Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Forty Six

"Leah!"

Jared's yell gave Leah a second of warning before one of the creatures struck. It's claw embedded in her calf, yanking her back and away from the speaker, and she fell. Her chest thudded against the ground, her scream cut short as the wind was knocked from her.

The creature dragged her another metre, pulling her back towards the portal, and Leah's head spun with pain. She was still holding the cable though, still clinging to the best hope they had, and she pulled her gun out with her free hand and twisted, lining the barrel up with the arm that was pulling her.

The shot sounded like an explosion in the small room, but it worked. Bullets seemed to do nothing to these creatures when aimed at their torsos. But their arms were thinner, weaker, and the creature jerked back, it's claws ripping from her leg and causing as much damage on the way out as it had going in. But she was free.

It darted backwards, the silence of it's movements eerie, and Leah scrambled away, getting as far from where she'd previously been with as little noise as possible, trying to throw the creatures off her scent.

It was hard though. Blood gushed from her calf, slicking the concrete and making her shoes slip and squeak, and another creature loomed over her.

Jared was there before it could strike though. He slashed out, severing the arm that reached for her, and then he was between them, shielding her.

Leah got her feet beneath her, putting as much weight on her good leg as possible, and lunged for the speaker again.

She hauled it upright and slammed the power chord back into it's slot.

Nothing came out — the low level hum gone.

She pulled the chord out and tried again.

Still nothing.

"Shit," Leah muttered. "Shit, shit, shit."

"It's broken," she hissed over her shoulder at Jared.

She was still fiddling with it, trying to get it working, when Jared grabbed her arm and yanked her to the stairs, pushing her ahead of him.

"We have to go," he said.

His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument, and when Leah glanced over her shoulder, she saw why.

Another three of those creatures had entered the room, the hazy form of even more appearing in the dark, inky surface of the portal. If they stayed down here any longer, they wouldn't get out.

Leah turned and raced up the stairs, every step sending pain slashing up her leg. She could feel the muscles in her calf tearing, doing even more damage as her head spun, the blood loss already taking its toll.

Jared stayed at her back, firing off shots as they retreated, and the noise echoed around the small, concreted stairwell like explosions.

Leah emerged onto the ground floor and sprinted for the front door. She glanced over her shoulder and found Jared right on her heels, gun still in hand and that book clutched under his arm.

She could feel the energy pulsing from him, feel the impatience, and she knew he was holding back because of her.

One of the creatures careened into the corridor behind them and Jared spun, shooting the creature in such close quarters that the force sent it crashing into the wall.

Another was already roaring up the stairs though, darting around its fallen comrade, and Leah pushed herself harder. Her breath was echoing in her ears, her vision starting to tunnel. But the front door was ahead. She could see it's bright outline, and she raced towards it, telling herself she just had to get out, just had to get into the sun.