Shan, Darren - Cirque Du Freak 02 - The Vampire's Assistant

"Maybe he found something else to attack." Sam whispered back hopefully. "A sheep or a cow."

"I wouldn't bet on it," I said. "He wouldn't have run all this way just to abandon the chase at the very end."

We huddled close together, Sam covering the right with his eyes, me the left. I could feel his body trembling, and I'm sure he could feel mine shaking, too.

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," I whispered. "Any ideas?"

"A couple," he said. "We could lead him into the guard's house. He might fall through the rotten floorboards. We could trap him down there."

"Maybe," I said. "But what ifwe fall through, too? We'd be trapped. He could jump down and eat us whenever he liked."

"How about the rafters?" Sam asked. "We could climb out into the middle of a rafter and hang on, back to back. We could take sticks with us and beat him off if he attacked. There'd only be one way for him to come at us up there."

"And somebody's got to arrive from the Cirque Du Freak sooner or later," I whispered, thinking it over. "But what if he decides to snap the rafter at one end?"

"They're set pretty deeply into brick," Sam said. "I don't think he could break them with his bare hands."

"Would a rafter hold the weight of three of us?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Sam admitted. "But at least if we fell from that height it'd be over quickly. Who knows, we might get lucky and fall on the wolf-man. He could break our fall and get killed in the process."

I laughed weakly. "You watch too many cartoons. But that's a good idea. Better than any I can think of."

"How long do you think it'll be before the people from the Cirque get here?" Sam whispered.

"Depends on when they realize what's happening," I said. "If we're lucky, they'll have heard him howling and might be here in a couple of minutes. Otherwise we might have to wait until the end of the show, which could be another hour, maybe longer."

"Do you have a weapon?" Sam asked.

"No," I said. "I didn't have time to pick anything up."

He handed me a short iron bar. "Here," he said. "I had this for backup. It's not very good, but it's better than nothing."

"Any sign of the wolf-man?" I asked.

"No," he said. "Not yet."

"We'd better get going before he arrives," I whispered, then stopped. "How are we going to go to the guard's house? It's a far hike, and the wolf-man could be hiding anywhere along the way."

"We'll have to run for it and hope for the best," Sam said.

"Should we split up?" I asked.

"No," he said. "I think we're better off together."

"Okay. Are you ready to start?"

"Gimme a few seconds," he said.

I turned and watched him breathing. His face was white, and his clothes were ripped and dirty from running through the woods, but he looked ready to fight. He was a tough little character.

"Why did you come back tonight, Sam?" I whispered.

"To join the Cirque Du Freak," he answered.

"Even after everything I told you about me?"

"I decided to risk it," he said. "I mean, you're my friend. We have to stick by our friends, right? Your story made me want to join more, once I'd recovered from being scared. Maybe I could have helped you. I've read books about personality disorders. Maybe I could have cured you."

I couldn't help smiling in the middle of this horrifying moment we were in. "You're a moron, Sam Grest," I whispered.

"I know." He smiled. "So are you. That's why we make a good team."

"If we get out of this," I told him, "feel free to join. And you don't have to worry about me eating you. That was just a story to frighten you off."

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," I said.

"Phew." He wiped his brow. "I can rest easy now."

"You can if the wolf-man doesn't get you," I said with a grin.

"Ready yet?"

"I'm ready." He squeezed his palms and prepared to run. "On the count of three," he whispered.

"Okay," I replied.

"One," he began.

We faced in the direction of the guard's house.

"Two."

We got in position to sprint.

"Thr— "

Before he could finish, a pair of hairy hands darted out from underneath the car, where — I realized too late — the wolf-man was hiding. The fingers wrapped around Sam's lower legs, grabbed him by the ankles, and dragged him down to the ground.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Sam started to scream as soon as the hands tightened on his ankles. The fall knocked the breath out of him, silencing him momentarily, but after a second or two he was screaming again.

I scrambled to my knees, grabbed Sam's arms, and pulled as hard as I could.

I could see the wolf-man underneath the car, spread out on his hairy belly and grinning wildly. Drool was dripping from his jaws.

I pulled with all my might, and Sam slid toward me. But the wolf-man came with him, wriggling out from under the car, not loosening his grip.

I stopped pulling and let go of Sam. I grabbed the iron bar that he'd dropped, jumped to my feet, and began pounding the outstretched arms of the wolf-man, who howled angrily.