did his tracks lead deeper into the house? She reached out and pulled the door open. The groaning of its hinges seemed to screech in the silent house, making her wince. Behind it, a staircase descended into the darkness of the house's underbelly.
Before Cora could give the mystery much thought, a wail echoed from somewhere in the basement. The barrel of her gun gleamed in the dim light as she pointed it into the shadows. Moments passed, but nothing came rushing up the stairs. Her own breathing filled the silence. Cora's mind urged her forward, screaming that her husband was down there somewhere, but her instincts held her in place. She couldn't help him if she was blind and stumbling in the dark.
After a few minutes of silence, she took a step toward the door. Her worry was overpowering her sense. Ben was down there, and if she didn't follow soon, she would be too late. The silence told her that he wasn't fighting anything, but that didn't mean he wasn't in danger. Vampires could see in the dark, and he couldn't. They were no smarter than animals, but enough of them might be able to bring him down. Her boot creaked on the top step, and she paused. Nothing. Tightening her grip on her Colt, she began making her descent.
Two steps later, a savage mass of arms, legs, and fangs slammed into her, throwing her back through the door into the hallway. The vampire's weight kept her pinned to the floor as it snarled and snapped at her. Her hands clamped around the vampire's neck, holding its fangs at bay mere inches from her face. She didn't remember dropping her gun.
Cora managed to bend her knees enough to get her heels on the ground and shove upward. She released the pale neck at the same time and threw the vampire over her head. It slammed into a nearby wall with a hiss. Collecting itself, the creature regained its bearings and sprang at her. Cora rolled out of its path, and the vampire sailed through the open doorway back into the shadows.
Drawing her silver dagger, Cora got to her feet. When the monster came charging out of the basement a second time, she drove the point into its face as it smashed into her. Smoke billowed around them as the vampire let out a final, inhuman screech and went limp. She pushed the corpse off of her. The dagger slid out of the vampire's skull with a wet, slurping sound. Clutching it in one hand, she crawled on her hands and knees toward the stairs. Her pistol lay on the top step, its barrel gleaming in the semi-darkness. She picked it up, stood, and wiped the dagger on her buckskin pants.
Before she could sheathe it, another snarl came from the shadows. She pointed both weapons toward the stairs. Small pinpoints of light winked at her. The flash from the revolver's barrel lit up the darkness like a bolt of lightning, but it vanished before she could make anything out. No screech cut through the gunshot's thunder, so she thumbed the hammer back and waited.
Then, without warning, a series of wails filled the air, followed by the pounding of many feet. Cora backed up as her heart began to race. The echoes made it difficult to determine their numbers, but it was more than a few. Glancing over her shoulder, she could make out the stream of sunlight coming through the front door. As much as she hated it, she couldn't take on the entire nest by herself. Keeping her face toward the chorus of howls, she began making her way toward the door. Hissing, gray shapes poured out from the basement door. Their savage eyes locked on her, their fangs glistening in the twilight. She jumped backward into the doorway. The vampires approached her, snarling and snapping, but they did not follow her into the sunlight. Counting three targets, Cora grinned to herself. She took aim at one of the ugly faces and squeezed the trigger.
The vampire ducked as she fired. Her bullet punched into its shoulder, and it shrieked in anger and pain. The rest scattered like roaches. Cursing, Cora pulled back the hammer and fired again, but her target had already vanished into the darkness. Gunsmoke drifted through the sunlight as she stood facing an empty hallway.
In the waning daylight, Cora's mind began racing. She glanced at the sky over her shoulder. The sun hung just above the