I wasn’t sure if what I saw within was a blood bath or an orgy. I squelched the scream that nearly escaped my lips. Inside, almost everyone was either naked or half undressed. The hosts were drinking the blood of those I’d see during the day; white flesh was streaked red with dripping blood. Many were having sex and being bled at the same time, sometimes being eaten by more than one vampire. From the looks on their faces, they were in a state of rapture. My eyes scanned the room for Kira and Susan, praying they were not witness to such a horrific sight, praying they were not being eaten alive. As I scanned, my eyes fell on Ian. He and Rumor were lost in their own ecstasy; he was thrusting into her while she bit his shoulder, her legs wrapped around his waist, blood dripping down his back. I felt myself tear up. Then I stood and maneuvered toward the back of the building.
Once I got to the side of the building, I looked into the window of one of the back rooms. Kira and Susan were sitting side by side on the floor in the kitchen. They had been redressed in simple white gowns, their hair adorned with spring flowers. They were holding fast to each other and looked scared, but they were alive. Carefully, I tried the window. It was locked. But there was a door at the back that led directly to the kitchen.
I slid around the side of the building. There was no one there and the door was ajar. I opened it. Kira and Susan looked up. They were both startled to see me. Kira opened her mouth to call out, but Susan quickly covered her mouth. I put my finger over my lips and motioned them to come to me.
Quietly, the two girls came hand in hand. I led them out. As I turned to look for an escape route, I found myself face to face with Corbin.
He smiled menacingly at me and this time I could see his fangs. “I told you to remember that you asked to come.”
In a heartbeat, I dropped Susan’s hand, freed the shashka from the scabbard across my back, and let it sing through the air. With one fell swoop, I sliced off Corbin’s head. It hit the earth with a thud. The creature’s ridiculous smile was still on his face.
“Shut up,” I said and kicked the head into the weeds. I then slid the body under a thicket.
The noise didn’t seem to attract anyone. I grabbed the girls, carrying Susan and holding on to Kira, and we took off in a run toward the hotel.
We had almost passed through the forest when my hands started to tingle. There was someone in the forest with us. I stopped and looked around. The moonlight above cast long shadows everywhere. I swore I saw something moving but could not get a fix. My eyes darted around trying to spot one of them, but I saw nothing clearly.
“What’s wrong?” Kira whispered.
I put my finger to my lip to silence her. I bent to pick her up, but in that same moment I felt someone behind me. There was a strange feeling of built up energy when he morphed from shadow to corporeal form. The leaves crackled under its feet.
“Going somewhere?” a male voice asked.
I turned to see Ambrosio standing there.
“Go away,” Susan yelled at him. I felt a tug on my vest and then Ambrosio flung backward, a look of shock and pain on his face. He opened his mouth to scream but fell into a pile of ash.
I looked at Susan. She had pulled the water gun Jamie had given me from my vest. She’d blasted him with holy water.
“Nice shooting,” I told her, and then hoisting up Kira, I set off in a run.
I ran across the lawn toward the eastern end of the hotel. Everyone was waiting. When they spotted me, Jamie and Frenchie rushed to intercept me. I set the girls down. They ran to their mother.
Jamie wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “Amazing,” he whispered.
Frenchie smiled at me as she kissed her daughters. I saw her eye their clothes, and she too could guess the meaning of such dress.
“We’re in trouble. We need to go, now,” I replied.
“Oh, Layla, thank god. Where did you find those girls?” Ethel asked.
“Don’t ask,” I replied. “We need to move.”
“Where is Ian?” Mrs. Finch asked.
I gazed at Jamie who said nothing. I shook my head.
“What should we do?” Larry asked.
“We need to take out the hotel and the yacht,” I instructed. “Jeff, you got the bottles?”
He nodded, tapping some boxes with his foot.
“What is going on here?” one of the survivors asked.
“Just stay with Layla,” Ethel replied.
“We have the cloth strips,” Summer said and handed them to me.
“Quickly, start corking bottles,” I instructed.
“Molotovs?” Kiki asked.
I nodded. Jeff and the others started rapidly corking vodka bottles with strips of cloth. I could see my grandmother shaking her head—a terrible waste.
“We can take out the hotel,” Tom said, and several others around him nodded.
“What about the yacht? Won’t we need it?” Kiki asked.
“No, everyone needs to come with me. There is another way off the island. We have to go to a smaller island just off shore. There,” I said, pointing toward the shoreline where the fox had led me down the earthen steps earlier that day.
“We got the yacht,” Jeff said as he and Gary packed a bag of liquor bottles.
“Guys, we need to haul ass. We’ve already killed some of them. They could be on us at any minute. Fire. Decapitation. I don’t think guns will do anything,” I cautioned.
Moments later, everyone was moving off in different directions. Jamie headed out with Tom and his group. I led my group through the rocky weeds down to the shoreline. The moon above illuminated the waves. The row boat was where I had left it.
“Quickly,” I said, motioning them toward the boat.
I turned to Larry. “Get everyone on that island as fast as possible.”
“On it, Layla.”
I grabbed Larry’s arm. “Frenchie and the girls on the first trip.”