Stone Guardian Read Online Free Page A

men in front of her. Skidding to a stop she rotated on her foot, turning to go the opposite direction, but found that the three who had been trailing her had already come out of the side street and had now surrounded her.
    Her heart beat double time, a staccato that urged flight, but no avenue was open. The men had formed a loose circle, blocking any escape, and several more beings coming from various directions. All she could do was stand there.
    The wash of tears clouded her vision. Images of Dad, of her brothers, of school and Olivia and even her damned stuffed giraffe she had since kindergarten.
    They bore down on her, their heads still covered by hoods. Thin hand with a skeletal appearance reached out for her, the faint whiff of decay in the air around them, like meat that had been left out.
    She wrapped her arms around her middle, hunched over for protection from that first touch.
    The primal scream ripped through the air again, closer this time, and a mountain of a man with wings descended from the sky at a rapid pace.
    He landed on the street before her with such force the pavement under her feet shook. No, he wasn’t a man. Stone-grey skin, long black hair, and those huge wings, but before she could get a better look the creature advanced on the things that surrounded her.
    The hooded men turned their attention to the creature. One of them rushed forward, but the creature picked him up by the front of the hoodie with one hand and threw the man against the building, the impact causing the hood to fall away and reveal his face.
    One eye bounced against its cheek, only a ligament keeping the eye attached to the body, while on the opposite side of the face the skin of its jaw was gone and the white bone underneath visible. Its nose was half chewed away and the remaining skin was bloated and pus filled.
    Larissa screamed, her hands covering her eyes in reflex against the wrongness .
    Zombies? Zombies here? No, not in the protected zone, it couldn’t be. Things like these weren’t allowed to be here.
    Zombies meant…
    Zombies meant…
    “This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening…” But it was, and Larissa clenched her jaw hard to stop the flow of unconscious words. What would Dad say, what would Dad say?
    Always be aware of your surroundings, kiddo.
    Larissa forced her hands down and watched as the zombies brought out knives and flung themselves at the creature. He towered over the zombies, but for something as big as he was, the creature was graceful, dodging the weapons while he used his wings, hands, and tail to fight off his enemies.
    The creature ripped off one zombie’s arm and threw him against the wall. The zombie hit hard and tumbled to the ground, the severed arm landing a few feet away. The zombie rose and grabbed the arm, pushing it back against the socket. Before her eyes the flesh mended together, and once again the zombie had use of the arm.
    It flung itself back into the battle. This time the winged creature tore off its head before he threw it away. There was no more movement after that.
    There had to be at least fifty zombies swarming the creature. They were so engrossed in their fight they momentarily forgot about her.
    Move! Run away!
    A sharp zing raced through her body and broke the frozen panic that engulfed her. Let the monsters fight between themselves, she needed to get to her car.
    Her car was on the other side of a nearby alleyway, and after a quick look around confirmed nothing was near her, she ran full-speed toward they alley. As she neared the entrance something grabbed her ankle.
    Larissa put her hands out to protect her face as she fell. Her wrist throbbed and the pressure she put on it to push herself up instead caused it to give way under her. She flipped over onto her back, but before she could try to stand once more a zombie loomed above, milky eyes intent on her.
    She used the heels of her hands and feet in an effort to push herself out from