As he stepped out of the lift, the ultraviolet in the corridor flickered on and off erratically. This place was not safe for him and his family. He had to get them out. He went straight to the viewing gallery where the others waited.
‘Alexandre, you’re okay.’ Madison said. ‘Did you stop him?’
‘No. But there is no time. We have to get out of here. The UV lights could come on at any minute.’
‘I know,’ Madison said. ‘They were flickering down there a few seconds ago.’ She pointed into the operating theatre.
Alexandre checked on the others. Still dressed in their robes, they seemed less dazed.
‘How are you?’ he asked. ‘Do you feel strong?’
‘Yes.’ Leonora replied. ‘But we are ignorant about so much. When will you tell us what is going on? Madison has told us some of it and that much is a shock. I am finding it hard to take it all in. And my father … my father is ...’
‘I am sorry,’ Alexandre said. ‘I am truly sorry and I will tell you everything very soon. But for now, we must leave this place. It is not safe. There are men with UV lamps and guns in the car park. They may come after us.’
‘Don’t worry. We’ve got another way out,’ Maddy replied. ‘Esther and Morris didn’t drive to London. We planned a different sort of exit.’ She turned to Morris. ‘We need to leave now.’
‘Right,’ he said. ‘Follow me.’
Morris took them a different way. Down hallways, through a large conference room and past laboratories until they reached a huge service elevator. As they made their way along, the UV lights flickered, threatening to come on at any moment. Their intermittent rays randomly scorched the vampires like vicious spluttering lasers, uncaring of their aim.
‘Right then,’ said Morris as the lift doors opened. ‘Everybody in.’ Morris pressed the button and the lift began to climb.
‘We’ve got about two hours till sunrise,’ Madison said. ‘Are we gonna make it?’
‘Two hours?’ Morris said. ‘Plenty of time.’
The elevator doors opened onto a grim concrete hallway. They exited and followed the two caretakers to a set of fire doors. Esther grabbed the push bar and rattled the doors.
‘Blimin’ things are locked.’
Alexandre walked up to the door and pulled hard on one of the handles. The door opened with a crunch, splintering off its hinges. The fresh night air hit him, a welcome change from the stuffy antiseptic smell of the underground offices.
‘We are on the roof?’ Alexandre asked.
‘Yeah,’ Maddy replied. ‘We need to follow Morris.’
The caretaker was already several paces ahead. As they rounded a corner, there against the inky sky, sat a blue and white helicopter. As soon as the pilot saw them, he started up the rotors.
‘What is that machine?’ Isobel shrieked.
‘It is called a helicopter,’ said Alexandre. ‘‘And it is going to save our lives. It flies in the air like a bird,’ he explained to them. It is quite safe.’
‘What an incredible contraption!’ Freddie exclaimed. ‘So we really are in the future. I did not quite believe it until now.’
The noise from the whirring blades made further conversation impossible. Alexandre waited until everyone had climbed in and then he shouted across to Madison.
‘I need you to wait here for ten minutes. If I do not return within that time, leave without me and I will find my own way back.’
‘What? Why? What are you talking about? Where are you going?’
‘I will explain later.’ He leant into the helicopter, kissed her and gave his family a lingering glance. ‘Ten minutes, no more!’
Alexandre returned to the building. He had to do this now, or he and his family would most certainly face further danger later on. He only hoped that what he had planned would work.
In seconds, he reached the office he had destroyed earlier. With nervous resolve, he opened the door to the storage facility. But Alexandre’s nerves were for nothing - the table was empty, the white sheet discarded on the floor. The Cappadocian vampire had gone.
Alexandre could not afford to dwell on this setback for he still had work to do. He began pulling open the drawers. Grabbing at the metal handles and sliding them open to reveal the marble faces and bodies of a multitude of sleeping vampires. He started at one end and worked his way swiftly along the wall until every single drawer was fully open and every solitary creature exposed.
The rows of black tubes ran the length of the ceiling. There must be a switch somewhere. Hopefully near the exit. He scanned the wall and saw a row of switches close to the door. Good. He braced himself for pain as he pressed them all down at once.
Eight banks of UV rays pierced down from the ceiling and Alexandre felt the agonising burn through his body. Screams and hisses slithered from the drawers. But something was wrong. Not all of the lights had come on. He spotted several grids further down that must be linked to a different set of switches. He saw them - two more sets halfway down the room. He had to try and reach them as quickly as possible, before the rays destroyed him.
He ran but the pain was intolerable. His skin melted and blistered. He heard screams and metal drawers banging and breaking. Some of the creatures now writhed on the floor. Others clutched at their skin in agony. If he did not do something quickly, he too would die in this room.
He bent down and lifted one of the burning creatures above his head, using it as a shield. It fought and squirmed, but Alexandre gripped it tightly and moved as fast as he could. As he reached the next set of switches, he threw the creature down against the wall where it exploded in a screaming ball of fire. He banged down the switches. More banks of ultraviolet hummed to life.
Alexandre grabbed another burning vampire aloft to shield him, but it disintegrated into floating embers and so he picked up another, only to throw it down again before smashing his fist into the last set of switches. Finally, the whole room was bathed in the deadly purple haze.
He lifted another vampire shield and through the knives of pain, he realised one of the creatures had jumped onto his back and had its arms around his face, scratching and clawing at him.
In one fluid motion he threw down the vampire shield he had above his head, spun around on one foot and smashed backwards twice into the bank of metal drawers, to try to weaken the attacking creature’s hold. Then he reached up behind him and pulled it off his back, sliding it over his head so now it became his new protection from the overhead onslaught.
He kicked away another howling vampire who clutched at his ankle and pushed and punched away yet more who ran and crawled towards him. Alexandre managed to fumble and fight his way out of that chamber of torture and at last he closed the door behind him. His face was melting off his bones and, on top of the agony, he felt like he was suffocating. He could not believe he was still capable of standing.
He hoped and prayed the vampires would all be too confused and weak to find their way out of the room. He piled everything he could lay his hands on against the door, knowing it would do little to keep them at bay if they survived the UV. Their screams blended with the crashing of metal.
Alexandre realised he had probably been gone for more than ten minutes and so, almost healed, he moved as fast as he could to get back up to the roof.
*
‘That’s ten minutes gone,’ said Morris.
‘Don’t care how many minutes have gone,’ replied Madison. ‘We’re not going anywhere till Alex gets back.’
‘Thought as much,’ Morris replied.
‘So this machine actually lifts up into the air with us in it?’ Jacques asked.
‘That’s right,’ Madison replied, looking at him in amazement. He was so like his brother. His mannerisms and everything just echoed Alexandre.
‘And you are sure it is quite safe?’ Isobel asked for the tenth time.
‘You are immortal, Isobel,’ said Jacques. ‘You will not die even if we do come crashing down.’
&nbs
p; ‘Please, Jacques,’ she said. ‘Do not talk about crashing. And what is wrong with travelling by train or by carriage?’
‘There is nothing wrong with it, unless you are vampire and dawn is approaching fast. This machine will take us back in double quick time. Is that not correct, Madison?’
‘That is correct, Jacques,’ she agreed. Madison loved the way they spoke to one another with that easy familiarity of siblings. She instantly missed Ben, feeling like she hadn’t seen him for days and felt an overwhelming need to hug him.
Climbing down from the helicopter, she looked out across the tarmac roof. Where was he? Come on Alexandre, come on. She walked across the roof, away from the chopper. Suddenly she was caught up in his arms as he carried her swiftly back to the waiting helicopter.
‘Allez! Allez! Go! Go!’ Alexandre shouted. Madison sat cradled on his lap and she felt the exhilaration of safety and the warm sensation of relief that he was at last here with her.
The blades whirred above their heads, beating in time with her heart. She rested her head on his chest and he took one of her hands and kissed the tips of her fingers. Alexandre ignored the raised eyebrows of the others, as he bent his head to kiss her lips. She scraped her nails gently down the side of his face and pressed her body in towards him. He was hers and she was his. They were lost in each other as the helicopter took off high above the city and banked west, back towards Gloucestershire and Marchwood House.
One Month Later
It was a late August moonlit night and Jacques and Freddie were helping Ben to climb to the top of the tallest tree in the wood. He was doing pretty well on his own, but Madison had said he was not to do it unless he was with one or other of the boys. As Ben reached the uppermost branch he poked his head through the thick foliage and pulled himself onto the wide bough, sitting astride it with a daring bounce.
He gasped in wonder at the panoramic view. He could see everything. For miles. But these far reaching vistas were not nearly so dear to him as the views closer to home - the rolling grounds of his beloved house. He caught glimpses of the deer as they slept under the spreading chestnut tree. The green spiked fruit was nearly ready to yield its knobbly brown conkers and he couldn’t wait to bake and varnish them, ready for the new school term.
He looked up towards the house and his eyes rested on the stables where seven horses slept. Next to the house he smiled at the timbered roof of their newly constructed garage which now housed a fantastic array of fast cars, 4x4s and motorbikes.
The nights were finally drawing in and the air held the faintest hint of autumn. He could make out the figures of the others, sitting on the lawn under a perfectly round harvest moon. Isobel was plaiting Leonora’s raven hair and Madison and Alexandre sat only inches apart, probably chatting about everything and nothing. Ben heard Jacques and Freddie good-naturedly insulting each other through the boughs beneath him.
The breeze ruffled his hair and he breathed in the sweet night-scented air. They were a strange family, the seven of them, but they were indeed a family and Ben had never before had such a feeling of belonging. No more crappy care facilities, no more foster parents. This was it. This was his life. He was finally home.
###
Thicker Than Blood, Book 2 in the Marchwood Vampire Series is released April 2012
OUTSIDE
a post-apocalyptic road-trip adventure
Read the first few pages of Shalini Boland's new novel here...
*
Prologue
*
The woman swung the huge armoured vehicle out through the iron gates and turned left onto the poor excuse for a dirt track that ran parallel to the Perimeter. She remembered when Britain was open and free with real roads, pavements even, before all the trouble started.
As she turned, the full glare of the dying evening sun blinded her and she flicked on the windscreen filter. She heard a muffled thud, looked to her left and saw a dark figure lying by the side of the fence. She didn’t stop, but glanced in her wing mirror and made brief eye contact with him as he lifted his head.
‘A man,’ she breathed out. She’d been holding her breath for quite a time and sucked in another lungful of air. She felt a lip-biting pang of concern, realising she must have hit him. But everybody knew you didn’t stop for anything outside the Perimeter. I’m sure he’ll be okay. She reasoned, convinced and then banished her conscience.
‘Won‘t be long now,’ she said to herself, looking ahead at the vast tract of wilderness.
Chapter One
Riley
*
Pa is a black marketeer. Nobody and everybody knows this. Pa pays people not to rock the boat. He pays the guards, he pays the neighbours and he even pays his friends. He pays off just about everyone – a litre of whisky here and a bag of sugar there, and in return we live a life of ease and comfort. Pa believes in the carrot approach just as much as the punishing stick. As long as he doesn’t draw too much attention to himself from the wrong quarters, we’re safe and free.
Pa can get his hands on just about anything from before. If you’ve got a craving for a pot noodle he can probably magic one up from somewhere. But it’ll cost you all you’ve got and more besides. Pa isn’t swayed by threats or tears. He’ll hold fast and stare you down and if you can’t pay you might get a bullet in your head, or worse.
This morning, my parents are standing together in the doorway of the sitting room. Behind me, the sun floods in through the windows and they edge closer to avoid squinting into the too-bright light.
Both their faces are ghost white and Ma’s nose and eyes look pink and swollen. She shivers and her teeth chatter as though she’s chilled and it isn’t the warm July morning it appears to be.
‘Riley, can you sit down?’ Pa asks.
‘Okay,’ I say. They’re acting weird. It’s freaking me out.
‘Riley ...’ Pa says, running his hands through his hair. He comes over and crouches down in front of me. He takes both my hands in his and looks into my eyes. His intense expression is making me uncomfortable. I want to look away.
‘What? What is it?’ I ask, not sure if I want to hear his reply.
‘Something’s happened.’
‘What?’
‘Riley, it’s your sister.’
I shake my head. ‘Where is she? Where’s Skye?’
‘She’s … Oh I’m so sorry, baby, she’s dead.’
‘I look at Pa and then I look up at Ma. They stare at me, a look of horror on their faces. What are they talking about?
I feel my face contort. The sound that comes out of my throat is not a cry or a scream or even a sob. But a laugh. A strangled giggle. A short staccato burst of inappropriateness. I cover my mouth with my hands.
‘Riley! Did you hear what I said?’ Pa stands up, shocked and angry. ‘I just told you your little sister is …’
‘I heard you,’ I whisper.
‘So why the hell are you laughing?’ His anger grows and his voice suddenly booms. ‘What can possibly be funny about …’
‘… I don’t know, I don’t know.’ I try to absorb what he’s telling me. ‘I don’t know why I laughed. I don’t know.’ It’s true. I have no idea where that reaction came from. Why would I do something so awful? No wonder Pa’s mad.
I can’t process the other thing. The thing Pa told me.
‘You don’t know?’ He stands up. ‘She doesn’t know!’ he shouts to no one in particular.
‘Stop it!’ Ma says to him. ‘She’s in shock.’
Pa turns to look at her and then turns back to me. His face suddenly loses its hardness, like melting ice cream.
‘Of course. She’s in shock,’ he murmurs. ‘We’re all in shock.’ And then something really horrible happens. My powerful, strong, wonderful Pa starts crying. Proper messy crying where his face twists and his voice sounds broken. I’m appalled. Pa never cries.
‘Pa …’
I’m not a typical daddy’s girl. I love the bones of him, but I
feel easiest around Ma. We always talk make-up, fashion, gossipy stuff and laugh a lot together. Skye belongs to Pa and Pa definitely belongs to Skye. They’re a team. I never feel excluded exactly, but I don’t have the same natural connection they do … did.
I stare down at the patterns on the carpet. I’ve never noticed just how vivid the individual colours are. The over-all effect is of a soft warmth, but I focus on a particular strand of red that seems almost luminous, as if it’s going to jump out of the weave and hit me in the face.
*
I wake up in my parents’ bed. A moment of peace and then everything rushes towards me in a crash of disbelief and pain…
Skye.
Ma lies next to me on top of the quilt, humming in a scary way while she strokes the hair off my face. I must have blacked out, fainted or something after they told me Skye was ... And I had laughed. How can that be? Is there something wrong with me?
‘Ma.’ I speak gently, as if talking to a young child, but she carries on humming. ‘Ma!’ I pull away from her and wrench her hands from my hair. ‘What happened to Skye? Where is she? She can’t be …’
‘Sh, sh baby,’ she croons to me and kisses my forehead.
‘Ma, you’re scaring me. Are you okay?’ I can hear the tremor in my voice.
‘Everything will be alright’, she says in a strange new childish way. ‘Just sleep and it will be okay.’
I throw myself out of bed, run out of the bedroom and almost fall down the stairs to find my father. He’s standing in the lounge talking to some of the guards, including Roger Brennan, the Head of Perimeter Security.
Even though we don’t really speak to any of them, we know all the guards by name. They’ve guarded the Talbot Woods Perimeter for the past sixteen- and-a-half years since the fences first went up, just before I was born.
This spring a new guard started - Liam. This thrilled us as we rarely get to see new people. On his first day, his watch stopped and Skye and I sneaked him a new battery out of Pa’s supplies. Since then, we’ve been friends of a sort. We’ve never properly chatted, but he’s about nineteen or twenty and always has a wink and a flirty comment for us which makes us blush and think he’s wonderful.