Whitby Vampyrrhic (36 page)

The pounding of feet made the ground tremble. As if their Vampiric touch caused revulsion in the earth itself. Beth shrank back into the deepest shadows. Closed her eyes. Held her breath.

And waited.

Sixteen

Darkness . . . a deep, velvet darkness, filled Hag's Lung Cave. Yet Theo possessed certain attributes of the vampire, for he saw it in all its cold detail. The stalactites, the scattering of twigs on the floor, a glint of crystals in the rock. The screams had, at last, stopped and there was silence.

Twenty years ago a vampire had attacked him. Eleanor had applied those Quick Salts of hers to the wounds. The ancient alchemy had only been a partial remedy. Theo's blood had become tainted. Days were a vacuum of nothing. If he did move, it was akin to sleepwalking. At night, he only came partly awake, because the potion he drank dampened down his vampire tendencies. Now, however, he had clear sight and a wide-awake mind; it allowed him to examine the cave in this silent interlude between making the sump creatures howl and the arrival of their brethren.

Theo placed the gallon jar of X-Stock in a rocky hollow beside the steps. He'd need to hurl that as soon as the vampires were inside – and, the saints willing, Alec had locked the doors back in place. The success of his plan depended on all those roaming vampires being imprisoned in this vault with him.

‘Any regrets? Anything left unsaid?' His whisper echoed softly back at him. ‘I should have told Eleanor to get married. The woman's been a prisoner as much as I have.' He listened to the silence for a moment. The creatures would be here soon. He sensed their angst. The screams of their kinsfolk in the sump must have shocked them to the bone. ‘I wish I could have talked to Sally. I could have told her that this thing called Life is the most powerful force in the universe. Weeds will fill a garden if they get the chance. Bacteria, the human body. The vampire is just another creature that's driven by the life force to conquer. Human beings have been doing so for a hundred thousand years. Only we've never had any real competition.' He smiled. ‘So, you're right. I am strange, aren't I? A strange child, I was, too. One who devoted all his time to his daydreams. But it made me feel good inside. I wouldn't have changed myself for the world.'

Shivers ran up his spine. Instinct told him that the fabric of reality had just sidestepped into a realm where other laws apply. He divined that a legion of evil charged towards this hole in the ground. A split second later, the sound of hammering poured through the blowhole. In his mind's eye, he saw them: the surviving sump vampires (and there must be hundreds) had seized hold of rocks and were furiously battering at the wall that separated this cave from their prison vault. They were hell-bent on smashing a way through with their makeshift hammers.

‘I hear you,' he murmured. ‘I know what you want.'

As the pounding reverberated through the cave, he sank back into deeper shadow. For a figure darted down the steps. After that came more. He saw some of the vampires wore military uniforms. One, clad as a pilot, still wore his goggles, which only reinforced the inhuman aspect of his eyes. Theo pressed himself further back against the wall. The jar of X-Stock appeared to glow with a blue light all of its own. The contents of that jar could have been the fires of hell in liquid form. Soon it would have its release.

Seventeen

Sally crouched alongside Tommy and Sam in the bushes. Through the spiky branches she'd glimpsed the arrival of the vampires. They'd poured in a grim tide up the cliff steps to the graveyard, then across the meadow to the hole in the earth that was the entrance to Hag's Lung Cave. One after another they raced down the steps. One, two, three, four, five . . . soon she'd lost count.

Tommy and Sam watched, too. The dog had grown so tense she felt his body quiver against her thigh.

Branches crackled behind her. Then a huge concussion. It sent her rolling forward across the grass. To her horror she saw a vampire in a soldier's battledress burst from the bushes. Any second now his teeth would find her throat. Sally clenched her fists in anticipation of that agonizing bite.

Yet the man ran on. All that mattered for him was to reach the cave. More creatures charged through the bushes. The cry of the sump vampires must have drawn their kin for miles. Another vampire, this one with fiery red hair, raced by without giving Sally a second glance.

Winded, Sally struggled to her feet. Alec and Beth already ran to the cave's doors. The last vampire plunged into that rock mouth. Alec and Beth didn't delay. Each grabbed a heavy timber flap, then slammed it shut. Alec drove the iron bar through the lugs.

‘It's done,' Beth shouted. ‘They're trapped!'

Eighteen

Theo clearly heard Beth's triumphant shout. He also heard the tremendous clash of the heavy doors being slammed into place. Theo had his captive audience. And he found himself enjoying this special moment.

Thirty or more vampires clustered at the blowhole. Their faces were distorted with nothing less than fear. These things were absolutely terrified that their Vampiric clan in the sump were being harmed. None of them spoke. They listened to the clatter of rocks at the other side, as the creatures tunnelled through. At last, their expressions of fear melted into one of relief. Some of them picked up stones in order to attack the wall. Now vampires on both sides of the stone divide were determined to break through.

As Theo stooped to pick up the jar, one of the vampires in military garb happened to glance back. The moment he saw Theo he let out a howl of rage. Others turned, too. In a blur of movement they rushed the man. Before he could even touch the jar, they dragged him into the centre of the cave. Theo could have wept with frustration. The jar of X-Stock remained against the steps. Now it could have been on the far side of Mars for what good it could do. He fought to free himself from the mass of hands.

‘Go on – bite me,' he yelled. ‘You'll get nothing but a bitter drink from these veins.' Freeing his hand, he punched a vampire's face. In fury, it snapped at his hand. His little finger vanished into its jaws.

That pain . . . it raced up his arm like lightning. And, dear Heaven, it felt so good.

‘Go on, more! You're only making me feel more alive.' He struggled to break away from those grasping hands, but they were too strong.

Then a familiar face emerged from the masks of hatred.

‘You shouldn't have come,' roared a voice. ‘I can't protect you.'

‘Gustav?'

The stark, white face possessed those colourless vampire eyes. Twin black pupils locked on to Theo.

Gustav forged through the mass of bodies to his old friend. ‘They've gone berserk. They know that those monsters in the sump are close to breaking out. Nothing can stop them. They'll tear Whitby apart. Everyone will be infected. Then they'll cross over the moor. All the world will be taken – they'll suck the lifeblood out of humanity itself.' The man's eyes rolled; his prophecy of global doom overwhelmed him.

Another set of teeth sank into Theo's shoulder. They couldn't extract blood to their liking; however, they'd make sure he was torn to pieces.

‘Gustav, help me.'

‘I can't save you.'

‘I don't want to be saved.' More jaws gripped him. Teeth crunched through skin. ‘But for the love of Eleanor I want you to save her . . . her friends . . . the entire world.'

The vampires' exultation surged through their throats. On the other side of the rock divide, the creatures in the sump beat the wall harder. A furious drum roll of sound.

Gustav appeared grief-struck. ‘I can't do anything, Theo. They don't listen to me.'

‘See the jar? Over there by the wall. Open it, Gustav. Release the genie.' They bit harder. Theo let out a yell that was as much laughter as hurt. ‘Old friend, release the genie and all will be well!'

Gustav pushed his way through the vampires, who clamoured for Theo's flesh. The creature picked up the jar; he studied the blueness within.

‘What is it?' he called.

‘It's what we've both longed for this last twenty years.' Teeth pierced his side. ‘It is peace everlasting.'

‘But I need something to make me human again. I want to be with Eleanor.'

‘Not in this life, Gustav.' Jaws ripped his flesh, but Theo felt no more pain. Almost dreamily, he sang out, ‘Gustav. Just throw the jar. Then everything will be good. After all, you can't save these creatures, but you can free their souls.'

Finally, Gustav understood. Two old school friends faced each other and smiled. Gustav swung the gallon jar upwards. The glass shattered against the rock ceiling. Then the liquid fell back down, a gentle, blue rain.

Theo raised his face to it. He felt sleepy – at peace. Drops of sky-blue alighted on him; for an instant, they felt as cool as morning kisses, a refreshing tingle, a sense of release.

And then . . .

Nineteen

And then . . .

The ground rose up. The shock wave blurred the air above the cave doors; a concussion displaced the air around Hag's Lung with such force it stripped grass from the ground. Then came a sound louder than a thunder clap.

Beth reeled before the huge sound. It seemed as if some invisible barrier tried to contain the explosion.

And failed.

For a torrent of flames shot through the holes in the timber flaps. A second later, arms appeared in the column of white fire that towered above them. The arms extended through gaps in the doors, fingers out splayed. And all the vampires shrieked in agony, and the despair in their voices rolled away over the distant hills to die amongst the barren moor.

Beth watched as the X-Stock exploded the flesh on those raised limbs. The iron banding on the gates glowed yellow. Timbers were incinerated in seconds. Yet not one creature emerged.

Shielding their eyes against the brilliance of that tower of fire, Beth and her companions approached the cave entrance. A succession of smaller explosions warned them not to get too near. They hung back from that mouth in the earth that spewed fire. Sparks darted into the sky. At times, the incendiary tower rose as high as the clouds, making them glow white.

The flames abated. As quickly as if a lever had been thrown. Smoke rolled up the steps. What remained of the metalwork still glowed orange from the heat. Then a flurry of movement. A figure. A charred man-shape raced towards them.

Beth recognized the remains of melted pilot's goggles on the man's face. The demonic form charged at her, hands outstretched, a fury of movement, intent on destroying her.

Alec threw the bottle. It struck the figure in the chest. Instantly, X-Stock reacted with flesh. The running vampire became a fireball. All it managed was another ten paces before the thing was rendered down. A conglomeration of shambling bones; a skull denuded of skin; the glass lenses of the goggles melted to run down the cheekbones; huge glittering tears.

The vampire collapsed, becoming a smear of dark ash on the ground.

They waited another four minutes. Nothing else emerged. Overhead, the circling ravens dispersed into the night. When the smoke had cleared enough, and the heat within the cave had dwindled sufficiently, Alec descended the steps. Beth followed. Then Eleanor and Sally. Alec swept the torch around; its light revealed scorch marks on the walls. Of the vampires, of Theo and Gustav, there remained only black dust.

From the other side of the cave wall came the clatter of rocks on stone. The sump vampires still worked in all their vengeful fury to break out.

Eleanor recovered her composure. With a steely glance at the blowhole that connected the cave with the sump cavern, she said, ‘We've one last job.'

Alec began to feed bottles into the narrow hole. When he'd pushed three inside, he retrieved the iron bar from the entrance of the cave. He grimaced. The metal was still hot enough to sting his palms. Nevertheless, he inserted the bar into the hole, then used it to push the bottles right through to the other side.

‘Stand back,' he ordered.

As the bottles fell into the sump, he flung himself down. The explosion on the far side of that rock face produced a jet of flame that shot from the blowhole into the heart of the cave. Its heat made Beth's face smart. The inferno within the sump must have been unspeakable. She pictured the ancient vampires writhing in agony. Dozens must have been obliterated.

Yet, seconds later, the pounding of stones continued. The monsters weren't defeated yet. Alec repeated the process. Three more bottles of that liquid hellfire. Again, flame erupted like a blow torch. Screams vibrated the stone beneath their feet.

Eleanor plucked more bottles from the satchel. ‘Keep going. We can't stop until their all dead.'

After the next batch of bottles entered the sump, the rap of stones against the cave wall stopped. Screams faded to groans.

‘More,' Eleanor said.

After the next brace of bombs had been shoved through the screams stopped. And after that, even though they pushed more bottles through to the other side, there were no more explosions.

Beth stopped Eleanor from inserting more bottles into the hole. ‘That's enough. There isn't any organic matter left through there to react with the chemical.'

Eleanor sank to her knees. Beth looked at the faces of her companions. Soot-streaked, exhausted, yet a spark of triumph shone in their eyes.

‘We've won.' Alec coughed. ‘They're all dead.'

Then Sally's gaze roved around the cave. ‘Has anyone seen Tommy?'

Twenty

Tommy lay beside the bushes. A half-buried boulder appeared to form a pillow on which he'd rested his head. Sam sat beside him so closely the sides of their bodies touched. The dog watched them approach, then he turned his eyes to his master that lay so still on the ground. Beth ran to the boy. She crouched down and lifted him into her arms.