Tainted Cure (The Rememdium Series Book 1) by Ashley Fontainne Page A

in an odd, unnatural angle as the crowd scattered. The policeman stood, gun at the ready, and moved toward her. He only made it three steps before the woman pushed herself up from the ground and jumped, toppling the cop over. Her right leg was bent backward and her arm hung limp at her side, yet she moved at an unbelievable pace.
    In a flash, she was on top of the stunned cop. She ripped his throat out with her teeth. Benito didn’t have a chance to see anything else because the lights of San Salvador flickered once then went out.
    Controlling his rising fear, Benito secured his gear and scrambled to leave the rooftop. Mindful of his steps on the slick terra cotta, he was only a few feet away from the door leading to the stairs. He fumbled around in his pocket for the keycard to unlock the door, cursing under his breath while trying to extract it. The sounds coming from all around him rivaled a war zone. The gunfire and screams increased, now joined by three explosions strong enough to make the building shake. Benito froze, trying to maintain his balance. For a split second, he did, but when the fourth explosion hit, he lost his footing and fell backward.
    He caught himself and remained on the roof.
    The keycard didn’t. It flew from his fingers and slid off the edge, disappearing into the night.
    “Fuck!”
    He was trapped twenty stories in the air. The building closest to him was over thirty feet away. Even if he was on a flat surface and could get a running start, jumping such a far expanse was impossible. Benito glanced up to the sky, wincing at the bright, orange light from numerous fireballs across the city. Snatching his cell phone, he dialed Fernando’s number. On the third ring, he answered. Benito could hear the whirr of the helicopter blades and let out a sigh of relief.
    “You still on the rooftop?”
    “Only until you get here. ETA?”
    “Three minutes, tops.”
    “Make it two.”
    Benito disconnected the call, ignoring the continuous notifications of new texts. He stood and searched the sky for Fernando. Straining his ears for the sound of the helicopter blades, he heard nothing except the sounds of San Salvador under siege.
    Body coated in sweat and heart racing, Benito couldn’t stop his body from shaking. If something went wrong with the chopper and Fernando didn’t rescue him, he’d never survive.
    The sound he’d yearned to hear pulled him out of his own dance with hysteria. Looking up, he saw the chopper hovering about fifty feet above him. A rope ladder clanked as it hit the tiles of the roof ten feet to his right, followed by white light illuminating the entire roof from the spotlight.
    Afraid he might lose his footing from the downdraft of the blades, Benito sunk to all fours and crawled across the roof. When his fingers wrapped around the rope ladder, he called upon every quaking muscle in his body to pull himself up. The climb up the swaying rope was terrifying, but less so than the alternative of staying on the roof.
    Once safely inside, Benito pulled up the ladder. Securing the headset, he gave the thumbs up to Fernando, who immediately banked the machine and soared through the dark skies.
    “Sorry I’m late. I had to fight off some…thing…before I could refuel.”
    Still shaking, Benito responded, “Get us to the estate. Fast.”
    “Of course. From the sounds and sights up here, you’d think we’re under attack or something. News mentioned an outbreak of some sort, which makes sense. The thing I ran into at the airport seemed really sick.”
    Benito heard the fear in Fernando’s voice and glanced over at him. A large bandage covered his forearm and blood seeped through the layers. “What happened?”
    “The guy—or thing—at the airport? He bit me! Can you believe that shit? I had to shoot him right there on the runway. Once in the air, I tried to listen further then the radio went silent. It’s eerie. Not even the police channels are active. There’s nothing but static.