Free of the curtains he crashed through the makeshift bar and sent the plank flying from its barrel supports, and without pause he rushed out into the night, wheeling left to go sprinting towards the second shack. That was where the alleged 'creechur' was, and Jake could scarcely doubt but that was where he would find Liz, too… where the lying, scheming, undead proprietor of this terrible place had left her. As he went, so he reached into his pocket to activate his pager…
The thing's cold hands on Liz's hands… the beeper continuing to issue its endlessly repeating mayday (or its cry of warning, she couldn't say which, but in any case the latter was far too late now)… and this thing from her worst nightmares, smiling at her through the stout iron bars. But bars that might as well be of paper, because the door in the cage stood ajar.
The creature freed her right hand, pushed at the door. Liz stood frozen; she let him get that far — but in the next moment was shaken from her paralysis on hearing Jake's shout of, 'Liz! Liz! Where in hell are you?' He was dead right: that was exactly where she was! But she guessed he already knew that.
All was total darkness now, all bar the glow of her monstrous adversary's eyes. Off-balance as the door swung squealingly open on her, carrying her with it, still Liz managed to snatch the Baby Browning from her pocket. Ramming it between the bars, she gritted her teeth and fired.
'Gah!?' said that shuddersome voice, sounding mildly surprised. And as the thing released his hold on her, she slammed the door shut again on its rusty hinges, and on him, turned and groped fumblingly towards the inner door to the shack. She came across it, found the doorknob and yanked it open. But the creature was behind her; she could feel its hot, fetid breath on her neck, its oppressive strength gathering in the darkness. Then:
'Liz?' came Jake's voice again. He'd heard her shot, came to a halt beyond the locked screen door. She heard him cursing, rattling the lock, unticlass="underline" 'Stand back!' he called out.
She should stand back? When right behind her something was rumbling, 'Urgh — ah! — argh!' even now? And:
'Christ!' Liz said, quickly turning and firing again, and then a third time. Until the grotesque black shadow of the creature was lifted from its feet and hurled bodily away, flailing its arms and spitting blood, back into the shack's more natural shadows — where it collided with yet more shadows that Liz hadn't been aware of until now/
Her shot had come simultaneously with Jake's as he blew the lock off the outer door. And a moment later she was out of the place, stumbling into his arms.
He steadied her, breathlessly told her, 'This place. This is it! It's what we were looking for.'
'Do you think I don't rucking know that?' she gasped.
And then they were running, both of them, heading for the 'Rover, for safety, and for sanity. But as yet safety, and especially sanity, seemed a long way off. Behind them, the smaller shack was spewing stumbling, dazed-seeming, zombie-like figures into the night. A handful of them, four or five at least. While ahead of them…
'God almighty/' Jake breathed with difficulty.
The moon was up, a waxing moon that gave good light. Likewise the stars, very bright in a sky that was now black as jet and banded with varying degrees of purple on the hills. And so by moon and starlight the pair saw what waited for them close to their vehicle.
'We're in it up to here,' Liz panted, choked. And: 'God, I can't breathe/'
'Me neither,' Jake told her. 'But don't panic and keep the plugs in. This isn't over yet. Our beepers will have been heard by the others. They'll be on their way.'
'We… we can't run forever/ she answered, veering away with him towards the track back to the road. 'How'11 we get to the 'Rover with those damned things waiting for us?'
'Split up,' Jake answered. 'You head for the road… keep running like hell, north… I'll try to lead the bulk of these bloody monsters on a wild goose chase.'
Behind them the vampires were taking it easy. They weren't running; they ambled, arms hanging loose, some with their hands in their pockets, eyes aglow, kicking pebbles aside as they followed their intended prey. There was no great hurry — nowhere out here to hide that couldn't be sniffed out. The girl would be easier to handle when she was tired; they wouldn't have to damage her in order to have her one by one — or maybe two or three at a time — before they had her blood.
As for the man: his blood would be good, strong. But he'd caused Bruce Trennier no small amount of pain, and Bruce would be wanting him first. Oh, this one would be missing an arm or leg or both, before Bruce gave him up to the rest of them. And the would-be 'Lord' Trennier would wax fat on meat and marrow, while the hole in his shoulder slowly but surely healed. But:
Silver! came Trennier's voice in their minds, where they tracked the humans across the false plateau at the foot of the knoll. These people are more than they appear to be. Their Indicts are silver, which could mean danger for some of us in the short term, and for all of us in the long. Which in turn means I have to talk to them, question them. So be sure to take them alive, and do it quickly! There was pain in his mental voice, quite a lot of it.
But… silver bullets? That took something of the arrogance out of the pursuit, while the rest of Trennier's sending served to speed it up.
Liz had almost reached the top of the ramp. Cut from the side of the plateau, the ramp would take her down to the road. But one of her pursuers had somehow managed to flank her, was drawing ahead. He would get there first, and the way was simply too narrow to avoid him. She cut right, heading for where she'd last seen Jake.
Meanwhile someone — or something — back at the shack had started up the Land Rover. Its lights came on, cutting a bright swath through the darkness as it bumped over the rough terrain. Whoever was at the wheel, Liz guessed he'd be looking for Jake. Since hiding or disguising her talent was no longer of benefit, finally she opened her mind to seek her partner's thoughts and perhaps discover his whereabouts.
Liz couldn't send, could only receive, but she knew that other minds — and especially enhanced vampire minds — might be able to detect her presence if not read her thoughts: this was a result of the germ of telepathy that was present in a majority of them. Thus vampires were frequently 'spotters.' Indeed, the best (or worst) of them could smell out an entirely human being in much the same way as could a great hound. But what the hell… they already knew she was here.
Jake's mind was immediately accessible: Fuck! he was thinking. Oh, Jesus, they've got the vehicle! They're after me! And yet even now there was very little of any real panic in him. He'd been in too many tight spots before.
But: Do it! Liz tried to send, to will him into action. Do it now, for Cod's sake! (Or if not for His sake, for Liz's, most definitely.') He couldn't hear her, of course not, but surely the other Jake, that other facet, would have to emerge now? Well, apparently not. And behind Liz her pursuer's footfalls sounded loud and clear, as did the clatter of pebbles squirting out from under his pounding feet.
She put on speed (one final burst, for her strength was on the wane now), took in great gulping draughts of air through her mouth, headed in the rough direction of Jake's thoughts, where they had led her to believe he was…
Jake, too, was feeling stressed, but obviously insufficiently as yet. The nose plugs were killing him, but he'd been warned about the dangers of removing them. All well and good, but his throat was raw from drinking in dry, dust-laden air, and since he'd probably been splashed with blood it seemed likely he was already contaminated. God, how he could use a beer now, even a warm one — except he probably wouldn't have time to drink it!