No Man's Land: An Imp World Novel

by Debra Dunbar

  They were only about a mile from Kelly’s trailer as the crow flies. She had snuck through the woods behind the trailer park, carefully avoiding Jaq’s traps, and skirted the hedgerows and fences to this spot. The trees were bare, leaving only the briar bushes to use as cover. The heavy carpet of dry, brown leaves on the ground seemed to amplify each step.

  It had been slow going. Agonizing muscle cramps had tapered into an occasional spasm before disappearing as she left Dale’s. Their absence worried her. Was this some final stage? Nothing hurt, but she did feel oddly lightheaded. The temperature had dropped dramatically in the last few hours, and she shivered. It was below freezing, but she shouldn’t be so chilled. She hadn’t felt the cold this keenly since she’d been human.

  Dropping to a crouch, Kelly used rotted deadfall as cover and edged closer to the vampire. One. There was only this one, and hopefully the guy he was supposed to meet would be coming alone. That was one more than she wanted to face solo. If only Jaq were here. Sniffing the air, she tried to scent the werewolf, and once again came up empty. There were no werewolves within a mile. No humans either. In this weather, she would have been able to tell. The cold, sharp air brought every scent to Kelly’s nose, and when she’d first caught the faint whiff of vampire, she was positive it was no mistake.

  She’d been right to trust her nose. The scent had grown stronger as she’d worked her way through the woods. It was unmistakable now that she stood downwind next to the field.

  The vampire paced back and forth at the edge of a small wooded area between two fields, freshly sowed with cover crops for the winter. This guy was clearly a Kincaid scout. He had a faint aura, putting him at fifty to a hundred years older than Kelly. That was information she could give her family.

  Maybe it would be worth a bag of blood, she thought, immediately feeling ashamed. Pride fell when it clashed with survival. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Not that chanting it would do her any good. Maybe a bleeding human would drop from the sky into her lap? Maybe some kind of blood fairy would appear from nowhere with wings and a tutu, granting her wish. Maybe she was going insane. Surely that had to be the case, sitting here with an enemy twenty feet away and daydreaming about fairies.

  This vampire posed a direct threat, and she needed to get her head out of the clouds and concentrate. Starvation wouldn’t be her only problem if they smelled her. Was it this one who had sprung the rat trap, or the guy he was meeting, Wes? Or was it some other vampire?

  A shadow moved in the woods, and Kelly’s eyes fixed on the area, carefully trying to separate any heat signature from the trees and shapes surrounding her. It wasn’t easy — vampires could dramatically lower their body temperature to blend in, as well as still their heartbeats to a bare flutter. Again she saw a movement, and a man came from behind a large oak to approach the other. This must be Wes, she thought, admiring how silently he moved among the leaves.

  “About time,” the other man said, irritated.

  “Does she hunt out this far?” Wes asked, looking around nervously. “We’re only a mile or so away from her trailer. What if she has some kind of surveillance?”

  “Idiot,” the tall one said. “I’ve been watching her. She’s just some scout Fournier planted out here on the border and forgot about. They’ve abandoned her to the humans.”

  “So, no need to capture and interrogate her?” Wes asked hopefully. “I’ll just report she’s an abandoned spy, and you can kill her.”

  “Where’s your sense of adventure?” the other asked. “She gets off work at midnight tonight. She’ll check her animal traps around two in the morning. We’ll grab her then and see if she knows anything before we kill her. Should make for a fun evening.”

  Kelly felt cold. They’d somehow been following her without her knowing, and although Wes seemed to be a scout, his companion had skills beyond that. How had he managed to avoid getting killed by Jaq? Were there far more scouts in and out of West Virginia than Jaq and her pack of werewolves realized?

  There was no way she could take these two out on her own, weak and with nothing more than a set of silver–tipped darts and a fillet knife, but she’d have to do something. They planned on capturing and killing her tonight. It was a good thing it had been so slow at Dale’s that he’d let her go early.

  Not that he needed much excuse to tell her to go home. Her schedule for the week appeared to be slowly dwindling to a few hours here and there — not worth spending the money on those cheap Walmart pants. More alarming was how Dale didn’t have her scheduled at all past the end of the week, as if he expected her to be dead by then. Kelly was sure that was his dearest wish — either dead by his or someone else’s hand. But now was not the time to ponder unfair workplace practices with two vampires practically under her nose.

  Hopefully, if she had the element of surprise on her side, she could kill these two before they could do the same to her. Kelly gripped her hands together as she fought off a wave of dizziness. Who was she kidding? They’d kill her regardless. She wasn’t trained for this sort of thing. She was a business manager, not an action hero. And all the training in the world wouldn’t help her in a battle against two healthy, well–fed vampires. She’d go down fighting, but Kelly was reconciling herself to the fact that she’d most likely be the one dead at sun–up.

  A few flakes of snow drifted down as Kelly snuck back along the hedgerow and into the woods, careful to keep an eye on the vampires as she retreated as silently as possible. She made her way back to her trailer, changed her clothing and waited until two o’clock before she went out to pretend to check her traps.

  It was a weeknight, and the trailers all along Briar Lane were dark and quiet, the humans either sleeping, or off working a third shift. Kelly made her way around past Jaq’s trailer, lingering by the door a brief moment. Was the werewolf at work? Or maybe she just didn’t care anymore. A sense of loneliness and loss washed over her. Jaq was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend. She missed their partnership, the quick smile that lit up the other woman’s face, the freckles that seemed to cover every square inch of the werewolf’s skin.

  With a sigh, she circled around behind Jaq’s trailer, entering the woods from a different trail than she normally took. Although she moved carefully, trying to catch the other vampires’ scents to see if they’d left any trace along the trails, she saw nothing. They were good. She would have doubted they were anywhere near, but when the wind changed directions, she caught a faint hint of their scent.

  Wes was a scout, familiar with moving silently and without a trace, but he wasn’t a fighter. That other guy …he was the one Kelly worried about. That was the guy she needed to take out first, as quickly as possible. If he managed to get his hands on her, it would be all over. She hesitated, sorting out the smells on the wind so she could move herself toward her appropriate target. What she wouldn’t give for Jaq right now. The woman’s woodland skills, hunting ability, and sense of smell were far superior to Kelly’s, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

  Instead of starting with the snares as she usually did, Kelly went about fifty feet away, to the rattraps. There. He was nearby, about twenty feet behind a stand of saplings, if her nose could be trusted. He had to have smelled her by now, but just in case, she rustled about to make some noise.

  She caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye. Kelly bent to examine the ropes tying the traps to a tree, her entire body tense in anticipation.

  A branch moved. A twig snapped, and she jumped to the side, throwing herself to the ground just beside the snare trap. The movement saved her life. She barely avoided the vampire who dove past, missing her and clothes–lining himself on the nearly invisible trip wire.

  A huge log dropped, and Kelly held her breath, springing to her feet, ready to either run or finish the guy off. The vampire hadn’t been going fast enough to decapitate himself on the wire, and the deadfall trap completely missed him, but Kelly smelled the rush of blood and heard his choked
off curse. She made a quick choice and ran.

  The injured vampire raced after her, and Kelly heard a second set of footsteps crunch through the leaves. Wes, she guessed, was heading up the rear, and quickly gaining on his companion. The scout was either the faster of the pair, or more confident moving at speed through the woods. Either way, Kelly knew she had to hurry. Ignoring the sharp pains shooting down her legs, she put on a burst of speed.

  A few seconds later, she began to slow. Her legs felt like dead stumps attached to her torso, and a buzzing filled her ears, drowning out the sound of her pursuers. She was weak from lack of blood, but she knew these woods better than the vampires did and the first one was probably losing blood at an alarming rate. He’d heal, but not while running flat out. She still had a chance.

  Kelly felt herself slow even further and heard the pair gaining. Heart pounding, she pushed harder. Come on, just a little bit further. Rounding a corner, she saw her goal up ahead — a huge root from a black locust tree jutting up in the path. One, two, three, she counted her steps, shoving her foot a bit too far forward on the last step. Her toes slammed into the root and Kelly sprawled head first, sliding a good ten feet along the ground. It wasn’t the most graceful move of her life. Sticks and rocks scraped along her arms and chest as the smell of dirt and leaves filled her nose.

  The vampire behind her laughed in triumph. “Gotcha.”

  As if in slow motion, Kelly rolled to watch him avoid the root that had brought her down, hopping lightly over it as he ran toward her. There was a crack, a sharp whip–like sound, then a flash as something flew between the trees toward the vampire. His eyes widened, and he threw his hands forward, but he was too late. The next sound Kelly heard was a gurgle as the silver–tipped arrow impaled him to a tree. Wow, just like in the movies, she thought in amazement.

  Unfortunately the vampire was taller than the deer the trap had originally been set for, and, instead of his head, the arrow had buried deep in his stomach. Kelly felt a moment of panic as he grabbed the arrow and tugged violently, trying to free himself. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed for the first weapon she could reach from her belt. Before the vampire could manage to pull it out, Kelly was on him, slicing through his breastbone and into his heart with the silver filet knife. She worked fast, well aware that Wes was not far behind him.

  Confident that this assailant was dead, she whipped around and saw Wes, frozen and wide–eyed right at the spot where the trip wire had ended his friend. Kelly wished briefly that she’d set up a second trip wire, but it didn’t prove necessary as Wes turned tail and ran. Kelly hesitated, undecided as to whether she should give chase. She was exhausted, but she couldn’t let him get away. The next guy, or guys, he brought back would be stronger than this one. Her only hope was to get him before he crossed the border.

  Leaving the other vampire dead and pinned to the tree, Kelly took off after Wes. Her head pounded, and her legs screamed in pain as she pushed past exhaustion. Wes was a scout, but he’d slowed his retreat to avoid setting off any traps that might land him in the same situation as his companion. Kelly saw him jump a small stone wall that separated a dirt lane from the woods, then leap over its match on the other side. She followed, having to scramble over the wall instead of jumping it cleanly.

  An eerie silence greeted her on the other side. In the lane, Kelly hesitated, no longer seeing her quarry. There was no sign of him in the woods on the other side, but she clambered over the other wall, determined to check just in case. Listening, she could hear nothing but the rasp of her own breath, the pounding of her heart, and the persistent buzzing in her ears. Her hands shook as she lowered herself to the other side of the wall and stared into the thick woods. Where had he gone? There was no path, no way for him to get through the dense brambles without leaving a trail of crushed foliage. Kelly turned to climb back over the wall, completely surprised by the fist that smashed into her side.

  She doubled over, gasping for air and unable to avoid the second fist that slammed into the back of her head. Wes kicked her a few times, ensuring she stayed face–down on the ground.

  “Think I’ll take you back home to interrogate rather than do it here,” Wes said, bending down to twist one of her arms up behind her back. “That way we won’t be disturbed by any other rabbit–eating scum Fournier might have in the area.”

  For God’s sake, did every vampire on the continent know about that? Eat one bunny, and no one would ever let you forget it. Kelly snarled, arching her back as she struggled to pull free from Wes. The vampire twisted her arm, and she felt the sharp burn of something against the skin of her stomach. The darts! And she still had one hand trapped under her chest. Wiggling and pulling against Wes’ hold, she edged her arm downward, toward her waistband.

  “Besides, some of the others might want to have a little fun with you in revenge for killing Derrick.”

  Kelly’s arm twisted further. Wes’ weight shifted as he straddled her and reached for her other arm. Almost there. She touched the feathered edge of the dart, felt the silver tip drag agonizingly along her flesh.

  Wes slammed a knee into her back, trapping her arm once again and causing the silver tip of the dart to dig into her stomach. Kelly winced in pain, unable to do anything. Fortunately, Wes found himself unable to pull her arm around to the back of her body with all his weight pressing down. Cursing softly, he shifted, moving his knee and planting his foot beside her hip to hold her steady. Yanking her left arm further upward, he grabbed the elbow of her right and moved to pull it from under her body. Kelly turned slightly and struck backwards, hearing his scream as the silver–tipped dart slammed into his shin.

  It wouldn’t kill him, but it did what she’d hoped. Wes released her arm and jumped back, bending over to pull the dart from his leg. Kelly rolled and launched herself upward, aiming another dart for the back of his neck, but Wes must have seen her move. He shifted to the side, and Kelly found her dart embedded in a tree trunk.

  What to do now? She had two more darts, but had lost the advantage. All Wes had to do was keep her fighting or running, and wear her down until she collapsed. At this point, it was a matter of making her death count, of dying honorably rather than killing or even evading this other vampire. They circled, eyeing each other warily in the narrow space between the low stone wall and the wild forest. Wes grinned, sensing he had the advantage, and Kelly gripped her two remaining darts, determined to go out fighting. At the same time, both vampires heard a sound, clearly something large in the woods on the other side of the lane. Kelly tried to take advantage of the moment by lunging for him, but Wes easily threw her aside. She crouched, waiting for his attack, but he hesitated, looking back and forth between her and the trees on the other side of the road.

  There was another noise. A snap of a large branch and something that sounded like a crash. Wes snarled at her and spun about, racing at top speed beside the stone wall before vanishing into the forest.

  Kelly leaned against the sharp, cool edges of the wall and tried to gather her strength. She wasn’t badly hurt — some bruised ribs and a concussion, but those wouldn’t heal. Not unless a human with an open wound just happened to stroll down the lane. She could just lie here, let the scents of the forest comfort her as she drifted into whatever afterlife awaited vampires. Or maybe whatever had been on the other side of the woods would come and finish her off. It didn’t matter anymore.

  A damp flake of snow hit her nose, followed by another. Nothing vaulted the stone wall to kill her. Kelly began to realize that although she might die tonight, it wouldn’t be in the next ten minutes, and the prospect of sitting here on the damp, chill ground covered in heavy, wet snow as she waited hours to die wasn’t appealing. Struggling to her feet, she stuffed the silver–tipped darts back into her belt loops and crawled over the wall. If she was going to die tonight, she’d do it in her trailer, curled up on the couch with a blanket and a plate of Melody’s tuna casserole. That would be a good way to go out.

  Blind in
stinct alone led Kelly back to the trailer. Her mind wandered, thinking of her childhood, the years when she was a Candidate hoping to be chosen to turn, busy days at the casino. Awareness would return, and she’d find herself wondering how long she’d been tramping through the leaves, and how she’d even gotten to where she was. Snow started to fall in earnest, masking the heat signatures from the animals and casting the moonless night into dark shadows. The patch of maples came into view, as well as the dead vampire impaled to a tree.

  Kelly paused beside the corpse. She couldn’t exactly leave him here for the neighbors to find. Jaq had said she was the only one that ventured into the woods, but this was dangerously close to the tree line. A sharp–eyed human might see the outline of a body against a tree and investigate. Blanket and tuna casserole would have to wait. First, she needed to do something with this body.

  Bracing her foot against the tree, she tugged at the arrow. Wedged firmly in the tree, she was unable to pull it loose. Kelly yanked and twisted, each effort adding to the gore that coated her and the ground under the dead vampire. Finally she picked up a good–sized rock and broke the arrow off, sliding the body from it and onto the ground.

  Sorry, Jaq. You’ve got one less arrow, she though ruefully. The vampire’s body was splayed in a wet mess on the forest floor. At this point she doubted she could carry the thing. Perhaps she should just drag it further into the woods and leave it there. It’s not like it really mattered anymore, and her blanket and tuna casserole were calling. Lost in thought, she was startled to hear someone clearing their throat only a few feet away.

  “You looked like you needed a hand,” Jaq said gruffly. “Sorry I killed him. He wasn’t very cooperative when I tried to bring him back alive, and I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”

  Kelly stared her mouth open. She was here. In spite of everything she’d said, in spite of not seeing her at all for the last few days, Jaq had come through for her. The werewolf stood before her, a pick axe in one hand and a body slung over her shoulder. With a shrug, she dumped the body face up onto the ground. Wes stared up at her, his face a mask of surprise and horror, his chest nothing but a bloody hole.