her robe spread wide, gun clattering to the ground behind her. Frozen in shock at what I’d just done, I watched a crimson pool of blood form around her and nausea threatened to betray me.
Kill or be killed , the survival monster within called to me.
I pumped the action of my shotgun and dimly heard the spent shell tinkle to the ground. I edged my way slowly around her, wanting to see anything but her ruined form. I peeked past her into the area beyond the French doors.
It was a very dirty kitchen with no one in it.
Backtracking through the main room I spotted a staircase with a heavy wooden bannister leading to a second level. If I was keeping prisoners I would stow them in a dank basement where escape seemed less likely but I couldn’t be sure about the upstairs until I checked it out.
The rest of Zombie Team 6 was likely down for the count and I was getting anxious. My little diversion wouldn’t last much longer. As soon as they found my ladder, the boys outside would realize there had been no real breach. I could only imagine what they’d do to me if they caught me. I had to clear the upper floors fast.
I ran up the steps two at a time on the balls of my feet but still couldn’t mask the light tapping sound my shoes made. I reached a small landing where the stairs continued around and up to the left.
Shotgun ready, I took these final five steps very slowly.
It was a large living room and it certainly looked lived in. There were crumpled clothes, greasy looking sleeping bags and blankets scattered all around.
Empty bottles, cigarette butts and other debris littered the floor like they were trying to model the Battle of the Bulge out of garbage.
It smelled like onions and pee.
Each corner of the room held a door, with two more doors in the middle of the living area. One of them was ajar and I could see it was a bedroom, it was empty, dirty and shitty like the main room.
I hustled to the closed doors and flung them open, there were three other bedrooms, one of them a surprisingly clean and orderly office. It had one of those massive desks only the very rich or self-important could pull off. I guessed this must have belonged to the boss.
There was a large bathroom attached to the big office which led me back out to the living room. All of the rooms had been empty but looked lived in. It didn’t take a brain doctor to deduce this was where most of the men slept.
There was only one other place to check before I headed back downstairs.
I opened the final door to find another narrow staircase leading up.
Awesome.
I grimaced as a disturbing odor I recognized wafted down the stairs. I was definitely running out of time but now I had to know. I made my way up the stairs, wishing I had waited until tomorrow to play hero. I was missing my dirty living space like a toddler misses his favorite blanket. I really just wanted to play solitaire and go to sleep.
The top of the stairs revealed a dimly lit but cavernous attic with rough hardwood planking for a floor and naked rafters disappearing into the darkness of the roof.
I could make out a large steel cage located in the center of the room. A spattering of folding chairs were arranged around the cage with a few lights on portable stands aimed at whatever was inside. A low throaty growl emitted from that area and I hastily pulled my flashlight out and flipped it on.
The S word slipped uncontrollably from my mouth as my light revealed
Kill or be killed , the survival monster within called to me.
I pumped the action of my shotgun and dimly heard the spent shell tinkle to the ground. I edged my way slowly around her, wanting to see anything but her ruined form. I peeked past her into the area beyond the French doors.
It was a very dirty kitchen with no one in it.
Backtracking through the main room I spotted a staircase with a heavy wooden bannister leading to a second level. If I was keeping prisoners I would stow them in a dank basement where escape seemed less likely but I couldn’t be sure about the upstairs until I checked it out.
The rest of Zombie Team 6 was likely down for the count and I was getting anxious. My little diversion wouldn’t last much longer. As soon as they found my ladder, the boys outside would realize there had been no real breach. I could only imagine what they’d do to me if they caught me. I had to clear the upper floors fast.
I ran up the steps two at a time on the balls of my feet but still couldn’t mask the light tapping sound my shoes made. I reached a small landing where the stairs continued around and up to the left.
Shotgun ready, I took these final five steps very slowly.
It was a large living room and it certainly looked lived in. There were crumpled clothes, greasy looking sleeping bags and blankets scattered all around.
Empty bottles, cigarette butts and other debris littered the floor like they were trying to model the Battle of the Bulge out of garbage.
It smelled like onions and pee.
Each corner of the room held a door, with two more doors in the middle of the living area. One of them was ajar and I could see it was a bedroom, it was empty, dirty and shitty like the main room.
I hustled to the closed doors and flung them open, there were three other bedrooms, one of them a surprisingly clean and orderly office. It had one of those massive desks only the very rich or self-important could pull off. I guessed this must have belonged to the boss.
There was a large bathroom attached to the big office which led me back out to the living room. All of the rooms had been empty but looked lived in. It didn’t take a brain doctor to deduce this was where most of the men slept.
There was only one other place to check before I headed back downstairs.
I opened the final door to find another narrow staircase leading up.
Awesome.
I grimaced as a disturbing odor I recognized wafted down the stairs. I was definitely running out of time but now I had to know. I made my way up the stairs, wishing I had waited until tomorrow to play hero. I was missing my dirty living space like a toddler misses his favorite blanket. I really just wanted to play solitaire and go to sleep.
The top of the stairs revealed a dimly lit but cavernous attic with rough hardwood planking for a floor and naked rafters disappearing into the darkness of the roof.
I could make out a large steel cage located in the center of the room. A spattering of folding chairs were arranged around the cage with a few lights on portable stands aimed at whatever was inside. A low throaty growl emitted from that area and I hastily pulled my flashlight out and flipped it on.
The S word slipped uncontrollably from my mouth as my light revealed
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