from the RV licked the sky as the inferno grew. The Vladdie in the front seat fell out of the driver’s door and collapsed in the grass. Its skin bubbled and popped and sizzled. The stink wafting from it overpowered the stench of Lance’s well-done legs.
Cass bent over him. “Does it hurt?”
“Just a bit.” His voice was a croak.
The crowd that had surrounded the bonfire made their way over, protected by the conjoined light of both blazes. Brown jogged to Eifort and gave her a bear hug, lifting her from the ground and kissing her cheek. When his eyes fell upon Lance, he lowered her to the ground and knelt down.
“What happened?”
“Dumbass decided to light himself on fire.” Cass glared down at Lance, doing her best to look angry with him. The tear running down her cheek hinted at more than anger.
“Can you speak?” Brown asked him.
“Yeah.” Lance sat up with a grunt and held his hands up. The backs of his hands were pink. A few spots were worse, but his palms were fine. He would still be able to use them, but the pain made it hard to think.
His legs were worse.
Brown pulled at a portion of cloth that had burned into his shin.
Lance hissed. “Doc, I would appreciate if you didn’t do that right now.”
Several people stood around them in a circle, gaping down at Lance.
Adam stood behind Cass. “The infected are backing off for now. The helicopter flew away though.”
“Bro, that shit was fucking nuts. You’re like Dirty Harry or some shit.” Greg socked Adam in the shoulder. “Nice job with the fire, bro.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Sorry, bro. I’m just—”
Brown looked over his shoulder. “Can you be quiet, please? We aren’t out of this yet. Find stuff to keep the fires going so we can make it to sunrise.”
“You got it, bro.”
Lance pointed at Eifort’s gun as Greg walked away. “Please shoot that guy. If he says bro one more time, I’m climbing back into that RV. Burning is better than listening to that.” He looked at his fried legs again. “Anyone have some booze or something? The pain is getting bad.”
“I have some in my tent,” Adam said. “I think the light is bright enough now to go get it.” He jogged off, using his flashlight to make sure the way was clear.
“What the hell happened in there? You were supposed to be right behind me,” Cass said.
“The Vladdie that jumped in the window punctured the gas can and dumped it on me. When I went to follow you, I realized that I couldn’t pick up the flare. It was blocking my way out.” He nodded at the still-burning vampire. “That son of a bitch came in when I was trying to go out the back.”
Eifort’s eyes scanned the area as she said, “We’re having a helluva run the past few nights.”
“At least we know the military guys aren’t going to try to kill us,” Cass said. “They just saved our asses.”
“I guess we owe them a bit of that scotch of yours, eh Doc?” Lance searched the tents for Adam, the mention of a drink reminding him how badly he wanted one.
“And a lot more than that.” Brown looked at his own hands, a deep frown sliding down his face. “I panicked back there. I’m sorry.”
“We all panicked, Doc.” Lance thought about standing, but his throbbing legs advised him otherwise.
“No. The three of you did what was necessary. I lost it and did nothing.”
Eifort bent over and kissed his forehead. “You were trained to heal people, and I was trained to kill them. We all have our skills.”
Brown just shook his head.
Lance would have felt sorry for him if he wasn’t fighting the urge to vomit. The pain continued to grow as they sat and watched the flames.
Most of the survivors took a seat in the grass, their heads low, sobs shaking their shoulders. Guns were reloaded again, though few were fired. Bottles of water were passed around.
Brown poured water onto Lance’s legs. Flash bulbs went off in Lance’s vision as he sucked in a harsh breath.
After several
Cass bent over him. “Does it hurt?”
“Just a bit.” His voice was a croak.
The crowd that had surrounded the bonfire made their way over, protected by the conjoined light of both blazes. Brown jogged to Eifort and gave her a bear hug, lifting her from the ground and kissing her cheek. When his eyes fell upon Lance, he lowered her to the ground and knelt down.
“What happened?”
“Dumbass decided to light himself on fire.” Cass glared down at Lance, doing her best to look angry with him. The tear running down her cheek hinted at more than anger.
“Can you speak?” Brown asked him.
“Yeah.” Lance sat up with a grunt and held his hands up. The backs of his hands were pink. A few spots were worse, but his palms were fine. He would still be able to use them, but the pain made it hard to think.
His legs were worse.
Brown pulled at a portion of cloth that had burned into his shin.
Lance hissed. “Doc, I would appreciate if you didn’t do that right now.”
Several people stood around them in a circle, gaping down at Lance.
Adam stood behind Cass. “The infected are backing off for now. The helicopter flew away though.”
“Bro, that shit was fucking nuts. You’re like Dirty Harry or some shit.” Greg socked Adam in the shoulder. “Nice job with the fire, bro.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Sorry, bro. I’m just—”
Brown looked over his shoulder. “Can you be quiet, please? We aren’t out of this yet. Find stuff to keep the fires going so we can make it to sunrise.”
“You got it, bro.”
Lance pointed at Eifort’s gun as Greg walked away. “Please shoot that guy. If he says bro one more time, I’m climbing back into that RV. Burning is better than listening to that.” He looked at his fried legs again. “Anyone have some booze or something? The pain is getting bad.”
“I have some in my tent,” Adam said. “I think the light is bright enough now to go get it.” He jogged off, using his flashlight to make sure the way was clear.
“What the hell happened in there? You were supposed to be right behind me,” Cass said.
“The Vladdie that jumped in the window punctured the gas can and dumped it on me. When I went to follow you, I realized that I couldn’t pick up the flare. It was blocking my way out.” He nodded at the still-burning vampire. “That son of a bitch came in when I was trying to go out the back.”
Eifort’s eyes scanned the area as she said, “We’re having a helluva run the past few nights.”
“At least we know the military guys aren’t going to try to kill us,” Cass said. “They just saved our asses.”
“I guess we owe them a bit of that scotch of yours, eh Doc?” Lance searched the tents for Adam, the mention of a drink reminding him how badly he wanted one.
“And a lot more than that.” Brown looked at his own hands, a deep frown sliding down his face. “I panicked back there. I’m sorry.”
“We all panicked, Doc.” Lance thought about standing, but his throbbing legs advised him otherwise.
“No. The three of you did what was necessary. I lost it and did nothing.”
Eifort bent over and kissed his forehead. “You were trained to heal people, and I was trained to kill them. We all have our skills.”
Brown just shook his head.
Lance would have felt sorry for him if he wasn’t fighting the urge to vomit. The pain continued to grow as they sat and watched the flames.
Most of the survivors took a seat in the grass, their heads low, sobs shaking their shoulders. Guns were reloaded again, though few were fired. Bottles of water were passed around.
Brown poured water onto Lance’s legs. Flash bulbs went off in Lance’s vision as he sucked in a harsh breath.
After several
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