Chapter Seven

Peter

I was frustrated I hadn't got a look at these strange critters and hoped they might find somewhere to camp next where I could see them too. We rode hard but even so we lost them and they were on foot or at least we neither saw nor heard horses, not even tracks of their passing. It was two days before we caught them up and only because they had killed again but this time we came upon their kill first. The wagon was tipped over, the horse still struggling in its traces but very weak. The bodies, a man and a woman looked like farmers and this time the bodies were more or less intact, the man had an arm missing but that was all. However there was no blood, none at all and there were bite marks on both their necks and exposed limbs. The man had grabbed his shotgun and fired at least twice from the cartridges on the ground but either he'd missed or the creatures were invulnerable to bullets just like we'd heard.

"You think they drank the blood?"

I looked at Jed as if he were an idiot,

"Where in tarnation do you think it is if they didn't drink it? Ya think they drained it out and bottled it maybe?"

"Enough Peter. Yes Jed I think they did, I also think it unlikely the man missed with both shots, he was defending his wife and farmers are pretty good shots, takin' out vermin and deer for food. So the ones we're tracking don't get phased by bullets or buckshot. Looks like were gonna need a way to fire flames at em. Anyone got any idea's?"

I looked at the others then hesitating for a moment I spoke,

"I heard a Greek fire. Supposed to burn real hot and even on water. If we can get a hold of that maybe we can find a way to squirt it, like a stirrup pump?

"Ya gonna stirrup pump a flaming liquid? Ya loco Peter?"

"OK Matthew ya come up with a better idea, I'm listenin'."

It was Luke who solved the problem,

"Why don't we shoot arrows? The Indians use flamin' arrows to set fire to wagons so we can use it to set fire to them critters surely? Maybe we could squirt the liquid after they're alight, just to finish things off."

It was a good idea but we needed arrows, lots of practice and a supply of this Greek fire. Luckily Matthew and Jed had lived close to Indian camps and had learned how to make good bows, and arrows that would shoot straight and true but we'd need to practice with the waddin' that burned twisted around them. Luke offered to ride to the nearest big town and see if he could find a pharmacist or someone who might have heard of Greek fire and know how it was made. If not we would use lamp oil, that burned well and pretty hot.

We spent the next two days tracking the critters and found they had made camp in a cave on the mountain. They seemed to have settled in for a while so Luke went off and Matthew and Peter fashioned bows and arrows while Jed and I took it in turns to watch the cave in case our quarry decided to move on. It was three days before the bows and arrows were ready and then the four of us took it in turns to watch while the others practiced their archery. Keep the arrows flying straight was fairly easy for men who had shot and used a lance on horse back but once the wadding was tied on everything changed and we all struggled to master the now unbalanced arrows. Peter was the first to start hitting the target on a regular basis and then showed the rest of us his knack for doing so and by the end of the week we were all hitting as close as dam it. Luke hadn't returned so Jed went into the closest town and bought some lamp oil and we soaked the rags in them before tying them on it the shafts. Too much and they burned the feathering, too little and the rags just smouldered.

Jasper

We had just finished the batch we would use when Jed came racing towards us,

"They're on the move. If we want to git em we should do it now afore they get a head start."

Grabbing our bows we mounted leaving Peter behind with Luke's horse much to his disgust.

"You can't ride fast enough over rough ground Captain so stay here."

We rode hard but stopped when we got close to the cave, we could see the two figures emerging and they seemed to be arguing about which direction to take. There was a brutal fight, one ripping the others leg off in the end and making off in his chosen direction. Leaving the injured one to be dealt with on our return we chased after the other, more confident when there was only one of the creatures. Catching him up wasn't easy but eventually we began to gain on him and then he turned to face us as if having heard our horses although we were still too far away for that to be likely.

Pulling an arrow from the makeshift quiver on my back I strung my bow and at a nod Matthew lit the rag. I let it fly knowing as I did so it was a good shot and sure enough it hit him in the middle of the chest. It was followed by more arrows from the others and the creature was engulfed in flames screaming loudly but only for a few seconds. We waited more arrows at the ready in case he emerged but as there was no movement from the prone figure we rode forward straight into a cloud of thick purple smoke that smelled of perfume. We waited for the flames to die and they revealed just a pile of ash that began to blow away in the wind.

"He's gone, he burned right up. Did you smell that smoke? Maybe he was a demon after all Major"

"Demon or not Jed he's gone and we know how to kill em. Lets get back to the other quickly. We don't know if he has some trick to heal himself."

They looked at me once more afraid but I turned my horse and started back and they followed me as I had hoped they would.

We rode back a little slower for the horses sakes and I regret that action for maybe we could have prevented what happened. When we returned to the spot the creature had lain there was no sign of him, or the leg the other had ripped from him, how could that be? Had I been right and he had somehow healed himself or were there more of these creatures and had they found their companion and carried his body away? Something spurred me on and I rode harder back to our camp and Peter only to find it in ruins, the horses gone and Luke's body torn limb from limb, all the blood drained from it. Of Peter there was no trace, it was as if he had just vanished. We searched the surrounding countryside and found tracks, but only one set leading back the way we had come across country.

"You think Peter's dead Major?"

"Why would the creature take him Jed? He's injured, no good for anything but why not kill him straight away like Luke? Why hide the body?"

"Until I know he's dead I intend searchin' for him, if you want to go home that's fine, no problem."

The remaining three looked at me then at each other,

"Have we ever run from a battle or left a friend in danger? We're with you Major. At least now we know what we're fightin', or at least how to kill em."

With a nod at my companions I set off in pursuit of the creature that had killed our friend and possibly the Captain too.