Something of the Night (26 page)

Thirty yards.

25mph.

The mechanic gritted his
teeth and waited. The eighteen-wheeler hit them again and the speedometer shot
up to 50mph in a second. Twenty yards, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…
NOW
!
He rammed the gearshift home and dropped his foot to
the floor. The truck hurtled forwards. Fifteen, thirteen, eleven.

Suddenly, to his horror, the
escape route disappeared.

He heard the chatter of
rotor-blades and knew instantly that if Ezekiel had somehow managed to master
such a weapon then Man’s last hope had gone. He watched as the machinegun at
the front of the incredible machine started to spin. They’d be torn to shreds
in seconds. Fuck it, he thought. His foot pushed all the way to the floor and
the truck careered forwards, ready to hit the helicopter head-on.

***

“Pull up! Pull up!” Nick cried.

Tate hit the rudder with all
she had. Black Bird shot upwards and the truck passed underneath a split second
later. She heard a hollow scrape as the vehicle rubbed against the Huey’s
underbelly. She throttled back and both the helicopter and the truck hurtled
backwards along the highway, pulling away from the rig together.

“It’s clear!” Nick shouted
through the communications system. The truck cleared the tail-rotor before
skidding to a halt. Tate punched the flight-stick forwards and Black Bird
levelled out again. It hung in the air for a second, face-to-face with the rig.
Like two colossal, mythological beasts they faced each other.

Tate flipped a switch and the
cabin of the eighteen-wheeler magnified itself through the electronic system of
her helmet. Two demented faces stared back at her. The passenger, a female,
appeared to speak to the driver. He, in turn, stared back in disbelief. Tate
watched his head shake vigorously – No. A pistol appeared and it seemed to be
all the convincing the driver needed. He turned towards the Huey and gulped.
The pistol was pressed against his head.

“Don’t do it,” Tate
whispered.

Nick leaned forwards. “Come
on, you son-of-a-bitch, give us your best shot.”

The rig lurched forwards as
the driver floored the gas. Thick smoke bellowed from the exhaust and the horn
shrieked like the roar of a beast. Tate watched as it began to fill the whole
highway, its square cabin a solid metal wall. Yards were halved in seconds as
the eighteen-wheeler bore down on them.

“Come to Papa,” Nick said. He
fixed his eyes on Tate’s gloved finger and willed her to squeeze the trigger.

Tate waited a second longer
before hitting the fire button. The machinegun spun to life. It spat out a
shower of deadly projectiles. Ripping away metal, glass, plastic and soft
flesh. Through her visor she saw the look of hostility torn away from the
woman’s face. A massive open wound stared back at her, and Tate shuddered with
the horror of it. Bullets shredded the driver’s torso, cutting the vampire’s
right arm away. He tensed and his remaining hand jerked the steering wheel to
the left. The rig swerved to one side and the trailer began to fishtail across
the black tarmac. It came at them like a solid, unstoppable metal wave.

***

Squirrel heard the screech of rubber. He looked back
and the helicopter launched itself into the air. A moving wall of darkness
replaced it instantly.

“GO!” he yelled. He climbed
out of the truck and threw himself over the hood.
Alice
sat
rigid, frozen in her seat by fear. The mechanic reached in and grabbed her. He
pulled her both out of the truck and to her senses. “
RUN
!” he
ordered. They sprinted for the trees. They didn’t make it. Squirrel slipped and
fell flat on his face.
Alice
slid to a halt. She spun around and reached out to
help him to his feet. The mechanic looked up and watched as the solid mass
rushed towards them. He grabbed
Alice
’s hand. Instead of climbing to his feet, he dragged
her down on top of him, threw his arms over her protectively, and then squeezed
his eyes shut.

Something hot and oily and
massive passed over them. The smell of burnt rubber filled Squirrel’s nostrils
with a thick, pungent reek. For a second, he felt as if the thing would rip
them up off the highway and drag them to their deaths. But the sensation lasted
for only the briefest moment. In the next second the trailer had passed over
them harmlessly. Its giant wheels missed them by a mere fraction, before they
sent the rig into the woods.

The first few trees took the
full impact and exploded in a shower of wooden splinters. Tree trunks snapped
in half like brittle twigs. Bara, bloodied and broken, flew from the cabin and
bounced and spun violently as she smashed against first one tree and then the
next. She finished scattered in pieces throughout the woodland. The
eighteen-wheeler gave one final groan. The trailer finished tilted listlessly
to one side, half sunken in the roadside ditch.

Squirrel turned towards the
wreck. Everything had gone quiet. He climbed to his feet before helping
Alice
to hers.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Alice
found herself speechless for a second, then a weak,
“Yeah,” croaked from between grey lips. Her entire face looked bleached of
colour.

Shock, Squirrel thought. He
gripped her arm and forced her to look at him. “Take a deep breath. We’re okay.
We made it.”

Alice
gulped in air.

“Are you okay?” Squirrel
asked, seeing her struggle to draw breath.

She opened her mouth. The
clatter of rotor-blades silenced her reply. They gazed upwards and watched as
the helicopter drifted down towards them. “Squirrel,”
Alice
moaned,
terrified. He held her tight as he followed the aircraft’s descent. It touched
down about twenty yards in front of them. Squirrel looked to the trees, ready
to bolt for freedom. Still, before he got his legs to move, something else
began to drone noisily from behind. He turned and watched as the darkness
parted to allow the remaining jeep to appear. It bounced and skidded towards
them. The trees beckoned but he knew the jeep was more than capable of
following. They would be cut down in seconds.

Two boots appeared at the
side of the helicopter. A huge figure moved around the aircraft, a
collaboration of iron and menace held in its two mighty hands. The figure
stepped away from the downwash and then grinned malevolently at them.

“Get down,” Ben said.

Both stood frozen.

“Get down,” Ben ordered
again.

Ben slid the firing-pin back
and armed the Browning. The aggressive sound pulled both Squirrel and
Alice
out of
their trance. They both dropped to the floor instantly. Ben planted his feet
wide apart. He drew the weapon into his shoulder. Thirty yards in front of him,
the jeep revved. The vampire in the rear trained his weapon towards the gunner.

A line of bullets tore up the
highway directly to Ben’s right, passing him in a series of miniature
explosions. The gunner held his nerve. He waited and another line of fire cut
towards him from the left. The jeep closed in and the third attack almost found
its mark. Ben pushed his shoulder into the Browning and  then fired. The weapon
chattered noisily and spent shells fell to the highway in a brass shower. He
found his mark first time. The jeep slowed instantly, as if hitting a brick
wall. The driver disappeared in a shower of gore, his arms and head scattering
in opposite directions. The vampire in the rear tried to jump clear, but Ben
cut him in two. His upper half fell onto the highway. It tried to crawl towards
the trees in a bizarre act of horror. Ben ended its misery with a couple of
well-placed shots. With no driver to steer it, the jeep rolled to a halt,
finishing a foot or so away from Squirrel and
Alice
.

The rotors of the helicopter
began to slow and the clatter they made drifted away like the distant roll of
thunder. Stepping away from the aircraft, Ben asked, “Are you two alright?”

“Yeah,” the mechanic replied
weakly.

“Good,” Ben said. “We’d
better get out of here. The rest of the convoy isn’t far behind. Come on.” He
turned and headed back to the Huey.

“Wait,”
Alice
called.

Ben stopped.

“Who the hell are you?” she
asked.

“Quickly, there’s no time for
introductions.”

“I’m not getting into
that
thing unless I know who with.”

“Listen lady, I haven’t got
time for your bullshit. Now either climb aboard or stay here and take your
chances with the rest of Ezekiel’s army.”

“You know about Ezekiel’s
army?” Squirrel asked, as he joined
Alice
.

“Yeah, and if you don’t hurry
you’ll soon be part of it. Now come on.”

“What do you think?” Squirrel
asked
Alice
.

“I’m not sure, Squirrel. What
do you think?”

Ben stopped dead. He spun
around. “What did you just call him?”

“What?”
Alice
asked,
worried she’d angered the huge man somehow.

“His name. What’s his name?”

“Squirrel. Why?”

Ben’s face cracked open with
a wide smile. “I’ll be damned,” he said. “You’re a mechanic, right?”

“Yeah,” Squirrel nodded,
confused. “But how do you know that?”

Ben’s grin widened, it
stretched from ear to ear. “Why, from Jacob Cain, that’s how.”

“You know Jacob Cain?”
Alice
asked.

“You bet,” Ben responded.

“Where is he?” Squirrel and
Alice
said in
unison.

Ben’s grin slipped and his
face turned uncharacteristically serious. “He’s buying us some time.”

“For what?”
Alice
asked.

“Our survival,” came the
reply. Lieutenant Hutson stepped away from the aircraft to join Ben by his
side.

“Kate?”
Alice
asked,
as the woman drew near.

“Lieutenant?” Squirrel added.

Hutson smiled warmly. “Don’t
worry about this big old oaf. He’s a friend of ours.”

Shocked by the unexpected
appearance of the lieutenant, both Alice and Squirrel stood open-mouthed.

“I think you’d better come
take a look at this. Especially you, Squirrel,” Hutson said, gesturing towards the
Huey and the large crate that had been roughly fixed to its side.

Ben made his way towards the
helicopter. Both Squirrel and
Alice
followed. As she passed the rear of the trailer,
Alice
heard a
muffled noise come from within. She drew alongside the trailer. Pressed her ear
carefully against the metal surface. At first the noise baffled her. But then,
with startling clarity, she understood what lay within. She bolted away from
the side and moved directly to the rear. She reached up to tug at the opening mechanism.
The back doors opened with a squeal of rusty hinges. What she found inside
sucked
Alice
’s breath right out of her lungs.

Human prisoners.

Alive.

Chapter
Forty-Two

Trees whipped past in a constant blur. The dirt bike
weaved its way through the tight foliage and kept the convoy of trucks, jeeps,
huge rigs and motorbikes to its right. Jacob watched as the army snaked
southwards in one continuous line of flesh and chrome. Most of the
foot-soldiers had joined their comrades on the highway, marching alongside the
steady stream of vehicles. One or two stragglers remained in the woodlands, and
it was these henchmen that the tracker kept an eye out for. Pet was pinned at
the rear and his skinny arms cut into Jacob’s stomach.

The dirt track that they followed
began to narrow down to little more than a shallow trough. Jacob steered his
way as far as the track would allow, then slid to a halt. The sound of diesel
engines and marching boots drew his attention to the highway. It was time to
find an opening and join the rest of Ezekiel’s army.

“Hold on,” Jacob said over
his shoulder. He twisted the handlebars and dropped the bike towards the black
strip of road. They bounced and juddered, the forks at the front taking most of
the impact, and broke through the wall of trees. The bike skidded to a stop,
directly in front of a platoon of armed soldiers.

The front row of soldiers
halted abruptly. A swath of black uniforms blended in perfectly with the
darkness that surrounded them. Sleek, deadly machineguns hung loosely from
their shoulders. Stitched into the upper arm of their jackets were three red
daggers, signifying Ezekiel’s elite guard.

The lead vampire’s hand
closed around the handlebars. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” The
muscular vampire appeared to be almost bursting out of his uniform.

Jacob cleared his throat.
“Picking up stragglers.” He eyed the huge vampire and met its gaze with equal
intensity. “Not all of your men seem adept at following simple orders. Or
directions for that matter.”

“What are you talking about?”
the vampire questioned.

“Fools like this one,” Jacob
said, with a backwards tilt of his head towards his pillion. Pet tried to offer
the soldier a grin, but the tight chinstrap turned it into a grimace.

The soldier’s eyes narrowed
as he looked over the other’s uniform. Unlike theirs, it had no insignia
stitched into the arm or any other discernable markings. “This fool is not part
of my platoon. Where are you from, soldier?”

Pet tried to speak but the
helmet held his jaw tight.

Jacob spoke: “He’s part of
the logistics crew. Lost his way a couple of miles back. I was sent to find
him. He’s not too bright.”

“Really?” the soldier quizzed,
“and who might you be?”

Jacob dropped his hand inside
the pocket of his jacket. He felt the reassuring presence of the frag grenade.
“I’m Jacob Cain, scout for the logistics crew.”

“The logistics crew, hey?”
the vampire said cautiously. “You’re a long way from your command. Logistics is
way up front. A couple of miles away at least.”

“Like I said, I came back to
find this fool.” Jacob’s finger threaded itself through the pin of the grenade.
“I’ll be on my way.”

“Watch where you’re going in
future. You’re lucky my men didn’t shoot you instantly. Ezekiel takes his
security very seriously.”

Jacob bowed submissively in
an exaggerated show of gratitude. “We’ll be out of your way immediately.” He
throttled the bike and readied to move out. However, before he had chance to
pull away, another vampire spoke urgently into the ear of the first.

“Wait!” the huge vampire ordered,
once they’d finished.

Jacob’s foot pressed heavily
on the brake, but his hand throttled back slightly. “What?” he asked, over the
roar of the engine.

The vampire signalled for the
engine to be cut. Jacob looked ahead. The highway appeared to swell with either
one type of soldier or another, and the dark stretch of road offered little or
no chance of escape. He turned the ignition off and killed the engine. His
other hand, nonetheless, stayed clamped firmly around the grenade.

The two vampires entered into
a quick, furtive discussion. The huge vampire turned his attention back to
Jacob. “It seems a… position for two technicians has arisen. Two of our techs
were left behind… stragglers as you call them. Only we don’t tolerate such
weaknesses. They were left behind permanently, if you get my meaning.”

Both nodded, Pet more so than
his colleague. Jacob had to fight to prevent himself from grinning like a fool.
He could not believe his luck. Yet he also understood that to offer his
services too freely would look either suspicious or overeager. “Wait a minute,”
he said, “what the hell are we supposed to do as a tech?” His question seemed
to irritate the huge vampire and he hoped he hadn’t been too convincing.

“Whatever we tell you to do.
Now stop gawping and get moving.”

“Where to?”

The vampire turned back and
pointed towards the end line of soldiers. “Follow these men until you come to a
large silver Airstreamer. You know what that is, right?”

He did. “Yeah.”

“Good. Once there ask for
Brother Trask. He’ll assign you your duties.”

“Brother Trask?”

“Yeah. He’s one of Master
Ezekiel’s lieutenants. A real hard-ass.”

“Ezekiel’s lieutenant?”

“What the fuck are you – a
parrot?” the vampire growled.

Jacob shook his head. “Just
making sure of my orders.”

“Well, now you have them.
Tell him Captain Balack has sent you.”

“Yes Captain,” Jacob said,
and flipped him a salute.

“So what are you waiting for?
Go!”

Jacob brought the dirt bike
to life, then steered away from the colossal vampire and made his way along the
line of soldiers. Every one of them looked highly prepared, each with a
well-maintained weapon at its side. They were a mixture of men and women,
although as he passed them Jacob struggled to make out which sex some of them
belonged to. With their lean bodies, long hair and identical uniforms, most
could be of either gender. One thing they all shared – whether they were male
or female – was the hunger for battle. They marched with determination and
purpose, in line, organised and deadly. The tracker shuddered. If they reached
the underground, then it would almost certainly be the end for mankind. He had
to find Ezekiel, and soon. Only the loss of their leader could possibly halt
this mighty army’s advance.

The bike rounded a bend and
they were unexpectedly caught in the bright headlights of a chrome mammoth. A
horn sounded. Brakes were applied and the release of compressed air filled the
highway. The giant wagon shuddered to a halt. It sat there like a beast from
hell, waiting to devour those who dared to pass. Steam rose from the huge
grill-plate at the front in an exhalation of breath. Four headlights burnt so
brightly that Jacob felt heat wash over him. For a second he thought the white
beams would actually burn his skin. The windshield was a mirror of black glass,
impenetrable, and it was impossible to see the driver of this magnificent
beast. Tyres almost as tall as Jacob himself held the wagon four feet from the
highway. Polished chrome covered the vehicle from fender to fender in a
gleaming silver skin.

Jacob heard an electronic hum
as the side window slipped open. A lean face appeared at the break and it
stared at them with both anger and irritation. “Where the fuck are you two
going? The battle is that way.” A bony arm threaded itself outside. Then
pointed in the direction they had just come from.

“We’ve been assigned to
Brother Trask. He requires two new technicians,” Jacob explained.

The driver’s arm slid back
inside the cabin, gracefully, like the movement of a snake. “Ah – Captain
Balack has finally found… replacements. Good.” He smiled slyly, and Jacob
though the guy looked like a direct descendent of a cobra. “Join the back and
keep in formation. Once we stop to make camp find Brother Trask. He’ll assign
you to your duties.”

“Brother Trask?” Jacob asked.

The vampire hissed with a fit
of mean laughter. “He’s hard to miss. Now get out of my way before I crush you
flat.” The window hummed as it slid shut. The wagon lurched forwards, barely
allowing the bike to steer clear. Its huge wheels kicked up large stones as it
pulled away. Behind it came a thirty-foot Airstreamer trailer. A large, oily
coupling buckled and squealed and kept the impressive trailer connected to the
rear of the wagon. The trailer stretched out like a silver rocket. Chrome
panels covered it from tip to tip. Additional metal plates had been added,
mainly over the wheels and windows, and they looked solid enough to have taken
a direct hit from one of Ben’s Brownings. A mobile control centre, Jacob
realised instantly.

The tracker felt a cold sweat
break out on his skin. He was just feet away from the leader of the vampires.
Inside beat the very heart of the undead army. Meticulously planning the
destruction of the human race, no doubt. Jacob felt for one of the grenades,
but he knew, realistically, that it would be incapable of damaging the
bullet-proof Airstreamer. Better to wait and see if a more fruitful opportunity
arose, he thought. He concentrated instead on joining the rear of the convoy.

They seemed to march for
hours, a constant thump of boots, which drew ever closer to the remnants of the
human race. Eventually, a signal spread from ahead, passed from soldier to
soldier, telling them to halt. Jacob hit the brakes and slid to a stop. He
arched his back in an attempt to work the stiffness out of his spine.

All around them, soldiers
began to drop their weapons, exchanging them for their backpacks. A legion of
vampires began to jog quickly away, their task to erect shelter for the rest of
Ezekiel’s army. Some of the vampires who remained began to unpack tents and
aluminium poles. In no time at all they had begun to form a command post.

“You there, what are you
gawping at?”

Jacob turned to face the
colossal figure of Captain Balack. “We’re waiting for instructions.”

“You were told to inform Brother
Trask of your recruitment,” Balack reminded the pair.

Jacob looked from one
devilish face to the next. Which one belonged to Brother Trask?

“What’s this about
recruitment I hear?” a gravely voice quizzed. A squat, muscular vampire stepped
out of the gloom, dressed in an impressive garb of armour. He had a rifle or
club, or a mixture of the two, hanging down from around his broad shoulder.
“Why haven’t the fires been lit?” he asked the huge vampire. Almost twice the
size of Trask, Balack still twitched with an uncontrollable fear. “We’re
working on it now,” he replied, unable to hide his anxiety.

“Well hurry,” Trask said.
“The wolves around here are hungry!”

“We’ll have a perimeter set
up immediately,” Balack responded.

Trask nodded. “I’ll be
waiting.” The armour-clad vampire spun around, then disappeared in the opposite
direction.

“Well,” Balack began, “what
the hell are you waiting for?”

Jacob and Pet stayed perched
on the bike. “Where do we get the wood from?” the tracker asked.

The captain grumbled with
agitation. The one who did all the talking was obviously just as dumb as the
other one looked. As if addressing a dim-witted child, Balack said, “What the
fuck do you call all this?” His arms swept outwards in a gesture towards the
surrounding trees.

“Shit…” Jacob moaned under
his breath. Pet turned to the dark woodlands and shuddered.

Jacob dropped the kickstand
and climbed off the bike. Pet followed. They stood facing the huge captain.
“What do we use to chop them down with?” the tracker asked.

Balack threw his hands up in
exasperation. Why had he picked these two idiots? Trask was going to have him
hung upside-down from a tree and left for the wolves to pick clean. “An axe or
hatchet, possibly?”

“And where are they stored?”

A whine of desperation leaked
from the captain’s blood-red lips. “Follow me,” he urged, and led them away
from the tents. They followed him to the rear of the trailer, where the vampire
opened up a storage compartment. As the captain rummaged around inside, Jacob
tried his best to penetrate the metal plates which covered the windows. Only
darkness presented itself. The interior was a mystery.

Balack handed over two short
hatchets. One each. Jacob tensed as Pet’s bony fingers wrapped themselves
around the short handle. He held his breath, unsure if the vampire would launch
into an attack. He didn’t. Instead, he peered into the polished blade and then
huffed miserably at his reflection. A word, just about understandable, bled out
from the corners of his clamped jaw. The single word caught Jacob off-guard.
“Ugly,” Pet said, and this acknowledgment of imperfection sent an unsettling
shiver down Jacob’s spine. He looked into Pet’s eyes and was shocked to find
pain and misery there. Did the vampire have a deeper understanding of his own
identity? The tracker held Pet’s gaze for a second. Now was not the time to
develop empathy towards the thing. He needed to remain focused on the task at
hand, and Pet’s time of destiny was almost upon him.