Supernatural Fresh Meat

FIFTY-ONE




Sam knew he couldn’t do anything for Bobby until he got to the top of the ridge.

Climbing as quickly as he dared, he dragged himself over the top as the vampires kicked at him. He endured blow after blow, his only thought to climb safely off the rock face. He dug the axe in at the top, hauling himself up over the edge. Wiping blood away from his eyes, Sam stood up. The two vampires advanced and he swung the axe out defensively. The male vampire leapt back, his black jacket flapping in the wind.

Sam gauged his situation. They stood on the narrow strip of flat rock at the top of the ridge. Both sides dropped away steeply. Sam faced back the way he and Bobby had originally come. To his right, the fall was likely fatal. To his left, the way they’d scrambled up, a fall could still end in some serious broken bones. He had to be careful not to let the vampires close enough to throw him off balance.

He squared off, steadying his feet on the three-foot-wide trail, then he started moving backward carefully, trying to lure them off the ridge and into the trees beyond. But they moved in too quickly, darting closer to him.

“You killed our friends at Point Reyes,” the female said to him angrily, “and now we’re going to finish you.”

Sam sighed. What the hell was up with that kind of mentality? It’s okay if we kill you, but don’t dare defend yourself, or we’ll get even.

He continued to back up slowly, glancing down every few seconds to be sure he had rock to step on to.

Blue Spikes darted in and Sam swung the axe, connecting with her shoulder. She howled in pain as the toothed edge bit into the meat there. She staggered backward. For a hopeful second, Sam thought she would tumble off the cliff, but she regained her balance and backed away.

Now Black Overcoat closed in, sneering, cocky. Sam continued to step backward. The vampire leapt, trying to dive-tackle Sam like he’d done to Bobby, but Sam moved to one side at the last moment, the vampire landing only a glancing blow. Sam grabbed him in a headlock and brought the axe down on the back of his neck. He shoved the axe head in, feeling the grinding of bone against metal. The vampire struggled, arms thrashing, trying to pull out of Sam’s grip.

Clutching her shoulder, the female watched warily. Sam continued to dig the axe into her partner’s neck. It bit through bone, then tore through the remaining flesh. The vampire’s head swung by a strip of skin. His body went limp in Sam’s arms and he flung the vampire over the edge. Blue Spikes screamed in anger as he tumbled down the rock face, landing in a heap at the bottom.

“I’ll kill you!” she shouted, barreling toward Sam.

He braced himself, and when she got close enough, he readied to take a swing with the axe. At the last minute, she jumped to one side, bounding down across some rocks just below the summit, moving like a spider. She came up behind him, shoving him before he had a chance to spin around. For one dizzying moment he leaned out over the steep edge that had taken Bobby. His arms windmilled, trying to regain his balance, and she shoved at his back again, sending him over the edge.

He clung to the ice axe, flipping in mid-air and striking out with it.

It caught on the top edge. Without pausing, he scrambled his feet up and heaved himself over the top again. There was no way he was going back down that rock face again.

The vampire moved forward, kicking at his axe’s hold on the rock. Sam grabbed a ledge with his left hand and gripped tightly while he lifted the axe lightning fast and slammed it down again, this time through the toe of her boot. She cried out, trying to rip her foot backward, but Sam held it firmly. He used this new perch to swing his body back up, then lay belly flat on the top.

She stomped on his hands and landed another kick to his head with her free boot. He felt a surge of nausea and knew he’d suffered too many blows to the head. He wrenched the axe out of her foot and swung it upward, feeling it sink into soft flesh. Blood leaked down his arm. Head spinning, he flipped over onto his back. The axe was embedded in her stomach.

Kicking out with his boot, he knocked her on to her back. His vision started to tunnel, blood rushing to his head. He struggled to his feet, wrenched the axe free, then took aim for her neck and drove it down hard. The dizziness threw him off balance and he missed. He took a backswing and connected. Blood sprayed the granite as he went in for a second and third blow. It was a messy decapitation instrument, but Sam swung down again, thinking of Bobby falling. A final blow finished her. Her detached head rolled onto its cheek.

Sam breathed deeply, leaning over, hands on his knees. Gore dripped from the axe, staining the snow and rock beneath. His vision grew darker and darker. The adrenaline leeched from his system, the pain of his battered head and hands sweeping over him. He fell to his knees, then collapsed onto the granite, still gripping the axe. His cheek rested against the cool stone.

As unconsciousness swept over him, he relived the painfully clear memory of the weight vanishing off that rope as Bobby plummeted from the cliff.