to spread through him. He couldn’t see his friends die, not again. It just wasn’t fair. He continued to fire at the darting shapes of the thralls, but he was reacting to their movements after they had already moved rather than anticipating where they were going. All he was doing was wasting ammunition. He had to get his head straight. They were so fast, nowhere as fast as the vampires, of course, but faster than he could track.
Harris was overwhelmed by the impending defeat, and it slowed his own reactions. He kept darting his attention behind him to check on the train, and then when he looked back to the square the thralls had advanced far further than he would have thought and he lost more precious seconds as he tried to find them again. His mind was flooded with doubt as his past defeat and the death of those he was responsible for threatened to immobilize him.
Just then Warkowski grunted and fell forward to the ground.
“Noooo!” Harris screamed as images of the dead flooded through him. The faces of friends, their features cold and still in death flooded his mind. Images of the world as it used to be fought with those of the hell they lived in now. He looked from the still forms of Dee and Rodgers to the figure of Warkowski, and his mind threatened to shut down. Suddenly he saw a flicker of movement from Warkowski, and then the big man tried to rise.
Harris’ mind suddenly cleared. He could still save Warkowski and Sandra and over a thousand others. He forced down his doubts and concentrated on what he could control. He felt a peace flood through him for the first time in years. He loaded a new clip, noticing that it had red tape around it, denoting that it was one of the specially coated ones. There was no time to change it now. He ran out into the square towards Warkowski, firing as he went.
With his mind now clear he was able to fire more effectively, and he saw a number of the dark shapes fall as the stutter of the XM8 bucked in his hands. He reached Warkowski and bent down to check his wounds. On one level he noted that the thralls that went down tended to stay there, whereas he was used to them rising again quite quickly as their rapid healing kicked in. But he did not have time to dwell on it.
Warkowski had been hit in the side and was bleeding heavily, but he was conscious. Harris grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, ignoring the man’s grunts of pain. Bullets shattered concrete around them as Harris struggled with Warkowski as he made his way back to cover. They were still thirty yards away, but the thralls were gaining with no covering fire to send them diving for cover. Harris felt a bullet tear at his ear and felt warm blood run down his neck and soak his collar. Another bullet slammed into his shoulder and he fell with Warkowski and both men cried out as they hit the ground. The mad chatter of machine guns and bullets striking concrete suddenly stopped as thralls rose to their feet and fanned out as they approached them. Harris groped for his pistol as his XM8 was tangled around his back and Warkowski was too heavy to move to bring it to bear.
He pumped shot after shot at the thralls, but they didn’t do any good. He even saw some of them smile as the bullets hit them. The low caliber bullets were more of an annoyance to them than any real danger. Warkowski had passed out and Harris was helpless as the seven thralls drew closer.
Suddenly the night erupted once again with gunfire, but this time it was the thralls who screamed. Bullets stitched among the remaining soldiers, splitting flesh and sending blood spraying outward. At first the thralls staggered back and grunted as the heavy caliber bullets tore into them. One or two even fell to the ground under the relentless assault of fire, but then they steadied themselves. The fire behind him suddenly stopped as the shooter reloaded and the thralls brought their own weapons to bear and began to fire.
Then the strangest thing happened. The thralls began to drop their weapons and clutch at their wounds in agony. They screamed terribly and tore at their wound, ripping at their own flesh in their frenzy to get the bullets out. Harris looked back and saw Sandra slam another magazine home and then send another hail of fire into the thralls.
As the last one fell Harris finally freed himself from Warkowski’s weight and struggled to his feet.
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?” she smiled, but her eyes held a deep worry as she saw the amount of blood staining his clothes. He didn’t have the energy for a response and motioned for her to help him with Warkowski. As they finally got him to his feet they heard an explosion only a short distance away. One of Sherman’s traps, he thought with a sinking feeling.
“Come on,” he urged, “there’s more of them on the way.”
Wentworth heard the explosions back toward his own lines and called one of his lieutenants over. He was about to send him to investigate when his scouts returned and announced that Von Kruger’s main force had arrived. He quickly forgot about the humans, there would be plenty of time when he had finished with Von Kruger.
He had deployed his vampires in different tiers, keeping his older and more battle-hardened vampires almost three hundred feet above his main forces. Their orders were to circle above and attack from behind when the main forces were engaged. Wentworth did not have as many older vampires so he had to rely on guile. He also ha
d two other detachments far to the east and the west hidden on the ground and waiting for his signal. The air was filled with the scent of death and blood from the battlefield below. It was so intoxicating that he was constantly at war with himself as he felt himself pulled to abandon his plans and just fly straight at his enemy and rip and tear until only one of them was left. He knew at one level that this way would mean certain defeat and death. But the lure was strong regardless and he had to constantly hold his forces in line as they too threatened to abandon their orders and lose themselves to their base natures.
He strained his eyes into the night and could see the darkness seething ahead of them with countless dark shapes. Von Kruger and his vampires were flying straight at him in one huge mass of power. For a moment he felt fear grip him. There were so many. He knew that Von Kruger had more vampires than he did, but the sheer reality of his forces was shocking. Von Kruger had never been a great tactician, but the bluntness of his assault was worrying. He couldn’t be that confident of victory that he would attack with such an obvious approach. What am I missing?
Von Kruger lost himself in the scent of blood that rose up from the ground below. Even from this distance his senses could pick up the scent in the air, and his mouth grew wet with anticipation. It was intoxicating, and he relished the carnage to come. He had formed a number of plans and strategies before he had left, but now that he was here and could see his enemy swoop and jostle for position ahead of him, he allowed his instinct to take over. He drove forward with a passion and anticipation that he had never felt before. This, he thought, was what vampires were born for. There was a nagging at the back of his mind, something to do with the low numbers of vampires ahead of him, but then the scent of blood grew stronger and he lost himself to the moment
