Riders on the Storm

by Rob Blackwell

  As she was debating, she ducked inside the building she was closest to, pulling Pete after her. There was a large thump above her. It wasn’t thunder, but the sound of something big hitting the building’s roof. She knew without seeing it that it was a Viper.

  She looked outside as more started landing in the streets around her. None turned in her direction, but it was only a matter of time before one did.

  She moved further inside the building. When the lightning hit outside, briefly giving her a look at where she was, she realized she was inside the bank. She had a second to savor the irony. She had the place all to herself, likely hundreds of dollars nearby, but this was the one bank she didn’t want to rob.

  Instead, she hunkered down just inside the doorway, pulling Pete down beside her. There were more thumps on the roof above. Jules wanted to scream. There were too many of them. She should have run. She’d known it from the beginning. There was no hope.

  But she pushed that thought aside. She’d made her choice, and she would not abandon Miranda, Will and Luke to their fate. She needed to get inside that church.

  She ducked her head around the edge of the bank doorway to get a good look outside, waiting for a flash of lightning. When it came, she saw Vipers scampering down the road, all headed for the church like it was lit up by some kind of beacon.

  One Viper didn’t. When the light came, she could see it standing in the road looking in the other direction—directly at her.

  Jules ducked her head back, breathing hard.

  It saw me, it saw me, it saw me.

  Maybe it had just been looking back at one of its companions, but Jules didn’t think so. She thought back to what her gut had told her when she’d laid out this plan—they could sense people. It had known she was here.

  Or had it? She had no way of being sure. But could she afford to take the risk? She waited in the dark, counting to ten.

  “I’m going to let go of your hand,” she whispered to Pete. “But don’t move. Just stay here until I call you. Squeeze my hand if you understand.”

  There was a slight squeeze, barely anything, but it was enough. Jules released his hand and drew her revolver. It was time to trust her instincts.

  She stood up straight, keeping her back to the wall. When she darted out, turning and facing the street with a gun in her hand, lightning flashed at the same time. It illuminated the Viper that now stood directly in front of her—and the two others that were right behind it.

  The first creature hissed and Jules blew its head off. One of its companions leaped into the air at the same time, but Jules shot it in the chest. She tried to aim again, just as the third one barreled into her.

  She was knocked flat on her back, her breath momentarily lost as the Viper pinned her to the ground. She tried to bring up the gun to shoot, but her arm was trapped by the creature’s body.

  It opened its mouth inches from her face, exposing rows of sharp teeth. Its breath was hot and stinking. Jules tried to knock her head into those teeth, hoping the maneuver would catch it off guard. But the thing pulled back its head in time and screeched at her.

  It snapped at her with its teeth, clearly intending to rip into her jugular. Jules saw her life flash before her eyes. It was all visions of her father, Miranda and Will.

  But before the creature’s jaws could connect, a boot suddenly appeared, smacking into the thing’s face with such force that it was knocked off her. Jules looked wide-eyed up at Pete just as lightning flashed outside. He was glaring at the thing, holding a wooden cross in his hand.

  “Nasty creature,” he spat. “Nasty creature.”

  Her arm free, Jules aimed her revolver and fired, decapitating the Viper as it opened its mouth to scream again.

  They had no time to rest. The other Vipers would know she was out here now and at least some were likely to come for her.

  She stood up, nodding at Pete with something like respect.

  “Thanks for that, Cra—Pete,” she corrected mid-sentence. Anyone who saved her life didn’t deserve to be known as “Crazy” anything.

  She looked out the doorway, expecting to see more Vipers headed her way, but there wasn’t anything yet. Not that she could see far. Between the dark and the rain, there could have been a creature lurking two feet beyond the doorway and she might not have known it.

  Jules reloaded her revolver, chambering three more silver bullets into her weapon. Lord only knew when she’d get the chance to reload again.

  She looked at Pete. She had no idea if the wooden cross he was carrying had any effect on the creatures, but it seemed to give the man courage. “Stick behind me,” she said. He nodded.

  Jules drew both revolvers, holding them out in front of her. She closed her eyes, calming herself in the same way she often did right before a job. When she went out that door, she had no idea what to expect.

  “On three, we’re going out,” she said. “One. Two. Three.”

  Jules ran out the door, revolvers at the ready—and right into an ambush.

  A flash of lightning showed her six Vipers clustered in a half circle in front of the doorway, obviously waiting for her to emerge. It made sense. If they came through the door one at a time, she might have been able to pick them off. But all six of them at once was a different story entirely.

  Jules didn’t allow herself time to think. She just started firing as they rushed toward her. She took out the two in front first, who didn’t even have time to make it off the ground. The second two she caught in mid-leap. She dropped to the ground as the remaining two flew at her, allowing them to collide with each other in mid-air. She couldn’t even see them anymore as it had gone dark again, but aimed up and fired. She rolled out of the way as they came down in a heap. The lightning around her illuminated six dead Vipers on the ground.

  Jules turned back to Pete. “Run!” she screamed.

  She fled into the street, checking to make sure he followed her. She shot another Viper in mid-air as it sprang from a rooftop, the lightning betraying its position. She tagged another part way down the street because its red eyes gave it away.

  She was soaked to the bone and almost out of ammunition, but couldn’t stop to reload or regroup. Stopping would give the Vipers more time to hone in on her position.

  Jules turned to see Pete struggling to keep up behind her as she sprinted toward the church. Even over the thunder and the rain, she could hear what sounded like gunfire coming from that direction, which was both a good and bad sign. Good because it gave her a sense of direction in a challenging environment. Bad because if Will and the others were firing, it meant some Vipers were getting in. Will had strict instructions not to waste ammunition trying to kill them when they were still outside the church.

  She killed another Viper in the sky nearby before coming to an abrupt halt, causing Pete to run into her.

  For a moment, she couldn’t see the church. There was a flash of lightning and it was as if the whole building was gone. Where it should be was just a black emptiness.

  It wasn’t until the lightning flared again overhead that she realized why. She couldn’t see the church because Vipers were literally crawling over every surface of it. It was like a nest of ants that had covered a piece of cake. All she could see in the flash was the mass of black monsters covering its surface.

  She gritted her teeth and pressed on with Pete coming along in tow. No more Vipers came after her. Perhaps they were too distracted by the prizes that lay inside the church.

  Jules could see light peeking out now from an upper window on the left and the front door. The entrance appeared to have taken a severe beating, with part of it smashed in.

  In another lightning flash, Jules could make out that the monsters were crawling through it, as others skittered around the outside of the church to take their place.

  She turned back to Pete. “Form up beside me. We need to run straight inside. Do just what I do, okay?”

  She didn’t see him nod, but Pete stood next to her. S
he gathered up all her strength and ran straight toward the church’s front door. Her guns were still out in front of her, but she only had a few more bullets. Her plan would only work if the Vipers didn’t see her coming.

  Of course, there was every chance that if she came rushing into that church, she’d be killed by Will, Luke or one of their men, but it was a risk she’d have to take.

  They were twenty feet away, light streaming out of the church like a beacon calling her home, when the first Viper turned its head at her, apparently sensing her presence. Three others did the same.

  Jules didn’t stop. She waited until she and Pete were ten feet away and fired her remaining bullets. She didn’t see whether they connected.

  They were five feet away, and dove through the shattered part of the door and into the church.

  “Stay down!” Jules screamed, as they hit the church floor just inside. There was an eruption of gunfire at the same moment and the whine of bullets as they streaked overhead.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “I have struggled to see beyond the girl, but can find only darkness.”

  — Attributed to the Lady of Shadows, 1861, excerpted by Terry Jacobsen, “A History of the Supernatural,” 2013

  Jules landed hard on the wood floor. She flipped over to see if Vipers had pursued them. But the ones who’d been watching her outside the door had been caught in the blast aimed at Jules and Pete.

  “Good God, Jules!” Will shouted.

  She looked up to see him with a line of men kneeling, facing the direction of the entrance to the church. A second line of men were standing behind them, maximizing their ability to fire at once.

  Jules spared a look at Pete, but other than being soaking wet and a bloodied lip from hitting the floor face first, he appeared to be okay. He was clutching the cross to his chest, muttering to himself.

  She scrambled to her feet as several men ran forward to help. She and Pete made their way into the line of men as more shots rang out.

  “I tried to shoot you,” Will said when she reached them.

  “Not the first man to attempt that.”

  “You could have died.”

  She shook her head. It was true, but not important at the moment.

  “What’s the situation?” she asked.

  As she waited for him to respond, she scanned the church. It was lined with dead Viper bodies, far more than she’d expected. But more were pouring through various openings. There was the gaping hole in the front door, but also two smashed windows on the right and one on the left.

  On the face of it, they had matters under control. Will was timing the shots, giving the first line orders to fire when enough monsters had crowded through, then letting them reload while the second line of men fired. There was even a third line of reserves.

  Jules was fiercely glad Will was here. She’d been in plenty of gunfights, but never a battle, and military training clearly went a long way.

  But the problem was obvious. For every Viper they killed, three more appeared to take its place. That image of the creatures covering the church like ants resurfaced in her mind. No matter how much ammo they had, there was no way to kill them all.

  “Situation is as expected,” Will said.

  It was an appropriate answer with his men so close by, but Jules could see the desperation in his eyes. He knew what she did. Guns could hold out against superior numbers for a long time, but eventually numbers would win. She nodded to show she understood.

  “Time for the backup plan?” she asked.

  “How bad is it outside?”

  Jules gave him a hard look, and he nodded his own understanding.

  “Not yet, but we’re getting there,” he said.

  As he spoke, the last window on the right side was reduced to splinters and Vipers came streaming in. Luke shouted an order and the third reserve of men stood while the second line knelt behind the first. They fired at the new Vipers entering the building.

  “Move ‘em out,” Jules said quietly.

  “Are you sure?” Will whispered. “We can hold out a little longer.”

  “When this breaks, it’ll break badly. It’ll be too late then.”

  He gave a clipped nod, the kind delivered to a superior officer, but Jules didn’t have time to savor it.

  “You need to go through first, Will.”

  It was what they’d agreed on. She couldn’t have a mass of civilians emerge on the other side of the retreat without any kind of protection. That wouldn’t make sense.

  “I still say I should stay behind,” he said.

  “My plan, my rules, soldier. Take Pete with you.”

  He nodded again, looking unhappy, but started barking orders as Luke commanded another volley to be fired. This time it was at another window on the left. There was only one that hadn’t been smashed to smithereens. Soon they were going to be overwhelmed.

  “Third line, with me!” Will said. “Pete, this way.”

  Will gave her one last look, and she could see the regret and worry on his face. Then he was gone, leading at least a dozen men into the crypt. Pete walked behind them, almost in a daze. The remaining men eyed each other anxiously, uncertain whether they were being left behind to die.

  Jules took a position next to Luke, who continued to command the men. She calmly reloaded her weapons from the stashes that were spread strategically down the line. The ammunition had seemed like so much at first, but already it was spread thin. They were rapidly reaching the end of their stores.

  She waited with the others until Luke gave the call to fire. To her mind, he was waiting too long, letting the Vipers get too close, but when the volley came, it did the job. Some men aimed straight ahead, others fired up. All the men found a mark.

  That had less to do with their marksmanship than the fact that there were so many to hit. The Vipers swarmed inside, filling up the space tighter than a service on Easter.

  Three Vipers made it to the first line. Jules tried to cut them down, but only took out two before one fell on Grady, the rancher. It grabbed him by the throat, and bit into his neck.

  Jules shot it a second later, but Grady was already writhing on the floor. Another man—Phillip—ran to help him.

  “No!” Jules screamed. He was blocking her shot. “Get back into line!”

  Phillip looked back at her uncertainly, clearly feeling some loyalty to the fallen Grady. Jules could see the rancher’s legs twitching on the floor.

  She shoved through the first line of men, trying to reach the situation in time. There was another volley fired, but more Vipers broke through and started attacking the men. One reached the far left of the line, pouncing on a man in front. Two of his companions helped yank the creature back, but the one on the floor was already bit, blood pouring from his neck.

  Jules couldn’t worry about him yet. She approached Phillip, still standing over Grady’s body.

  “Get out of the way, you idiot!” she shouted.

  “No, I—” Phillip said and screamed. Grady, on the floor, had just bit into Phillip’s calf. Phillip shrieked in pain—and Jules shot him in the head. It felt like murder, since the man had not begun to turn, but she knew it was really a mercy. Phillip crumpled to the ground and Jules turned her attention to the man she’d once known as Grady. His eyes had already turned red.

  She’d never seen the transformation happen so quickly before, but there was no time to dwell on that. She aimed and fired, killing him before he could harm anyone else.

  “Last volley and then retreat!” she shouted.

  Luke nodded in response, as Jules walked down the line and shot the other fallen man who had been bitten. His friends looked at her in shock, but she had no regrets. Some fates were worse than death.

  The second line of men started filing into the crypt, while the first continued to cover for them.

  They were firing at will now, barely able to contain the horde that had overrun the church. Two more men got seized by Vipers, and Jules didn’t ha
ve time to shoot them, but was concentrating on their retreat. She let the other men file out first.

  She wasn’t being noble. She didn’t trust anyone else to do the next part of the plan. It had to work just right or it wouldn’t work.

  She kept shooting until her guns were empty, the last human in the church as even Luke ducked below. She retreated in orderly fashion, slamming the door to the crypt shut just as a Viper launched itself at her. It collided with the heavy wooden frame but she could hear it pounding on the outside. If the door to the church hadn’t held, this would be even less effective. It was only a matter of time before they burst in.

  She reached the crypt floor, still illuminated by the dim lantern light, as Luke vanished into the escape tunnel.

  There were no men, women or children down here anymore. They’d all left to take up positions in Dy’s saloon. In theory, it should take the Vipers at least a little time to realize their quarry had run to another position.

  Even when they did, the buggers were likely to just follow instead of flank. They appeared to have one strategy—to attack head-on. Jules hoped that was right. She was counting on it.

  She holstered her guns. She dumped the oil reserves she’d ordered placed near the tunnel entrance on the floor, making sure to splash as much as she could risk near the barrels she’d lined the crypt with.

  The pounding on the door above her grew more insistent until there was a large crack as a piece of it was shattered. More cracks followed rapidly after that. Jules grabbed the lantern.

  She backed into the tunnel, letting a small stream of oil reserves splash onto the ground as she went.

  The Vipers broke into the crypt, their inhuman shrieking echoing down the tunnel as they quickly overran the space inside. She was roughly twenty feet into the tunnel when the first Viper reached the entrance to it. Its red eyes glowed in the lantern light.

  Jules hurried up, running backward. The Viper in front of her sprinted forward, rapidly closing the space between them. Dozens of its companions came behind it.