Escape by T.W. Piperbrook Read Free Book Online

hands, and the woman’s frail body seemed to cave underneath her touch. After a few seconds she stopped.
    There was no use. Try as she might, there was nothing she could do. Sheila Guthright was dead.
    Meredith covered her face with her hands and sobbed into the empty barn.

7
    D an raised his pistol at the creatures on the roof, ready to expend his last few rounds of ammunition. Sandy crouched behind him. If he had to guess, there were about ten of the things in front of him: no matter how good his aim was, he wouldn’t be able to hit them all. His only option was to incapacitate as many as he could and try to create an opening.
    He trained his gun on the closest creature—a man with an unkempt bloodied beard and flannel shirt—and squeezed off a round into its head. The thing staggered back, bumping into two others behind it and collapsing to the pavement. Dan swiveled to his left, shooting a woman-creature with long dark hair, and then fired two more rounds into two things behind it.
    He continued to fire until his gun clicked empty and he was out of ammunition. He’d managed to fell about six of the creatures. There were still four remaining, and they charged at him with mouths agape.
    Among them were two males and two females; all were equidistant from where he stood.
    He lashed out with his foot, catching one of the males in the ankle, sending it toppling downward, then struck another male in the face with his fist. The creature’s cheek was cold and hard, and the impact jarred his knuckles.
    In spite of the pain, he kept on. The things had pressed Sandy and him backward so they were only a few feet from the edge of the roof: if they weren’t mauled first, they were destined to fall.
    He needed to create a diversion, an opening.
    “Get ready to run!” he shouted to Sandy.
    One of the creatures lunged at Dan—a woman in a floral-print dress—and he grabbed it by the fabric and flung it from the roof. Of the three creatures remaining, only one was on its feet.
    “Go!” he yelled to Sandy.
    The girl darted from behind him, making a beeline for the entrance.
    The last female latched onto his arm.
    Dan wrenched himself away and took a step closer to the roof. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pavement looming thirty feet below. He attempted to sidestep, but the two things on the ground had recovered, and the three creatures had walled him in.
    There was nowhere to go.
    He covered his head with his hands, trying to push his way between them, but none budged. Hot breath filled the air above, drawing closer, and he thrashed his arms to no avail.
    Was this the end? After all they’d been through, would this be his demise?
    He’d almost given up when a familiar voice rang out across the rooftop.
    “Dad! Duck!”
    Dan dropped to the ground. Gunshots rocked the air above him, and he pressed himself against the asphalt. One by one the creatures collapsed on top of him, crushing him in a tangle of limbs. He wrenched his body from side to side, doing his best to free himself.
    This time he was able to fling them off.
    He emerged from the heap and stared at his daughter’s frail form across the rooftop.
    In her hands was the pistol he’d given her.
    “Quinn!”
    She lowered the gun. Sandy was standing behind her. Both of them appeared unharmed.
    He sprang across the rooftop, covering the gap between them, and held his daughter close. She handed him the weapon.
    “Are you mad at me?” she asked.
    “For what?”
    “Leaving the car.”
    “Not at all. Thank God you did,” he said. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done otherwise.”
    He glanced over at Sandy, who was still shaking. He opened his arms and embraced her as well.
    “Now let’s all get the hell out of here.”

    Three pairs of footsteps clapped the stairwell as the survivors made their way down them, hands linked in a human chain. The bank had returned to silence.
    When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Dan paused, halting them