Off With His Head

39. At least they cushioned my fall

The remaining vampire's eyes flash to a gleaming crimson as their teeth elongate past their bottom lips. They snarl and snap, two of them rushing to the pile of ash that was once their comrade. The other four head straight towards me, revenge etched across their faces.

I yank two grenades off my belt, snapping the flimsy leather and sending the rest tumbling to the floor. One by one, I pull out the pins with my teeth and toss them into the fray. The resulting explosion only manages to catch the four that were advancing towards me, but better than nothing. I see Caleb grab one as well to throw at the remaining two, still crouched over the remains of the first vampire.

Screams echo through the night, loud and full of pain as the shards of iron embed themselves into skin. One vampire rushes wildly in the opposite direction, clutching his face and attempting to pull them out. The other three continue towards me, their snarls mixed in with the occasional grunt of pain.

Unsheathing my machete, I swing it wildly at the vampire closest to me. It doesn't cut cleanly, like Zach and Caleb always manage, but it embeds itself in the vampires neck, about half way through and I lose my grip on it as he falls to the floor.

I don't have time to finish him off as I'm confronted with another one, who snaps his teeth at my shoulder. I swing my arm back and punch him as hard as I can in his nose. It sends sharp pains up my hand and I clutch it to my chest as he too hits the ground, his face looking like a pincushion with all the iron shards sticking out of it.

Beside me, I can hear Caleb cursing and out of the corner of my eye I see flames, bright orange in the dimly lit clearing. Which means that, somehow, in all the chaos, he's managed to at least take one down.

Five to go.

But at the moment it seems like an impossible number. One is still on the floor with my machete in its neck, but the other four are still very much up and fighting, despite the iron shards that litter their faces. The one who had previously run away, is now stalking towards us slowly, puncture wounds covering his skin.

A blow lands on my chin, splitting my lip and the taste of copper fills my mouth. I crouch down to the floor to avoid another one and fumble around for another grenade. Mercifully, my hands close around one and I yank the pin out, tossing it at the vampire standing over me.

White hot pain sears up my neck as the grenade goes off. My hand flies to the source, only to find several iron shards entrenched in my skin. The vampire stumbles backwards, grabbing at his face and I stick my foot out, so it trips over it and crashes to the ground.

Despite the pain radiating through my neck, I don't have time to pull out the shards. Warm blood trickles from each wound as I yank a dagger out of my boot and slam it into his eye, hoping it will keep him down for long enough.

A gunshot rings out throughout the clearing, deafening under the canopy of trees, and I turn to see a vampire right behind me, his teeth gnashing and eyes a startling crimson. I slam my elbow into his face as hard as I can and pull out another dagger, slicing his neck with a deep cut.

His hands fly to the wound, clutching it tightly as he falls backwards, landing on the hard ground with a thud, still very much alive but now slightly preoccupied. Another gunshot rings out and my heart leaps when I spot Zach, covered in blood, lying on the floor and taking aim.

I just catch sight of Caleb, jumping onto my machete that's sticking out of the vampire's neck. It slides slowly down, slicing all the way through under Caleb's weight, until the head is completely disconnected from the body. He quickly moves away as the vampire bursts into flames.

Four to go.

I'm tackled to the ground by a heavy body, the same one who I stabbed in the eye. He's pulled the dagger out and I feel the burn as it slides straight into my shoulder. Sheer agony stems from the wound, combining with the other pain that ripples throughout my body. I scream so loud it feels like my throat has been ripped out, which it will be if I don't do something.