Frankenstorm: Deranged Read Online Free

where he’d gone, but no one answered. Kaufman occasionally grabbed his radio mike and called for von Pohle. He never got a response.

3
    It took a long time for all the noise to stop. After the initial explosion—what sounded like an explosion, anyway—shook the entire hospital, the extended sounds of collapsing, of something large falling apart, went on for a while, the crashing and banging and shattering sounds of destruction in progress. Fara backed into Emilio and pressed against him. She was trembling. He put his hands comfortingly on her shoulders, hoping she couldn’t tell that he was trembling, too.
    “One of those trees,” Fara said.
    Emilio leaned close to her ear and said, “What?”
    She turned her head toward him and said, “One of those huge oak trees outside. They’re as old as dirt. I think one of them fell into the building.” She pointed. “Sounded like the one on the western side.”
    The sounds of the storm seemed to be inside the old hospital now, echoing up and down its corridors, shoving on its doors. Emilio noticed the room suddenly felt colder.
    “If that’s what it was,” Emilio whispered, “sounds like it knocked the shit outta that side of the building.”
    “Yeah, I’m afraid that was a breach,” Ollie said. “Which means there may now be other ways for those people to get out of this building.” He turned to one of his men. “Leave a man on each exit, but get the rest together in the corridor intersection ASAP.”
    The man hurried out.
    Ollie turned to Emilio. “Are you gonna give me shit?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean if your only interest is to get us out of here without spreading this goddamned doomsday plague, I could use your help.”
    Emilio nodded. “Yeah, at this point, that’s my only interest.”
    “Can you shoot a gun?”
    “I’ve been to the range a few times.”
    Ollie turned to Craig, who’d been standing silently with them all night, and said, “You got a handgun you can give him?”
    The man removed his pistol from its holster and handed it to Ollie, who turned and offered it to Emilio.
    “Can you handle that?”
    “A Ruger? Sure.” Emilio took the gun.
    “We might need some muscle, too. Whatever happened out there, it sounds like a mess.” He glanced at Fara. “I think you’re right about that tree. I had a man in that tree, goddammit.”
    Ollie started to head for the door and Emilio began to follow him, but Fara’s hand clutched his elbow and pulled him back.
    “Don’t leave me here,” she whispered.
    “Well . . . I don’t think he’s gonna want you to come with us.”
    “Don’t go out there. I’m scared. I’m serious, Emilio, I’m very scared, I don’t feel safe in here.” She folded her arms across her stomach and looked at their masked guard, then at Ollie, then at Corcoran. “From anyone.” She moved close, pressed herself against Emilio, and he put an arm around her. “And that dead man on the floor over there keeps reminding me that we’re all in a pretty shitty situation. You know?”
    “Yeah, okay,” he said, turning to Ollie. “Look, I’m gonna stay here for now. If you really need my help with something, let me know, but right now, I don’t think I should leave her.”
    Ollie nodded once, then held out his hand. “In that case, give me the gun.”
    Emilio handed him the gun and Ollie handed it back to its owner. He looked at Fara but spoke to Emilio. “Is she sick?”
    “No, she’s just really upset. She’s been through a lot and—”
    Ollie barked an unpleasant laugh. “ She’s been through a lot? Imagine what she’s been putting all those homeless people through, huh? Why don’t you imagine that for a minute or two?” Then he turned to Craig. “Come with me. We’re gonna need all the men we can get out there, I think.”
    “What about them?” the man asked.
    Ollie turned to Emilio, Fara, and Corcoran, who now sat in the chair behind Fara’s desk. “Where are you gonna go? There’s