backward with her, but instead she balled the hand into a fist and pounded his shoulder twice. Then she turned and came back up the passage without a word. But Eile saw tears trickling down her cheek.
She kicked open the door to the great hall and ran out onto the dais. She didn't really need to do that, but Eile figured she had to blow off some steam.
"Go!" she told Sunny
She and Henry followed his mother as Eile hesitated. She wanted to say something to Holt, some last few words of farewell, but she couldn't think of anything appropriate that didn't sound maudlin, or even insulting.
She followed the others into the hall and saw them disappear through the double doors in the south wall. As she crossed the room, she paused long enough to look outside. The horde had gained ground on the guards; she didn't think they could hold out for much longer.
She raced through the doorway and turned right into the corridor in time to see the others disappear into the security check room that controlled access to the administrative wing. She flew in right behind them and slammed the door shut. She took a moment to lock it down. Being armored, it might delay the creatures long enough for them to get away.
When she turned into the room, she saw Differel had opened the weapons locker and passed ammunition magazines to Sunny, who put them in the handbag.
"Give me your pistol." Differel passed Sunny an assault rifle in exchange. Afterward, she pocketed three pistol clips.
"It has eight rounds left," Sunny told her as she cocked her new weapon.
Differel nodded, then addressed Henry. "How many rounds do you have left?"
"Twelve."
"Good. Use it only as a last resort, and stay close to me or Sunny no matter what, understand?"
"Yes, Mother."
Looking at her and Sunny, she hefted a pistol in each hand. "All right, this is how we'll proceed: we go down the hall as quickly as we can, ignoring everything that isn't directly in our path; I'll enter C&C, Sunny will go through Intelligence, Eile will go through the Conference Room and rendezvous with Sunny before you join me. I don't want any surprises. Any questions?"
Eile shook her head with Sunny.
"Very well." She turned to face the west door. "Henry, open the door, but stay out of the way."
He jogged over, turned the handle, and pulled the door open as he flattened against the wall. Differel crouched and held up both guns, but Eile could see past her that the hall stood empty.
"Henry, with me; move!"
Henry came out from behind the door and ran with his mother. Eile and Sunny followed, and Eile took a moment to glance up the cross hall back towards the stairwell. She couldn't hear the machine gun anymore, but the gate still looked intact.
Ahead of them at the end of the corridor were three doors set into the walls of the cul-de-sac. Differel threw herself and Henry through the door on the left as Sunny burst through the door in front and Eile ran up to the one on the right. She pushed it open and went inside, doing a quick scan of the conference room. It appeared empty, and she closed the door and sealed it before ducking through another on her right. She and Sunny confronted each other, but that room was empty as well. They sealed her door and the one Sunny entered, then dashed through a third on the south wall. Inside they found Differel talking to Aelfraed at one of the control consoles.
"My Lady, the staff have been evacuated; the data and records copied and uploaded to the secure archive in London; and I was just about to wipe the server drives."
"Do it." She went to another console.
He tapped out a command on the keyboard. "Wipe in progress; seven minutes to completion. Shall I set the self-destruct?"
Differel placed her hand on a frosted glass plate. "No need; I'm ordering a Directive 7-12."
"What's that?!" Sunny squealed.
"It is a standing order," Aelfraed said, "for a flight of strike aircraft armed with incendiary explosive ordnance to destroy the estate, should it ever be overrun."
"What?!" Eile screeched. "Cripes! We've gotta get outta here!"
"Relax," Differel said as she took off her glasses and looked into an eyepiece set into the console, "it will take twenty minutes to arm the aircraft and for them to reach us. Aelfraed, would you be so kind as to activate the estate-wide emergency broadcast network?"
"Certainly, My Lady."
Differel typed out a series of commands on the keyboard. "There. It will be hard losing my home, but it can be replaced."
"The EWEBNet is online, Madam," Aelfraed said, offering her a wireless microphone.
Differel accepted it and paused as she took a deep breath to steady her anxiety. She held one earpiece up to her head with the microphone in front of her mouth.
"This is Director Van Helsing. The estate has been overrun by an incursion. In response I have ordered a seven-twelve. You have twenty minutes to evacuate the grounds. I repeat, the estate has been overrun by an incursion. In response I have ordered a seven-twelve. You have twenty minutes to evacuate the grounds." She paused again, as if trying to decide if more needed to be said. "Good luck and Godspeed. Sir Differel out." She placed the microphone on a console.
"Sooooo, where do we go from here?" Sunny asked.
"If the front is clear, we can make for the garage. The armored Humvee should be strong enough to get us out." And she took a step towards the east door, which led into an office room of cubicles.
At almost the same moment, the door shook and rattled as numerous fists pounded on it. Eile could just barely hear the screams of the creatures behind it.
Differel jumped and retreated backwards. "Bloody hell! We're cut off!"
"What now?!" Sunny screeched.
"Might I suggest the secret stairwell, My Lady?" Aelfraed said in a slightly excited voice, as he pulled out a Sykes-Fairbairn dagger. He grabbed Henry by the arm and pulled him towards the unsealed door that led into the Intelligence room.
"Yes, of course. We make for the helicopter on the roof."
"Wouldn't that be overrun by now?" Eile asked.
"And the stairs may be crawling with monsters!" Sunny squealed.
"We'll have to take that chance."
Eile looked at Sunny, who smiled in a grim fashion and nodded.
"Right. Sunny and I'll cover you guys." They turned towards the door, raising their rifles, and stood side-by-side. A second later the door smashed open and creatures streamed in. She and Sunny fired as fast as they could pull the triggers.
"We're out," Differel shouted. "Fall back."
She and Sunny started skipping backwards, but didn't break off.
"I said fall back! That's an order, you bloody slags!"
They turned together and retreated to the door, the creatures screaming in pursuit behind them. Differel fired around them as Aelfraed threw two daggers. Sunny reached the exit first and jumped through as Differel and Aelfraed stepped aside. Eile followed only a couple of steps behind her. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it closed, but some of the monsters grasped the edge and tried to force it open. Eile dropped her rifle, took hold of the handle with both hands, planted a foot against the wall, and pulled with all her enhanced strength. Sunny snatched up the discarded weapon and pointed it and hers through the opening, firing both on full automatic. The clips emptied in a few seconds, but the monsters fell back, releasing the door. Eile slammed it shut and Differel pounded on the switch to seal it.
They retreated into the room as groups of creatures pounded and battered on all three doors. As she and Sunny inserted fresh magazines, Differel jogged to a spot on the north side and pulled a desk module away from the wall.
"Hold on!" Eile said. Differel stepped aside as she ran over and kicked at the wall, throwing a hidden hinged panel open. She ducked down and fired off a short burst inside, then scrambled into the stairwell. She scanned up and down the steps, but saw nothing.
"Clear! Let's move it."
Aelfraed ushered Henry inside and Differel followed. Sunny pulled the module back into place as
she entered and Differel closed the panel.
"Okay," Eile said, "I'll go first and Sunny'll bring up the rear. You three stick tagether like glue."
"Henry," Differel said, "from now on, no matter what happens, you stay with Aelfraed. Hear me?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Aelfraed, your sole duty from this point on is to get Henry to safety. Even if that means leaving me behind. Nothing else matters. Is that clear?"
"Yes, My Lady."
"Very well. Eile, take point."
She started up the stairs, moving faster than before to stay as far ahead of the monsters chasing them as possible, and fortunately they met no resistance. Finally they reached the roof. Eile pushed the hatch cover open and stepped out. Halfway between where she stood and the northern stairwell sat a Westland Lynx transport helicopter, its blade whirling slowly as it idled. Six machine gun nests defended it, but creatures poured out of the north and south stairwells trying to overwhelm them.
"Come on," she shouted down, "the way's clear, but I don't know for how long."
Differel emerged, followed by Aelfraed and Henry, then Sunny.
"I think those monsters have broken through behind us!" she said.
"Then let's go!" Differel said.
They raced along the catwalks to the helipad. She and Sunny took up defensive positions on either side of the open door as Aelfraed got in. Differel lifted Henry up to him when Eile saw one of the machine gun nests get overrun. Three of the monsters charged the helicopter as the guards fought the others hand-to-hand.
"We've got incoming!"
Differel and Sunny spun around, and together they fired,