Vampire Redemption by Phil Tucker Read Free Book Online Page B

herself, the adrenaline long gone and leaving her shivering as the small copter speared through the night. In her mind, she pictured a wave of red blood rising up behind them, a tsunami of gore threatening to break and wash over the West.
    They touched down into a maelstrom of activity. The airstrip in the 29 Palms Marine base was ablaze with light as all manner of aircraft landed and others took off. Selah got the impression the pilot was trying to show off, impress them with his dangerously fast descent. She held on tighter, but McKnight didn't seem to care. They dropped like a stone when given the signal, but alighted on the ground with the softest of touches, a feather coming to rest on the palm of a great gritty hand. McKnight didn't waste any time. She leaped out of the copter and immediately strode away, shucking the headphones and returning salutes as she headed toward one of the many hangars that lined the airstrip.
    The pilot leaped right out after her, spluttering and even more furious. He glared at Selah and hurried after McKnight. Men were already swarming around the helicopter. A small boxy vehicle drove up to refuel it. Selah undid her buckles and climbed out stiffly. Hugging herself, she looked up at the vast sky and studied the line of lights that were approaching to land. Looked over as a great plane picked up speed and flung itself down the final stretch of the runway and then rose into the sky.
    How was the world reacting to what had just happened? She needed an Omni. Was there live footage? Panic in the cities? How much did the public know about the blood thralls? Selah heard thin yells as soldiers called out to each other. The roar and whir of engines. The vast spangling of the Milky Way overhead, great and cosmic and making all this activity below seem so insignificant. She hugged herself tighter and stepped aside to allow another soldier to work on the copter.
    Nobody was watching on her. She could slip away into the night. Could simply disappear. Find her own way out, one solitary girl amongst all these soldiers. But no. There would be a perimeter somewhere. And where would she go? Get lost in the desert, alone and freezing? Best to wait for McKnight. As much as the Sergeant disliked her, she seemed sincere in her desire to get her to this research center. Selah frowned, ducked her chin. A military research center. That sounded like a lot of fun.
    Five minutes later, a Humvee came roaring up. McKnight parked it savagely next to Selah and gestured for her to get in. Selah did so, yanking open the door and hoisting herself up onto the stiff seat. McKnight tossed her a thick leather jacket with a sheepskin collar and she pulled it on. It was delicious and thick, with a faint tang of cigar smoke mixed in with the rich smell of leather. Well-worn, soft, but immediately warming. She zipped it up and shoved her hands into its pockets.
    "You good? I've received the clearance I need. It's a straight shot from here to the Rockies." McKnight waved her hand and the windscreen came to life, lighting up with a glowing green contour map.
    Selah sat forward and studied the map. The airstrip was central across the glass, long and oblique, and on it a number of neon red and yellow icons were moving, triangles and squares, small series of code numbers listed beneath each.
    "How did you do that?" Selah stared at McKnight's hands. She wasn't wearing tethered FingerTips.
    "Military hardware." McKnight looked at the windshield. "Navigator. Current location to Mountain Sorrel Pass, Colorado." The image on the screen zoomed out smoothly, and a thick red line appeared arching up from California, clipping the upper left corner of Arizona and passing diagonally through Utah into Colorado, where it stabbed into the Rockies and curled at the very end into a tight spiral.  877 miles , flashed the screen, Estimated Drive Time:   15 hours, 10 minutes . McKnight grunted. It was just past eleven at night. She slid into first gear and