Read Online 30 Days of Night: Light of Day by Jeff Mariotte - Free Book Online

on top of her weapon as she rushed up the stairs.
    The vampire hunkered on Tony H.’s back. It made a horrible hissing noise and gnashed its teeth, from which pink-tinged spittle flew. Marina caught it in the beam and it screeched. Jimbo got his TRU-UV on. Pinned between the two, the vampire dropped off Tony H. and curled on the floor like a bug on fire.
    Tony H. aimed down and fired two phosphorous rounds into the creature’s head. The phosphorus burned, bright and white-hot in the dark house, andthe vampire writhed for only an instant before its brain was destroyed.
    The phosphorus emitted a lot of smoke, but before the room filled up, its white glow revealed the real nature of the hell they had entered. The floors and walls were brown, caked in old blood. There were skeletons, bones, and body parts strewn here and there, with no real pattern or order. The bitter smoke couldn’t cancel out the stink of death.
    “We’re in the right place,” Marina declared. “Let’s mop this up.”

9
    W HILE T ONY O., K AT, Jimbo, and Monte went up the stairs, Marina, Tony H., R.T., and Spider John descended into the house’s basement. It was impossible to tell from the odor which level got the most use, because the house was rank, disgusting from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. They should have been wearing Hazmat gear, Marina thought, not tactical, but it was too late to change.
Vampires must have been using this place for years.
    With every step down, the air seemed to grow thicker. The stairs were slick, some of the blood coating them still liquid, but even though her hands were gloved she didn’t want to touch the walls to steady herself. Instead she took careful steps, knees flexed, bending over slightly to see what was coming. She didn’t want anyone taking her out at the knees. Her TRU-UV light beamed out ahead of her.
    There was no electricity on in the house, and before heading down the three of them had donned night vision goggles. The goggles relied on ambient light, although very low levels of it were needed, so in absolute blackness they wouldn’t be any help. But the TRU-UVlights gave off enough illumination that Marina could see clearly, albeit with a greenish glow.
    At the bottom of the stairs they found a narrow hallway. The bloodsuckers attacked as soon the agents were in the hall with nowhere to retreat to except back to the stairs. They swarmed the three agents, hissing and screaming. In the confined space, shooting was dangerous. Clawed hands gripped Marina’s legs and something ripped the night vision goggles from her head. She swung her weapon about, trying to cut the dark with her TRU-UV everywhere at once, but the creatures moved so fast that it just glanced off them.
    Marina opened her mouth to shout to the others, but as soon as she did a hand was jammed into it. She didn’t dare bite down and risk breaking its skin. She tried to shove the bloodsucker away, but it was far stronger than she was. The vampire shoved another hand in there and started prying her jaws apart, pressing her against a wall at the same time. She tried to scream but could only make weak squeaking sounds, more than drowned out by the general commotion. A vampire still had her legs, pulling her off balance, and R.T., Spider John, and Tony H. were similarly overwhelmed. No help was coming from there.
    The thing kept pushing her mouth open. Its head moved in close, in spite of her efforts to hold it at bay. A special Kevlar collar ringed her neck, so she wasn’t worried about being bitten. But she sensed the creature right before her face. Then she felt saliva strike hercheeks, and she realized Jesus Christ it was trying to spit into her open mouth.
    Marina kicked backward, at the bloodsucker behind her, then lashed out toward the one in front. She couldn’t spit with those hands in her mouth, but she whipped her head from side to side, trying to break its grip. The gun was useless, trapped under her arm where she couldn’t even