Dudley spotted the hills, and the castle that should be there after another hour of walking. Trees had grown at the edge of the minotaur's land, just beyond their fenceline. A dipping sun and longer shadows had accompanied them on their walk.
"Keep going into the trees,” whispered Joel. “We want to make it seem like the both of us are advancing to get a better look at the castle.”
“I got it,” said Dudley. He walked into the trees, wishing he had something to smoke while he acted as bait.
Joel vanished from his side as soon as the trees blocked the sight of him from their follower. He didn't look around for the blind dreamer. That would let their enemy know they had split up.
He heard a struggle after a few minutes of walking. He doubled back and found Joel holding the minotaur down with some kind of arm bar. The cowboy's pistol lay on the ground away from the struggle.
Dudley picked up the pistol. He checked the cylinder. It had live bullets in it. He pulled the hammer back, noting the double action of the hardware.
“I'm going to shoot you if you don't stop moving around,” said Dudley. “I might shoot you just to make a point. Which leg do you need less?”
“You can't shoot me here,” said the cowboy. “Boss Twill's crew will show to see what happened.”
“That don't make no never mind to me,” said Dudley. “Why you following us?”
“Morris wanted to make sure that you were turned into Twill before you could do anything,” said the minotaur.
“So you were going to raise an alarm as soon as we tried to break into the place?,” said Dudley. “There's no reason to leave you alive with that kind of admission.”
“There's one reason to leave him alive, Dudley,” said Joel. He smiled. “I'm going to let go. Don't try anything, or I will hurt you.”
“What kind of reason do we need this guy?,” asked Dudley.
“He's going to show us the fastest way to the castle and how to get the truck out of there,” said Joel. “If he doesn't, he will feed the local scavengers.”
“I'm not doing anything like that,” said the cowboy.
“Then we don't need you,” said Joel. He released his grip and swung a hand down on the minotaur's head just below the jawline. The semihuman crumpled to the ground.
“How did you do that?,” asked Dudley.
“I have been taking training in my dreams for years,” said Joel. “It has made me a master while I am asleep.”
“What do we do with him?,” asked Dudley. He pointed at the cowboy with his pistol.
“We leave him out here for the buzzards to find,” said Joel. “He's too heavy for us to carry him with us. Maybe he will get lucky and his friends will come looking for him after we get the truck and get out of here.”
“You're right about carrying his butt on our backs,” said Dudley. “Let's go. At least he can't warn Twill while he is sleeping like that.”
“Don't forget to grab any spare bullets he's carrying,” said Joel. “We might need them.”
Dudley grabbed the minotaur's gunbelt and unstrapped it. It was too big for him to strap it on around his waist so he settled for hanging it across his body. He holstered the pistol so it hung under one arm.
“Twill will be looking for us,” said Joel. “I am going to need you to take a good look at his place. We need a weak point we can use to get in, and then we'll have to drive out with him trying to stop us.”
“You're doing a lot for a hitcher,” said Dudley. “You could just cut out, and leave me with this mess.”
“A deal's a deal,” said Joel. “This is just a bump in the road. Once we get the truck back, we make sure the cargo is still secure and then we get back on the road and you can drop me off at my destination. You won't even have to stay at the end.”
“You're a strange guy, Joel,” said Dudley.
“I have been dreaming for a long time, Dudley,” said Joel. He paused to listen. “This is my last chance to get things done. I can't allow a vampire to get in my way now that I am so close.”
“All right,” said Dudley. “If I can't get my truck back, I'm done. There will be no more shipping for me. The best I will be able to do is some kind of bike messenger. I will never be able to drive the Highway again.”
“So we're in this together?,” said Joel.
“Was there any doubt?,” asked Dudley. “Let's see what we can do about this vampire and his vampire horde.”
“All right,” said Joel. “Let's go down and see if we can get inside the castle.”
The pair made their way down toward the castle in the distance. Clouds swooped in to cover the sun. A wolf howled in the distance. Other voices joined in. Dudley saw their first obstacle, a closed gate and metal portcullis keeping people from the courtyard inside the wall.
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“The front door is out,” said Dudley. “I'll never be able to raise that metal blocker out of the way with my bare hands.”
“Can you give me a second to check the wall?,” said Joel. “I might be able to go over and open the gate up for you.”
“Be careful,” said Dudley. “I don't being this close without a flamethrower.”
“I understand,” said Joel. “I'll see you in a minute.”
He smiled at his joke before working his way down the wall. He felt the stone with his hands until he found what he wanted. He started up the wall, gripping the seams between blocks that had moved with the passage of time. He became a shadow moving swiftly upwards from one grip to the next.
Joel reached the top and slipped over, stick in hand. He vanished from Dudley's sight.
The trucker listened. He wanted to be ready in case someone saw him and decided to try to sneak up on him. He hoped Joel could make it back down to open the gate without too many problems. Dealing with a strong vampire and any minions he might have was the last thing on his list he wanted to do.
He expected that he would have to take another shot at Twill before they could roll out with the truck.
The portcullis noisily started to ascend upwards. He pulled his stolen pistol. He waited for someone to show their fanged face so he could blow it off.
The gate opened inwards.
“Dudley,” said a soft whisper in the shadows.
“I'm here,” said the trucker. “Anyone reacting to the noise.”
“Not that I can hear,” said Joel. “I imagine that as soon as we start your truck, we're going to have problems.”
“Tell me about it,” said Dudley. He slipped under the metal gate and stepped inside the courtyard. He looked around. Nothing moved. “I don't see anything moving.”
“Running out in the daylight might have cost Twill and he is sleeping it off,” said Joel. “We should see if we can power up the truck and get the heck away from here. I would rather be running away than waiting on him to come at us on his home turf.”
“I'm with you there,” said Dudley. He started toward his truck. He grimaced at the missing door. That would cost a pretty penny to fix.
He walked around the truck. He scanned the surface of the vehicle, looking for anything off before he tried to steal the truck back. He didn't want a trap to go off when he ignited it. The trailer was still sealed and secured.
The trailer being sealed was the most important part. If it had been broken in, he might as well give up right then. The company would fire him for losing his cargo, even if he got it back.
He checked the engine board from the driver's seat. It looked like he could start it up and drive.
“What do you think?,” said Joel.
“Can you check the trailer gun,” said Dudley. “I want to be able to shoot the castle when we run.”
“All right,” said Joel. “It will take me a moment to make sure it is ready.”
“Give me a head's up when you think you can shoot it,” said Dudley. “I'll ignite the engine and we'll hit the gate.”
“I won't be able to hit anything unless I get really lucky,” said Joel.
“We're in the middle of the keep,” said Dudley. “It won't matter if you are aiming or not. Just work it back and forth while I drive out of here.”
“I think I can handle that,” said Joel.
He worked his way to the back of the truck and climbed to the top of the trailer. He felt around for the cupola of the heavy gun emplacement. He worked the lever and opened it. He slipped inside and buckled himself in the seat. He started listening to the automatic systems coming online with his taking the gunner's seat.
“Which way should I point this thing?,” asked Joel over the intercom.
“Turn it another fifteen degrees to your left,” said Dudley.
The cupola whined as it turned under his direction. It might do anything, but it looked like the tracking was shot from the fight with Twill.
“Great,” said Dudley. He began the checklist to power the truck up and ignite the engine so the fans would lift the vehicle in the air. “Count twenty and hold down the trigger until the ammo runs out. Don't forget to walk it side to side.”
“I got it,” said Joel. He left the cupola open so he could hear up until he started shooting. Then he would close it to save his hearing from the noise of the twin barrels firing.
Dudley better be good with the truck controls, or this would be the shortest stealback in history.
The trucker ignited the engine. The truck bucked, and then rose in the air on a cushion of jet power pushing against the ground. He fired two of the rockets he had in the launchers built into the cab to blow down the gate and knock the portcullis off track so it couldn't be used to block his progress. He pushed the throttle forward and started his escape attempt.
He saw an indicator that Joel had started firing the machine gun. He nodded as the truck headed for the gate. He thought he saw shapes in front of him as he poured more power into the fans. He frowned at the thought they would be crawling with vampires in a minute.
“Company,” said Dudley into the intercom. “Get ready to fight.”
“Let's see if we can do better against these vampires this time,” said Joel.
Dudley pushed the truck through the gate. He kept one hand on his stolen pistol as he watched the screen outlays. He saw Joel wandering around on the trailer. He didn't have time to stop to ask him what he was doing. They had to escape now, or be toast later.
He had a feeling that the vampires were also on the roof of the trailer and his scanners weren't letting him know that important piece of information.
It wouldn't be the first time he had entered a fight blind. He hoped the minotaur had silver bullets in his load. That would slow down his unwanted guests a lot, whether he hit them in the heart, or not.
He heard a scream. He hoped it wasn't Joel falling to his death.
A face appeared where his door should have been to protect him. He pulled and fired the pistol as fast as he could. The bullet struck and passed through his target. He grimaced at the lack of impact damage except a hole in the vampire's suit.
“That wasn't nice,” said the vampire. One hand gripped the edge of the opened door. The other reached inside to grab Dudley's neck. “It's time you give back Boss Twill's loot.”
Dudley grabbed the hand around his neck, dropping the pistol to do it. He forced the fingers open enough to take a breath. He exhaled flame over the vampire, setting his hair and clothes on fire. The vampire screamed at the sudden attack. The trucker pushed him off and away from the speeding truck. He didn't watch the burning body bounce behind them as the truck sped on. He had to keep his eyes ahead so he could circle through the hills and head back toward the open road.
Another body flew in front of the truck. He didn't have time to turn, or slow down. He hit the vampire with the grill and sent it flying into the ground. The jets pressed the undead into the ground as he roared on.
He heard a scream. A blast of sulfurous ash reached his nose against the wind. He thought Joel was still in the fight on top of the truck.
“We got company, Dudley,” said Joel. “Better put the hammer down.”
Dudley groaned as he looked at the instruments. A horde of smaller vehicles chased behind them as they headed for the road. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to let them have the truck back. He would fight until he was dead first.
He hoped Joel had a grip on the roof as he coaxed more speed out of his battered ride.