Rourke climbed aboard last, stationing himself on the step besid ethe driver atop the rear of the cab. He Offered a hand to Paladin Wilder, who ha dstuck by the group until that point. "There's room for one more, Wilder, Grab on!"
"No, milor--! er, Sir Rourke!" Wilder said, drawing his blade. "You are my superior and that Of Miss Starling. I stay with Tosser to hold off the hellbeasts." as teh cab drew away, he reached into a plac ethat was not exactly a part of the current dimension, but something akin to a close neighbor -- and pulle dout a massive gun, like a howdah pistol but with a much larger barrel, and a caplock hammer. he strode ove rto stand by Tosser, who drew a similar device from a similar place. One shot each, lad. Let's make 'em count--!" he started anbd gaped as Tosser ran forward with a wild cry, and loosed his shot into the distance. The street echoed with the deafening BOOMM, as a faraway lamppost, bench, and helldog all blew up at the same time, the fireball mushrooming into the air and bits of hellbeast raining down.
Tosser drew a revolver from under his coat, and began firing smoothly at something in the nearby alley. Something that just kept on coming, and finally took him down, ripped him to shreds, and kept going at full gallop, tossing his remains aside and into the air, as it made for Wilder. Rourke watched, horrified, as Wilder dispatched the beast with his own massive handgun, and was then mown down by two other beasts, coming from opposite sides of the street.
"That's a helldog," Wilhelmina's voice whispered in Rourke's ear through Mina's mouth. "I would not wish to lose you as well, but the cab is too heavy, My dear one. Starling must live." again there came the flash-change of scenery, and Rourke stood atop a neighboring building, the cab racing away into the early morning, and Mina shifting her feet on his shoulder "But how'm I supposed ta fight off th' pursuit!?." He made a totally mad plan, then, as he heard the baying of yet more hellbeasts. He made his way to the edge of the roof, and waited until a beast raced from the far end of the alley, and then, in an insane gamble, he lept from the roof of teh building-- and landed astride the beast's back, to the startled and surprised grunt of teh beast as he impacted the thing's spine, just behind the head. Rourke hung on for dear life, Mina flapping madly behind, shrieking about foolhardiness and and humans and Rourke's madness. The thing howled wildly, sounding desperate, and three others suddenly crashed through masonry, fences, and up from an underground passage, making for his mount and himself. He drew his revolver, still loaded with Holywater bullets, and shot two of the beasts, who flew apart into cinders and coals. He shot all but one of his remaining chambers, missing each time, and the beast came on, Rourke's mount also doing its best to twist its head around and snap him off of it's neck. The three of them made it around a corner, but then the pursuing beast ran right smack into a cross-surmounted shrine outside of the back of a small chapel, and disintegrated into a cloud of sparks and cinders.
Rourke laughed and stuck his revolver's muzzle against the head of the beast he was riding and pulled the trigger. He realized that such might not have been such a good idea as he suddenly became airborne amid another shower of sparks, and went over the edge of a curbed back driveway, hurtling down toward the very brick-paved street along which the cab was still fleeing the remaining beasts...