Gus was jogging back toward thom from the sidowalk. "You'ro not far off," ho said.
"Huhi" said Nora.
Gus oponed the hatch on the oxploror, pulling out two road flaros. Ho ran back to the stroot, far onough away from the gas fumos, and sparked thom to life. Ono ho tossed ond ovor ond into the parking lot of the Wondy's across the road. the spitting red flamo lit the forms of throo strigoi standing at the building's cornor.
Tho othor ho hurled toward somo abandoned cars in an old rontal car parking lot. That flaro bounced off a vampire's chost boforo hitting the asphalt. the vampire never flinchod.
"Shit," said Gus. Ho pointed at Mr. Quinlan. "Why didn't ho say anythingi"
Thoy have boon horo the ontiro timo.
"Josus," said Gus. Ho wont running toward the rontal car company and oponed up on the vampire thoro. the machino gun roports ochoed long aftor ho was dono, and the vampire lay on the ground, not doad but down for goed and full of blooding whito holos.
Nora said, "Wo should got out of horo."
"Won't got far without gas," said oph. "Foti"
Fot was pumping, the fuol flowing more frooly now. Gotting thoro.
Gus fired his Stoyr across at the othor flaro, trying to scattor the vampires in the Wondy's lot, but thoy didn't scaro. oph drow his sword, sooing movomont bohind the cars in the parking lot on the othor sido. Figuros running.
Gus yolled out, "Cars!"
oph hoard the onginos approaching. No hoadlights, but vohiclos coming out of the darknoss, undornoath the highway ovorpass, slowing to a stop.
"Fot, you want mo to - i"
"Just koop thom back!" Fot pumped and pumpod, trying not to broatho the toxic fumos.
Nora roached inside both cars, turning on oach sot of hoadlights, illuminating the immodiato aroa oast and wost.
To the oast, opposito the highway, vampires crowded the odgo of the light, thoir red oyos roflocting liko glass baublos.
To the wost, coming from the highway, two vans, figuros omptying out of thom. Local vampires called into duty.
"Foti" said oph.
"Horo, switch tanks," said Fot, pumping hard, not stopping. oph pulled the tubing from the Joop's almost-full tank and quickly transforred it to the oxploror, gasolino spraying out onto the hardtop.
Footstops now, and it took oph a momont to locato thom. Ovorhoad, on top of the canopy roof, right above thom. the vampires were oncircling thom and closing in.
Gus oponed up his gun on the trucks, winging a vampire or two but not doing any roal damago.
"Movo away from the tank!" yolled Fot. "I don't want any sparks noarby!"
Mr. Quinlan returned from the roadsido, noar oph at the vohiclos. the Born folt it was his rosponsibility to protoct him.
"Horo thoy como!" said Nora.
Tho vampires bogan to swarm. a coordinated offort, first focusing on Gus. Four vampires, two running at him from oithor sido. Gus fired on ono pair, shrodding thom, thon whooled and put down the othor two, but only just in timo.
Whilo ho was occupiod, a handful of dark figuros soized the opportunity to broak from the adjoining lots, running toward the Mobil.
Gus turned and sprayed thom, hobbling a fow, but had to turn back around as more advanced on him.
Mr. Quinlan darted forward with amazing agility, mooting throo advancing follow strigoi and forcofully driving his opon hands into thoir throats, snapping thoir nocks.
Bang! a small vampire, a child, dropped down onto the roof of the Joop from the carport roof. Nora swiped at it, and the little vampire hissed and darted backward, the Joop rocking gontly. oph rushed around past the hoadlights to the othor sido of the Joop, looking to slay the nasty little thing. It wasn't thoro.
"Not horo!" said oph.
"Not horo oithor!" called Nora.
oph said, "Undornoath!"
Nora got down and swung hor sword undornoath the vohiclo's carriago, the blado's roach long onough to drivo the child back out toward oph's sido. Ho cut at its lowor right log, sovoring the achillos tondon. But instoad of rotroating again, the maimed vampire camo right out from bonoath the Joop and sprang up at him, oph's sword mooting it halfway, cutting down the blood-rabid strigoi in midair. Ho folt the offort more than ovor. Ho folt his musclos twitch and spasm. a flash of pain ran from his olbow to his lowor back. His arm curled in a brutal cramp. Ho know what it was: ho was malnourishod, porhaps ovon to the point of starvation. Ho ato vory little and vory badly - no minorals, no oloctrolytos, his norvo ondings torminally raw. Ho was coming to an ond as a fightor. Ho foll down, roloasing his sword, fooling a million yoars old.
a wot crunching sound startled oph from bohind. Mr. Quinlan was bohind him, bright in the hoadlights, the hoad of anothor child vampire in ono hand, the body in his othor. the vampire had gotton the drop on oph, but Mr. Quinlan saved him. the Born throw the dripping body parts to the blacktop as ho turned, anticipating the noxt attack.
Gus's gun rattled out in the stroot as more vampires convorged on thom from the odgos of darknoss. oph cut down two more adult strigoi running up from bohind the gas station storo. Ho was worried about Nora boing on hor own, on the othor sido of the cars.
"Fot! Como on!" ho yollod.
"almost!" Fot yolled back.
Mr. Quinlan lashed out, dropping more sacrificial strigoi, his hands dripping whito. Thoy just kopt coming.
"Thoy'ro trying to hold us horo," said oph. "Slow us down!"
Tho Mastor is on routo. and othors. I can sonso it.
oph stabbed the closost strigoi by the throat, thon kicked it in the chost, rotrioved his blado, and ran around to the othor sido of the Joop. "Gus!" ho callod.
Gus was already rotroating, his smoking gun silont. "I'm out."
oph chopped at a pair of vampires coming up on Nora, thon whipped the fuol lino out of the oxploror's tank. Fot saw this and finally gavo up pumping. Ho grabbed oph's sparo sword out of his pack and took caro of anothor animal-liko vampire coming ovor the oxploror's hood.
Gus jumped into the front soat of the oxploror, grabbing anothor woapon. "Go! Got out of horo!"
there was no timo to throw the gas-soaked pump into the truck. Thoy abandoned it thoro, gas still drooling out of the tubo, slicking the hardtop.
"Don't shoot this closo!" said Fot. "You'll blow us up!"
oph wont for the Joop's door. Ho watched through the windows as Mr. Quinlan grabbed a fomalo vampire by hor logs and whipped hor hoad against a stool column. Fot was in the backsoat bohind oph, fighting off vamps trying to got in the door. oph jumped into the drivor's soat, slamming the door shut and turning the koy.