Orpheus Born Read Online Free Page A
Author: Dan DeWitt
pretty stupid. They wouldn't think to pull. But give them something to push through and they become a wrecking ball.
To sum up: surrounded by zombies, an inward-swinging door with no lock, and, because they were in a bathroom, nothing to barricade the door with other than their own bodies.
I could see that Mutt wasn't ready for something like this. I doubt he'd ever had to fire at a human being, let alone kill one. I was unfortunate enough to have to kill two men during my military career. Just two, and it was either them or me, but it weighs me down like ten thousand. I doubt the nightmares will ever go away for good.
The guy on the radio needed to hear just one thing, and Mutt couldn't do it. I easily could have passed it off to Anders, but that bastard probably would have enjoyed it, and I wasn't going to let those poor people downstairs die with his words ringing in their ears. I was already piling up the failures; what was one more?
I put out my hand for the radio. You have to understand something: Mutt's become my friend. My best friend. But at that moment I hated him for letting me take the radio. I wanted him to knock my hand away and do his job.
I headed into the storage room. There was an overhead light, and the power in the building was still on, but I stayed in the dark. I thought that if I even glanced at my hand I'd lose my nerve, and those people would suffer for it.
The guy's name was Ed, and he was trapped with five other people. I didn't want to know if they were men, women, or, God forbid, kids. I didn't want names, either. I needed Ed's name to get through to him, that's all.
I kept my voice low and asked him if anyone else could hear me; he said that he could barely hear me. I explained to him the situation as calmly and rationally as I could, when I just wanted to go back downstairs, guns blazing, and get them out.
"Ed, listen to me. Those things are going to get in. They're going to get in soon. And they will tear you and your people apart."
"There's got to be another way!"
"If there were another way, I'd be using it. Believe me." I swallowed hard before I said the next thing. "You're going to die, Ed. There is no hope for you. I'm sorry."
"You don't mean..."
"I do mean it!" I started to raise my voice. I wasn't angry (not at him, at least) but I was trying to get his adrenaline flowing so he could be the bad guy. "If you're lucky, you'll die quick and not come back. If you're not lucky, you'll become one of those fucking things! Is that what you want?"
Ed keyed his radio but didn't say anything for a moment. In the background I heard someone yell, "What are we gonna do?!? They're gonna get in!!!"
"What do I do?"
"You get close to your friends. You reassure them. And then you shoot them in the head as fast as you can. The bodies will hold the door long enough for you to-"
Jesus Christ, I really said this stuff.
"I can't!"
"Yes, you fucking can! You're the only one who can save those people! So quit being a coward, do your job, and save them! Do it! DO IT!!!"
I heard the shots through the floor. They were mixed in with some shouts; I might have been standing right on top of them.
There were a total of eight shots.
That meant that a couple of people needed more than one. There was a long pause between shots, and I thought it was over, then I heard a man's voice screaming the Lord's Prayer. One last shot punctuated "AMEN!"
It was finally over. That part at least.
That whole exchange couldn't have taken longer than two minutes. I spent the next several composing myself, because leadership had been transferred to me, and I had to act the part. My hand kept returning to fiddle with my sidearm. Feeling the way I was at that moment, that was dangerous. I willed my hands to feel around on the shelves for a distraction. I grabbed a box of toothpicks, pulled one out, and snapped it between my thumb and forefinger. I broke another one in the same manner.
I went through the entire box before
To sum up: surrounded by zombies, an inward-swinging door with no lock, and, because they were in a bathroom, nothing to barricade the door with other than their own bodies.
I could see that Mutt wasn't ready for something like this. I doubt he'd ever had to fire at a human being, let alone kill one. I was unfortunate enough to have to kill two men during my military career. Just two, and it was either them or me, but it weighs me down like ten thousand. I doubt the nightmares will ever go away for good.
The guy on the radio needed to hear just one thing, and Mutt couldn't do it. I easily could have passed it off to Anders, but that bastard probably would have enjoyed it, and I wasn't going to let those poor people downstairs die with his words ringing in their ears. I was already piling up the failures; what was one more?
I put out my hand for the radio. You have to understand something: Mutt's become my friend. My best friend. But at that moment I hated him for letting me take the radio. I wanted him to knock my hand away and do his job.
I headed into the storage room. There was an overhead light, and the power in the building was still on, but I stayed in the dark. I thought that if I even glanced at my hand I'd lose my nerve, and those people would suffer for it.
The guy's name was Ed, and he was trapped with five other people. I didn't want to know if they were men, women, or, God forbid, kids. I didn't want names, either. I needed Ed's name to get through to him, that's all.
I kept my voice low and asked him if anyone else could hear me; he said that he could barely hear me. I explained to him the situation as calmly and rationally as I could, when I just wanted to go back downstairs, guns blazing, and get them out.
"Ed, listen to me. Those things are going to get in. They're going to get in soon. And they will tear you and your people apart."
"There's got to be another way!"
"If there were another way, I'd be using it. Believe me." I swallowed hard before I said the next thing. "You're going to die, Ed. There is no hope for you. I'm sorry."
"You don't mean..."
"I do mean it!" I started to raise my voice. I wasn't angry (not at him, at least) but I was trying to get his adrenaline flowing so he could be the bad guy. "If you're lucky, you'll die quick and not come back. If you're not lucky, you'll become one of those fucking things! Is that what you want?"
Ed keyed his radio but didn't say anything for a moment. In the background I heard someone yell, "What are we gonna do?!? They're gonna get in!!!"
"What do I do?"
"You get close to your friends. You reassure them. And then you shoot them in the head as fast as you can. The bodies will hold the door long enough for you to-"
Jesus Christ, I really said this stuff.
"I can't!"
"Yes, you fucking can! You're the only one who can save those people! So quit being a coward, do your job, and save them! Do it! DO IT!!!"
I heard the shots through the floor. They were mixed in with some shouts; I might have been standing right on top of them.
There were a total of eight shots.
That meant that a couple of people needed more than one. There was a long pause between shots, and I thought it was over, then I heard a man's voice screaming the Lord's Prayer. One last shot punctuated "AMEN!"
It was finally over. That part at least.
That whole exchange couldn't have taken longer than two minutes. I spent the next several composing myself, because leadership had been transferred to me, and I had to act the part. My hand kept returning to fiddle with my sidearm. Feeling the way I was at that moment, that was dangerous. I willed my hands to feel around on the shelves for a distraction. I grabbed a box of toothpicks, pulled one out, and snapped it between my thumb and forefinger. I broke another one in the same manner.
I went through the entire box before
Readers choose
Bill Pronzini
Lynne Heitman
Wendy Etherington
Dana V. Moison
Robert Don Hughes
Jerry Ahern
Allan Massie
Benjamin Wallace