City of Light (Outcast 1)

I fell into a tangle of tearing claws and raking teeth. My rifle went flying and, for a moment, the sheer weight of their numbers overwhelmed me, as did their desperation to taste my flesh. It stung the air, filling my lungs with its stench and bludgeoning my mind with the certain knowledge that death would be my fate if I didn’t damn well move.

I released my hold on Jonas and surged to my feet, shaking the vampires from my back as I freed the weapons clipped to my thighs. Claws slashed at my shoulders, teeth tore into my flesh, and all I could see was a wall of stinking death on legs.

I fired the weapons around in a circle, first killing the ones ripping at my flesh, then aiming at the black mass surrounding me. Several vampires went down, each one torn apart by the ravenous creatures around them, but I shot for speed, not accuracy, and I missed as many as I got.

The chambers on the automatics clicked over to empty, and I didn’t have time to reload. I reached for the remaining machine rifle and fired in one smooth motion. The vampires shadowed and the stakes went through their vapor, thudding harmlessly into the trees beyond them.

Vampires might be insatiable monsters, but they aren’t stupid.

Energy surged across the night—my little ghosts, coming to help. Ethereal fingers tore at the pack and pulled out the flares while others reached for the stinking creatures closest to us, tossing them back into the night and forming a small but important clear way.

Then the energy riding the night sharpened and the flares came to life, lining the clear way and leading us to safety.

I grabbed Jonas by one leg, pulled him out from underneath the pile of putrid flesh, and then dragged him along behind me as I ran for the dome.

Fifty yards had never seemed so far.

The half dozen remaining vampires surged forward with us, their desperation thick and heavy in the air. One foolishly attempted to cross the line of flares, but his flesh was instantly set alight the moment the sputtering brightness touched his skin. He went up in a whoosh of flame, providing even more light, more protection.

Then the flares began to die. I hit the ring of safety provided by the searchlights, but didn’t slow. I dragged the unconscious ranger across the road, no doubt doing more damage to his back than had been already done to his front. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, except getting inside the dome and switching the security system to full.

Because the vampires were now tossing rocks at the hovering searchlights.

One light went down and the shadows crowded closer. I reached the security panel and punched in the code. As I did, the second searchlight went out and the vampires surged.

The ghosts screamed a warning.

The doors began to slide open. I dove inside, saw that Penny was safe, then pulled the ranger in and punched the panic button beside the door. It slammed shut just as the black tide hit it, and the force of their weight caused the heavy metal to ring like a death knell.

It would be our death knell if the system wasn’t kicked into full gear. I leapt over the ranger and ran for the main control panel, my fingers flying over the keys as I fired the system to full life.

Glass shattered and Penny screamed.

I swung around and raised the rifle. The vampires were breaking into the dome via the fissured panels. I scanned the upper panels, wondering where the laser curtain was, then said, “Cat, get her down the stairs.”

Cat’s energy whipped away from me, spun around the little girl, and then leapt away toward the stairs. Penny followed unbidden, her fear tainting the air, as sharp as the smell of death now squeezing through the shattered panels.

I pressed the trigger and fired continually at the area that had been breached. It briefly forced a retreat, but I knew they were probably only waiting for my ammunition to run out. As a light atop the rifle chamber began to flash a warning that it was nearing empty, I glanced at the control panel. What in hell was taking so long?

The rifle clicked over to empty and the vampires surged again. I threw the weapon aside and drew my knives, the sheer blades glowing an unnatural green in the shadowed darkness. The vampires screamed, a harsh sound filled with anticipation and hunger. But as they fought one another to get through the breach first, the mesh of lasers finally unfurled down the walls, ringing the room with their deadly light and slicing any and all flesh in their way.

We were safe.

And it was all I could do not to collapse in sheer and utter exhaustion. I sheathed the knives, then bent over, my palms pressed against my bloody knees to keep them locked in position as I sucked in breath and battled the tide of relief and fear that suddenly threatened to overwhelm me.

Death had been close this time. So, so close.

The little ones crowded around me, their tingly lips kissing my cheeks and their whisperings a mix of excitement and reassurance. Amusement ran through me. At least they’d enjoyed themselves.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, then straightened. Blood dribbled from my wounds and splattered across the floor, but I ignored it. The wounds weren’t deep, and I’d heal quickly enough. Our makers had ensured that when they’d made us—couldn’t have either the rifle or bedroom fodder out of action for too long, after all.

The ranger lay where I left him, sprawled on his back near the door. Blood seeped from underneath his shoulders—testament to the damage I’d done when I dragged him—but neither guilt nor remorse plucked at my conscience. Had the situation been reversed, I had no doubt he would have left me for the vampires while he made his escape.

And if I hadn’t made that promise to Penny, I’d have done exactly the same.

“Bear,” I said softly. He whisked around to the front of me, his little form humming with expectation. He liked helping; he always had. “Could you ask Cat to take Penny to the labs via tunnel D? Tell her we’ll meet them there.”

Tunnel D was the first of the main tunnels not filled with concrete. Tunnels A to C were as impassable today as they had been when they’d first pumped concrete into this place.