Ruby filled her lungs, taking the time to sheath her swords before she raced after Bennett. They broke through the edge of the woods, and as branches and underbrush thwacked at their faces, hands, and legs, Ruby and Bennett swerved, weaved, and darted their way through the trees.

Neither needed a vampire’s hearing to be aware of the commotion behind them. The crescendo of grunts, snarls, and slobbery growls continued to build, and Bennett and Ruby continued to run. One minute turned into two and then into ten until Bennett slowed, and Ruby caught up.

“Why…why didn’t…why didn’t we try to make it to the car?” Ruby said between gasps.

Sucking in as much air as her lungs would allow, Bennett stopped behind a massive hickory tree, bending over at the waist to catch her breath. A few seconds later, she raised her eyes. “Because there’s nothing for them to feed on in the car except for us.”

“What?”

Bennett stood straight, pressing a finger to her lips for a moment. “Those bloody things are starving, and they’re going to kill anything in their path.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“By coming this way, we’ve put food other than us in their path. It should slow them down.”

“I’m not following.”

“Ruby, having recently been starved myself, I can tell you those things are homing in our heartbeats, and in this forest exists hundreds of heartbeats. Deer, raccoon, rats, mice…even squirrels, and while I’m sure ours are beating the loudest, we may be able to thin the herd by bringing them this way. My plan is to run in a big circle, drawing them further into the woods, hopefully enlarging their buffet before we make our way back to the car. All right?”

Ruby bobbed her head as she sucked in more air. “That sounds like a fucking perfect plan to me. Lead the way.”

***

The plan was almost fucking perfect. With the forest alive with wildlife, the chaos chasing Bennett and Ruby had been reduced to a dull roar, and for a short while, they jogged comfortably through the thicket. Unfortunately, each time Bennett tried to veer them toward the road, the grunts and growls grew louder, forcing the women deeper into the forest.

Saplings, barren of leaves, yet gathered in clusters were everywhere, and fallen branches and impenetrable vines blocked their way more than once. Both had no choice but to use their daggers to slice through the thicket, for swinging a sword was impossible, and it wasn’t long before their jog slowed to a walk. The snarls of starving vampires still echoed through the trees, and then suddenly, the snarls turned rabid.

“They must have found a deer. That should keep them busy for a while,” Bennett said, looking around. “We need to go left.”