فصل 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

At the last possible moment, a pair of hands appeared out of the darkness and grabbed the wolf-man’s jaw, stopping his plunge.

The hands twisted the head to one side, causing the wolf-man to shriek and fall off me.

His attacker climbed onto his back and held him down. I saw fists flying faster than my eyes could follow, and then the wolf-man was lying unconscious on the ground.

His attacker stood and pulled me to my feet. I found myself gazing up into the flushed, scarred face of Mr. Crepsley.

“I came as soon as I could,” the vampire said somberly, turning my head gently to the left and right, examining the damage. “Evra heard the howls of the wolf-man. He did not know about you and the boy. He just thought the creature had burst free.

“Evra told Mr. Tall, who canceled the rest of the show and organized a search party. Then I thought of you. When I saw your bed was empty, I searched around and found your trail.” “I thought —I was going to . . . die,” I moaned, finding it hard to speak. I was bruised all over and suffering from shock. “I was certain. I thought —nobody would come. I . . .” I threw my good arm around Mr. Crepsley and hugged him hard.

“Thank you,” I sobbed. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank —”

I stopped, remembering my fallen friend.

“Sam!” I screamed. I let go of Mr. Crepsley and rushed to where he was lying.

The wolf-man had torn Sam’s stomach open and eaten a lot of his insides. Amazingly, Sam was still alive when I got to him. His eyelids were fluttering, and he was breathing lightly.

“Sam, are you okay?” I whispered. It was a stupid question, but the only one my trembling lips could form. “Sam?” I brushed his forehead with my fingers, but he showed no signs of hearing or feeling me. He just lay there, with his eyes staring up at me.

Mr. Crepsley knelt down beside me and checked Sam’s body.

“Can you save him?” I cried. He shook his head slowly. “You have to!” I shouted. “You can close the wounds. We can call a doctor. You can give him a potion. There must be some way to —” “Darren,” he said softly, “there is nothing we can do. He is dying. The damage is too great. Another couple of minutes and . . .” He sighed. “At least he is beyond feeling. There will be no pain.” “No!” I screamed, and threw myself onto Sam. I was crying bitterly, sobbing so hard it hurt.

“Sam! You can’t die! Sam! Stay alive! You can join the Cirque and travel with us all over the world. You can . . . you . . .” I could say no more, only lower my head, cling to Sam, and let the tears pour down my face.

In the deserted old railroad yard, the wolf-man lay unconscious behind me. Mr. Crepsley sat silently by my side. Underneath me, Sam Grest — who’d been my friend and saved my life — lay perfectly still and slipped further and further into the final sleep of an unfair and horrible death.