by Amy Cross
Chapter Twelve
Hugo
“Stop the car!” Matthias hissed suddenly after we'd been driving for a couple of hours. “Look!”
I cut the engine and let the vehicle roll to a halt, and I immediately saw what he'd spotted. The airfield lay ahead, and the lights from a car's headlights could be seen on the runway. For a bunch of spies, they were being pretty brazen.
“What are they doing?” Judith asked.
“Isn't it obvious?” I replied, and sure enough a moment later I realized I could hear a faint humming sound in the distance. “Someone somewhere is waiting for that ring to arrive.”
“How do we stop them?” Chloe asked.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and now I could make out the sight of a small plane approaching the airfield. Flying dark and low, it could well have made it all the way from mainland Europe. After a moment I turned to Matthias, and he offered a gentle nod.
“The ladies will stay in the vehicle,” I said, as Matthias and I both climbed out of the car.
“The ladies will do no such thing,” Chloe replied, with her usual irritating tone. “We're coming with you!”
“You'd only get in the way,” I told her, before slamming the door shut and stepping around the car to join Matthias. “That ring absolutely can't be allowed to reach its destination. Whoever wants it, their intentions can only be bad. We need the ring.”
“I sense a feeding frenzy in our immediate future,” Matthias said as we began to march across the grass, heading toward the runway.
For a moment, I felt as if the old days were back. When we were young, Matthias and I often hunted together. That time had long since passed, and in some ways we'd both become very different people. For a few seconds, however, we made our way closer and closer to the figure ahead and we were working together, in unison. We were a team, and it felt good.
Ahead, the plane was getting closer and closer, while several figures could be seen gathered around the car. They were all waiting for the plane to land, and it was evident quite quickly that none of them thought to check that they were alone. Matthias and I were not even very subtle in our approach, but the sound of the plane's arrival was enough to drown out the sound of our footsteps. By the time the plane was on the runway and had begun to taxi toward the car, my brother and I were coming up behind the closest of the dark figures. The best part was, they were all completely unaware of our arrival. This was going to be easy, I told myself. We'd simply -
Suddenly the closest figure turned and let out a snarl, and thrust something toward Matthias. Before I had time to react, my brother let out a pained gasp and fell back, landing hard against the grass. I glanced down at him, convinced that he would instantly get up, but to my horror I saw that a thick wooden stake was embedded in his chest, holding him down in frozen agony.
I turned to the figure, just as he aimed another stake at my own heart.
I pulled out of the way just in time, and I quickly grabbed the man's arm and snapped it at the elbow. I could feel instantly that, despite his bravado, he was only human. He cried out as I slammed his head against the car, but already the other men were coming for me. They were each armed with a stake of their own, and I was starting to realize that perhaps Matthias and I had miscalculated. These humans, whoever they were, had come very well prepared.
Snarling and baring my fangs, I lunged at the nearest of the men, and I quickly managed to drop him to his knees. As I was about to cut his throat, however, I sensed someone coming up behind my shoulders, and I spun around just as another stake was thrust at my chest. I stepped side, and the stake instead crunched straight into the face of the man I had been about to kill.
Already, more of these bastards were coming at me.
I turned, trying to determine which of them to kill first, but at that moment I saw that one of them had broken away and was running toward the plane. Realizing that he must be the one with the ring, I pushed two of the other men aside and began to run out onto the runway, only for one of the men to step into my path at the last moment.
I reached out to push him away, but in instant I felt a crush of searing pain in my chest, and I looked down to see that a stake had been driven through my heart from behind.
Suddenly feeling an immense lack of strength, I took a couple of stumbling steps forward and then I dropped to my knees. My entire body was trembling, and even my hands were shaking violently as I slowly reached up and tried to grab the stake so that I could push it back out. The pain was overwhelming, but slowly I forced my hands to grip the stake's end and I began to force it from my chest.
I knew I had only a few seconds before I'd be unconscious.
And then, behind me, someone grabbed the other side of the stake and gave it a huge twist, crunching it through my ribs and heart. I screamed, unable to handle the pain, and then everything went dark as I slumped down against the cold grass.
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe
“You've got six shots in here,” Judith said as she handed the second revolver to me. “Don't waste them.”
She checked her own gun and then closed the side-loader compartment, or whatever it was called. My knowledge of guns was so lacking, I didn't even know the correct names for the various parts. Yet now apparently I was expected to fire one in anger.
“And you seriously found these in a drawer in Doctor Russell's desk?” I asked. “I guess the guy really meant business.”
“He was dealing with vampires and werewolves in war-time London,” she pointed out. “I don't blame the guy for being prepared. I just wish I'd had the presence of mind to bring a few more of his weapons. Now let's do this before they have a chance to get away.”
We turned and began to make our way through the cold night air. Ahead, Matthias and Hugo lay on the ground with stakes through their chests. Judith had already assured me that their injuries were only temporary, but I was still shocked to see that they'd been taken out of action so easily. Now the men from the other car were making their way over to the plane, no doubt to hand over the ring so that it could be taken far away. Perhaps the figured that there were no more threats.
“I don't really know much about guns,” I said, “and -”
Suddenly Judith raised her weapon and fired, and I was shocked to see one of the figures immediately slump to the ground. Before anyone had a chance to react, she fired two more times, and she quickly dropped two more of the men. I aimed and fired too, although my first shot merely hit the top of the car and ricocheted off harmlessly.
“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” I asked, as the two remaining men began to run.
“My country has been occupied by enemy forces for the past four years,” she replied, as she fired again and picked off another of the men. “I've learned a lot in that time.”
She turned and fired yet again, and to my shock the fifth and final man cried out and fell. Shocked, I realized that Judith hadn't missed with a single shot.
“I don't like killing,” Judith told me, “but these people don't give us much choice.”
She aimed at the plane and fired again, although this time her shot simply hit the side and seemingly caused no damage.
“I think you'd better take this,” I said to her, handing her my gun before turning and running over to Matthias. Dropping to my knees, I saw that his eyes were wide open, and that the stake was glistening with blood as it remained jutting out of his chest.
I took hold of the stake, but for a moment I wasn't sure what to do. Ripping it out of Matthias's body seemed somehow wrong, but after a few seconds I realized that I had no other choice. I began to pull, but at first the stake refused to budge. I twisted it around, however, and slowly but surely it began to slide out of his chest, albeit with lots of blood pooling and glistening all around.
Finally I pulled the stake out, and at that moment Matthias snarled and lunged at me, as if he thought that I was the enemy. For a fraction of a second, his eyes seemed to glow with fury.
“It's me!” I gasped, falling back and staring up in horror as he landed on top of me. “Matthias, it's Chloe! I'm on your side!”
Baring her fangs, he leaned toward my face and I turned away, but at the last moment he seemed to realize the truth. He hesitated, and then – clearly confused – he began to look around.
“Damn it!” Judith shouted, aiming the gun at the plane as it drove past, but not managing to fire. All that emerged from the gun was a faint, impotent clicking sound. “It must have jammed!”
“Where's the ring?” Matthias asked.
“I think they got it on-board,” I replied, looking at the plane as it swung around and prepared to take off.
“Then we'd better get it off again!” he snarled, scrambling to his feet and setting off after the plane.
“Help Hugo!” I shouted at Judith as I ran after Matthias, although at this point I had no idea what we were supposed to do next.
All I could think was that I had to stay close to Matthias.
The plane was still turning and preparing to take off, as Matthias and I ran out onto the runway. I could hear the plane's engine roaring, and a moment later it began to move forward. Matthias grabbed the door at the rear and ripped it open, and to my surprise I found that I was close enough to join him. With little thought for whether or not I was doing the right thing, I threw myself into the back of the plane just as it began to accelerate along the runway, and then I found myself being bumped about as I sat up and saw Matthias already forcing his way toward the pilot.
A moment later, the plane lifted up from the ground and began to soar up into the night sky.
“This doesn't seem like a very good idea!” I called out. “Matthias, I hope you know how to fly these things!”
I scrambled forward, and a moment later I heard an agonized scream. Matthias had already reached the cockpit, and he'd pulled the pilot out of the seat.
“Is that wise?” I asked.
“Where is it?” he snarled, as the plane continued to rise higher and higher into the dark night.
The man shouted something in German.
“You're going to land this thing,” Matthias continued, “and then you're going to tell us everything. Do you understand?”
The man shouting something else, still speaking in German, and I had no idea what he was saying.
“This isn't up for debate,” Matthias said firmly. “There's no -”
Suddenly the pilot tried to pull away. Matthias slammed him back into the seat with such force that the pilot's arm knocked the steering column. The plane pitched and turned, and I had to grab one of the seats. At that moment, the pilot was sent crashing past me, and I turned just in time to see him fall through the open door at the rear of the plane. He screamed as he fell, but within seconds his scream faded and the plane's engine surged.
“I found it!” Matthias said, holding up a small bag and opening it to reveal the ring.
“Great,” I replied, still clinging to the seat as the plane climbed higher and higher. “Now for the tricky part. We need to actually land this thing!”
As Matthias climbed into the pilot's seat, I dragged myself forward and watched him starting to examine the various controls of the plane. It was already very obvious, however, that he had no idea how to actually fly the thing. There were so many panels and dials and buttons, there was clearly no way to simply guess and hope for the best.
“I know I've asked you before,” I said, as the plane lurched again and the engine began to scream even more loudly than before, “but if you really can fly like some kind of superhero, and you were just holding back on me earlier, now would be the perfect time to mention that.”
“We're gaining height too fast,” he muttered. “We're going straight up. We need to fix that before we -”
Suddenly the engine stopped, plunging us into an ominous silence. A few seconds later I realized I could hear a whistling sound outside, as the plane began to slow.
“Do you know how to start it up again?” I asked.
Matthias began flicking various switches and turning various dials, but his attempts didn't inspire much confidence. Instead, it was clear that he was just guessing, and a moment later my stomach turned as I felt the plane tip onto its side and start to plummet back down. Already, the plane's frame was starting to shudder as we fell faster and faster, and I saw the forest rushing toward us as we dropped like a stone.
“Matthias?” I said cautiously, trying not to panic. “No pressure, but now would be a really good time to come up with a plan.”
Chapter Fourteen
Hugo
Suddenly feeling an immense lack of strength, I took a couple of stumbling steps forward and then I dropped to my knees. My entire body was trembling, and even my hands were shaking violently as I slowly reached up and tried to grab the stake so that I could push it back out. The pain was overwhelming, but slowly I forced my hands to grip the stake's end and I began to force it from my chest.
I knew I had only a few seconds before I'd be unconscious.
And then, behind me, someone grabbed the other side of the stake and gave it a huge twist, crunching it through my ribs and heart. I screamed, unable to handle the pain, and then everything went dark as I slumped down against the cold grass.
A moment later I felt the pain again, this time twisting out of my body. I turned to lash out at the man, only to find that I was somehow on my side. Startled, I hauled myself up and saw a figure to my left. I turned and rushed at him, knocking him to the ground. And then, as I was about to make him pay for what he'd done to me, I saw a pair of very familiar, very terrified eyes staring up at me.
“Judith?” I whispered.
“I pulled the stake out!” she gasped. “Are you going to be okay? Please, Matthias, tell me you're going to be okay!”
“I...”
For a moment, I froze. My mind was racing, but I was starting to realize that I'd been staked through the heart. A lot of things had happened to me over the years, but I'd never actually been staked before. Pulling back, I touched my chest and felt blood all over the front of my shirt, although I knew that the injury would already be starting to recover. After a few seconds, however, I suddenly remembered the men and the plane, and I looked around to see several corpses on the ground.
“Where is it?” I stammered. “Where's the ring?”
“Up there,” Judith replied, and I turned to see her pointing into the sky. “Matthias and Chloe got on-board just before it took off.”
I squinted, and I was just about able to make out the sight of the plane as it started to come down. I knew something was wrong, but it took a few more seconds before I realized that I couldn't hear any sound of the engine. The plane seemed to be in free-fall.
“They're in there right now?” I asked cautiously.
“Does Matthias know how to fly one of those things?”
“He does not,” I replied, and now I was starting to realize that the plane was completely out of control.
“Chloe never mentioned being a pilot,” Judith said.
“No, she didn't,” I whispered as I tried to work out what to do next.
For the first time in my life, however, I felt truly helpless. No matter what had happened before, I had always been able to come up with a plan. When Matthias had been poisoned, I'd come up with a plan. When Zieghoff had threatened me, I'd come up with a plan. When Doctor Russell had sold us out, I'd come up with a plan. This time, I could feel the seconds slipping away as the plane plummeted toward a nearby forest. I knew I needed a plan, I knew I always managed to come up with something, but at the same time I couldn't manage to force my thoughts past a wall of fear that was building and building in my mind.
And then the plane slammed into the forest, and a fraction of a second later the ground was rocked by an explosion as a large fireball burst up into the night sky.
Chapter Fifteen
Chloe
One minute earlier...
“I
don't think that's going to work!” I shouted as Matthias pulled again on the steering column. He'd managed to level the plane's descent off a little, but we were still falling toward a forest. “Matthias, we're going to crash!”
“We are,” he murmured, and for a moment he seemed frozen in place as we continued to fall.
“That's a bad thing!” I yelled. “Don't just sit there, we have to do something!”
“My body can take the impact,” he replied, before turning to me. “You're the one who'll get shattered and sliced up and then burned to a crisp.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't really need to hear that, but suddenly he clambered from the seat and grabbed my arm, hauling me to the rear of the plane.
“What are you doing?” I shouted. “Matthias, I -”
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“I -”
“Do you trust me, Chloe?”
“Yes, but -”
“Good. Because you might not like what I'm about to do.”
Before I could respond, he put his arms around me and hugged me tight, and then – with no warning – he threw us both out of the plane's rear door.
I screamed as we fell, but we were just a few meters above the forest and we quickly began to smash into the tops of the trees. Matthias twisted his body around so that he bore the full force of the first impact, and then he twisted around again so that he was the one who slammed into the next tree that we hit.
Then he did the same thing again.
And again.
I clung to him, and I could feel the bones shattering in his body, but somehow he was managing to position himself so that he absorbed each impact, and at the same time he was taking the full force into his own body and preventing it reaching mine.