Reign of Blood by Alexia Purdy Read Free Book Online Page B

drool hung from their fangs like gore. I wondered what they had recently fed on. It was not possible that another human was around. Or maybe I was wrong; I hadn’t encountered any in so very long that to see one would be a miracle. I backed up into the hallway with the exit at my back, pondering if I should fight the three feral vampires or make a dash for the double doors where the sun’s light would be more than enough to fry them.
    I went for the latter after hearing another one plop onto the floor behind them. They crept forward, their hungry and desperate eyes scanning me greedily. I turned and ran for it. I could take out two, maybe three–but four? I was pushing it at that. I pumped my arms and legs as fast as I could, willing my muscles to move even more. The ferals were quick, super-human quick, and only my intense running and training had helped me keep out of their reach. The beam of my flashlight was zigzagging across the walls like an epileptic seizure. I wondered how much more I would have to run before reaching the doors.
    I felt the grip of death as a cold, bony hands grabbed my left arm, sending the flashlight in my fist flying as I pummeled through the double doors. It sent a searing pain through my right shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact into the metal door. I felt the vampire latch its mouth onto my arm, gripping so tight with his fangs I thought my arm would snap. The sun’s light wrapped around me like a brilliant fire, sending me and the feral rolling to the floor as I heard the vampires scream in pain. I rolled on the hard concrete, shaking off the tumbling body of the feral as I jumped to my feet, turning to aim my hatchet at them. I didn’t have to fight anymore. The doors had gotten stuck wide open and the four creatures were writhing on the ground near me as their charcoaled skin hissed and cooked in the sun’s rays. The stench that emanated from them made me want to hurl. I backed up away from them, my heart still beating insanely fast.
    I pulled my eyes away from them to stare in horror at what had arrived behind them. In the shroud of the shadows, a dozen pairs of red gleaming eyes glared right back at me. The snarls rumbled inside the hall as I gasped. A huge hive of ferals were watching me hungrily even as they avoided stepping into the light. I backed away again, contemplating slamming the doors shut. Their faces were withered into a gaunt grey, looking more like zombies, except for the flashing fangs that gleamed in the dim light around their open mouths.
    I glanced down to the now-still corpses of charred flesh and ashes of the four that had almost reached me. They were no longer a threat to me at all. I ran up to the double doors, slamming them both closed as fast as I could to seal the hive inside the darkness. I pounced back from the doors as I heard the thud of their bodies against the metal. Swallowing the hard lump in my throat and feeling the adrenaline pumping to the point of a headache in my head, I was relieved. Their needy moans interrupted my thoughts as I slipped off the sidewalk, still backing up. I stumbled to gather my balance and continued to walk away, heading toward my van.
    Their pounding ceased and the doors stilled. They would not come out into the sun, they were smarter than that. They would let me go and search for me later, after dark. Luckily, they could not pick up a scent but I wanted to get out of there so fast that I literally was tripping over my feet as I made it back to the van parked in the street between two massive concrete parking garages. This place was the definition of a concrete jungle. The garages were not safe either, they were quite dark even during the day and shrouded from most light. They could be crawling with vampires, too. The entire city was infested with those vile creatures. I was vastly outnumbered.
    I peeled out of there, jumping back onto the freeway of the I-15 northbound. I took the interchange to the US-95 and