“Geronimo,” Herb whispered, and he ran, throwing himself into the shaft.
Fingers stretching.
Grasping.
Closing around thick, cool steel.
Herb gripped the cable tightly in both hands as gravity began to drag him down, burning the flesh of his palms until he felt like screaming. He fell a couple of floors before he managed to slow his descent enough to loop the tablecloth harness around the cable, and then around his left wrist.
The cable lurched as Mancini latched onto it above him.
Herb didn’t look up.
He could only look down as he pulled the harness as tight as possible, desperately trying to slow the descent to a manageable speed.
It sort of worked.
When he saw the ground floor rushing up to meet him, he couldn’t help but scream.
So fast.
He pulled on the harness with all his might, his muscles straining until it felt like they were tearing apart.
And the bottom of the elevator shaft gave him a brutal welcome, snapping his legs back, sending bright bursts of white light shooting across his vision. For a moment, the entire world was pain, and he thought he would surely pass out.
A fraction of a second after he reached the bottom, Mancini barrelled into him, knocking the air from his lungs before he had even had a chance to fully draw it in.
Far above, echoing against the metallic walls of the shaft, he heard screeching, and the sound of moving metal.
The vampires forcing open the elevator doors.
Clickclickclickclickclick—
The noise of their approach was thunderous. No need for them to worry about cables or harnesses. The monsters were sprinting down the metallic walls, eating up the distance.
Herb groaned, lifting himself up onto legs which felt like they were made of fire, and grabbed at the doors, hauling them open with a strength borne of sheer terror, and bursting out onto the ground floor of the Shard.
He heard Mancini crying out in pain behind him, but it sounded like the American had also survived the fall mostly intact. He crashed after Herb, running wildly.
Herb heard the first of the vampires erupting from the elevator as he reached the revolving doors and barrelled through them, out into the night air.
He almost screamed in joy when he saw the SUV waiting for them, its rear doors open. He threw himself into the vehicle with Dan still on his back, the pair of them landing heavily on Burnley’s lap, and a moment later, he felt Mancini land on top of him once more.
Outside, the night filled with the sound of screeching.
Vampires.
All of them.
Coming fast.
The engine roared as Conny stamped on the accelerator.
The SUV lurched forward, the rear door still open, Mancini’s legs still dangling in the night air. Herb reached out a hand, pulling the American inside, just as something heavy charged into the side of the car.
In the driver’s seat, Conny let out a horrified shriek and spun the wheel as the vehicle lifted up onto two wheels, threatening to tip…
…before crashing back down onto the tarmac, tires squealing, rocketing forward.
“Don’t look back,” Conny screamed, swerving as Herb tried to haul himself upright, dumping him back onto Burnley’s lap once more. He heard the car door shut behind him. Mancini had made it.
The engine howled as Conny kept the accelerator pressed to the floor, the heavy vehicle picking up speed slowly…slowly.
The rear window imploded, and suddenly Herb’s face was covered in blood. He blinked it away, glancing up in shock. Burnley was still sitting in the back seat, but her head was gone, torn away by the vampire racing along right behind the car.
Herb ducked down, waiting to feel the talons rending his own flesh.
Waiting.
“We’re clear,” Conny yelled, “they’re falling behind.”
The car speared through streets lined with bodies, past burning buildings, swerving wildly.
“Take it easy!” Herb yelled, “they won’t catch us now.”
“No time!” Conny roared back. “They’re bombing the city.”
She continued to increase speed, until the SUV was comfortably topping a hundred miles per hour. Outside the windows, the narrow London streets rocketed by in a terrifying blur.
“When?” Herb gasped.
Conny didn’t answer. There was no need. Somewhere far above, the night air was split by manmade thunder as aircraft speared across the sky, and a shattering explosion boomed on the north bank of the Thames.
And suddenly, the whole world was fire.
43
I believe you can get through it. You know I do.
Dan smiled, reaching out for his beautiful wife, but his fingers closed only on a memory.
His eyes flared open, and he found that he was sitting on an aircraft, with his hands tied in front of him. Awakening in yet another unfamiliar place. It was becoming a habit.
He looked to his left.
Across the aisle, he saw the face he expected to see, split by a broad grin.
Dan smiled wearily.
“Hi, Herb. Why do my legs hurt?”
Herb flushed.
“You…uh…sorta fell twenty storeys.”
Dan just laughed.
“And my hands?”
He lifted his hands, tied together with plastic cord. The bonds weren’t tight or uncomfortable.
“Mancini,” Herb explained. “He thinks Jennifer Craven might be more amenable to…er…not killing us if it looks like we’re his prisoners.”
Herb lifted his own wrists. Identically tied.
Dan nodded.
“Where are we?”
“We took off a few minutes ago.”
“The others?”
“Conny, Remy and Logan are a few rows ahead. Mancini tried to put a leash on Remy.” Herb chuckled. “It’s a shame you missed that.”
“What else did I miss?”
“Take a look out the window.”
Dan turned his head to the right, peering through the thick glass. Far below, the land was a dark ocean surrounding an island of fire.
He turned back to Herb, alarmed.
“The military dropped napalm on the city,” Herb explained. “Last resort.”
“But…I thought you said vampires don’t burn.”
“They don’t. All they’ve done is hand London over to the vampires. Probably killing millions in the process.”
“Doing the vampires’ job for them,” Dan said absently.
Herb nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s just how they like it.”
He settled back into his seat with a sigh, closing his eyes. After a moment, he was snoring softly.
Dan stared out of the window for a long time, his face expressionless.
Watching the world burn.
Epilogue
The Gulfstream touched down on a wide, flat strip of dirt in the middle of nowhere, and when Herb stepped out of the plane, he walked into a wall of heat that almost knocked him backwards, making him feel suddenly dizzy. He blinked at the blinding sun washing over him. It was morning in America.
Another morning, he thought. He hadn’t been sure he would ever see another dawn; certainly, he hadn’t expected to see the sun rising over the United States.
In the distance, he saw a large group of people waiting, watching the passengers disembark. Standing at the front of the group, he noticed an attractive blonde woman, dressed like a high-powered business executive. Her features were statuesque, but the beauty the woman’s face projected was cold; undone by her hard expression.
She made her way toward the dirt runway, apparently in no rush.
“Well, here goes,” Herb muttered, nudging Dan with his elbow. “This was your call, Dan. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Dan barked a bitter laugh.
“You wanted to fight the vampires, right? Well, that wasn’t going so well
in Britain. We’ll see how it goes over here, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Herb replied. “Except that vampires aren’t rising over here.”
Dan just shrugged.
“More likely,” Herb continued, “that woman is going to put you in some laboratory and test you until she understands who…or what you are.”
Dan set his mouth in a firm line, and said nothing.
Conny, Logan and Remy were the last to disembark the plane, and the dog charged around the dusty ground, barking excitedly, sniffing at every unfamiliar stone. Even Logan’s perma-scowl had been replaced by an intrigued expression.
“So, this is safety,” Conny said quietly, catching Herb’s attention, “though they don’t exactly look friendly.”
She nodded at the group of people approaching the runway. There looked to be more than twenty in total, and several of those marching behind the blonde woman were clearly carrying powerful firearms.
“Yeah, I’m not exactly expecting a warm welcome myself,” Herb replied. Now that she was closer, he could see a cold, calculating look in Jennifer Craven’s eyes and he wished, not for the first time, that Dan hadn’t insisted that he give Mancini his weapon back.
Mancini marched past Herb, heading to the front of the group, waving a greeting at Craven. She didn’t acknowledge the gesture.
“The rest of the team?” Craven asked evenly, when she finally came to a stop, just a few yards from the plane.
“It’s just me,” Mancini said grimly.
“Hmm. Well, at least you brought back what I sent you for. And not just that. Who are all these people?”
Mancini gestured around the group.
“Herbert Rennick,” he said, and Craven’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “This is Cornelia Stokes, her son Logan, and her dog.”
Craven nodded, but her disinterest was obvious.
“Which must make you Dan Bellamy,” she said, turning to the only person that Mancini hadn’t introduced. “The Hermetic.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Dan said quietly, and Craven laughed. A harsh, bitter sound.
“Nor, exactly, do I,” she said with a chilling smile, “but I will, soon enough.”
She returned her gaze to Mancini.
“You were only supposed to bring the Hermetic, Mr Mancini. I’m not sure what use you think I have for the rest of them, though I suppose the boy could be trained as an initiate. He is the right age.”
“The boy’s name is Logan,” Conny said hotly, “and if you want to train him, you’re going to have to go through me to do it.”
She fixed Craven with a penetrating gaze.
The American woman laughed, nodding pointedly at Conny’s bound wrists.
“I have two dozen armed men behind me, sweetheart. And fifteen hundred more back at the ranch, all of them devout servants of the Order. You? Well, you have a dog. Trust me: your threats are worse than useless here.”
Conny stared at her mutinously, but made no effort to respond.
“Fifteen hundred,” Dan said absently, and all eyes turned to him. “Sounds like an army.”
“Yes, Mr Bellamy,” Craven said. “An army is exactly what it is. Unlike the rest of the Order, I was able to recognise that a full-scale vampire rising was inevitable and that we needed to prepare. The world is too small now, you see. Too difficult to keep a secret these days. At least it happened in another country, and we were able to get you out.”
Dan nodded.
“I’ve been building my army for more than fifteen years,” Craven continued with a hint of pride. “And the ranch is damn-near impregnable. If it should come under threat, we have a place in the mountains, buried in a million tons of solid rock. No way for anybody—or anything—to get in.”
“A good job,” Dan said. “The vampires will be rising at nightfall.”
Craven blinked.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“No,” Dan replied evenly. “I don’t suppose you do. I’m only just starting to understand, myself. But as soon as I do…what I can do, they’ll know I’m here. They’ll be coming.”
Craven just stared at him, perplexed.
“What you…can do?”
“Hey, Mancini,” Dan said.
The big man turned to look at him, meeting his gaze.
His eyes widening.
Jaw slackening.
Arms moving of their own accord.
Mancini hoisted the MP5, and unloaded the entire magazine into Jennifer Craven’s face.
Dan watched without emotion as the top half of the woman’s body became a fine red mist, painting the desert red across several yards. When her ruined body collapsed onto the dusty ground, Mancini kept the gun aimed at her, his finger still curled around the trigger.
Stunned silence fell across the group of people gathered around the plane. The troops who had served as Craven’s personal escort gaped in astonishment at Mancini. Apparently, without their leader, they were as terrified and rudderless as Herb’s own people had been.
“I’m nobody’s science experiment,” Dan said absently, staring down at Craven’s body. “Nobody’s fucking prize. And I’m done with running and hiding. Done with being afraid.”
Herb stared at him, aghast.
“You planned to do this,” he said weakly. “You wanted him to have the gun—”
“The river knows I’m here, now,” Dan interrupted. “You wanted to fight them, Herb? Now you have your army. After all, these people do serve the Order. And now, that means you.”
Herb shook his head.
“I’m no leader, Dan. I’ve demonstrated that plenty. And I’m not like you; I can’t fight the vampires. What do you expect me to do?”
Dan glanced at the sun. It was still rising into the morning sky, but it would not be long before it began its steady descent to the western horizon. Sand trickling through an hourglass. A countdown to darkness and destruction.
To sundown.
He returned his gaze to Herb, who was staring at him, still waiting for an answer. Dan gave him the only one he had.
“Kill them all.”
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Also by K.R. Griffiths
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Shock
Psychosis
Mutation
Trauma
Reaction
Other novels
Survivor: A horror thriller
Adrift
Contents
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Epilogue
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Adrift 2: Sundown Page 27