Something of the Night (37 page)

Chapter
Fifty-Five

The night had gone to hell. Now out in the open, Jacob
and Ezekiel found themselves trapped between the line of advancing soldiers and
the human convoy. Less than fifty yards separated them from the dirt track.

The sudden loss of The Ray of
Hope had forced the remaining human soldiers back towards the convoy. The mass
of vampires had reappeared from the dark woodlands, the return of the night
offering the promise of victory.

The gunfire broke for a
second and Jacob scrambled to his feet, quickly moving closer to the line of
humans. A swarm of dark bodies followed, their boots crushing the remains of
the fallen.

“Almost there,” Jacob said,
finding the first line of transports within touching distance. Nearly the
entire front column had been reduced to blazing heaps of twisted metal. Other
things lay scattered about, also smouldering, but Jacob forced his attention
away, unwilling to put names or faces to the disfigured shapes. Rage built
inside him. He grabbed the vampire by the arm and dragged him towards the first
stationary vehicle. Together, they took refuge behind a wagon. Its two rear
tyres had been shredded, and their metal rims glinted with an orange glow,
reflecting back the fires that raged along the dirt track.

A spectacle above demanded
Ezekiel’s attention. Above them, spinning uncontrollably was the Huey, its fire
spent and its future bleak.

“Goddamn!” Jacob spat.

Ezekiel placed his hand on
the tracker’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said, genuinely. “The boldest thing I
ever witnessed,” he added, impressed by the humans’ ingenuity.

With a dreadful whir the
helicopter disappeared over the crest of the hill. Jacob tensed, ready for the
inevitable explosion. However, by some act of mercy, it didn’t come. Instead,
another noise competed for Jacob’s attention.

“Jacob!” someone cried, off
to his right.

Peering through the darkness,
Jacob found a pale, terrified face.

Alice Hammond stared back,
pinned under the axle of a collapsed trailer. The truck which had previously
pulled it was nowhere in sight. A scattering of molten heaps lay all around,
releasing dark wisps of smoke that climbed lazily towards the blackened sky.
Jacob guessed the truck could have been any one of them. “Hold on,” he called
over to her. She grinned ruefully. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Jacob climbed to his feet. He
edged towards the end of the wagon. As he leaned out, dirt kicked up in front
of his face and the barrage of bullets held him back. “I’ve got to get across
to help,” he said, once Ezekiel had crouched alongside.

“They’ll cut you to pieces,”
the vampire warned.

Jacob’s jaw tightened.

“Wait,” Ezekiel said. He
withdrew something from his jacket. “I was saving this for a rainy day.” A
single, cylindrical object appeared in his hand.

“Okay,” Jacob began. “After
three.”

The pin from the grenade
sprang free with a sharp, metallic
ping
.

“You ready?” Ezekiel asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Jacob
replied.

“Better hope those shoes were
made for running,” Ezekiel remarked. And, with that, he jumped up, over the
hood of the wagon, and yelled, “Three!” He tossed the grenade into the darkness
and then bolted across the open space and towards the trailer.

Jacob was up and running
also, right behind him. A torrent of gunfire stuttered across his path, forcing
him to stop midway. Three apparitions materialised before him, scouts leading
the main body of soldiers, with sleek weapons cradled in their arms. In the
next second, the night turned bright and all three of Raphael’s men danced and
stumbled as the shrapnel from the grenade cut them to pieces. Jacob raced to
the safety of the trailer. Getting there, he found Ezekiel kneeling over Alice
Hammond, with the short barrel of a handgun jammed under his chin.

“Wait!” Jacob said.

Alice
shifted her gaze but the weapon held firm. “What is
this?” she asked.

“It’s okay, he’s with me.”

Alice
gave him a look of confusion.

“It’s a long story. Trust
me,” Jacob said. He flashed a quick, reassuring smile. The gun didn’t waver an
inch.
Alice
stared back, unsure if the fangs that embellished his face had at long
last become real, finally plunging the tracker into the true realms of
vampirism.

“He’s like Pet – A friend,”
Jacob said.

“Pet?”

“The vampire from the
jailhouse.”

“A friend?”

“Another long story,” Jacob
told her.

“You can tell me all about
it, once you’ve helped pull me from under here,”
Alice
said.

The weapon fell away from
Ezekiel’s chin. He nodded to Jacob, a small measure of gratification mixed with
relief. The gun finished resting against her chest. Jacob ducked further,
examining the damage to both Alice and the wrecked trailer. Apart from her
pale, washed-out features,
Alice
looked otherwise okay. The trailer had lost both its
rear wheels, and the undercarriage had embedded itself in a foot of mud, taking
Alice
’s
legs with it. Jacob reached down to trace the length of the woman’s limbs. Just
below her knees, flesh became iron struts. He tried to imagine the weight of
the thing, and his conclusion sent a shiver down his spine.

“We need to lift this
higher,” Ezekiel said, stating the obvious.

Alice
crackled with sarcasm. “Are all vampires stupid? Or
just the ones
I
have the privilege of meeting?”

“We could leave you here,”
Ezekiel growled.

Alice
tilted her head, peering underneath the
undercarriage. Dark figures began to appear, heading directly toward them.
“Looks like you’re too late, anyway,” she commented, understanding that time
had almost run out for all of them.

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire
flashed further along the dirt track. The barrage continued to light up the
night, and mercifully the troop of undead shifted in the direction of the
assault.

“Your friends may have bought
us some time,” Ezekiel noted.

“Then we’d better hurry,”
Jacob responded, reaching up and fixing his hands underneath the axle. “Help
me,” he ordered, his shoulders and upper arms bunching into hard muscle.
Ezekiel offered assistance and together they managed to force the trailer
upwards, giving
Alice
a chance to pull herself clear. With a wet
slurp
,
her legs appeared, caked in mud but otherwise surprisingly intact. She tried to
stand. Numb to the bone, she collapsed onto her behind.

Then the clatter of nearby
gunfire fell silent.

The humans’ retaliation had
been short-lived.

Desperately short.

In the next instant, a mass
of dark-clothed ghouls surrounded them. The dull glint of gunmetal flashed all
around them as the rank of undead soldiers closed in. Trapping all three in a
tight and inescapable net.

Chapter
Fifty-Six

A concoction of emotions drove Daniel Harper onwards.
His yearning for the rich rewards of blood pushed any thoughts of fear from his
mind, leaving the single-minded determination to hunt down and destroy the
humans that fled in his wake. He grinned callously, took aim with his shotgun,
and then drew a line against one of the fleeing soldiers. The weapon released
its wrath with a thunderous
Boom
. Another of Daniel’s former comrades
toppled over, the back of his shirt torn and bloodied, and his last desperate
gasp for air rasping through ruined lungs. Daniel inhaled deeply, the copper
stench filling his lungs with the promise of victory.

“Forward!” cried someone at
his side.

Daniel turned to find an
attractive woman, blood-soaked and wild-eyed with desire, at his side.

“Forward!” Sarah screeched
again.

A swell of cold, merciless
flesh pushed forwards, drawing both Daniel and Sarah along with it. The
vampires raced through the tight tunnels and caverns. Herding the remaining
human soldiers deeper into the heart of the underground. Finally trapping them
within the main cavern.

Daniel broke free from the
main group and found himself staring up into the night sky. A huge section of
the ceiling had dropped away, revealing a mass of churning black dust above. In
the next instant, he found a small group of humans huddled together in the
centre of the cavern. And then a deep rumbling sound grew, and with a shudder
the rock platform they stood upon began to break away from the floor and rise
towards the dark opening.

An old straggler, his lungs
labouring with the exertion of battle, staggered towards the small group of
humans. Bringing his weapon up, Daniel fired, and the figure fell forwards,
landing in a twisted heap. Daniel stepped over to the downed figure. Two eyes
filled with shock starred back at him. Daniel grinned. Lieutenant Farr coughed
violently and dark red phlegm stained his lower lip and chin.

“Damn you to Hell,” Farr
cursed.

The shotgun bucked in
Daniel’s cold hand, and the old lieutenant lay still.

“Hurry!” Sarah called,
worried the rest of their prize was about to escape.

One or two of the retreating
soldiers managed to make it to the platform before it climbed out of reach. The
rest fell short, or were brought down by gunfire – or worse, the snapping of
fangs. A figure, bent over in agony, fell from the edge of the platform. The
soldier landed in a heap, his limbs broken into odd angles. A moment later, he
disappeared under a swarm of vampires, and the pain he felt from his broken
bones became no more than an introduction to an eternity of misery.

Daniel sprang into action. He
bolted forwards, ducking under the cover of fire. Taking one last huge stride,
Daniel reached the platform’s edge. He leapt forwards, his boots finding
purchase on a rim of solid granite. The platform juddered violently and, almost
losing his balance, he dropped the shotgun, which clattered noisily below him.
A tight grip clamped itself against his arm, holding him firm. He turned to
find Sarah there. She grinned at him, maliciously, and then turned her
attention to the few remaining figures trapped at the centre of the platform.
More vampires appeared around the circumference of the platform in a net of
cold flesh.

“Halt,” Major Patterson
warned. He held a pistol in his outstretched hand, but the end wavered
slightly, as if it was three times its normal weight. The pained look on the
Major’s face did little to hide his deep, emotional agony.

Daniel’s first step wavered.

“Son,” Patterson said, “this
is not the way.” Sadness fell across the old man’s face, and the weapon dropped
further from its mark. “Oh… Daniel... ” The old man’s look of pity did nothing
but fuel the young tracker’s fury.

“Quiet, old man,” Daniel
hissed.

“End it now,” Sarah said.

The Major shook his head.
“Stay where you are, son.” His eyes looked back imploringly.

“He’s weak. Kill him,” Sarah
insisted.

Daniel nodded. He took a step
closer and his fingers curled themselves into wicked talons. Then,
unexpectedly, a woman stepped forward, blocking his path. Daniel looked into
unwavering blue-green eyes. Twin orbs filled with courage and fire. A blur of
motion caught his eye and then his head rocked back, the impact of the woman’s
open hand sending him reeling.

“Hannah!” Patterson cried,
jumping forwards to protect his daughter.

Two vampires appeared on
either side of her, pinning her hands to her sides. A third moved to strike.
However, a single, well-placed shot sent the pale ghoul tumbling to its death.

Sarah’s hand flicked out in a
flash, ripping the weapon out of the Major’s hand. Her other hand formed itself
into a tight fist and she lashed out, dropping Patterson to his knees.

“Father,” Hannah gasped. She
tugged desperately in an attempt to break free.

“Hold her steady,” Sarah
ordered.

The two vampires at Hannah’s
side struggled with grim determination as they held her firm. Sarah stepped
closer. She nodded, in appreciation of the woman standing before her.

“Jacob Cain’s woman,” she
stated. “I remember you from the breeding camps. You think you’re
real
special, don’t you?”

“Fuck you,” Hannah spat.

Sarah laughed, a chilling
sound to be sure. “From what I remember, you were the one doing all the
fucking,” Sarah mocked.

Infuriated, Hannah writhed in
an attempt to break free. “Let me go!” she demanded.

Her words carried such force
that the two vampires at her side loosened their grip. Her right hand broke
free and rose, ready to strike out. Sarah moved quickly, catching Hannah by the
wrist. Agony bit at her wrist as Sarah continued to squeeze, and the pain
forced Hannah to her knees.

Sarah’s face twisted itself
into a hideous contortion of amusement. Her jaws parted. “Time for me to set
you free,” she said. Clear saliva dripped onto her chin. She twisted her head,
looking over her shoulder towards Daniel.

“Finish them. Finish them
all,” she said, before lowering her jaws towards Hannah’s exposed throat.