snapping and
snarling.
I closed my eyes and
waited for the end. Instead, though, two of the she-vamps hoisted
me by the arms. The third leaned in close and touched her shriveled
lips in a perversion of the shush gesture. The ax lay uselessly at my feet. The
largest of the vampires slammed me against a shelf, rattling and
clanking bottles. Then she leaned in for the kill, fangs
dripping.
So I stabbed her in the
eye.
Like most of the Family, I carried a
small backup weapon: a short, sharpened phillips-head screwdriver.
It wasn’t very sharp, but it was enough to punch a hole through the
blackness of the vampire’s eye.
She rocked her head back, howling in
pain, clutching at the bloody hole where her left eye should have
been. Her free hand closed around the collar of my jacket,
seemingly by instinct, and ripped me out of her sisters’ grasp. My
sleeves tore and one arm was slashed. The vampire released me like
she was throwing a javelin. I hit the ground hard, slid a few feet,
and grabbed the ax.
The she-vamp charged, roaring like a
bear. I dropped into a ballplayer’s slide and kicked at her ankle.
Bone cracked and she hit the ground in a heap.
Vampires can heal from a lot. Both of
the injuries I’d given to this one would heal, given enough time,
even the eye. I didn’t give her the time.
The ax whistled as it sailed downwards
through the air. It cut through her neck and left her headless on
the dusty warehouse floor.
I didn’t savor the moment, just spun
to face her sisters. They were gone. I spat blood on the floor and
ran towards the direction of the shotgun blast, shouting, “It’s a
trap! Ambush!”
I rounded a corner to see another
vampire. He had Maria pinned against a shelf of vodka bottles. One
hand was wrapped around her mouth so she couldn’t scream, and he
was biting the side of her neck. He was so focused on his meal that
he didn’t notice me until I hit him with a powerful hip-check.
Before he could recover, I took off his head, too, and he was dead
before he hit the floor.
Maria was pale. The edges of her
bite-wound were jagged, and smeared with blood. For a moment it
reminded me of some gruesome, lipsticked mouth.
“You alright?” I
said.
“Fine.” She was clutching
at the wound, but her color seemed to be returning to normal.
“Where’s Hector?”
“He came looking for
you.”
Maria’s skin paled again.
“Go. Find him. I’ll be
right with you.”
I nodded and continued my progress
towards the shotgun. The warehouse was like a maze, full of
floor-to-ceiling shelving units and dim lighting. All around me, I
could hear the snarls of vampires and the grunts of Family members
locked in deadly combat.
Nate and three others were standing in
the square of light provided by the open front door. Five vampires
lay dead around them, most missing arms or hands, all missing
heads.
My leader’s eyes were steel when he
saw me. “Where’s Maria?”
“She’s bit,” I said. “It’s
not bad. She should be right behind me.”
He nodded. “We have to find Hector and
Corey. Dave, with me. Luisa…” He paused, one of the only times I
ever saw him hesitate before giving an order. “If we’re not back in
ten minutes, you know what to do.”
From his pocket he pulled a cigarette
lighter and tossed it to Luisa, who nodded and led the others out
into the sunlight, waving her meat cleaver like a
banner.
I looked from the retreating form of
Luisa to Nate. He bit his lower lip, hard enough to leave an
impression. For a moment he looked like he wanted to cry. Then he
shook his head, and ran into the depths of the alley. I hesitated a
moment, then followed him.
We sprinted down the alley formed by
the towering shelves, still mostly loaded with old vodka bottles.
Too-dark blood dripped from the blade of Nate’s machete, leaving me
a breadcrumb trail that I could follow, clutching my ax like a
protective talisman.
I don’t know how far we ran. It can’t
have been too far, because Luisa
snarling.
I closed my eyes and
waited for the end. Instead, though, two of the she-vamps hoisted
me by the arms. The third leaned in close and touched her shriveled
lips in a perversion of the shush gesture. The ax lay uselessly at my feet. The
largest of the vampires slammed me against a shelf, rattling and
clanking bottles. Then she leaned in for the kill, fangs
dripping.
So I stabbed her in the
eye.
Like most of the Family, I carried a
small backup weapon: a short, sharpened phillips-head screwdriver.
It wasn’t very sharp, but it was enough to punch a hole through the
blackness of the vampire’s eye.
She rocked her head back, howling in
pain, clutching at the bloody hole where her left eye should have
been. Her free hand closed around the collar of my jacket,
seemingly by instinct, and ripped me out of her sisters’ grasp. My
sleeves tore and one arm was slashed. The vampire released me like
she was throwing a javelin. I hit the ground hard, slid a few feet,
and grabbed the ax.
The she-vamp charged, roaring like a
bear. I dropped into a ballplayer’s slide and kicked at her ankle.
Bone cracked and she hit the ground in a heap.
Vampires can heal from a lot. Both of
the injuries I’d given to this one would heal, given enough time,
even the eye. I didn’t give her the time.
The ax whistled as it sailed downwards
through the air. It cut through her neck and left her headless on
the dusty warehouse floor.
I didn’t savor the moment, just spun
to face her sisters. They were gone. I spat blood on the floor and
ran towards the direction of the shotgun blast, shouting, “It’s a
trap! Ambush!”
I rounded a corner to see another
vampire. He had Maria pinned against a shelf of vodka bottles. One
hand was wrapped around her mouth so she couldn’t scream, and he
was biting the side of her neck. He was so focused on his meal that
he didn’t notice me until I hit him with a powerful hip-check.
Before he could recover, I took off his head, too, and he was dead
before he hit the floor.
Maria was pale. The edges of her
bite-wound were jagged, and smeared with blood. For a moment it
reminded me of some gruesome, lipsticked mouth.
“You alright?” I
said.
“Fine.” She was clutching
at the wound, but her color seemed to be returning to normal.
“Where’s Hector?”
“He came looking for
you.”
Maria’s skin paled again.
“Go. Find him. I’ll be
right with you.”
I nodded and continued my progress
towards the shotgun. The warehouse was like a maze, full of
floor-to-ceiling shelving units and dim lighting. All around me, I
could hear the snarls of vampires and the grunts of Family members
locked in deadly combat.
Nate and three others were standing in
the square of light provided by the open front door. Five vampires
lay dead around them, most missing arms or hands, all missing
heads.
My leader’s eyes were steel when he
saw me. “Where’s Maria?”
“She’s bit,” I said. “It’s
not bad. She should be right behind me.”
He nodded. “We have to find Hector and
Corey. Dave, with me. Luisa…” He paused, one of the only times I
ever saw him hesitate before giving an order. “If we’re not back in
ten minutes, you know what to do.”
From his pocket he pulled a cigarette
lighter and tossed it to Luisa, who nodded and led the others out
into the sunlight, waving her meat cleaver like a
banner.
I looked from the retreating form of
Luisa to Nate. He bit his lower lip, hard enough to leave an
impression. For a moment he looked like he wanted to cry. Then he
shook his head, and ran into the depths of the alley. I hesitated a
moment, then followed him.
We sprinted down the alley formed by
the towering shelves, still mostly loaded with old vodka bottles.
Too-dark blood dripped from the blade of Nate’s machete, leaving me
a breadcrumb trail that I could follow, clutching my ax like a
protective talisman.
I don’t know how far we ran. It can’t
have been too far, because Luisa
Similar Books
