It was followed by a chorus of weaponry.
'What?' Dracula cried.
Throwing her to the ground, Dracula bolted into the tunnel. Jane glimpsed uniformed men. British soldiers! A hail of lead was being unleashed in the confined space. Vampires went on the attack, and a pitched battle ensued. At the same time, workers continued to load and unload carts as if nothing were happening; they had been given their instructions and would continue until they dropped.
And some of them did. As the army flooded the tunnel, people fell and died all around. The air was soon filled with the acrid smoke of weapons' fire and the sound of shooting and screaming people.
Jane peered out into the subterranean haze. A pair of figures ran at her.
'Jane!' Doctor Porter said, emerging from the gloom.
'My God,' Jane asked. 'What's happening?'
'There will be time for explanations later. Now we must join the battle.'
'But how did these soldiers—'
'Later!'
Jane saw now that the doctor had their gear in a large bag. After quickly arming themselves, they charged into the fray. Jane immediately saw a soldier being attacked by a vampire. She came to his assistance, and saved him, but quickly lost sight of the others in the process.
The British soldiers were everywhere. They ran and darted about, shooting vampires at will. The creatures were not so easily killed, of course, but Jane immediately saw that these soldiers were also armed with stakes.
A female vampire launched herself at Jane, and she fired a blast into its face. It fell back, staggered, then started toward her again. Jane impaled the creature, and it dropped down dead.
Another vampire, this time a man, grabbed her from behind. She struggled to throw it off as he tried to bite her neck. She rammed her elbow into his stomach while bringing her guns about.
Boom!
The blast shattered the crown of his skull. Jane followed it up with a vial of garlic water in his face, and he shrieked as it tore at his flesh. Snatching out a stake, she thrust it into his heart and finished him.
The air was thick with smoke. Jane remembered the boxes of gunpowder she had spied at the side of the cavern.
It'll kill everyone if it explodes.
A figure loomed in the smoky haze.
'Doctor Porter!' Jane said.
The doctor was dragging a trussed-up figure behind her. Jane recognised Cassandra immediately and dropped to her side. Her sister's hands were cuffed behind her back and her feet secured with rope. Cassandra's eyes darted about in rage and confusion. Doctor Porter had used a gag to silence her.
Jane had never felt so relieved and helpless at the same time. 'Oh, Cassandra!' Jane cried. 'My beloved sister!'
'She'll be fine once she recovers, but that will take time.' A vampire leapt at them from the darkness. The doctor swung about, plunged a stake in its heart, and dispatched it to the afterlife. The doctor turned back to Jane. 'I've been trying to find Eddy.'
'Eddy?' Jane said, bitterly. 'After he betrayed us?'
'He didn't betray us.'
'What?'
'It's too much to explain now, but we must find him.'
Dragging the struggling Cassandra behind them, they pushed their way through the blood-soaked melee. Jane expressed her concerns about the boxes of gunpowder, and the doctor explained the soldiers had already secured them. Soon, the three of them were heading down a side tunnel that appeared to be from the mine's original operations. Fresh air and the faint glow of daylight filtered down the shaft.
'There he is,' Porter said, pointing.
Jane saw that Eddy was kneeling beside what appeared to be a pile of rags. Then she looked more closely and realised it was clothing draped over bones.
Oh no, Jane thought. That's Susan, but how—
She spied the stake protruding from the breastbone of the creature.
'Eddy,' Doctor Porter said, as they neared. 'We must go. The battle is won. Dracula is defeated.'
He regarded them with vacant eyes. 'I wanted to save her. Susan was all I had left.'
'You have saved her,' Porter said, gently squeezing his hand. 'She is safe from the vampiric curse. She is free.'
Eddy nodded slowly and rose to his feet as Max appeared from the mist. He looked ready to attack Eddy, but Porter held him off, explaining that the full story needed to be told. It seemed that much of the fighting was done now, and so they followed the tunnel out, dragging the helpless Cassandra behind them.
Jane had rarely felt so relieved in her life. The light of the sun was heavenly after the bitter darkness of the mine. The same could not be said for Cassandra, however, who snarled at the feel of it on her flesh.
'My darling sister,' Jane said. 'You will be well.'
Cassandra hissed maniacally. It was like watching a crazed animal.
At least she is free of Dracula.
They continued around a turn in the bend, and Jane was surprised to see hundreds of soldiers surrounding the mine's entrance.
'How is this possible?' she said. 'Where did they come from?'
Max didn't know either, and Eddy was not speaking. Approaching the nearest soldiers, Doctor Porter introduced herself, and they were led to the empty house near the mine. Jane was amazed to see even more soldiers around the place.
They were shown into a room where a Colonel named Briggs was seated at a table.
'And you are?' he said to Porter.
She introduced herself.
'I was expecting a man,' Briggs said.
'And what a pleasure to get me instead,' Porter said, smiling. 'With your permission, Colonel, we need a room to keep this lady.' She explained that Cassandra was Jane's sister and would eventually recover. 'She just needs time to return to normal.'
'That will be done. Anything else?'
'Just a room for myself and my companions,' Doctor Porter said. 'And you'll let me know when the operation is complete?'
'Absolutely. We have your full description of this Dracula character. We hope to hunt him down and have his hide within the hour.'
He handed them over to a Captain named Smythe, who took them to a private room. He arranged for tea to be made for them, which arrived within minutes with a large plate of buttery biscuits. Jane picked up the cup, remembering the last time tea had been made was while they were Dracula's prisoners.
'Doctor Porter,' she said. 'What is going on here?'
'Yes, doctor,' Max said. 'Where did all these soldiers come from? How did we come to be rescued?'
'Never fear,' Porter said. 'Eddy and I will answer your questions—but first, hand me that plate of biscuits. They look absolutely delicious.'