Alex opened the door to the car, getting quickly into the drivers seat before too much rain could get in. It was a little pointless as he was soaked all the way through, even his shoes were full of water. He reached for the keys with grease covered hands and was glad to find Farrell had left them in the ignition.
"Did you get the car working?" asked Rose.
"We're about to find out," Alex replied and twisted the key. The car whined noisily for a second or two before it kicked over and roared to life. Relief washed over both Alex and Rose.
"Where's Farrell?" asked Rose. Alex looked out the window, he could see Farrell's flashlight. He honked the horn twice and revved the engine to let him know the car was running, but the light stayed exactly where it was. He honked again, but still Farrell didn't move.
"Looks like we'll have to go get him," said Alex. He flicked on the headlights and went to shift the car into reverse, but instead swore so loudly that everyone in the car looked up. Four red eyes stared back at them from the road like disembodied dots in the darkness. They came closer and as they walked into the car's headlights Alex could see the four eyes belonged to two dishevelled looking dogs.
The dogs tightened their circle around Farrell. The car's horn honked and one of the dogs looked up, but then turned quickly back to him. Farrell wished he still had his machete, at least then he might have a chance, but armed only with the flashlight the odds were stacked heavily against him. The car's lights flicked on and the dogs turned their heads for a second, Farrell didn't miss his chance. He ran forward, sensing his movement the nearest dog turned, only to be met with a broad stroke of the heavy flashlight as it smashed against its face. The glass shattered, lacerating the beasts face and Farrell burst from the circle of dogs before they could react. He sprinted towards the side of the road, knowing he only had a pace or two on the dogs, but not daring to look back. He jumped and slid feet first into the water filled ditch by the side of the road, kicking up a shower of water. He fumbled frantically for the machete he knew lay just beneath the surface of the water, but his fingers felt nothing but the muddy ground. He looked up, the dogs were closing in, he could see the saliva dripping from its jaws. He found something solid, something wooden, and prayed it was the machete as he wrapped his fingers around it and brought it up just as the dog lunged at him. The shining silver blade burst from beneath the water's surface and the charging dog it skewered itself on the machete, the blade slipping easily between the beasts ribs before sliding into its heart. The dog erupted into a cloud of black smoke and burning embers. Farrell barely had time to register what had just happen before the next dog was upon him. It burst headlong through the cloud of smoke and Farrell swung blindly with the machete. It caught the dog squarely across the neck, the blade slicing easily through its flesh, decapitating the beast. The remaining four dogs hesitated, backing off as he got to his feet. Farrell was armed again and the odds were evening up.
The dogs prowled around the car, sniffing at the tires and brushing up against the doors. Rose let out a startled gasp as one of them reared up against the window, its paws on the glass, its slobbering jaws inches away from her face. The other dog jumped on the bonnet with a loud metallic thud, growling at them through the windscreen. It was soon joined by the second dog, who bound from the bonnet onto the roof, its claws scraping against the metal as it tried to dig its way in through the roof. Alex had no idea what to do, he looked out the rear window for Farrell and saw him standing by the side of the road in a puddle of water. He almost went to yell out as he saw a dog rushing at him, but with a flash of silver it disappeared in a puff of fiery embers leaving Farrell standing alone holding his machete. He looked at Rose, she'd seen it too. These weren't your typical dogs. Alex looked back out the windscreen, the beast on the bonnet snarling at him, its eyes still glowing blood red. He shifted the car into reverse and hit the pedal. Both dogs lost their footing instantly. The dog on the roof tumbled down the windscreen and crashed into the one on the bonnet, knocking it off as they both fell into a tangled heap on the road. Alex shifted into first, flooring the accelerator. One of the dogs bound clear of the car's path, but the other wasn't so lucky as Alex ran the demonic creature over, bursting it like a smoke bomb beneath the car's tyre.
Farrell held his machete in one hand and the cracked flashlight in the other, the three remaining dogs had backed off now that he was armed again. Farrell swept the torch from side to side, trying to keep all of them in sight, but they slowly spread out as they backed away until only one remained in the torchlight, the other two slinking into the darkness. The remaining dog looked at him briefly, black blood oozing from the cuts across its face where Farrell smashed it with the torch. It growled, then sprinted into the darkness faster than Farrell could follow with his torch. This wasn't good, thought Farrell. He heard the squeal of tyres as the car drove forward crushing one of the demonic hounds beneath its wheels. Farrell wondered if he should make a break for the car, but before he could one of the dogs bound into the arc of his flashlight and launched itself through the air at his throat. He swiped with his blade, amputating the beasts front legs, but its momentum carried it forward, crashing into him. He caught it with his free arm, holding it back as it snapped viciously at his face, saliva drooling from its jowls and a thick tar-like blood oozing from its missing front legs. Farrell screamed as a sharp pang shot up his leg. He cast his eyes down to see one of the other dogs sink its teeth through the leather of his boot and into his ankle. It locked its jaws and shook its head violently. He roared in pain as the threw the amputated dog aside and thrust the blade of his machete into the eye of the dog latched to his ankle. It burst in a cloud of smoke, the throbbing in the foot, however, did not disappear. There was one more dog out there, somewhere in the darkness, but he wasn't sticking around to fight it, instead he ran towards the car.
Alex hit the breaks, scanning the road for the second dog, but he couldn't see it. The duffel bag on Chris's lap fell to the floor and Alex heard the shattering of glass. Almost instantly bright green flames burst from the bag as an assortment of powders and liquids mixed together. Chris recoiled, trying to stamp out the flames with his feet, but the sticky green flames clung to his shoes. Chris panicked, opening the door and throwing the bag out into the torrential rain. The car's door hadn't been open more than a few seconds before the second hell hound bound head long into the car. It jumped over Chris and lunged at Alex's throat. He was powerless to move, strapped into the drivers seat of the car as the ferocious face of the demonic dog sped toward him. He grabbed his seat belt and raised it in defence, the dogs jaws stopped millimetres from his face, the strap wedged between its jaws like a bridle, holding it back.
"Down Fido!" yelled Alex as he fought with all his strength to hold the dog at bay, but it jerked its head back and forth and began to chew through the seat belt. "God dammit!" he swore. He jammed his foot on the accelerator as hard as he could and the car shot forward, completely out of control. Inertia sent the dog flying backward over the drivers seat and into the back with Nanna and Rose. Alex heard a shriek from the backseat, but didn't have time to do anything about it as the bank of trees on the side of the road came rushing towards them at a blistering speed. He grabbed the wheel and spun it as hard as he could, slamming the breaks at the same time. The car spun violently, flinging around everyone inside like clothes in a dryer. The unrestrained dog flew across the car, pinned to the glass next to Rose. It snapped its teeth menacingly at her, missing her by inches as it was held at bay by the force of the spinning car. Alex didn't know what to do next, the car's wheels skidded on the slick road but he couldn't keep it spinning forever. The moment the car came to a halt the dog would have free reign inside the car and no one would last very long. As if to make his concerns a reality the car's wheel lost traction on the road, skidded to the side, slipped across the muddy bank and kicked up a wall of water as the car splashed into the ditch by the side of the road. Alex cracked his head hard against the steering wheel and as stars danced across his vision the only sound he could hear was a low grumbling growl from the back seat.
Farrell dived to the side as the out of control car spun wildly across the road. His ankle gave way and he tumbled to the ground as the back end car careened past, narrowly avoiding clipping him but running over the charred green duffel bag that lay in the middle of the road. Farrell landed awkwardly on the wet bitumen as a bizarre assortment of weapons, powders and shattered glass was sent flying across the road. Farrell searched the road with his cracked flash light, he knew there was one more dog somewhere, but whatever was happening to Alex, Rose, Nanna and Chris in the car was more important. He struggled to his feet but hadn't even taken a step forward when he heard of resonating growl from the darkness. He raised his flashlight to find the hell hound with the mangled face glaring at him. Thick black blood oozed from its lacerated face, its eyes glowed red with unbridled malice as it paced slowly forward towards Farrell. He raised his machete, and the dog paused, not with trepidation, but with calculated anger. There was a fierce intelligence behind its stare that told Farrell it wasn't going to fall for any of his tricks again. It slowly paced to the left, forcing Farrell to twist on his injured ankle. He winced in pain and could have sworn he saw the dog smile with his discomfort. The dog paced forward and Farrell swiped at it, but it quickly ducked out of Farrell's range and he lurched forward awkwardly, his ankle roaring with pain again. The dog trotted back into the shadows and disappeared before Farrell could steady himself. He swept his torch across the road, but there was no sign of it. The dog had him at a sever disadvantage and both of them knew it. Farrell quickly weighed up his options. He could either stay and fight, or make a break it.
"Screw it," he said to no one in particular, and ran for the car.
Alex turned in his seat to see the giant demonic dog sitting across Rose's lap. It had taken a rough blow as the car came to a sudden stop and emitted a low growl as it lay temporarily dazed. Rose looked at Alex in wide eyed fear, unable to move under the immense weight of the beast and knowing that at any moment it may come to. The dog twitched and Rose let out a stifled scream that only seemed to wake the beast faster. Alex searched frantically around the car for something to use as a weapon, but after Chris threw the bag out of the car they were unarmed. The dog growled again, louder lifted its head. Its eyes levelled with Rose's. Alex tried to clamber over into the back, but his arms were tangled in the mangled seatbelt and he couldn't move. The dog widened its jaws, and Alex knew there was nothing he or Rose could do to stop the demonic animal.
Poof.
The beast exploded in a cloud of smoke and embers covering the entire car in a layer and grey ash.
Rose looked up, astonished. A knitting needle hovered in the space where the dog's eye had been a moment before, held in Nanna's bony fingers. She could hardly believe Nanna had just driven the needle through the beast's eye and into its brain. Nanna went back to knitting and the others stared at her speechless. She looked up at them, unsure why everyone was staring at her, then tutted loudly. She produced another handkerchief from somewhere beneath her dressing gown and began to wipe away the layer of ash from the seat in front of her.
Pain shot through Farrell's ankle with every footfall. He clenched his teeth and ignored the pain as he sprinted toward the car. He tried to focus on running and ignore the image in his mind of the dog hot on his heels behind him, but he couldn't shake the image, he had to look. He glanced over his shoulder and immediately wished he hadn't. Bounding through the rain behind him Farrell saw the mutilated face of the final demonic dog. Farrell swallowed hard as he realised he was never going to make it to the car. His foot stuck something on the road and he went tumbling forward, the dog on the other hand didn't slow down and leapt through the air, jaws bared wide and bloody saliva trickling from the corners of his mouth. Farrell looked down to see what he'd tripped on. A short-sword with and ornate basket hilt lay next to him on the road beside several shattered glass vials. It had been in the duffel bag before the VW had hit it, and now lay in the middle of the road. Farrell dropped the flashlight and grabbed the sword's handle. With machete in his right hand, and the short-sword in the other he swiped at the hell hound. Like two scissor blades coming together the two swords sliced through the beast's torso, cleaving it in half. The lower half of its body burst into smoke, but the top half crashed into Farrell. Missing half of its body the beast still snapped at Farrell's face as it refused to die. Farrell punched at the dog, the basket hilt of the short-sword acting like a knuckle-duster around his fist. Blood and broken teeth erupted from the dog's mouth, but still it snapped at Farrell's fist, its remaining teeth locking around the hilt of the sword, crushing the ornate metal work and trapping Farrell's fist in its bloody jaws. The metal hilt strained under the crushing power of the dog's jaws as Farrell stabbed at the creature with the machete in his free hand. He stabbed again, and again until the blade finally slid between the dog's ribs and it exploded into dust.
Out of breath, and without the energy to get to his feet a low growl sounded from somewhere in the darkness. Wallowing on the ground next to him was the dog with the amputated front limbs. He thought he'd already killed it, but evidently these dogs didn't die easily. Despite its injury it tried desperately to get to him. Pushing with its back legs as its snarling jaw dragged along the wet road.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Farrell yelled. He wasn't sure he had the energy to finish this one off, he could barely raise the flashlight, let alone the machete.
The dog was suddenly illuminated with red light and Farrell turned to see the car reversing towards him, brake lights aglow. The amputated dog couldn't even turn its head to see what was rushing towards it before it was crushed beneath the car's rear wheels. The car came to a stop next to Farrell, the passenger door opened to reveal Alex behind he wheel.
"Need a lift?" said Alex. Farrell smiled as he struggled to his feet and pulled himself into the car. Alex shifted the car into first, the tyres squealed as they searched for grip on the wet road before they sped away.
Watching as the car disappeared into the darkness stood a small a small girl with curly brown hair in a pink dotted dress. She seemed oblivious to the storm, her expression of wide eyed curiosity never wavering as the wind and water assaulted her. She turned as a dishevelled woman in tattered clothing walked into the centre of the road and took her hand. They stood and watched in the pouring rain as the car's lights disappeared down the road.