Finn wrenched the steering wheel round, spinning the car into a sharp right turn that sent Faye crashing against his arm again. Then he swung left, desert dust gusting in plumes from the tyres as they bit into the dirt. It did no good – he could not shake the creature off. It scrambled onto the bonnet, its grotesque face leering through the windscreen. It was a hideous sight, almost more vulture than man. Its arms and legs were skeletal, but they looked strong enough to snap a person in two. Its fingers were long and hooked, with sharp, curved nails that scraped against the glass.

 

Faye undid her seat belt and turned, kneeling on her seat.

 

‘What are you doing?’ Finn shouted over the screeches from outside the car.

 

‘There must be something in Liz’s case that can help!’

 

Finn kept his eyes on the creature and the road – though it wasn’t really a road. It was just a dust track, bordered by the rundown buildings of what looked like a ghost town. They had arrived at the outskirts of Silver Cross – at least, that’s what the sign they had passed had told them – just as the harsh desert sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon. Even from a distance they could tell that the place was nothing more than a shell. Old, burned-out cars stood abandoned, and the buildings looked frail enough to crumble into dust at any moment. The timbers had dried out like bones in the desert sun. It looked like part of a theme park – Roll up, roll up, see a real Wild West frontier town, ladies and gents!

Except that this wasn’t a real Wild West town. Real Wild West towns didn’t have creatures from the depths of the underworld lurking around them.

 

‘I’ve got it!’

 

Finn took his eyes off the shrieking creature for a moment. Faye dropped back into her seat, now wielding a huge furled umbrella.

 

‘Where did you get that?’

 

‘The case! I told you, Liz packed everything!’ Faye gasped, staring through the window. ‘Finn – look out!’

 

At her shout, Finn looked up to see one of the bikers – it looked like Cutter – coming straight for them. One of the creatures had got hold of his back mudguard and was clawing its way up, hand over hand, towards him. Cutter was flailing around desperately, trying to dislodge his attacker, careening towards their car. Finn yelled as he swerved to the left, narrowly avoiding the bike.

 

Faye reached up, opening the sunroof.

 

‘What are you doing?’ he shouted as she began to stand up, still holding the umbrella. ‘Are you mad?’

 

‘We’re never going to get rid of it like this,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to do something!’

 

‘Faye, stop!’

 

She didn’t listen, but stood there, trying to brace herself as the car swerved. Finn glanced up to see her body disappearing through the sunroof, along with the umbrella. She was holding it like a golf club.

 

The creature spotted Faye and screeched again, mouth stretched wide open in a terrifying, mirthless grin. It leaped forward, but she was ready for it. There was a dull whump as the umbrella found its target: the creature howled as it was dislodged.

 

Finn slammed his foot down on the brake pedal so hard that it hit the floor. The car lurched to a halt and he almost smacked his head on the windshield. Outside, the creature screamed again. It flew through the air, landing in the dust at the side of the road, several metres away. It didn’t get up.

 

‘Yes!’ Finn cried out in triumph. Hearing Faye’s shout of celebration, he reached back to touch her leg, but his hand connected with something else – something that felt leathery and very, very disgusting. He twisted round and came face to face with another creature, its bony fingers wrapped around Faye’s leg. He suddenly realized that the car’s back window had been smashed – shards covered the seat and stuck out of the frame like jagged teeth. They hadn’t heard it in all the chaos.

 

Finn yelled and tried to grab one of the creature’s arms, desperate to pull it away from Faye. Inside its mouth he could see vicious, needle-like teeth; saliva dripped as it stretched out its jaws towards Faye’s calf, batting Finn’s hands away easily.

 

‘Faye,’ he shouted. ‘Get out! Get out, now!’

 

Faye screamed, scrambling out through the sunroof and leaping to the ground as he opened the door and did the same, leaving the creature inside the car. Finn pulled Faye behind him as he stopped to pick up an old plank.

 

Around them, the men still on their bikes pulled up and jumped off, following Finn’s lead and picking up pieces of wood themselves. The creatures moved in slowly, their rotted faces leering, teeth bared and ready to bite.

 

Finn was breathing hard, aware that Faye was standing behind him, still clutching the umbrella. How could he keep her safe? There was no way to—

 

But he didn’t have time to think of a plan: suddenly one of the creatures lunged forward with a screech, the others following suit. A cloud of dust rose up as their feet scrabbled in the dirt, sending a choking fog into the air, and suddenly everyone was fighting for their lives.

 

Finn struck out with his makeshift bat, slamming it into one of the creatures. It doubled over, howling in pain, but was soon back on its feet. He looked around for Faye and saw her holding her own against another of the beasts. But they were strong, and the bikers had been travelling for days without a proper break . . .

 

Finn pushed forward again as, all around him, the battle raged. He saw one of his men – Mackey – brought to his knees by two of the monsters. He disappeared into the dust cloud, but Finn couldn’t reach him – he was too busy trying to stay upright as one of their attackers dug its spindly fingers into his leg. Finn’s scream added to the pandemonium, but he managed to shake his leg free. He felt blood running down it as his old wound reopened. Or maybe it was a new one.

 

Anger surged through him, and he felt the wolf rising. It ran along his spine like an electric current, making every hair on his body stand on end. The world washed yellow as his eyes took on the wolf. It was coming. It was coming . . .

 

The creature he was fighting froze, its jaw dropping as it stared at Finn. Then it made a sound, something like a whimper, and tried to back away.

 

Around him, Finn could feel the rest of the pack tensing too. The wolf rippled through them all, just under the surface, waiting to be unleashed, waiting to show its face . . .

 

He growled, lunging towards the creature that had attacked him. It screamed, a high-pitched sound that Finn knew he would hear in his nightmares for a long, long time.

 

Turning, it fled. With it went the others, tumbling over each other in their desperation to get away.

 

Breathing hard, Finn watched them go. The wolf faded slowly, the shimmer bleeding away into the heat. He rubbed a hand over his face as his eyesight cleared, and turned to find Faye staring at him, her face smeared with grime and sweat. She still looked beautiful.

 

‘Are you OK?’ he asked, his voice hoarse from the dust.

 

She nodded as they moved together. ‘Was that the wolf?’ she asked quietly. ‘I – I thought it wasn’t part of you any more. I thought it disappeared when Mercy’s curse was lifted . . .’

 

Finn smiled sadly. ‘I don’t think it’ll ever really go,’ he told her. ‘None of us have really changed since that day . . . it’s still who we are.’

 

Faye looked up at him and nodded, but didn’t say anything.

 

There was a shout from behind them. Finn turned to see the rest of the bikers crowded around something.

 

‘Mackey,’ Finn said aloud, moving towards his men. ‘Is he . . . ?’

 

Cutter looked up and shook his head once.

 

‘Oh no . . .’ Finn heard Faye whisper beside him. ‘Oh no, he isn’t—’

 

Finn caught her as her legs buckled, gathering her up before she could hit the dirt. He cradled her against his chest, kissing her forehead and whispering words that later not even he would remember. He carried her over to the car, settling her into the front seat and wiping away the tears that streaked her dusty face.

 

He shut the door and looked up at his remaining men, their faces grave in the fading sunlight.

 

‘OK,’ he said, and this time his voice was hoarse from more than just dust. ‘We’re here. And I’m not losing any more of you, so look sharp. Understand?’

 

The bikers nodded. Cutter squinted at Finn through a mask of dust and blood. ‘OK, Finn,’ he said. ‘We got here. Now what?’

 

Finn looked around. The town was empty, cast into shadow by the huge mountain that rose behind it.

 

‘We find out what’s going on here,’ he said. ‘And we track down the rest of our pack.’