TASTE OF BLOOD

Rescue

"I have a more comfortable ride for you." He helped her down and into the grey Cadillac sitting behind the truck. There was a guy standing there who had a glazed look on his face. They got in the car and the guy got in the back seat, going to sleep.

He drove fast. "They are only a short distance ahead. They expect the truck to be behind so they will wait at the next rest area."

"Rad, let them go—we are free. Just go home." She knew she had a catch in her throat as she pleaded.

He did not waste the time to even answer her. The strong vehicle ate up the miles as Rad pushed the gas pedal to the floor. He stayed to the inside lane, riding bumpers to force slower cars to move over so that he could move up on the team he was following. She was sitting down in the seat, watching him and not paying attention to what was going on to the traffic they were flying past, when she felt the warning and glanced out at a black car with tinted windows. "Rad, that car had Vampires in it."

He looked at her and slowed down. "Which car?"

She looked out the back window. "The black one about four cars back."

He swung over into the outside lane ahead of the next car. "Do you feel any others?"

She looked around but didn't feel anything. "No. There are just the ones several cars behind us."

He slowed down and the car behind pulled around and the next behind pulled around also. He moved with the traffic, keeping the black car in his rear view mirror for a couple of miles. "Crawl in back and put the guy into seat belts."

She looked at him but unhooked her belt, sliding over the seat. The large sedan had plenty of room in the back seat. She left the sleeping man lying down, fastened a seat belt under his arm and over his chest then hooked another one over his knees. She crawled back into the front seat and hooked her belt, tight.

He had been tracking the black car in his rear view mirror. Both cars were traveling at seventy miles an hour. He reached over yanked her belt tight to a point that actually hurt, but before she could complain he had jammed his foot and full weight on the brakes. The braking system of the Cadillac kept it straight on the road. Even with the quick response of Vampires, the other driver must have been taken by surprise and could not prevent the collision. The black car crumpled deeply into the trunk of the large heavy Cadillac.

Both cars sheared sideways, slid apart and skidded down a steep embankment on the side of the road. Before the cars had stopped moving, Rad was out of the car. This was when she noticed that he did not have his seat belt fastened. She decided you couldn't tell a Vampire he was an idiot.

She unfastened her belt and twisted in the sloped car, looking out the back shattered window, trying to see Rad. She saw him standing on the ruined hood of the black car. He had a Vampire dangling off the ground. She felt there had been two in the car and she didn't see the second one, but Rad did not seem worried. It looked like he was asking questions of the guy struggling. She saw the small silver knife that had been in Rad's boot as it cut a slice down the side of the face of the Vampire in Rad's grip.

She saw the man shudder, saying something as Rad plunged the small knife into his eye causing the man to turn to dust. She gagged and tried to open the door, knowing she was going to throw up. The door finally opened so she just leaned out and lost everything in her stomach. By this time Rad was back.

"Are you okay? Were you hurt in the crash?" He was concerned and came around to her side of the car. He helped her out.

She stood on shaky legs and leaned on him. He just reached down, picked her up and carried her to the road. By this time several cars had pulled over because of the accident. He looked and saw one man in a SUV that would do very well. As the man from the SUV came over he looked at Rad and he just sat down in the grass.