A Grave Hunger (11 page)

Robert stuck his head out the window. "Quick, out on the ledge!"

I was the first out, and I looked below before climbing the rusted ladder. The remaining vampires were headed toward the ladders of the fire escape at ground level. The only glimpse I'd received was of their shadows. 

"Move it, Scotland!" Finlay said as he made his way out of the window.

I ascended the ladder.

"Hurry," Robert yelled as I reached the ninth level. "They're coming!" he cried.

My bad feeling had gotten worse once I planted my feet on the ninth level balcony. My jaw dropped when I found myself staring down a vampire with his teeth bared, ready to bite its way through the glass. Before I had a chance to react, shards of glass distorted my vision as the monstrosity lunged through the window. I braced for the impact, eyes closed with my blades crossed, protecting my face. I stumbled against the guardrail waiting for the bite that would send me falling to my death.

I heard the thump of flesh hitting steel and more steel, the fading sounds of a shrill scream, and then the solid splat of a body hitting the concrete.

"Wake up, Scotland!" Finlay yelled. "Keep moving!"

I didn't see what he'd done, but I was thankful for his presence.

"Keep moving you two!" Robert called out from below.

Finlay had just stepped onto the platform with me. I looked to the lower levels. Robert was two levels down. My heart was in my mouth as I saw what was happening below. Another one, two, three more vampires were out on the ledge from the third floor. I sheathed one of the blades, extracted a .50 calibre from the small of my back and trained my sights on the enemy. "Robert," I screamed. "Look out! They're below you!"

There were far too many. His machete was useless against the sheer numbers, but my aim was true...

"I'll hold 'em off," I called, firing my guns.

The shots only hindered the vampires momentarily. Even with shots directly to the face, they proceeded to climb, leap, and finally grab for Robert.

I continued to fire with every open shot, but they were gaining on him.

A monster grabbed Robert by the ankle, and he sent a sharp kick into its jaw, which did nothing to release the tight grip it had on him. I shot at his dark rider just as he crashed against the steel of the guardrail. Two shots right in the cerebellum compelled it to release the grip and sent the animal on a downward spiral to a splattering defeat.

The second crawler met the steel of Finlay's axe as it squeezed through the fire escape opening.

Robert hoisted himself onto the platform. "Meet me at the top floor! You've got to get the hostages out of here!" he called out, shattering the window behind him with his elbow and climbing inside.

The third vampire was still headed in our direction.

"After you," Finlay said, egging me to climb inside the nearby window.

The vampire roared as it came through the platform opening. Finlay froze, caught off guard by our new guest. I immediately aimed, fired, and sliced the vampire's wretched head off with a swing of my blade, sending the beast tumbling back to where it came. 

"Now we're even," I said, holstering my weapons.

My heart battled the adrenaline rush from combat. Thunder continued to drone on. Flashes of lightning lit up the room in intermittent bursts, sending rats and roaches scurrying for cover. As we raced toward the stairwell, my only worry was for the safety of the others. I held a .50 in one hand and my machete in the other. Finlay twirled his forked blade between his fingers, anticipating his next kill.  

"You still with me?" he asked once we had reached the stairwell.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. He could probably see the conflicting blank stare I wore. Visions of the ongoing war we'd just waltzed in the centre of flashed through my mind.

We raced upwards, finally stopping at the summit. Stepping out into the lobby, we met Robert. Noticing an illuminated room at the end of the corridor, we followed the light.

Two monstrosities emerged. They saw us, and without hesitation bolted in our direction. Robert threw his machete, decapitating the monster to the left before the other realised it had even happened. The monster came to a standstill in the centre of the corridor. Finlay smiled and waved goodbye. The animal looked at us with a tattered, confused look. Before we knew it, the imbecilic creature was also headless. We hustled into the room.

My stomach churned at the sight that met us, and I battled against the impulse to scream. In the far end of the room lay five human bodies callously discarded in a heap. They lay drained and lifeless, faces frozen in terrified looks. I fought down feelings of nausea as I thought about their final moments.

"Damn it, we are too late," Finlay yelled. He looked as disgusted as I felt.

Tattered curtains billowed in the breeze from an open window. Robert stormed to the window and looked into the black night.

"More are on their way up the fire escape. There are more of these bastards than I had thought. We need to get out of here!" Robert shouted, turning back around to face us.

Robert paused in his rant. He looked to me with sobbing eyes and a gaping mouth. He swallowed once, and then blood appeared on his teeth.

What happened? I backed away, unsure that what I was seeing was truth, or if this was all a dream. As I backed away, I heard a voice call out from behind me.

"Robert, look out!" Ryan yelled.

I turned to face him as he hollered out Robert's name a second time. His pistol was aimed at the vampire behind Robert. He pulled the trigger. I felt the wind of the shell cruise pass my face, I turned with the wind. From the darkness of the fire escape came a fiery flash. Finlay leaped in my direction, wrapped his body across mine and we hit the floor. The shell exploded.

But Ryan was too late.

It happened in slow motion. I never took my eyes off Robert. I watched him stand there with his arm extended toward us, his eyes bulging out of his skull. I reached out to him, feeling helpless, but he was too far from my reach. It was useless. There had to have been something I could do, but I did nothing but scream. Finlay cupped a firm palm over my mouth. I screamed and hollered Robert's name, wishing he would just walk toward me. I listened as Ryan's pistol released more explosive shells, his footsteps getting closer and closer. I watched as the shells detonated on their targets as more vampires streamed in through the window from the fire escape. And I watched as Robert was pulled from my sight. No, he was not pulled. He was snatched away through the window, into darkness, by claws and screams of torture. It all happened so suddenly.

He was gone.

He had saved our lives numerous times.

And there was nothing we could do to save him just this once.

I lay there stunned, not willing to accept what had happened. My mind had to be playing tricks on me. It couldn't be true. Robert couldn't be dead. My brain, dull and foggy from the shock, failed to process the events around me. They came in fragmented pieces, everything a blur. Finlay shouting, pulling me to my feet, dragging me as we ran out of the building. Luke and Ryan firing their guns. The smell of gun powder in the air. The sounds of screeching tyres as we raced from the scene.

CHAPTER 19

I was vaguely aware of Finlay sitting beside me on the bed in my motel room. I had no idea how long we had been there for. All concept of time was lost. We didn't speak. We didn't move. Both of us were wrapped in our despair. As the hours passed, my shock waned and turned into a devastating loss, which consumed me. Then the tears came. Uncontrollable, gut-wrenching sobs that tore through my chest and racked my body. Finlay held me, and we were both clinging to each other tightly, desperately trying to obtain a small measure of comfort. As the night slowly turned into day, exhaustion washed over me. As the darkness enveloped me, gradually my pain ebbed away.

As I slept, my dreams came in a disorganised jumble, all events and images obliterated upon waking, except one. Robert was standing with his back to me at the end of a long, dark alley. The dull light from the moon illuminated his dark form. I called out to him, but he didn't answer, didn't face me. The smell of death hung heavy in the air and I realised that we weren't alone. A pair of vampires was approaching, slowly edging closer to him. Their long black coats trailed through the puddles that covered the ground. Eyes as black as coal regarded Robert with interest. I screamed out to him, frantically trying to run to his aid, but my legs felt sluggish, moving painstakingly slowly as if I was wading through water. I trudged forward frantically until it felt like my lungs would burst, but I couldn't make my body move fast enough. I cried and yelled helplessly as the vampires finally reached him. Instead of attacking, they flanked him as though protecting him from my arrival. It was then that he turned to face me. A lopsided grin spread across his face showing a set of razor sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. He licked a trail of blood dripping from the side of his open mouth.

"You're too late," he stated simply.

I lay alone in the empty bed repeating the dream in my head, unable to clear the images that haunted me. Finlay must have left when I had fallen asleep. I decided to give him some time alone to sort out his feelings. Also, I didn't think I could control my emotions and that wasn't fair to him. He was there for my hysterics last night. He was the strong one that had held it together while I had screamed and cried. I was determined to return the favour for him, and I didn't feel able to do that just yet.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a knocking at the door. Luke and Ryan stood in the doorway looking exhausted. They still wore the clothes they had been wearing last night. They were torn and stained with dirt, dust and blood.

"Hi, come in," I mumbled. I tried to force a smile, but the movement was lost on my lips.

"Hi, Leah. I'm so sorry about Robert. I know how much he meant to you," Luke said. Emotion tinged his voice.

"Thanks. I know he meant a lot to both of you too."

They nodded grimly.

"We went back this morning to do the clear up. All the remaining vamps have fled," Ryan explained.

I hadn't even thought about cleaning the scene. I was too focused on the loss of Robert.

"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry that you had to do that.
It must have taken hours to clear up a scene that size."

"Don't worry ‘bout it. We got some help. Called in some favours," Luke explained.

Ryan shuffled nervously. "Leah, we found Robert's body."

"We put in an anonymous call to the police, said we found a body. He's down at the city morgue. I can go down and ID the body if you want? We can organise the funeral too."

I nodded, looking at the floor. I couldn’t answer. I knew my voice would break if I spoke.

Ryan threw his arm around me and gave me a quick squeeze.

"I really appreciate all you have done, but it's ok. I'll ID him and organise the funeral," I replied, finally speaking.

"How's Finlay doing? Robert was like a father to him. He must be taking it pretty hard," Luke asked, breaking the silence.

"I honestly don't know. He disappeared a few hours back. I'm giving him some space."

They nodded in agreement.

"We'd better head off. You know where we are if you need us," Luke said, giving me a hug.

"Thanks guys. I'll give you a call with the funeral arrangements."

I walked them out to their car. I stopped short when I saw Robert's car parked next to Luke's.

"I almost forgot. We picked up Robert's car. Thought that you might want it," Ryan mumbled, throwing me the keys.

They drove off, sending me a quick wave.

An icy chill wrapped itself around my heart as I stared at the car keys in my hand.