Vampire World (VAMPIRE WORLD #1)

Part 29 Escape

Chapter 28: Escape

My guide's voice sounded clearly.

            “Janice, if you have learned all you need to know, you need to escape right away. Carefully sneak out of the main room and make your way back toward the parking lot. When you reach the final row of cars you’ll come to a locked door. Type in the combination 56928753 and get inside. Then listen to the orb for more instructions. I’ll be tracking your every move. Good luck!”

            For a split degree I peered into the foggy mirror and looked at my cool tubes of hair. Then I took a deep breath and prepared to make my getaway.

            Once back in the dining room, I stealthily made my way over to the exit, crawling behind couches and even under tables filled with goblets of the freak blood. All the time I was fearful that Rob would discover what I was doing and suddenly yank me by the neck. Thankfully, he now appeared too drunk on human blood.

            I made it all the way and darted into the parking lot.

            After clearing the last line of cars, I spotted the door. As I ran up to it, a husky vampire wielding a spear-like weapon began chasing me. Ugly and livid, I could smell his putrid breath from several yards away.

            He drew close and I froze. I would never be able to punch the combination to the door with this dominating chump standing over me.

            “Where are you going?” he demanded. “This is a restricted area!”

            He gawked hard at my forehead, noticing the absence of a TriFang symbol. “You’re a guest. That means you might be a spy. I’m going to have to arrest you.”

            He tried to grab my arm. I backed up, and with adrenaline flooding through my blood rich veins, I pulled out one of my stakes and plunged it into his left thigh.

            He fell to the ground screaming, the stake still sticking into his paralyzed leg. Rapidly, I punched the combination into the door and darted inside.

            I was in a gloomy corridor. A staircase spiraled up as far as I could see, which I guessed was the way back to the surface. Beginning my climb, the orb in my pocket buzzed. I put it to my ear while continuing on up.

            “Janice, you will not be able to get out this way. There are security breaches everywhere.”

            An alarm went off, flashing and lighting up the corridor. Nervous and shaking, I continued to listen to my guide's voice.

            “Keep climbing. When you reach the twelfth floor, push hard against the wall directly below the floor level indicator. There will be a secret passageway there. Hurry! You cannot be seen by anyone.”

            Fired by the flashing alarm and the urgency in my guide's voice, I increased my speed up the steep staircase. I tripped at least twice, banging my knee against the sharp steel. Then I heard footsteps from below coming up fast. My heart sunk. They'd found me. This chick was history. But I couldn’t give up.

            I reached the twelfth floor and pressed up against the wall like I'd been told to. A panel immediately slid open, allowing me enough room to slip inside. Before even looking at my new surroundings, I quickly pushed the wall panel back into place. It locked tightly.

            I was in yet another dimly lit tunnel that was narrow and stunk like hell. With my knees soaked from some filthy gook all over the floor, I managed to stand up, but only just - the roof was barely inches above my head. Turning around, the orb vibrated. I listened to my new message.

            “Janice, carry on through this tunnel until you reach a ladder at the end. Use this to climb your way to the surface. But take care. It is a long way up, and there are creatures in there that you don’t want to mess with. Hurry!”

            I trudged on through the thick gook, which bubbled as I moved through it. At first I didn’t see anything, which was good. But soon I began to feel something nudging and gnawing at my shoes. I hoped it was nothing. But I was proven wrong when a worm-like monster jumped up on my leg. It was a deadworm, the same sort of hideous creature that had assaulted me when I was locked up in the orphanage prison cell. Disgusted, I brushed off the neon-blue beast that looked like a slimy skeleton with fangs. It landed back in the sludge. Good riddance, bloodsucking ass.

            As I moved on through this hellhole, the gook got deeper.

            Three more deadworms jumped up at me - one landed right on my chest. Tearing it off, I slammed it violently against the wall, shattering its thin skeletal frame into tiny pieces. But while doing this, two more of the repulsive creatures were busy biting me on the back and on the leg. The pain was shocking.

            Somehow I gathered the energy to knock them off, even while they were feasting on my blood. I moved on, weakened by the pain raging through my body. My determination to survive increased when I saw the ladder at the end of the tunnel.

            More deadworms lunged and bit at me like I was a meaningless tube of blood. I twirled around in all directions, swatting them off while still amazingly managing to make slow forward progress. I'd collected at least three more really bad bites by the time my trembling hands finally grabbed hold of the ladder. I didn't dare pause, not even to draw a few breaths. I knew that if I succumbed to the pain and fatigue I’d die down here, and then I'd never be able to discover what great secret of my life existed. If indeed, there was any secret.

            With what little energy I had left, I began climbing up the ladder. A clutch of deadworms jumped up after me with their bloodsucking fangs, but thankfully they fell short and dropped back down into the slime. I continued to climb, unable to see the top.

            I didn’t know how or where I got the strength to complete the endless climb. But somehow I made it. With hands burning raw from grasping the bars, I reached the top. Unable to stand, I crawled toward an opening that showed a weak light.

            Sparkling leaves brushed up against me and I knew I was now outside in the woods. The world was swirling around me. I was unable to move, but I did manage to glance up and see some masked figures dressed in black. I recognized the voices of Martin and his assistants. My fuddled brain tried to work out how they knew I was here. Oh yeah - they must have been tracking me. They put a blanket around my body and tried to keep me warm. That was the last thing I remembered before passing out.

            When I woke up, my surroundings gradually came into focus. I was lying in my coffin, staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom.

            “Janice! Janice!”

            I shifted my head slightly and saw Brett’s welcoming face. A very relieved looking Mr. FreeCut was standing beside him.