Part 57 (2/2)

Diallo watched her silently.

Choking, she rocked in the chair. Her feet kicked in the air.

Then, she gave up the struggle. She allowed peace to flow through her. Although her lungs ached as they thirsted for oxygen, and gasps came from her mouth, peace cradled her spirit, and as the life drifted out of her body at last, she felt herself soaring, into a vast s.p.a.ce, enveloped in a warm tranquillity, completely at peace, for she had fulfilled her life's mission, and because of her, others might live and go on to touch and change lives, and so it would go on, forever ...

What I'm about to do is crazy, Jahlil thought.

But he didn't see any alternative. Crazy situations called for crazy solutions.

”Holler at me when I need to duck,” he said to Nia. ”I don't wanna get my head taken off by a tree or something.”

”Okay,” she said. He could tell by her tone that she didn't like what he was going to do. Well, that was too bad. Someone had to do something.

The German shepherd watched him. Maybe it was his imagination projecting human feelings onto an animal, but the dog looked worried.

Jahlil patted the dog's head. Then, he braced his legs against the back of the front seats. Gripping his shotgun in his clammy hands, he squeezed through the open sunroof.

He'd gotten the idea to do this from a thriller novel he'd read a few months ago. The book was called thunder something and had been loaned to him by a girl he liked. He'd only read the book to impress her, but it turned out to be a decent read, with lots of action and some cool, scary stuff. Not half as scary as what was going on in this town, though. If the guy who had written that book were in Mason's Corner tonight he'd probably s.h.i.+t in his pants. Just like Jahlil was ready to do.

Sharp wind sliced at his face, drawing tears from his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision.

The pack of monster hounds gained on them. Their sleek, muscled bodies filled the dirt trail, and in the backsplash of the truck's taillights, the faces of the closest beasts appeared to be drenched in blood.

Behind the canines, about a dozen vampires gave chase, too. He did not see Kyle, or Diallo, the tough ones, but they could not be far behind.

Jahlil steadied the gun on the cold roof.

It's like target practice on a shooting range, he thought. Think of it that way.

The dogs' frenzied barking drove a chill deep into his marrow.

No, scratch that. This is war. This Pathfinder is our a.s.sault vehicle. I'm the gunner popping out to knock down the enemy soldiers.

He took aim at the closest vampire mutt, which looked like it had been a pit bull in its former life. Straining to keep the gun steady as the vehicle roared across the b.u.mpy trail, he squeezed the trigger.

The kick of the rifle, combined with the wind and the rough ride, almost slapped the gun out of his grip, but he held tight. He hit his mark, too. Struck in the breast, the creature yelped and tumbled to the ground.

The beast's vicious companions trampled it thoughtlessly, not slowing their pursuit at all.

He frowned. He'd hoped to discourage them by cutting down one of their pack mates. But that wasn't going to work. He would have to shoot all of them.

”Get down!” Nia warned.

Jahlil dipped into the truck. He looked up. A thick branch zipped past, where his head had been only two seconds ago.

”Oh, man,” he said. His mouth was dry. ”Thanks”

”I wish you would stay in here,” Nia said. ”These woods are too thick and dark for us to see anything coming until it's right up on us”

”Hey, I knocked down one of the bloodsucker mutts,” he said. ”I can get 'em all, just watch.”

”Throw a bottle bomb back there at them,” she said. ”The fire will slow them down, and that's all we need. Like I said, it's not safe for you to stay up there too long, exposed like that”

”She's right, Jahlil,” David said, his voice taut. ”You're a crack shot, I admit, but this road is twisting like crazy. I don't want you to get hurt”

”You guys aren't my parents,” Jahlil said. His chest was tight. ”You don't even know me. So why do you care?”

He had to almost choke out the last words. He couldn't cry, not now. He had work to do.

Nia placed her hand on his shoulder. Something about the way she looked at him reminded him, startlingly, of his mother, and he felt a loosening of tension in his chest.

”Please,” she said softly.

”Well ... okay.” He placed the shotgun on the seat. Curious, King sniffed the gun's wooden stock.

”Use this.” Nia offered him one of those Molotov c.o.c.ktails. ”Need a lighter?”

”I have one” He fished a cigarette lighter out of his pocket.

Positioning his legs against the back of the seats again, he popped through the sunroof.

The h.e.l.lhounds were close. Less than twenty feet away.

”I'm gonna knock you a.s.sholes back,” he said. He flicked the lighter.

”Hold on!” Nia said. ”We're gonna turn!”

Jahlil lodged himself in the corner of the sunroof, to keep his balance. The truck veered around a curve, dark trees floating past.

The lighter flame winked out. He struck it again.

Something thudded against the back of the SUV.

Jahlil raised his head ... and saw the grimy hands of a vampire grasping the edge of the roof.

He froze.

The bloodsucker had leapt onto the rear b.u.mper. It began to hoist itself up, like a man doing a pull-up. The vampire was someone he knew. It was Mr. Laymon, the dean at the high school.

Mr. Laymon's face was smeared with dirt and dried blood. His white s.h.i.+rt looked as if it had been washed in a mud puddle.

”Gonna take care of you, boy,” Mr. Laymon said in a guttural voice. He pulled himself onto the roof. He crouched like a panther ready to pounce.

Jahlil remembered the Molotov c.o.c.ktail in his hand. In a swift motion, he lit the cloth fuse, then hurled the bomb at the vampire.

The bottle smacked against the vampire's chest. It blew up with a whoompf.7 Jahlil raised his arm across his face to protect against the flying gla.s.s shards and the flames. A sudden push of heat drove him back inside the truck.

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