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Innocente came around the front of the truck and struck the woman with the machete. In eerie silence, the dead creature raised the tree branch she had clutched in one hand to strike Innocente. Samantha clenched her jaw and raised the bat over shoulder and slammed it down on the dead woman's head. There was a sickening crack and the woman's head split open. Turning slowly, the dead woman looked at Samantha with a blank expression. Her face was split and her neck was slashed open from the machete. Utterly calm and silent, the dead woman raised her branch again. It was then Jeff appeared and slammed his machete hard into the woman's throat. It knocked her back onto the ground and Jeff braced himself, feet apart, and commenced to hack the woman's head off.

Gagging, Samantha whirled around in time to see the first woman staggering toward her. Her head was falling over on her shoulder and her body was struggling to move.

“They're still moving!” she screamed

Sergio dove back into the truck and shifted into reverse. Gunning the engine, he drove backward at a fast clip and slammed into the advancing woman. Her body fell back and the big wheels of the truck rolled over her.

Innocente backed away from Jeff as he finished off the woman in the high heels and turned to see the two battered forms of the male corpses crawling toward her.

“Why won't they die!” she cried.

Sergio left the truck parked on the struggling blond woman and jumped out. He ran full force into the first man, tackling him to the ground. His big fist began to beat the man's face into a bloody pulp.

Samantha shook herself out of her daze and lifted the bat over her head. Running toward the second man, she let out a scream that would make Xena proud. The first strike missed his head and bounced off his shoulder. He reached for her and she rammed the end of the bat into his mouth, shattering his teeth and nose. Not even noticing, he kept reaching for her throat, but only managed to grab her shoulder. Beside her she could hear Sergio slamming his fist over and over again into the other dead creature.

Trying to break free from the man's terrible grip, Samantha kept ramming the end of the bat into his face. Innocente began to hack at the man's arm. Samantha tried to keep distance between her and the swinging blade as she tried to break free.

“Destroy them so he can't use them,” Jeff ordered. He came up behind the dead man that was trying to get a better grip on Samantha and began to hack at the back of his neck like he was a giant tree.

Managing to finally squirm free, Samantha staggered away. Jeff and Innocente continued to hack away at the dead man, who was still trying to grab them.

Sergio climbed off the man who's head he had pulverized and looked toward the house. He looked at Samantha and she nodded.

Together, they entered.

The barren house was falling apart and as they walked over the rotting floor, Samantha feared falling through. She was grateful she had worn her cowboy boots and jeans and nothing silly and frilly. Holding the baseball bat at the ready, she followed Sergio through the apparently empty house. She didn't immediately realize he had his gun out, but when she did, she wondered if it would stop The Summoner's minions.

The house did not seem very safe for vampires. The roof had completely rotted away and the sun poured through multiple holes. The walls were so decayed, daylight streamed through the cracks. But the wood was old and thick. It would probably stand a few more years before finally giving into the elements and collapsing.

It was in what looked like a bedroom that Sergio found the hidden vampires. He tried to open a door only to find it firmly shut. He strained to open it to no avail. Finally, he managed to get a peek into the closet through a thick crack in the door.

“I think they're in there,” he said.

“What?” Samantha rushed to his side and slid onto her tippy toes to look inside. She could barely make out what looked like a large lump with a satin cover on it. It was hard to see with the limited light, but the sunlight coming through the broken roof was enough to dimly see the sheen of the satin.

“I think they locked the door,” Sergio said, and got down on his knees to try to see through a keyhole. Fumbling with his belt, he pulled off a small flashlight. It took some maneuvering, but he finally managed to get a view inside. “She's holding it shut. I can see her wrist. ”

“Is Cian in there?”

“I don't know,” Sergio answered, and handed her the flashlight.

She tried to see through the keyhole, but she couldn't manage it. Giving up, she handed it back to him.

Jeff and Innocente entered the room, both of them looking weary and blood splattered.

“They're in there. ” Samantha pointed to the closet.

“Then we get them and get out of here,” Jeff answered.

Innocente hurried to the closet and laid her hands on it.

“Amaliya,” the old woman whispered. “We're here, Amaliya. ”

Her voice was full of emotion. Samantha reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Despite their rocky start, Samantha couldn't help but like the old lady. She was tough.

Sergio looked somber and said, “We should get the blanket and the tarp. We need to hurry before the sun moves any further overhead and we end up with more light in here. ”

“Agreed,” Jeff said and moved to peer through the crack in the door.