Eph first saw the WELCOME TO NEW YORK STATE sign by the side of the highway. Then, eyes glowing like glass, the female vampire standing beneath it, watching them pass. The vampires communicated the vehicles’ location to the Master in a sort of internalized, instinctual GPS. The Master knew that they were now making their way north.
“Hand me the maps,” said Eph. Fet did, and Eph read it by flashlight. “We’re making great time on the highway. But we have to be smart. It’s only a matter of time before they throw something at us.”
The walkie-talkie in the front seat crackled. “Did you see that one?” asked Nora in the trailing Explorer.
Fet picked up the radio and answered. “The welcoming committee? We saw her.”
“We have to go back roads.”
“We’re with you. Eph’s looking at the map now.”
Eph said, “Tell her we’ll head up to Binghamton for gas. Then stay off the highway after that.”
They did just that, pulling sharply off the highway at the first Binghamton exit advertising fuel, following the arrow at the end of the off-ramp to a cluster of gas stations, fast food restaurants, a furniture store, and two or three little strip malls, each anchored by a different coffee shop drive-through. Fet skipped the first gas station, wanting more room in case of emergency. The second, a Mobil, featured three aisles of tanks angled in front of an On the Go convenience mart. The sun had long ago faded all the blue letters on the MOBIL sign, and now only the red “O” was visible, like a hungry, round mouth.
No electricity, but they had kept Creem’s hand pump from the Hummer, knowing that they would have to do some siphoning. The ground caps were all still in place, which was a good indication that fuel remained in the underground tanks. Fet pulled the Jeep next to one and pried up the cap with a tire iron. The gasoline smell was pungent, welcome. Gus pulled in and Fet waved him over to back up near the tank opening. Fet pulled out the pump and narrow tubing, feeding the longer end into the ground tank and the shorter end into the Jeep.
His wound had started to hurt again and it bled intermittently, but Fet hid both facts from the group. He told himself he was doing this in order to see it all through—to stick to the end. But he knew that, for the better part, he wanted to be there between Eph and Nora.
Mr. Quinlan stood at the roadside, looking up and down the dark lane. Eph wore his weapon pack over one shoulder. Gus carried a Steyr submachine gun loaded half with silver and half with lead. Nora went around the side of the building, relieving herself and quickly returning to the cars.
Fet was pumping hard, but it was slow work, the fuel only now starting to spray into the Jeep’s tank. It sounded like cow’s milk hitting a tin can. He had to pump faster to achieve a steady flow.
“Don’t go too deep,” said Eph. “Water settles at the bottom, remember?”
Fet nodded impatiently. “I know.”
Eph asked if he wanted to trade off, but Fet refused, his big arms and shoulders doing the work. Gus left them, walking out into the road near Mr. Quinlan. Eph thought about stretching his legs more but found that he did not want to be too far away from the Lumen.
Nora said, “Did you work on the trigger fuse?”
Fet shook his head as he worked.
Eph said, “You know how mechanical I am.”
Nora nodded. “Not at all.”
Eph said, “I’m driving the next leg. Fet can work on the detonator.”
“I don’t like taking so much time,” said Nora.
“We need to wait for the next meridiem anyway. With the sun up, we can work freely.”
Nora said, “A whole day? That’s too much time. Too much risk.”
“I know,” said Eph. “But we need daylight to do this thing right. Got to hold off the vamps until then.”
“But once we get to the water, they can’t touch us.”
“Getting on the water is another task altogether.”
Nora looked to the dark sky. A cool breeze came along and she shrugged her shoulders against it. “Daylight seems like a long time away. I hope we don’t lose our head start here.” She turned her gaze to the deadness of the street. “Christ, I feel like there are one hundred eyes staring at me.”
Gus was jogging back toward them from the sidewalk. “You’re not far off,” he said.
“Huh?” said Nora.
Gus opened the hatch on the Explorer, pulling out two road flares. He ran back to the street, far enough away from the gas fumes, and sparked them to life. One he tossed end over end into the parking lot of the Wendy’s across the road. The spitting red flame lit the forms of three strigoi standing at the building’s corner.