stopped tears that threatened again and sat down on a gnarled tree stump, the open wound of the tree-feller’s axe long since healed.
A slight breeze rustled through the branches of the surrounding trees and a handful of dry leaves drifted to the forest floor. Moonlight speared down from an almost cloudless sky and she gasped at how pale her hands looked, pale and cold. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater down into mittens, held tight in her fists, and thrust her arms between her thighs in an attempt to keep warm.
The breeze was beginning to grow into a wind now and she shivered as it blew around her legs. She had to find shelter of some kind, but she had no idea which way to go.
A large bat flitted alarmingly around her head for a moment, until she screamed, burying her face in her skirt.
She remained in this seemingly uncomfortable, folded posture for almost a full minute before daring to raise her head. The bat had gone, but a cracking of twigs to her left startled her into standing.
She stared hard into the moonlit shadows but could see no movement save that given to leaves and branches by the ever-quickening wind. She decided to go back the way she had come, in the hope of finding Alan waiting in the car. He would not have driven off and left her. He just wouldn’t have!
With hurried steps she began to walk.
Edward was woken from his after meal snooze by the noisy return of the vampire.
“Did you forget something?” yawned the elder ghoul. “You’ve been gone less than half an hour.”
The vampire grinned as he completed the transformation from bat shape to human shape.
“I’ve seen a girl in the woods. A virgin!”
Edward jumped to his feet, suddenly and sharply awake.
“What? A…”
He stopped, doubt crawling into his mind. It was, quite simply, too good to be true.
“A virgin in the woods?” His tone was mocking. “Now come on. You’re as bad as the living with their fairies.”
The vampire’s grin faded.
“It’s true,” he protested. “There’s a young virgin tramping along through these bloody woods right now!”
“A girl maybe, but…”
“I’m telling you,” growled the vampire, poking a bony finger at the doubting ghoul. “I can smell a virgin from five hundred yards at least, and I flew right round this one’s head.” He closed his eyes as if in ecstasy. “She smelled beautiful.”
Edward contemplated the vampire for several long seconds before breaking into a grin.
“Let’s go get her then!”
Janet was beginning to doubt that she was retracing her steps. There was no sign of anyone having passed this way for weeks, maybe months. Even, she shuddered, years.
The wind had grown violent within the last five minutes, and it now thrust her thick black hair in front of her eyes, making it difficult to see where she was going. All around her was noise, as the trees seemed to howl and shriek at the unrelenting charge of the wind.
She screamed as she stumbled over a surface root and crashed headlong into the dry carpet of dead vegetation. She cried at the pain that shot through her knee, cut by an age-old discarded piece of broken glass. She screamed a second time as she lifted her head and saw the group of white faced, blood stained, grey shrouded men shuffling steadily towards her, grins fixed on their withered faces.
Needless to say, her second scream was much louder than her first.
Edward cried out in frustration as he saw the girl scramble to her feet and hurry away from them with a limping run.
“We’ll never catch her if she runs!”
The vampire hissed angrily.
“Can’t you move any faster?”
“If ghouls were meant to run the Devil would have given us spiked shoes,” noted Stuart Suckm.
Edward glared at him before turning to the vampire.
“She’s gone out of sight. You’ll have to stop her. You can catch her, we can’t.”
The vampire grinned and nodded.
“I’ll wait for you.”
His body rolled upwards like a snatched at
A slight breeze rustled through the branches of the surrounding trees and a handful of dry leaves drifted to the forest floor. Moonlight speared down from an almost cloudless sky and she gasped at how pale her hands looked, pale and cold. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater down into mittens, held tight in her fists, and thrust her arms between her thighs in an attempt to keep warm.
The breeze was beginning to grow into a wind now and she shivered as it blew around her legs. She had to find shelter of some kind, but she had no idea which way to go.
A large bat flitted alarmingly around her head for a moment, until she screamed, burying her face in her skirt.
She remained in this seemingly uncomfortable, folded posture for almost a full minute before daring to raise her head. The bat had gone, but a cracking of twigs to her left startled her into standing.
She stared hard into the moonlit shadows but could see no movement save that given to leaves and branches by the ever-quickening wind. She decided to go back the way she had come, in the hope of finding Alan waiting in the car. He would not have driven off and left her. He just wouldn’t have!
With hurried steps she began to walk.
Edward was woken from his after meal snooze by the noisy return of the vampire.
“Did you forget something?” yawned the elder ghoul. “You’ve been gone less than half an hour.”
The vampire grinned as he completed the transformation from bat shape to human shape.
“I’ve seen a girl in the woods. A virgin!”
Edward jumped to his feet, suddenly and sharply awake.
“What? A…”
He stopped, doubt crawling into his mind. It was, quite simply, too good to be true.
“A virgin in the woods?” His tone was mocking. “Now come on. You’re as bad as the living with their fairies.”
The vampire’s grin faded.
“It’s true,” he protested. “There’s a young virgin tramping along through these bloody woods right now!”
“A girl maybe, but…”
“I’m telling you,” growled the vampire, poking a bony finger at the doubting ghoul. “I can smell a virgin from five hundred yards at least, and I flew right round this one’s head.” He closed his eyes as if in ecstasy. “She smelled beautiful.”
Edward contemplated the vampire for several long seconds before breaking into a grin.
“Let’s go get her then!”
Janet was beginning to doubt that she was retracing her steps. There was no sign of anyone having passed this way for weeks, maybe months. Even, she shuddered, years.
The wind had grown violent within the last five minutes, and it now thrust her thick black hair in front of her eyes, making it difficult to see where she was going. All around her was noise, as the trees seemed to howl and shriek at the unrelenting charge of the wind.
She screamed as she stumbled over a surface root and crashed headlong into the dry carpet of dead vegetation. She cried at the pain that shot through her knee, cut by an age-old discarded piece of broken glass. She screamed a second time as she lifted her head and saw the group of white faced, blood stained, grey shrouded men shuffling steadily towards her, grins fixed on their withered faces.
Needless to say, her second scream was much louder than her first.
Edward cried out in frustration as he saw the girl scramble to her feet and hurry away from them with a limping run.
“We’ll never catch her if she runs!”
The vampire hissed angrily.
“Can’t you move any faster?”
“If ghouls were meant to run the Devil would have given us spiked shoes,” noted Stuart Suckm.
Edward glared at him before turning to the vampire.
“She’s gone out of sight. You’ll have to stop her. You can catch her, we can’t.”
The vampire grinned and nodded.
“I’ll wait for you.”
His body rolled upwards like a snatched at
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