The Hunger (Book 2): Consumed (25 page)

“I found a box of them hidden in the weapons cache.  I’m not sure anyone else even knew they were there.  If we get in trouble with the Vladdies, these should really kick their asses for a few seconds.”

That sounded reasonable to Lance.  Light damaged them and they used sound as a kind of sonar.  A flashbang could be a solid weapon against them.

She fetched a large, heavy-duty spotlight from the bag and handed it over.  The stickers on the side read ‘LED’ and ‘1000 LUMENS’.  A molded grip jutted from the bottom with a button where the index finger would go.  Lance grabbed it, relieved that he would actually have something better than a couple of flares.

“Why didn’t you say you brought a spotlight?”

“I wanted to make you sweat a little,” Cass said with a grin.  “Why the hell would I go into a dark subway without a flashlight?”  She tapped on the plastic casing.  “We’ll need to use it sparingly—I doubt the batteries will last long in this thing.  1000 lumens is really bright.”

Lance aimed the spotlight at the wall on their left and pulled the trigger.  A wide, bright arc illuminated the dingy tiles on the other side of the rails.  It was even brighter than he’d hoped.

“Excellent.  This is bright enough to fend off a few of the Vladdies—I hope.”

“It should.”

One of the blocks of plastic explosives fell from the bag, landing at Lance’s feet.  He picked it up, rolling it over in his hands. “Do you even know how to use this?”

Cass nodded.  “One of Nathaniel’s men showed me last night.  There are a bunch of detonators in the bag.”

Lance wiped sweat from his brow.  His hair was matted to his head.

After zipping the bag closed again, Cass gave it back to Lance.  He took it, putting the strap over his head again.  It was several pounds lighter because the flares and flashbangs were in his pockets.  The spotlight in his hand wasn’t as heavy as he’d expected, but he was still happy to have it out of the bag, lessening the load on his shoulder.

He had to tighten his belt from the weight sitting in his cargo pockets.

“You ready, dumbass?”

“Not really.”

Cass grabbed the front of his shirt and stepped into him, pressing her body against his.  She kissed him, long and hard.  He breathed her in.  Felt the softness of her lips.

When she pulled away, he felt a little better.

“Let’s get this party started.” Cass made her way across the floor, moving past the burning trashcan.  She nodded straight ahead.  “The river is south of us, so we’re going down that tunnel.”

They climbed off the platform, dropping beside the rails of the tunnel.  Cass took the lead, pulling her night-vision goggles into place.  “Keep the flares behind me when I’m wearing these or they’ll fuck up my eyes.”

Lance popped the first flare as they crossed the threshold of the giant, underground tube.  He held it above his head, bathing the area around them in a soft, warm glow.  In the absolute darkness of the tunnel, the flare gave them fifteen or twenty feet of decent visibility.

“Let’s pick up the pace,” Cass said.  “Just use the flares for now.  We’ll conserve the battery in the spotlight as long as we can.”

Cass increased her speed until she walked just below jogging speed.  Lance stayed a few feet behind, his eyes staying on the tracks so he wouldn’t trip.  He relied solely on Cass to look ahead of them with her goggles.

Five minutes in, they noticed the stench.

Pungent and enveloping.

Spoiled meat.

“We’re getting closer,” Cass whispered over her shoulder.

Lance wiped at the sweat on his forehead again.  His clothing was drenched.  The humidity seemed to rise the further in they got.

The tunnel curved to the right.  As they walked around the bend, mumbling voices came from ahead.

Cass stopped and Lance almost ran into her.

“Drop the flare,” she whispered.  “I’m going to sneak up a bit and see what’s going on.”

Lance tossed the burning flare to the ground and followed her.  The tunnel straightened out a few dozen yards ahead and they stopped again.  Cass stared straight ahead for a few seconds before whispering again.

“Those two idiots are in front of us.  Come up here with me. You’ll be able to see them because they have a torch of some kind.”

Lance tried his best to sneak up beside her, but his feet kicked at rocks as he stumbled in the semi-darkness.  He stopped by Cass’ right shoulder and squinted at the tunnel ahead.

The two men stood a hundred yards before them, arguing about something.  Their voices carried across the hard surfaces of the tunnel, but Lance couldn’t make out what they were saying.

The banker held the torch, which appeared to be a mop or a broom handle, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Shit!” Cass hissed.  “There’s a Vladdie coming down the tunnel right in front of them.”

“I don’t see it.”

“It’s just beyond the light from their torch.  Fucker is
huge
.”  She paused for a moment, her body leaning forward a few inches.  “It’s carrying a severed head!”

––––––––

T
he bickering between the men cut off.

They focused on the area ahead of them.  The banker held his torch up, letting the light shine a little further.

Lance couldn’t see the Vladdie yet, but he knew it was there.

“Go back and get the flare,” Cass said.  “We’re going to have to take it out.”

“What?  How?  If we use the guns, it’ll just attract more of them to us.”

“What choice do we have?”

“Damn it!”  Lance ran back and grabbed the flare.

The men screamed when the severed head bounced on the ground before them.  They ran to the left side of the tunnel, opening a door that Lance hadn’t noticed, and disappeared inside.

An ear-splitting shriek came from the vampire.  The enclosed space of the tunnel amplified the sound, sending stabs of pain into their ears.

The banker slammed the door shut behind them as the Vladdie lunged at them.

It slammed against the metal door, bouncing off it.  The middle of the door bowed inward.

Lance grabbed Cass’ axe and tore it from the holster on her back.  He shrugged off the duffle bag, letting it fall to the tracks.  If they fired their rifles, they were screwed.  Lance decided to throw a Hail Mary pass and see what happened.

“What are you doing?” Cass asked, spinning around to face to him.

“I’m going to hit it with the axe and then run away.  You shoot it with an arrow when I get clear.”

“That’s crazy!”

“If it doesn’t work, I’ll shoot it,” he whispered.  “That’s a last resort though.”

“But—”

Lance took off down the tunnel with Cass cursing at his back.  He held the axe in his right hand, the flare in his left.  The rifle was tucked under his arm.

The vampire bellowed in mindless fury.

It lunged at the door again, its bulging, veined shoulder crumpling the metal even further.

Lance tossed the flare to the side and grabbed his rifle from under his shoulder.  He dropped it to the ground as quietly as he could and gripped the handle of the axe with both hands.

His nervous system kicked into overdrive as he approached the rampaging beast.  His vision narrowed, ears blocking out everything but the sounds made by the vampire.

Sweat slicked his palms.

He could smell its reek as he drew near.  Taste its vileness.

It surged against the door again, blowing it off its hinges in a display of rage and brute strength.

The beast stood on all fours, howling into the open portal.  Its muscle-bound forearms flared as it stepped forward. In its singular focus on the door, and the men beyond it, the Vladdie still hadn’t noticed Lance.

He crept up on it, holding his breath, muscles twitching in anticipation.

Raised the axe overhead.

Swung with everything he had at the beast’s neck as it stepped into the doorway.

A voice from inside the room said, “Fuck you, Greg.”

The axe sliced through the back of its neck, just above its rippled shoulders.

The blade embedded halfway in.

Arterial spray shot against the doorframe and floor, the smell of copper mixing with the offensive stench of the Vladdie.

It crumpled to the floor, its bulk thudding against the concrete.  Its limbs jerked twice and then it was still.

Blood pooled beneath it.

Lance stared down at the corpse, his pulse hammering in his ears.  His chest heaved as he sucked in air, not realizing he’d been holding his breath the entire time.

He backed up a few steps and picked up the rifle, never taking his gaze from its body.  It was motionless on the floor.  Killing it with one blow was something he didn’t expect.

Cass ran up behind him.  She lifted the night-vision goggles, letting them rest against her forehead. “That was so goddamn stupid!  What were you thinking?”

Shadows stretched across her bruised face from the flare.

“Now you know what it feels like when someone runs ahead by themselves,” Lance said as casually as he could.  Adrenaline still coursed through his system and he was starting to get the shakes from it.  He squeezed the rifle, trying to hide his convulsing hands.

“Holy shit, bro!”  The voice came from inside of the room.

Lance winced. 
Please don’t let this be a ‘bro’ kind of guy.

He walked with Cass to the open door and peered in.

Both men stood by the back wall.  The messenger bag was torn on the floor in front of them, its contents spilled out.  The dancer had packed four pornography magazines and a bottle of hand lotion.

Cass pointed at the items on the floor.  “You’re carrying jerk-off material around with you?  No food, water, or guns?”  She looked at Lance, shaking her head.  “We should have let it kill them.”

“Hey, don’t lump me in with this dipshit.”  The banker stepped forward, keeping his weary eyes on the dead Vladdie.  “I’ve been doing just fine until I met up with Greg yesterday.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”  Greg raised his hands, palms up.  “Why all the hostility, bro?”

The banker ignored him.  His eyes shifted to Cass, appraising her.  “What’s with the Mad Max getup?”

Lance bit back a laugh.  “What’s your name?”

“Adam.  Thanks for saving our asses.”

Cass stepped back into the tunnel and lowered her goggles again.  She checked both directions for more of the infected.  “We didn’t do that to save you.”

Adam looked at Lance.  “She’s pleasant.”

“Tell me about it.  We’re Lance and Cass.”

Cass yanked the axe from the corpse and secured it on her back.

Adam said, “I thought we were the only ones left alive.  I haven’t seen anyone except the moron here in two weeks.”

“There are about a hundred of us in a camp outside of Greensburg,” Lance said.  “Have you been in Pittsburgh the entire time?”

“Yeah, I’ve been hiding out in a bank vault.”

“Smart.”

Greg said, “I’ve been hanging out in my apartment.  I didn’t even know this shit was going on.  I feel like I’m on a bad acid trip, bro.”

“What?” Lance looked at the porn on the floor again and then at Greg.  Watching his antics outside had already convinced Lance that he was a moron.  The lotion and issues of Juggs magazine cemented the notion.

“He hasn’t left his apartment in a month.  He didn’t even know about the vampires until last night.”

Lance gaped at him.  “How is that even possible?”

“Hell if I know.”  Adam shrugged.  “The guy isn’t a rocket scientist, if you know what I mean.”

“I heard that, bro!”

Cass turned back to the room.  “It was really nice meeting you girls, but we have stuff to do.  I suggest you get out of the tunnels ASAP.”

“What? Why?”  Adam stepped forward again, looking over the armaments Lance and Cass wore.  “You guys are carrying some serious firepower.”

“We’re going to blow the tunnels,” Lance said.  “Flood the subway with water from the river.”

“That sounds kinda stupid, guys.”  Greg bent down and gathered up his porn, stuffing the magazines back in his bag.  “Why would you want to do that?”

Lance ignored him, focusing on Adam.  “We think the primary nest of these bastards is down here.”  He tapped the Vladdie with his foot.  “Gonna flush all of them at the same time.”

Adam chewed on his lower lip for a moment.  “Let me help.”

“No.”  Cass stepped further into the tunnel.  “Let’s get moving, Lance.”

Lance went back and grabbed his bag and rifle.  He thought about making a smartass remark about her ordering him around, but the look on her face advised him to save it for later.

“Why not?  I can help.”

“How? You don’t even have a gun?” Cass asked.

Adam pointed at Lance’s .44.  “Give me that and you’ll have three armed people down here instead of two.  If we get out of here, take me back to your camp.  I’m getting stir crazy in that goddamn vault.”

Greg mumbled to himself about his torn bag as he tried to keep his lotion and precious literature from falling out of it.

Cass looked back at Lance.  “What do you think?”

“We could use another pair of hands setting up the explosives.  It would go faster.”  He shrugged, pulled the pistol from his belt, and tossed it to Adam.  “You got a deal.”

“What about me?” Greg asked.  He stood in the doorway, still fumbling with his bag.

“Get out of here,” Cass said.  “You’ll get us killed.”

“I won’t, I swear!”

“Oh, well in that case, come on.”

“Really?”

“No!  Go back the way you came.  We killed the daywalkers back there so it’ll be safe.”

“Daywalkers?”

Cass sighed.  “We don’t have time for this—daylight is burning.”

“Just let me follow you.  I won’t mess up, I promise.”

She glared at him for a full five seconds. “Fine, but if you do anything stupid, I’ll kill you myself.”  Cass nodded at Lance.  “Give him a flare.  Walk behind us and don’t make a sound.”

Lance pulled one from his pocket, ignited it, and handed it to Greg.

“She’s kinda bossy, eh bro?”

“Yes, she is.  And she
will
kill you if you fuck this up.”