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followed their gaze, panic seized me. Both vampires turned back to me and the laughter in their bright yellow eyes was evident even before they threw their heads back and roared with glee.
    Another group of vampires was heading our way. A lot of them. Too many. I was already weak from fighting and I’d only killed three out of five. I didn’t have the energy to fight more of them.
    “Mitch!” I called.
    “I see them. Fuck!”
    We had to run—there was no other choice. If we tried to fight them all, we wouldn’t win. I was about to relay that thought to Mitch when the two vampires in front of me came at me again and I had no option but to fend them off. We only fought for a few seconds, but it was enough time for the rest of the vampires to approach. A few seconds more and they had us surrounded.
    I’d always been brave while doing my job. I’d had to be. There was no place for fear when you were fighting for your life. But in that moment, I’ll admit I was terrified. I wasn’t afraid of death itself, but I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t ready.
    “Use the gun!” Mitch shouted.
    I hadn’t even remembered I was carrying it. I made a grab for it, but I didn’t get to it in time. When I felt something hit my back, I realised that the vampires behind me were pushing me forward into their friends, taunting me. My pulse was racing and sweat was dripping in steady rivulets down my forehead, but I kept on fighting. I wasn’t going to make this easy on them. I let out a fierce battle cry as I pushed away a vampire whose face was too close to my throat for comfort. It didn’t matter. Another vampire took his place, a new one. In the throes of blood lust, his face contorted with fury. One of the vampires landed a kick into the back of my legs and I fell onto my knees. I panicked, sheer terror overwhelming my senses when both my arms were grabbed and held out to the sides. One of them pulled the gun out of the waistband of my jeans with a throaty chuckle.
    “Ashley!” Mitch shouted. His voice was filled with desperation. Any reply I could have made got lodged in the back of my throat.
    I didn’t see the vampire who sank his fangs into my neck, but the bite was hard and it was deep. The scream which tore from my lungs was almost drowned out by the sounds of fighting, snarling and hissing. I tried to move my head out of the way, but the vampires had me pinned in place so firmly that I couldn’t move a muscle. I could do nothing but kneel there as my blood was drained from my body. I screamed again as another equally sharp set of fangs pierced my left wrist.
    Dizziness began to overwhelm me, and my vision became blurry. I waited for the blackness to take me, but it didn’t come. I was dimly aware of Mitch calling out my name again when everything around me froze.
    Is this it? I wondered, my brain addled with confusion, fear and pain. Is this what dying feels like?
    I didn’t know what was happening. The vampires in front of me were swimming in and out of focus, but I was sure they had stopped moving. It was as if they were suspended in time, frozen like a photographic snapshot or a movie left on pause. The vampires’ fangs were still embedded in my neck and arm, but they were no longer draining my blood. I blinked a few times to try to get my vision to clear when I heard Mitch calling out to me again. I found strength from somewhere inside and tore my arm free from the vampires who had been holding me. The movement dislodged the fangs from my arm, but I didn’t have strength left to free myself from the vampire who had been feeding from my throat. His fangs stayed embedded in my flesh and the pain was intense.
    I moved my eyes to the side to see if I could make sense of the madness when a dwarf moved into my line of sight. He was no taller than three feet. He had a long face with large pointy ears and his head was tilted to the side as he studied me.
    I watched with open puzzlement as he turned to my left. “Quite a