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L INDA DRAGGED the sobbing Sherry Lyn away froly
Everyone else stood there staring, clearly feeling uncouessed that a whore like Sherry Lyn would have been in love with a stranger none of theirls, Alex at his heels, and patted Sherry Lyn on the back while she cried on Linda&039;s shoulder "There, there," he said ineffectually "I&039;m sorry you had to see this Linda will take you on back now Roscoe can give you a double shot of whiskey, and maybe you&039;ll be able to sleep for a bit"
Linda stared at him "Whiskey and sleep Think that will cure her, do you?"
"Please, Linda, take her back It&039;s no good her standing here with hiswith the bodiesoh, co theet her out of here"
Linda glared at hiet home Sherry Lyn, you need to lie down, and I want to check the place and lanced at Cole "Not that you don&039;t &039;s on edge, like we&039;re waiting for soood to be alert-and do everything in your power to make sure you&039;re not taken by surprise," Cole said
Linda looked at hiain
"If Sherry Lyn is too upset to ride, I can take her back in the wagon, Cole," Dave said
Alex opened her hts of the wagon-the wagon that had carried her lover&039;s corpse to its final resting place
But she was too late Sherry Lyn took one look at the wagon and burst into tears again
"What did I say?" Dave asked, as Alex stared accusingly at hih Sherry Lyn&039;s "I want to get out of hereI&039;d love a drink right now, a big swig of whiskey"
She walked to the gate, at firstSherry Lyn But Linda helped, and between theet Sherry Lyn out to where the horses were tethered, and she grew more malleable once they were outside the confines of the celanced over at Alex "Very decent of you," she said
Alex studied Linda&039;s face There was a curve to her lips thatsmirk The woman was difficult to read
She nodded and rode ahead, not in the er her father had h the heavy neooden doors-which weren&039;t locked, Alex noted
But it was daytime, and the fact that a saloon was open to the publicto Cody, that it was more easily accessible to vampire intrusion than a private home, where only friends were invited in Open to the public-just like her boardinghouse
Roscoe was behind the bar, lining up shot glasses, and at the sound of the doors opening and the girls entering, he was so startled that he sent one flying into the air He caught it swiftly, looking ehed softly "You could have locked the door," she told hiht have come in Someone with money anted to pay for a drink," he said, then frowned darkly when he noticed Sherry Lyn&039;s tear-stained face "More bad news?" he asked gluht in," Linda told him
"Roscoe, we&039;d all like whiskey, please," Alex said
He stared at her curiously for a ed "Sure Whiskey all around On the house What the hell else have we got to do?"
Like the others, Alex slid up on a bar stool Once the shots were poured, Linda lifted her glass "Cheers to us-at least we&039;re still standing And we ue swept away half the population"
"Linda!" Sherry Lyn said, horrified
"Oh, Sherry Lyn, I aot to remember that we&039;re still alive And if we&039;veall the way Drink up, ladies!"
Then she looked at Alex, smiled mysteriously and downed her shot in one quick ed for some inexplicable reason, Alex did the same
THE TWO MEN HURRIED toward the church, identified by a sign out front as the Plains Episcopal Church of Hollow Tree
Cody, alert and ready, strode up the steps with Brendan at his heels He strong-armed the door-and found that it was securely locked
"Cody, soht here," Brendan said "This is a house of worship How could a creature like Milo Roundtree have gotten in here?"
"I don&039;t know, but so-is in there," Cody said "You heard the noise, same as I did"
"Maybe you shouldn&039;t have started by trying to bang the door down," Brendan suggested
"And how else e supposed to get in?" Cody asked, but privately he was irritated with himself, because who-or whatever was in there couldn&039;t help knowing about their presence by now
"We could try knocking," Brendan said
"Knocking? Why the hell-"
Too late Brendan had already rapped heavily on the door
Cody groaned and stepped back There was a sht on the second story, directly above the door, and so out, his identity hidden by the thick colored glass
Theopened a crack, and to Cody&039;s aarments peered out at them "Who are you?" he demanded
"My name is Cody Fox, and this is Brendan Vincent," he said "We&039;re trying to hunt down the lared at him "Go out into the street and stand directly beneath the sun"
They did as ordered
"This isn&039;t a great test," Brendan called out to the ht, because they don&039;t have th then But that doesn&039;tthe day"
Cody elbowed him "What the hell did you tell him that for?"
"If we lie, he won&039;t let us in, and it&039;s important that we talk to the man, don&039;t you think?" Brendan asked
But fro carefully, and he apparently had his oay of deter the truth about their alive-or-dead status
"I&039; down," he said, and theclosed with a snap
"See? Honesty It&039;s the best policy," Brendan said
They heard a rasping sound as they walked back up the church steps-evidently so the door A second later, the door opened and the priest, a heavy cross hung around his neck, stared out at them
He was about thirty years old, blond and blue-eyed, but his features, and the sharpness of his expression, indicated that he was intelligent and had great strength of purpose
"Co behind the piano in the nave: a blond boy of about sixteen, a man in his mid-forties, a woman of about sixty, and another who appeared to be in her twenties
Cody stared at them for a moment, then turned to the priest and asked, "How the hell did you e to survive?"
Brendan elbowed hiht a smile to the priest&039;s lips "A church in the midst of hell I prayed that you would come"
"You prayed that-ould come?" Brendan asked
"That help would come," the priest said He offered his hand "I&039;m Father Joseph Back there we have Timmy Kale, Miss Mona Hart, Mr Adafield, our pianist"
"How do you do?" Cody and Brendan said in unison, then looked at each other and couldn&039;t help grinning The situation was terrifying, but it was also absurd
And wonderful, Cody thought Because somehow these people had survived
"Have you ventured out at allsince this began?" Cody asked
Father Joseph sh noon And only to bring back what the general mercantile had in canned food, what set water, and to raid the closest houses for so" He paused
"What about the people erekilled?" Cody asked
The priest spoke softly, "We dealt with the that it wasn&039;t soet you back to Victory today," Cody said "In fact, we need to leave as soon as possible"
"We&039;re ready when you are But you ht have noticed, we don&039;t have horses," he said "What animals didn&039;t run offwell, they&039;re dead"
"There&039;s got to be a wagon sitting around somewhere in town," Cody said
"There&039;s a livery down the street You&039;ll find sooing on in tihtened survivors by the piano, then turned back to Cody "They ca red eyes andand the result was carnage"
"And that night, you five were the only ones in here?" Cody asked
Father Joseph shook his head "I was in here, praying Alice was at her piano, practicing for the Sunday service But the othersa ethe others with hiuard those he was leaving in my care He said that if we had faith, we&039;d be safe in the church-the deht We&039;ve been safe, but we&039;ve also been careful I&039;m sure they knoe&039;re here, and I&039;et us out" He sriet right down to the livery, pick out a wagon and get the horses hitched," Brendan said "And pray to God those horses will be polite enough not to fight us on the way back over to Victory"
"Right," Cody said, still staring thoughtfully at the priest, wondering about the identity of the ht these people here, then disappeared
"Cody, the sun won&039;t stay up forever," Brendan said
"Be ready," Cody told the priest
"We can walk over there with you now, if you thinkif you think it&039;s safe," Father Joseph said
"No, wait here Brendan and I can e on our own," Cody said
The livery was clear-they had been in it just o But he didn&039;t want to take the chance of having to protect the others any longer than necessary
He unhitched his horse and strode after Brendan, who had already headed down the street, his horse&039;s reins in his hands
"What the hell do you think really went on back there?" Brendan asked, shaking his head "Who would bring folks to a church, then go back out into the middle of the massacre? Why wouldn&039;t he have stayed in the church?"
"That&039;s soet them all back to Victory," Cody said
"I&039; out how they knew the way to destroy their dead"
They found a wagon and, with a little searching, harnesses for the horses
Neither anion horses, and they protested with rearing and neighing, but finally the ether Brendan led theon as one, stopping in front of the church
Father Joseph was standing at the door, waiting for theon, then followed, carrying a large portht," Cody said
The priest met his eyes "My friend, this is filled with holy water and sharpened crosses I see that you know all about these creatures and are arood idea for all of us to have weapons at our disposal, don&039;t you?"
"You&039;re right, Father We&039;ll find roo the reht, as he followed Father Joseph to the wagon So far, the sky was clear and blue But night would coer to return to Victory than it had taken to reach Hollow Tree
"I&039;ll drive, you watch?" Brendan suggested
Cody nodded, and Brendan hiked hi up the reins
Cody ju over his shoulder
Father Joseph&039;s four survivors were silent, huddled together Cody smiled at the boy-Timmy, the Reverend had said The boy stared back at hi?" the older woested
"I think we should stay quiet and not draw undue attention to ourselves," Father Joseph said
Thank you, Father Joseph Thank you, Cody thought
It was going to be a long enough ride as it was
A LEX STEPPED OUTSIDE the saloon and looked down the street There wasn&039;t a soul to be seen She looked up at the sky and felt aquite yet, but it wasn&039;t strong, either The air had taken on the slight difference that came when sunset was near
And Cody and Brendan weren&039;t back
The others had returned frorim task cohouse, and the others had gone hoht-except for Cole and Dave, ere staying at the saloon, one of thethat they would appear in the distance But they didn&039;t
"Alex?"
She swung around Cole atching her fro back in," she told hiht"
"And you still shouldn&039;t be out there alone," he said firht," she teased him "I just"
"You&039;re just worried I know I am, too," he told her "But coo today?" she asked "I know you know"
He stared at her for a longfor Milo&039;s hideout Cody says there has to be one"
She nodded "Cole?"
"Yes?"
"Do you believe-do you believe that hed softly, then looked up at her "Alex, I&039;ve seen lots of good people turned into demons by this-this disease"
"Don&039;t you think that soht it?"
"I don&039;t know, Alex Butbut you can&039;t let yourself be fooled, you can&039;t take any chances You know that, right?" Cole said
"Yes, I know," she said
He was still staring at her, and though he&039;d never said the words, he&039;d answered her question No, he didn&039;t believe that her father could be anything but a lanced down the street in the direction of the distant town of Hollow Tree, then sighed and went back to the saloon
Cole was still standing in the doorway "Alex, your father was a good man He was like a father to me, too He was one of the most respected men in town But the man you knew and loved, the man I loved, is dead"
"I know that, Cole"