The Phoenix Trilogy (Book 1): World On Fire Read Online Free Page A

anger at the creature she knew was trapped there. Crowbar in hand,
Natalie took the stairs to the deck.
        The
zombie in the window, sensing her approach, was shaking harder to get free and
resume its hunt. She couldn't get to its head, but the legs were wide open, and
she'd take any advantage she could get.
         A dull crunching
sound was the only noise made as she brought the metal down across each of the
trapped hunter's knees. Once, twice, and a third time for good measure, until
the sound of breaking bones was replaced with the muffled squish of meaty pulp.
        Glancing
through the gaps in the boards, she could see what had kept the walker occupied for so long. As it had forced its way past the broken
glass and between the wooden panels, it had attempted to pull at a nearby
bookcase to bring it all the way through. Instead, the furniture had tipped
down and crushed its arm against the floor, wedging it down at such an odd
angle that it removed virtually all of the leverage the ghoul had gained. It was left with one usable arm and its legs
flailing uselessly out of the window, its torso caught trying to squeeze
through the small opening. Perfectly set up for an easy kill.
        For
a moment, Natalie considered using the crowbar to tear down the boards covering
the entrance in order to make her way inside. Then an image of how easily a n assailant had gone through her own unfortified door flashed
through her head, and she thought better of it.
        Stepping
back to survey the house, she remembered the upper floor windows weren’t
reinforced. She was sure there was a ladder in the garage of her own hideout
that would let her bypass the defenses completely, while saving them for use
against the horde.
        It
took a few minutes, but before long she had returned with a ladder. Now, to her
dismay, she was left with a new decision to make.
        There
were two windows above her. One, still shut and seemingly out of place in its
normality. The other, open and with the slightest coat of rust-red about its
frame. Natalie felt sick, knowing what she would find up there. She shook her
head and tried to focus. For now, she had business to take care of concerning
her friend downstairs, so she chose to tackle one problem at a time.
        Climbing
the ladder to the closed window, she found she could open it relatively easily
from the outside. Apparently, the last occupant had really been sure that his
security downstairs would keep out any would-be intruders. Taking a deep
breath, she stepped inside.
        The
room was dusty, and it looked like nobody had used it for quite some time. It
was easy to guess why. All over the walls were posters for boy bands and
fashion tips torn out of magazines. It was plain to see that this room had
belonged to a teenager, maybe the man's daughter.
        Natalie
briefly considered that this might not even be his home. He could have been
squatting just the same as she had been, an idea that seemed likely until she
picked up a picture frame that had been placed face down on a nearby dresser.
        There
was no mistaking it was him. In the picture, he was grinning from ear to ear,
while a young girl did her best to look suitably unimpressed. It was taken just
outside of this house on the deck below, and judging by the boxes surrounding
them, it was probably their first day here.
        Normal
lives, once. Given the state of the room, and the fact that she had never seen
a girl around, the outcome was fairly obvious. Somewhere along the line, his
daughter didn't make it. Natalie felt a pang of sympathy for him, and her
dislike of the man softened. Idiot or not, nobody deserved to lose a loved one
like this.
        The
sound of growling downstairs brought her out of her thoughts. Leaving the room
behind, she walked straight down the stairs and toward the trapped monstrosity . It snapped its teeth once before she took the cap of
its head off with a single sharp