Werewolf Suspense (Book 4): Outage 4 (The Reckoning) by T.W. Piperbrook Page B
Authors: T.W. Piperbrook
Tags: Werewolves
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either end of the hall. He stared at the open door behind him, a place of relative safety. He hoped they weren't making a mistake in leaving it.
He knew the calm wouldn't last for long. They had to abandon the room.
He'd only taken a few steps when someone cried a warning. A beast loped down the corridor. Before Tom could take aim, Rosemary stepped in front of him, assessing the incoming beast.
"What are you doing?" Tom cried.
"Making sure it's not Jason or Jeffery!"
Before Tom could retort, Rosemary took a firing stance, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet caught the creature in the head, and it collapsed to the ground in a mound of fur.
"How'd you know it wasn't them?" Tom asked.
"They're a lot smaller!"
"Come on!" Tom yelled to the group, reclaiming the lead.
Kelsey ran beside him as they headed to the corridor's end. They entered another hallway, passing a nurse's station with a patient slumped over the desk, a few broken-down doorways, and another puddle of slicked blood. The hallway was long, terrifying. In a nearby hospital room, the wind pummeled snow against the window. They'd be out in that bitter cold soon.
Tom swallowed, glancing over his shoulder to confirm that Rosemary was covering the back of the group. The others kept to the middle.
They continued running, the group's nervous breathing a reminder of the lives at stake. The metallic scent of blood in the hallway was worse than it had been before. Tom cringed at the smell, which mingled with the musk of the creatures. Bodies lined the floor around them, people who were so mauled it was impossible to tell who they'd once been.
"Come on!" he urged.
They'd covered half the hallway when a slurping noise drew Tom's attention. Tom looked over to find a beast on the floor in a nearby room, ravenously consuming the remains of a dead body. He stared at the thing as they passed, praying they wouldn't draw its attention, but the patter of footsteps might as well have been the ringing of alarms. The thing looked up from its meal and charged.
Tom fell back, ushering the others behind him. He raised his rifle. The beast slid through blood as it barreled out of the room. Tom fired a shot, but the thing lost some of its height as it skidded into the hallway.
The bullet struck the wall.
He squeezed off another shot. The thing roared as the bullet struck its arm, sending it reeling back.
"I got it!" Rosemary cried.
She fired her pistol, striking it in the head, finishing it off. Tom gave her a quick, thankful glance. The encounter had cost them too much ammunition, considering the distance they had left to travel. Tom appraised the others. Katherine and Silas looked even smaller behind the blankets they were carrying; Abraham and Sally clutched their handheld weapons with fear.
"Where are we headed, Kelsey?" Tom cried.
"The supply room is just around the corner!" Kelsey answered.
They kept running, revealing an opposing hallway, and Tom braced himself for an onslaught of beasts. To his relief, the hallway was clear. Most of the doors were closed. He convinced himself the beasts weren't lurking in the rooms with the doors shut, which meant safety on either side. Shadows dappled the floor. This corridor was darker than the others, and Tom thought back to when he'd first thought the hospital was a place of safety, rather than a place of danger.
The beasts had robbed them of that security, of that peace. His anger morphed to determination. The supply room was just ahead. They'd make it. They'd get to the east entrance and up the stairs.
He held that thought as they ground to a halt at the supply room door.
Kelsey looked left and right, then entered a numbered code on a small box attached to the door. The door clicked and Kelsey pulled the handle.
A black room greeted them. Kelsey found the light switch, illuminating shelves full of neatly placed supplies. Rows of plastic bins lined the walls: items labeled and sterilized in plastic bags.
He knew the calm wouldn't last for long. They had to abandon the room.
He'd only taken a few steps when someone cried a warning. A beast loped down the corridor. Before Tom could take aim, Rosemary stepped in front of him, assessing the incoming beast.
"What are you doing?" Tom cried.
"Making sure it's not Jason or Jeffery!"
Before Tom could retort, Rosemary took a firing stance, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet caught the creature in the head, and it collapsed to the ground in a mound of fur.
"How'd you know it wasn't them?" Tom asked.
"They're a lot smaller!"
"Come on!" Tom yelled to the group, reclaiming the lead.
Kelsey ran beside him as they headed to the corridor's end. They entered another hallway, passing a nurse's station with a patient slumped over the desk, a few broken-down doorways, and another puddle of slicked blood. The hallway was long, terrifying. In a nearby hospital room, the wind pummeled snow against the window. They'd be out in that bitter cold soon.
Tom swallowed, glancing over his shoulder to confirm that Rosemary was covering the back of the group. The others kept to the middle.
They continued running, the group's nervous breathing a reminder of the lives at stake. The metallic scent of blood in the hallway was worse than it had been before. Tom cringed at the smell, which mingled with the musk of the creatures. Bodies lined the floor around them, people who were so mauled it was impossible to tell who they'd once been.
"Come on!" he urged.
They'd covered half the hallway when a slurping noise drew Tom's attention. Tom looked over to find a beast on the floor in a nearby room, ravenously consuming the remains of a dead body. He stared at the thing as they passed, praying they wouldn't draw its attention, but the patter of footsteps might as well have been the ringing of alarms. The thing looked up from its meal and charged.
Tom fell back, ushering the others behind him. He raised his rifle. The beast slid through blood as it barreled out of the room. Tom fired a shot, but the thing lost some of its height as it skidded into the hallway.
The bullet struck the wall.
He squeezed off another shot. The thing roared as the bullet struck its arm, sending it reeling back.
"I got it!" Rosemary cried.
She fired her pistol, striking it in the head, finishing it off. Tom gave her a quick, thankful glance. The encounter had cost them too much ammunition, considering the distance they had left to travel. Tom appraised the others. Katherine and Silas looked even smaller behind the blankets they were carrying; Abraham and Sally clutched their handheld weapons with fear.
"Where are we headed, Kelsey?" Tom cried.
"The supply room is just around the corner!" Kelsey answered.
They kept running, revealing an opposing hallway, and Tom braced himself for an onslaught of beasts. To his relief, the hallway was clear. Most of the doors were closed. He convinced himself the beasts weren't lurking in the rooms with the doors shut, which meant safety on either side. Shadows dappled the floor. This corridor was darker than the others, and Tom thought back to when he'd first thought the hospital was a place of safety, rather than a place of danger.
The beasts had robbed them of that security, of that peace. His anger morphed to determination. The supply room was just ahead. They'd make it. They'd get to the east entrance and up the stairs.
He held that thought as they ground to a halt at the supply room door.
Kelsey looked left and right, then entered a numbered code on a small box attached to the door. The door clicked and Kelsey pulled the handle.
A black room greeted them. Kelsey found the light switch, illuminating shelves full of neatly placed supplies. Rows of plastic bins lined the walls: items labeled and sterilized in plastic bags.
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