Chapter 112
No one made a single comment as to whether or not they thought the pair would be sufficient in holding off a couple of Vampires, though Jamie thought they would be, so long as it wasn’t more than two or three.
“Any other questions?” Jordan asked, looking at each of their faces.
Jamie and the others shook their heads, and Jordan set the now lit lantern down on the ground and headed off, Hannah behind him. Janette scooped it up and carried it to a pole, which Jamie now assumed was made for that purpose, that seemed to be strategically positioned between where the Vampires should be coming from and where the two of them would be stationed.
Both of them instinctively dropped back to stand between the potential approaching Vampires and the narrow walkway behind them. It was more difficult to see here, but it also meant the Vampires might be less aware of their presence. Jamie listened intently for any sort of noise off in the distance that might let them know that Jordan and Hannah had found their marks, but so far, he’d heard nothing, and Jordan’s light had long since faded into the darkness.
“So that Maryann’s a cute gal, isn’t she?” Janette asked, casually, as they stood awaiting potential nightmares flying in their direction. She had her axe in her hands, tossing it around like it was a toy, and Jamie decided it might be a good idea to pull out his weapon of choice as well. Despite how far they’d come in perfecting the silver bullet, Jamie still chose to carry an eight-inch long serrated knife, made of solid silver and blessed by several different priests and preachers with Holy Water. He unsheathed it and took a few steps away from Janette, just in case she got a little too overzealous with the axe.
“Uh, I guess so,” he finally said in response to her question. “Seems like a nice girl.”
“How come you haven’t dated anyone since Kit?” Janette asked in an accusatory tone a mother might use.
“I have,” Jamie replied. “Just nothing serious.”
“Well, I think this new girl is cute. I’ll try to talk Jordan into letting her stick around if you want to ask her out.”
He’d be lying if he said it hadn’t crossed his mind, but he really didn’t think now was the time to discuss it. “I’ll consider it,” he said. “But, what if I ask her, and she says no?”
“Like that would happen,” Janette said in a sappily cheery voice. “Then, we’ll send her to Siberia.”
That made Jamie laugh, but his merriment was cut short by the sound of movement up ahead of them. There was a whistle, almost like a projectile parting the air, and then shots, which Jamie couldn’t understand. Both he and Janette braced themselves, weapons at the ready, when a streak of white and black, came flying at them. The Vampire was moving so quickly, Jamie could hardly even make out its form, though it reminded him a bit of the mists he’d seen in Dracula’s castle. He knew from experience there how to defeat that kind of Vampire, but he also needed to see it, and as the Vampire went flying past the lantern, everything went dark.
“Where the Hell did it go?” he heard Janette ask.
Jamie was surrounded by pitch black. His eyes searched through the thick veil of darkness, trying to pick up on any light at all, but there was none. His pulse quickened, his breathing was uneven and ragged as he began to wonder if he was even facing the right direction. Noises to his left had him spinning in that direction, and he felt for the wall behind him, next to the passage, but found nothing. He took a step backward, still no wall. “Janette?” he whispered.
Leaning forward in the direction he expected the Hunter to respond from, Jamie strained, trying to use his other senses to compensate for his lack of hearing. The only sound he could hear was the rhythmic dripping of water somewhere off in the distance. All alone with only the darkness, he felt as if he might pass out from the weight of the inky blackness.
Where was Janette?
More importantly at the moment, where was the Vampire?
“Janette?” he whispered again, and in response, a roar burst forth, less than an inch from his face. Illuminated from its own eerie glow, the Vampire rushed at him, pale skin, red gaping gums, dripping with blood, teeth protruding, its breath stinking of putrid, rotting meat.
Jamie screamed in terror, the kind he hadn’t felt since he was a six-year-old boy walking home from his friend’s house. He swung the blade forward and caught the Vampire in the shoulder, but as quickly as the face was lightened before him, the monster was gone, and then Jamie heard the sounds of battle next to him as either the same Vampire who had just engaged him or another was tied up with Janette.
In the dark, being unable to see his partner, Jamie couldn’t take the risk of trying to help her for fear he could become injured. Instead, felt behind him for the wall that certainly hadn’t been there a moment ago, and his fingers felt the comfortable solidity of the structure. He made his way along to the left, toward the opening, and felt for it. Eventually, he was able to find the narrow opening and he wedged himself into it, his knife held firmly in front of him. “Janette, he can’t get out this way!”
“I sure hope you’re right,” she said, “because I don’t know where he went!”
At that exact moment, the ghoulish face was back in front of Jamie, and the Vampire ran straight into his protruding blade. Jamie braced himself against the narrow wall the best he could, but this particular Vampire was unbelievably strong, and he began to plow into Jamie pushing him backward as Jamie did his best to slash upward, trying to get his knife to cut through the sinewy innards and connect with the beast’s heart.
Jamie continued to slide backward as the monster let out a menacing screech much like they do when they are dying, though Jamie assumed this shout was out of anger and not death, not yet anyway. The further into the passage Jamie was pushed, the more his footing wavered until his feet began to alternate sliding off of one surface and then the other.
Afraid he might plummet off the side, Jamie decided it was time to switch tactics. He could no longer see the Vampire but he knew it had to get past him to get out or turn back around and face Janette, who likely couldn’t see well enough to help him. There was no time to think about where the rest of his team might be. Jamie let go of his blade and felt upward, trying to find the Vampire’s neck. His first attempt got his thumb bit, nearly off, and Jamie screamed out in pain, thankful he could heal himself. Though trying again seemed risky, he decided this needed to be done, so he felt for the beast’s neck one more time, and connected. He began to twist and pull, hoping for decapitation, when the Vampire spun around sideways. Jamie had realized he was strong but had no idea he was capable of this. It was as if the monster’s will to survive had given him even more strength than normal.
The knife was still sticking out of the Vampire’s gullet, and when he turned, it was forced even further inside of him. He attempted to shriek again, but with Jamie’s hands around his neck, he could get nothing out. Jamie braced himself against the wall with his back, trying to get traction on the other wall with one leg, enough to slow the creature down. He felt the wall behind him suddenly fall away as the Vampire continued to drag him, and then the ground beneath the one foot he still had on the ground also came free, and for a moment, Jamie dangled in the air, his only tie to solidity his grasp on the Vampire’s head.
Which promptly came off.
Jamie was falling.
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