![\"\"](\"https:\/\/somethingwicked.co.za\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/GuitarCase_VincentSammyCar.jpg\" "\\"GuitarCase_VincentSammyCar\\"")
<\/a>Jarred was sure he\u2019d heard… yes, there it was again: soft scraping on the parched ground, slowly picking up speed and coming closer. Then the sound stopped. Silence, a tiny scrape, then \u201cSHIT!\u201d Jarred yelled, reacting instantly and lunging across the seat. He grabbed the door handle and heaved the door open as hard as he could, smacking into the creature that had sprung from the darkness towards the girl.
\nThe metal connected with a solid crack and the creature darted away, growling and clicking in pain. Jarred breathed again.<\/p>\n\u201cThing about horror movies,\u201d he told her in a low, steady voice, \u201cis that they teach you some things. For example, the macho badass who insists on taking stupid risks always goes first. Now will you stop being hardcore and get in the fucking car?\u201d
\nThe girl didn\u2019t reply.
\nHe looked up at her. She was standing stock still, frozen in place exactly as she had been before the attack, save one thing: now she was grinning.<\/p>\n
Things scraped and wailed from the thickening darkness.
\n\u201cAre you even listening to me?\u201d Jarred demanded, \u201cI just saved your life here!\u201d
\nShe ignored him, but slowly began to swing the guitar case off her shoulder. Something inside it thudded ominously.
\nGreat, thought Jarred, so she\u2019s in shock, just what this situation needs to make it just fucking peachy. Aloud, he said, \u201cOkay, let me help. Here, give me that.\u201d He reached up and grabbed the neck of the guitar case.
\nShe turned to look at him then, with such fire in her eyes that if Jarred had been any other well-intentioned young man, he would\u2019ve dropped the case like a hot potato.
\n\u201cLet go,\u201d she murmured in a low, dangerous voice.
\n\u201cNo dice.\u201d Jarred retained his grip and began tugging slightly. She curled her fingers around one of the straps, answering pressure with pressure. Things scuffed and scraped, louder and closer.
\n\u201cJust stop being stupid and get in the car, now!\u201d\u00a0 Jarred punctuated his last word with a massive heave on the case. This was too much for the ageing catches and they gave with a snap, letting the case open and launching Jarred backwards. Heavy thuds resounded.
\n\u201cOw, not fair,\u201d moaned Jarred, and then after a moment, \u201cWhat the hell is that smell?\u201d. He glanced across at the open case and froze, his eyes widening.\u00a0 There was a torso in his passenger footwell.<\/p>\n
Its pallor, the slight scaling and the stickiness of the yellow blood still oozing from it betrayed its non-human origins. Under the shattered ribcage lay a shovel, its handle protruding behind the snapped vertebrae, where a head ought to have been.
\nThe girl heaved a sigh of annoyance and casually lifted the torso with toe of a boot.\u00a0 She dropped and unzipped the duffel bag, pulling from it a steel axe, burnished to a dull sheen. She blew across the blade edge, dislodging tiny flecks of dried yellow blood. Then she nodded to herself, reached down and grasped the body by the remains of a shoulder. With a hiss of effort, she lifted and whirled it through the night air and away. A moment of listening was rewarded with the soft squelch of something landing. For an instant there was silence, then the growling and keening resumed, rising to a frenzy and filtering away in the direction of the meat.
\nThe girl paused, cocked a happy smile, and loped away towards the bait, the axe held low and ready.
\n\u201cHoly shit,\u201d breathed Jarred.<\/p>\n
He sat in stunned silence as the desert around him faded into shadow. Sounds filtered in from the darkness, wet and heavy, with the occasional metallic thud.
\nHe shuddered, turning his head from the dark outside. The torso had leaked fluid onto the carpet of the passenger footwell. Jarred wrinkled his nose at it. The axe-girl would so be paying for valet.<\/p>\n
Something slammed out of the darkness onto the bonnet, keening with rage and scrabbling at the windscreen. Quick as thought, and with a fluid precision to his movements, Jarred was crouched on the passenger seat with the car door firmly closed. The thing floundered on the smooth metal, struggling for a claw hold. Then it froze in sudden panic, and fell off the car. Jarred removed his hand from the horn.
\nThe creature scraped and scuttled into the night, soon lost in the melee of hunting sounds. He smiled once, and reached down to pick up the shovel, ears tracking every noise.
\nThere was a sharp rap on the door. Jarred jumped, spun around and came face to face with the girl. She was leaning casually against the car. Her braids, now broken free from their makeshift binding, shadowed her face, but not enough to hide the wry smile as she smirked at him through the open window. He stifled another yelp.
\n\u201cSmooth going, Mr Security,\u201d she drawled. She was about to say more but paused, listening instead to the sound of something racing across the desert floor towards her. She shifted her weight, cocked her head and addressed him without taking her eyes off the night. \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to keep them away from you…\u201d The scuttling grew louder, and she jumped, landing heavily on both feet. The scuttling ended in a squelching snap. She blew a braid from her face and concluded, \u201cTry turning on the headlights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jarred blinked a moment. \u201cI was about to do that,\u201d he muttered, even though the girl had already vanished again.
\nFrowning to himself, he rolled up the window and dragged the engine into life. Sounds continued to well up from the darkness; snaps and growls interspersed with throaty laughter.
\nFlicking through, in rapid order, indicators, emergency flashers and windscreen wipers, Jarred eventually found the lights. The space just in front of the bonnet was flooded with a yellow glow. His eyes widened. The creatures seethed and writhed, a teeming knee-high horde, packed solidly around the car. Those caught in the lamps\u2019 glare scrambled away in a rush, raking and gouging the bodies around them in desperation to escape the painful beams. Chunks of flesh flew and the windscreen was dappled with a rain of yellow blood.
\n\u201cEeeeew.\u201d Jarred made a face, and turned on the windscreen washers.<\/p>\n
He wondered whether he should do something about the horde outside. Probably they wouldn\u2019t appreciate his crap Metal. It might even be enough to make them leave.<\/p>\n
A low rasp, different from what he\u2019d heard before, caught his attention. It sounded like it was coming from the front grill. He peered through his now spotless windscreen. A scaly claw hooked itself over the bonnet, coming up in the space between the headlights, where the beams couldn\u2019t reach. Obviously this one was smarter than usual. He thought about hitting the horn again but decided against it.
\n\u201cSneaky little shit,\u201d Jarred hissed. Then he took stock of the chips in his windscreen and wondered how much they\u2019d be able to stand before they cracked.
\nThe first claw was joined by a second and then a third.
\nHe decided this was probably not the best time to find out. \u201cOh no you fucking don\u2019t,\u201d he yelled at the claws, grabbing the shovel and launching himself out of the car, kicking the door shut behind him.
\nThe ponderous progress of the claws was abruptly halted. The fifth time the blood-encrusted shovel blade bit down it broke all the way through to sand.
\nJarred stood, stark in the pool of light, breathing heavily. With an expression of extreme distaste, he flipped the oozing carcass under the chassis. Then he stood a moment, leaning on his shovel and letting his heart catch up with itself. He\u2019d never liked the hands-on approach.<\/p>\n
A movement in the night air caught his eye and he turned, just in time to catch a glimpse of his own startled reflection in the steel axe as it flashed down a handspan from his left shoulder. The air whistled as the girl swung the blade heavily into the neck of another creature emerging from the shadows under the car towards Jarred\u2019s ankles.
\nThere was a muted shriek and a fountain of sticky, yellowish blood.
\nDripping slightly, she straightened, fixing his wide-eyed, faintly ill face with an amused stare. \u201cStay in the light,\u201d she instructed and stepped back into shadow.
\n\u201cYou did not just quote lines from cheap horror at me!\u201d Jarred yelled.<\/p>\n
The scales of the creatures were tough, already the fine edge of the shovel was dulling and more and more often Jarred ended up just clubbing things to a bloody mess. They were fighting back to back now, hacking away in the dubious safety of the headlights. Still the creatures massed and even though the ground around the pair was littered with bodies and pools of drying blood, the numbers didn\u2019t seem to be thinning.
\nOne of the girl\u2019s loose braids kept smacking Jarred in the eye whenever she leaned forward to slice. He contemplated asking her to do something about it, but before he reached a decision, something lunged out of the dark towards him, heavy canines bared. Caught off guard, he tried to dodge, stepped in a blood slick and collapsed, arms windmilling.
\nThe girl reacted without pause, spinning on her heel and springing into the air above Jarred in a long-legged leap. She met the creature mid-jump, the blade slicing in a clean arc, severing its neck. The head flew a few metres and was immediately torn to shreds by several of the others. The girl landed on the ground in a crouch, one foot on either side of Jarred\u2019s stomach, her axe-blade biting into the ground for balance.<\/p>\n
She stood up, turning smoothly to watch for attacks and check on Jarred. He was lying stock-still with his hands clasped firmly over his eyes and his cheeks flaming. She gave him a small smile.
\n\u201cRelax.\u201d
\nOne eye peered at her from a gap between his fingers. He was still blushing.
\n\u201cNothing to get excited about,\u201d she drawled, flipping up the hem of her skirt to reveal black lycra beneath. \u201cI wear cycling shorts.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/somethingwicked.co.za\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/GuitarCase_VincentSammy02-150x150.jpg\" "\\"GuitarCase_VincentSammy02\\"")
<\/p>\n
\u201cGross dammit, this stuff is drying on me.\u201d Jarred scrubbed a hand across his cheek, dislodging a flurry of congealing yellow flakes. She straightened from a heavy blow, grinning.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t even think about saying anything,\u201d he growled at her.
\nHer grin became that much wider.
\n\u201cAaargh!\u201d he yelped, nearly dropping his shovel as the jugular he\u2019d accidentally ruptured sprayed him with a fresh coating of blood. From the dark beside him came the girl\u2019s low, throaty chuckle.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not… phffft… fucking… phfft… funny,\u201d he grated, spitting to clear his mouth. \u201cThis stuff is fucking disgusting!\u201d
\nLooking up and out, Jarred\u2019s heart sank. The creatures swarmed as thick as ever. The numbers seemed endless. \u201cRight,\u201d he said, more to himself than to her, \u201cNo more messing around.\u201d He set his jaw and started towards the back of the car.<\/p>\n
Hissing irritation through her teeth, the girl grabbed his arm and dragged him roughly back into the light. \u201cAnd where the hell do you think you\u2019re going?\u201d
\nJarred blinked at her in surprise. \u201cI have to get something out of the boot.\u201d
\nShe opened her mouth to laugh and then realised he was serious. \u201cYou really are as fucking stupid as you look.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t underst…\u201d
\n\u201cNor do I care. You will shut up and start using that shovel now – \u201d
\n\u201cBut… \u201d
\n\u201c- or I will gut you and use your corpse as a diversion so I can finally start making some headway.\u201d
\nIt was the longest sentence she\u2019d said to him all night.
\nHe opened his mouth once more.
\n\u201cIf you want to die that badly, keep talking.\u201d
\nAt this point Jarred was beginning to prefer the monosyllables.
\nThe girl levelled her axe-blade between them and met his eyes over it, her gaze unflinching., \u201cDig?\u201d
\nJarred looked down at the axe-blade and up at her again. Then he sighed, surrendering. \u201cDig,\u201d he agreed, hefting the shovel. The girl moved away, prowling the edges of the light looking for targets.
\n\u201cIf both of us survive the night,\u201d Jarred muttered under his breath, \u201cYou are so going to be kicking yourself in the morning.\u201d Then he turned, applied himself to the task at hand and resumed bludgeoning lizards.<\/p>\n
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\nThe sun fell lazy and golden across the rusting roofs of the tiny desert town. Clouds inched across a rosy sky in an annoyingly rainless way as the community began to emerge from slumber. The owner of the decrepit local garage, out in the yard to prep his pumps for the day, shaded his eyes against the already heavy heat haze. A car was coming along the dusty main road. The garage owner squinted harder, puzzled. The sole occupant appeared to be a tall, curious black girl, with dishevelled braids and hard eyes.
\nThe garage owner shrugged, put out his \u2018Self Service\u2019 sign and headed back inside. If it came from the desert, you didn\u2019t ask questions.<\/p>\n
Her hands a little clumsy on the strange wheel, she navigated the Mustang smoothly through the dust and into a large pothole. The car shuddered with a sudden jolt and there was an outraged yelp from the back seat.
\n\u201cDammit woman, would you watch where you\u2019re driving!\u201d
\nShe flicked a glance impassively over her shoulder to where Jarred lay, his leg propped on the guitar case and wrapped in his blood-stained jacket. He glared furiously at her.
\n\u201cSorry.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t mean that,\u201d he complained, \u201cIf you meant it you wouldn\u2019t keep running into potholes every five minu… ow!\u201d
\n\u201cSorry,\u201d the girl repeated, \u201cBad road.\u201d
\nFrom where he lay on the faded beige pleather, Jarred could feel her smirk.<\/p>\n
She pulled up alongside the first pump and killed the engine. She was about to get out when Jarred piped up again.
\n\u201cWhere the bloody hell are we?\u00a0 Why\u2019ve we stopped?\u201d
\n\u201cPetrol station,\u201d she replied without inflection, \u201cTo get petrol.\u201d
\n\u201cPetrol station? Petrol station?!\u201d Jarred boomed, \u201cI thought you were taking me to a fucking clinic!\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cIs something fucking wrong with you!? I\u2019m going to bleed to death on my own fake leather upholstery if I don\u2019t get to a doctor.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll get you an aspirin and a Band-Aid inside.\u201d She opened the door.
\nJarred groaned. \u201cHoly shit, there is something wrong with you. Look, then at least get me the first-aid kit from the boot. You\u2019ll need the keys to unlock.\u201d
\nWordlessly she left the car. A few minutes later she returned, chucked the first-aid kit into his lap and vanished again. Muttering, Jarred pulled himself upright and began the sticky process of cleaning and dressing the large bite wound in his leg.
\nAbout half an hour later, when he was wrapping the whole mess in a violently blue waterproof bandage that he hoped would keep the sand out, the front passenger door opened and the girl dropped a couple of plastic packets onto the seat. The door closed. There was a pause. The boot opened and closed again. Then the girl got into the driver\u2019s seat.
\nThe engine sprang to life and they pulled away from the garage.
\n\u201cSo what\u2019s in the bags?\u201d
\n\u201cFood.\u201d
\n\u201cAh.\u201d
\nThe town slid by around the car as Jarred finished covering his wound. There was a short silence.
\n\u201cDid you know there was a shotgun in the back of your car?\u201d
\nNow it was Jarred\u2019s turn to grin. \u201cYes actually. I put it there, along with the 5 kilos of ammo and the two boxes of magnesium flares. You\u2019ll find those are particularly effective against those creatures.\u201d
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t say.\u201d
\nHe grinned wider, gloating. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to die.\u201d
\nThere was another short silence.
\n\u201cPoint.\u201d
\nThey drove on.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you going to stop in town a while or what?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cAh. That explains the supplies.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThe houses began to thin and the road stretched ahead, flat and wide and empty.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re heading back out?\u201d
\nThe girl nodded.
\nJarred smiled. \u201cIn that case, hook a left at that big rock up ahead, just where the trees start.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s left?\u201d
\nJarred stifled a yawn and settled back into the seat. \u201cMy place.\u201d
\nThe car\u2019s shudder was the only thing that betrayed her surprise as she flicked a guarded glance at him.
\nHe held up a hand, anticipating her question. \u201cBecause I need to sleep, you need a shower, that axe needs sharpening, and I\u2019ve gotta fit the snipe stand to the roof of my car because I can\u2019t do much else with this leg. Also, the hunting\u2019s better in my neck of the woods.\u201d
\nShe flicked her eyes back to the road, deliberating. \u201cLive alone?\u201d she asked after a while.
\n\u201cI do… now. Yes.\u201d
\nSomething looked like it might soften in her for a brief moment, then it was gone. Jarred didn\u2019t notice.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t do dishes and I don\u2019t cook.\u201d
\nHe grinned slightly. \u201cI live off frozen meals anyway.\u201d
\nShe almost smiled. \u201cSo, you got a name, well-intentioned young man?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m Damien.\u201d Said Jarred.
\n\u201c … Maggie.\u201d
\n\u201cDoesn\u2019t suit you.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Jarred tapped the steering wheel in time to the drumbeat,<\/span> as his black Ford Mustang cruised down the desert road, blaring heavy metal. Dust trailed him, clouding the view in his mirror. The song\u2019s rhythm wasn\u2019t doing much to cut his boredom. It wasn\u2019t a particularly good one. It was however, the only track on the CD, given to him by a friend who\u2019d told him he needed some decent road music. Sometimes he really hated Tristan\u2019s sense of humour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHis eyes scanned the horizon, running over the border between desert and sky blankly until they alit on something curious.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIt grew as he drove nearer, slowly morphing from a curious, small, black speck <\/span>into an even more curious, tall, black girl. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe had loose, knee-high boots, once black but<\/span> now scuffed and sun-bleached<\/span>. Her skirt was short and checked in red and black, matching the striking colours of the long, loose braids kept just back from her face. She carried a blue duffel bag and a dusty guitar case was strapped to her back.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred raised his eyebrows, easing off the petrol till he matched her speed. He leaned across the passenger seat and wound down the window. She looked over briefly, casting a scathing eye over his peeling paintwork, before fixing her gaze on the road ahead.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe didn\u2019t even spare a glance for the driver\u2019s charming smile.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred blinked, surprised. She continued to ignore him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nWho ignores the only other person in like, a 5 million k radius?<\/span><\/span><\/em> <\/span>He thought to himself. <\/span>Especially when that person has the only working vehicle in a 5 million k radius?<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nMaybe I should just leave her. Teach people to snub<\/span><\/span><\/em> my car.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHe was on the point of speeding away and showering her with his dust, but something stilled his foot before it touched the accelerator. Might as well give it one more shot, just to please Karma or something.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHey, do I have to spell it out for you? I\u2019m offering you a lift here!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know where I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe replied without turning, in an accent as curious as the rest of her. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred cast a cursory glance at the distant horizon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLet me guess… straight on for about, oh… the next two days or so?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe turned her head, quirking an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred began having serious second thoughts about his offer. Then the CD stopped, and clicked the song over to the beginning again for the thousandth time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cCome on, it\u2019ll take you at least two days to walk to the nearest anything.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI can\u2019t go with you.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cAnd why is that?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe shifted the guitar case more securely onto her shoulder and answered, \u201cBecause I\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred raised his eyebrows and flicked his gaze to the horizon once more. \u201cYou look to me like you\u2019re heading south.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred\u2019s patience was reaching snapping point and he was on the verge of putting up with his music solo, but he still didn\u2019t drive away.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLook, I don\u2019t want it on my conscience leaving you out here to die. You can get in the car, really; I\u2019m not an axe murderer or anything.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s good to know.\u201d She kept walking. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred sighed, but kept following. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>The shadows of the stunted trees lengthened as the sun sank. He frowned, stuck out a finger to poke the CD player into silence, and tried again, this time with urgency in his voice. This wasn\u2019t the time or the place for this kind of argument. They should have been driving already. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cListen, you really don\u2019t want to be out in here in the dark.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I want.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred rolled his eyes in exasperation. \u201cI\u2019m serious, it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHe faltered; did she just tell me that she\u2019s dangerous? No, wait, don\u2019t be an asshole, no one says that outside of bad horror movies.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cSo what is it exactly that you wanna do out in the cold dark desert all on your lonesome?\u201d he asked aloud.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m not alone.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou will be if you keep pissing me off like this,\u201d he growled at her, misunderstanding.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe girl turned, flashing red fire at him for an instant. Jarred\u2019s foot slid off the gas completely and he stalled. Red eyes?<\/span><\/em> Then he noticed that the sun was lower in the sky than he\u2019d thought, and the Mustang\u2019s windows reflected it, turning everything crimson.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nFuck, I\u2019m losing it. This freaking CD\u2019s fried my brain.<\/span><\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/p>\nHe started the engine again and caught up with the girl, calling \u201cHey! You didn\u2019t answer my question!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhat question?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhat the hell you wanna do in the desert.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe didn\u2019t answer for a long time, staring away into the distance. She seemed to be wrestling with something. Jarred decided that this was one fight he did not want to be in the middle of and didn\u2019t interrupt.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nFinally the girl murmured, \u201cI\u2019m hunting.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHer tone was soft and low, but for Jarred the wrongness of hearing that phrase out of her mouth amplified the words as though they had been screamed. His skin crawled; the irony of hearing that here, now,<\/span> as darkness descended was absolute. If he hadn\u2019t been so damn sure she was serious, he\u2019d have laughed. The girl walked on impassively. Jarred looked at her. \u201cWait… hunting with a guitar?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe girl shifted the case strap before replying. \u201cIt\u2019s just for show.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred rolled his eyes. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s believable, lug a guitar across the desert for show.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe paused for a heartbeat, flicking him a glance, her eyes locked on his. \u201cIt\u2019s so well-intentioned young men don\u2019t get suspicious.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred swallowed audibly. Damn, the chick really does speak bad-horror-movie<\/span><\/em>. Why exactly am I trying to get her in the car again?<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nShe shot him another quick glance, this time with something unreadable in her eyes, and asked him softly, \u201cAre you scared of me?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred didn\u2019t answer at once. Instead he fixed his eyes firmly on the road ahead. After a while he muttered, \u201cI don\u2019t believe in vampires.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe girl stopped walking. Then she threw back her head and burst into a rolling laugh. The ringing peals bounced off the ground and echoed among the stunted trees.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred wasn\u2019t the only one to wince at their loudness. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe girl caught her breath and grinned sardonically down at him. \u201cWhat makes you think I\u2019m a vampire?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSomewhere, a little distance from the road, there was a small hiss and puff of dust as something shook the protective layer of dirt from its body.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred gawped up at her. \u201cUmm… well… it\u2019s just…\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cToo many horror movies rot the brain.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe sun dipped ponderously below the line of the distant mountains. Something blinked in the twilight, shook itself, and scrabbled across the desert floor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIn the car, Jarred coloured, scowling at her mocking smile. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nOut in the desert, something darted from rock to tree-shadow, to rock, drawing ever nearer to the road. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe young man in the black Mustang drew breath for a sharp and witty response, then froze, listening.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe twilight had deepened. Dark fell quickly here. The girl stood silent, listening too. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJarred was sure he\u2019d heard… yes, there it was again: soft scraping on the parched ground, slowly picking up speed and coming closer. Then the sound stopped. Silence, a tiny scrape, then \u201cSHIT!\u201d Jarred yelled, reacting instantly and lunging across the seat. He grabbed the door handle and heaved the door open as hard as he could, smacking into the creature that had sprung from the darkness towards the girl. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe metal connected with a solid crack and the creature darted away, growling and clicking in pain. Jarred breathed again. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/somethingwicked.co.za\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/GuitarCase_VincentSammy01-212x300.jpg\" "\\"GuitarCase_VincentSammy01\\"")
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