There’s no way in hell this will work.
He slammed his foot down on the clutch, reached for the keys, and started swearing. “Oh, come on! Who’s going to steal a frigging Jeep in the butt end of nowhere Alaska?”
He flinched as the passenger window exploded beside him, glancing aside to see a very unwelcome face snarling in at him. He leaned half out of the Jeep, hanging on by the steering wheel as she clawed at him.
Shots rang out in the distance, and he heard the whirr, slap of bullets impacting close by. He flinched down instinctively, though he knew that by the time he heard the sound the danger was long over. The vampire twisted away from him, snarling angrily.
“Filthy pests!”
Masters took his chance, flipping the kukri over in his hand and slamming the butt of the weapon down into the ignition switch. He pulled himself fully into the vehicle as the metal piece hit the floorboards, wires dangling from it, and glanced over to his left as he flipped the blade around in his hand again.
He dodged away from her blows, then reached down and fiddled with the wires.
The engine roared to life as he threw it into gear, stomped on the gas, and let the clutch out. Masters was slammed back into the seat, and then he swung himself out the door as he barely dodged a claw strike that tore up the headrest. He had to hang out of the Jeep, one foot on the gas and the other on the clutch as he stretched like a rubber band for the stick shift.
Driving while he was literally dodging killing blows from an enraged vampire was a bit more than he’d have preferred to handle, but Masters made do.
The Jeep’s engine roared as it bounced across the ice-and-slush-filled terrain, threatening to throw Masters clear of the vehicle every second bump or toss him right into the vampire’s arms.
“Hey, bitch, care for a drive?” Masters asked, keeping her attention focused on him. “This is nice, right? Relaxing and all that?”
By now her screaming was about as incoherent as anything he’d ever heard, though from what he did manage to understand, he rather wished she’d been even more incoherent. He did make a note to remember a few of the epithets, should he survive.
A SEAL should always be learning new things, after all, he thought with forced cheerfulness as he twisted the wheel around and aimed for the well fire.
Perry and Rick lowered their weapons as the Jeep raced off, eyes wide as they looked at each other, and then at the speeding vehicle with the vampire hanging out the passenger-side door.
“That is one crazy son of a bitch,” Perry muttered.
“He’s a SEAL,” Rick said, shaking his head as he watched the Jeep’s tires spin against the slush, slewing around wildly. “If he were sane, he’d have joined the Rangers.”
His friend snickered. “Sanity is clearly a matter of perspective.”
“You both must be silent,” Hannah said, her eyes fixed on the Jeep. “If he dies here, this is a moment to be remembered in song.”
“And if he lives?”
“Then it becomes yesterday’s news,” she said, her expression neutral. “And tomorrow, we play again.”
Blood splashed against the seat of the Jeep as Masters bounced too close to the vampire and got a claw strike to the shoulder for his error. He gritted his teeth, the pain burning through him, but fought the wheel to keep the Jeep on course.
“You taste good, pest,” she growled at him from the window, licking at her blood-spattered face.
Masters shot her a glare. “Do you mind?” he asked. “That’s really fucking creepy!”
He pushed the pedal down to the floor, shifting gears as the engine redlined. The Jeep lurched, throwing him around, and Masters was forced to duck in a hurry to avoid another swipe. He grunted as the driver-side door swung shut on his shoulder, bouncing open again as he was thrown back around.
“You’re not getting away from me.”
Masters forced a blood-flecked grin. “Who said I was trying to get away?”
She looked at him, eyes narrowing as he met her gaze while still pushing the pedal to the floor. When the vampire looked away, staring out the windshield at the blowtorch flames the size of high-rise buildings that loomed in front of them, Masters grabbed his kukri from his lap and leaned across the Jeep.
His hand snapped up, driving the blade into her throat and through the hardtop of the vehicle, pinning her in place.
“Sayonara, bloodsucker!” he called, letting go of the blade and the wheel as he moved to jump clear.
Black blood gurgled down the blade, and while the vampire couldn’t speak, she responded eloquently all the same by reaching out and grabbing his arm as he tried to jump. Masters jerked at his arm, but her grip was like iron as she glared at him.
Masters felt a wash of heat pass over him, and he paled as he looked out the windshield. There was nothing but fire ahead of them, and he still couldn’t get his arm loose.
Aw, hell. Who wants to live forever, anyway? he thought fatalistically, still giving halfhearted jerks on his arm.
Masters looked back at the vampire, her misshapen and mangled body now set to take this last ride with him, and he was just glad that he wasn’t going out alone.
That was when the rear window of the Jeep blew out, a whine tearing through the cab as the vampire’s arm exploded at the elbow, and he suddenly found himself free. Masters just stared for an instant, and then threw himself clear. He hit the ground rolling as the Jeep roared straight into the inferno of the well fire, searing heat washing over him as he shielded himself with his arms and skidded to a stop on his back.
Masters stared at the Jeep as it struck something inside the flames. It looked like the frame of another vehicle, but he couldn’t be sure. The wash of fire enveloped it as he started to crawl backward, stumbling to his feet and running away from the flames like they were the fires of hell itself.
When he was clear, he collapsed to the ground, patting out smoking sections of his harness and jacket while he tried to catch his breath.
“Jesus. Am I alive?” he asked, looking at the fire in wonder. “Did I actually live through that?”
“Through no actions of your own, I’d say yes, you did.”
Masters looked over his shoulder at the speaker, eyes widening. “Should have known it was you.”
Nathan Hale hefted his Sassy, the big rifle resting on his shoulder as he walked through the slush and ice toward Masters. “You left me behind, surrounded by a few dozen of those zombie things.”
“Vampires,” Masters corrected, remembering Norton’s rant. “And we didn’t leave you; you didn’t signal for pickup.”
“Oh, that’s the story, is it?” Nathan asked dryly. “No, I like my story better. Left behind, our hero tracks down his wayward comrades and still manages to save his dumbass boss from getting his bacon cooked. Literally.”
Masters snorted. “You’re right. It’s a much better story. Should be good for a few rounds of beers.”
“Oh, at least.” Nathan chuckled, offering him a hand.
Masters took it and got to his feet with the man’s help.
Nathan looked over at the flames. “So that’s the ringleader, boss?”
Masters gazed in the same direction, but he shook his head. “No, Nate. That was just the king. The chess player is still out there somewhere.”
Nathan nodded silently as they turned back toward the storage shed and the chopper that was now circling overhead, lights blazing.
“So we ain’t done here, then?”
“Miles to go and people to kill, Djinn, before we can sleep.”