Together they turned. They headed down the hallway following it to the back of the building.
39
Jimmy helped Robert down the hallway with Rachel on his other side. Robert was directing them which way to go. The hallways looked like a maze. Everything looked the same. It felt even worse than that.
Every hundred feet or so, they came to a new intersection with three new ways to go. Robert kept them going straight. Eventually they reached a door with a red light exit sign at the top of it.
Jimmy leaned Robert to Rachel.
She wrapped her left arm around his waist.
Jimmy pushed open the door, using the panic bar across the center of the door and stepped outside. He took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he gasped.
Rachel and Robert stepped out behind him.
“This is going to be a problem.” Jimmy found himself standing on a landing of some type, up off the ground by a few feet. He looked right then left, and then turned skyward. Buildings on all sides of them surrounded them. Windows lined each building. Shadows were everywhere and worse yet, after he looked up, he could see the sky had already turned pink. With the shadows, there was darkness. With night coming, they were out of time. He turned around, stepping towards a small set of stairs at the front of the landing, and stopped. “What now?” Everything seemed overbearing. He had no idea what to do about it.
Robert took a deep breath, taking everything in. “We have to find a way out of town. We have to hide while we do it.”
Rachel sighed.
“That’s going to be awfully hard to do.” Jimmy looked Rachel in her eyes. He took another deep breath, and noticed the hint of staleness and decay on the air around them. He thought it might be coming from one of the buildings, but he just wasn’t sure. All he knew was they were there, somewhere, and that death seemed to come from everywhere with them. He looked back to the row of windows directly across from them. “I smell death.” He looked right and left. With another deep breath, he could also smell a heavy must within the smell decay. “I smell wolves. I smell a lot of them.” He blinked.
“We’re wasting time Jimmy. We don’t have a choice.” Robert took his right shoulder into his right hand and squeezed. He was right—they didn’t have any other choice but just to move on and find away.
Jimmy nodded meeting his stare. He turned back to the stairs and jumped down to the center of the small alleyway they found themselves standing in. He turned back and helped Rachel with Robert down the steps. Seeing just over his left shoulder, down the alleyway behind him, he could see several bright halos step out from the shadows and darkness. Four of them were a tan color and another looked orange with a hint of red in it. Seeing them, he sighed long and deep. “We have company.” He moved Robert behind him.
Rachel went with her brother.
Everyone turned to the direction Jimmy was looking.
They each saw five people between the buildings. They stood there at the end of the alleyway and were obviously looking right at them.
Rachel held her breath as she took Robert again under his right arm and over her shoulder. She didn’t hesitate as she turned with him and headed off in the opposite direction from the people. She pulled him.
He helped her move.
Jimmy felt them leave him, turned and followed them in a steady jog.
When they reached an intersection in the alleyway, they all stopped. Like it was inside the building they just left, they found three different ways to go. And just like the hallways, they all looked the same.
Jimmy took the time to look back at the five people behind them and felt surprised to see them gone. “Where the hell did they go?”
Robert didn’t like the sound of his question. He turned back and saw it for himself. “They’re hunting us Jimmy. They’re pushing us into the direction they want us to go.” He stated what was on his thoughts.
Jimmy nodded. “You can read minds too?” He thought of Kenny again. Kenny was damn good at it too.
Robert shook his head. “No. I lack that gift.” He looked to the three directions before them. “I just know how they think.” He looked left and saw another building at the end of that particular alley. It was bare of anything. Seeing it, he shook his head, and looked right. Again, he saw a building at the end of that one too. Every building here looked the same. They each had what looked like three floors. Every floor had windows. Every window was a threat. They would see them in the alleyway, but they in the alley wouldn’t see them. Knowing this, seeing what he had, he knew he needed more than that. If the fight came, and he knew it would, he needed more to use. He needed objects. He needed something with weight to it. He turned straight and saw yet another building at the end of that one too, but he also saw something else. Two cars, four door sedans at that, lined it towards the end of it. The cars, he figured, would work just fine. “We go straight.” He nudged Rachel in that direction.
She nodded and jogged on.
Jimmy turned and watched them move.
They passed the cars. The came to the building at the end of the alley and stopped. There were no other ways to go. It looked like a dead end.
Finding that, Jimmy lost his cool. “Fuck!” He looked left saw windows, and then turned right, and saw even more windows there. Seeing all of that, he looked back to Robert and Rachel. “Now what? We’re trapped.”
Robert pulled his arm off his sister’s shoulder and turned back the way they came. Back at the last intersection, the five shadows were back. Seeing them, he winced. Did he have what he needed? Did he give them the chance to live? He could only hope he did the right thing, but only time would tell if he did.
Jimmy heard the wince and saw the look on his face. He didn’t like both. Turning, the halos were back. The tan ones now looked different. They looked like they were on their hands and knees. He knew instantly what that meant. They turned. They’re getting ready to fight.
Rachel turned and saw the wolves. She heard their snarls. She heard them breathe, raspy and crisp.
Jimmy responded to seeing them by undoing the button of his jeans. “I’m going to give you two as much time as I can.” He turned and looked to Robert. “Get her out of here, run.” He looked to Rachel and gave her a smile. “I’ll find you.”
Robert shook his head. “No. You can protect her better than I can Jimmy.” He heard the wolves’ growls. He took a deep breath and looked at the two cars parked just to his left and right. Just in front of the car, on his left, stood two metal garbage cans, each with lids. Seeing them, he smiled.
Rachel shook her head. “All three of us can do this. We shouldn’t separate. We need to stick together.” She didn’t like where this was going. It felt wrong. Nothing felt right.
“Someone needs to stay here and give you time.” Robert stood up straight. The wound on his shoulder felt so much better, and feeling it that way, gave him strength. He could concentrate. He could do this. He looked back to Jimmy. “They can’t beat you Jimmy. You are more important than me.” He smiled.
Jimmy nodded. He knew what he told him was right. He didn’t know how, he just did. He turned to Rachel, stepped in front of her and took her right hand into his. “We have to go.”
Again, she shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving him.” She fought his grip. “He’s hurt. He won’t be able to fight them alone.” She managed to free her hands.
Robert turned to her, took her by the shoulders, and held her straight to him. “I’m better Rachel. I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before so trust me. Remember what I told you.” He smiled. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. Quickly, he released her and turned back to the alleyway. “Now go!”
The four wolves crouched down at the shoulders. They readied their hind legs for the pounce.
Rachel screamed, “No! We can’t do this!”
Jimmy grabbed her left arm and pulled. “We have to go Rachel.” She fought him some, but he managed and pulled her towards the wall of the building on his left.
Jimmy came to the wall. He went straight for one of the large windows lining it and smashed its glass. It shattered all around his feet.
Cleared, he pulled Rachel to the window. He practically pushed her through it and into the building.
Robert watched them leave. When they were gone, he turned back to Samantha and her friends. “It’s nice to see you again Samantha. How’s the wrist?”
Samantha hissed. “You really are rather pompous aren’t you wanderer?” Of course, the wrist still hurt some. Gold was such a terrible thing in deed. “You never did change did you?” She smiled.
He smiled too. “Why are you doing this Samantha? What’s in it for you?”
“The old ways. I miss them.”
“How can you? You weren’t even alive then?”
“My mommy told me stories when I was young.” She laughed.
“You and your friends don’t have to do this you know? You can just go. I won’t hurt you. I won’t have to kill you.” He felt for the cars. He felt for the trashcans and lids. He felt the air all around him, feeling every particle of dust. He felt every ounce of moisture around him. He could feel everything. He could feel every molecule of air.
She laughed harder this time. She couldn’t believe him. She couldn’t believe how far he would go. “You’re out matched Rochie. But then again, you never could see that could you?”
He clenched his fists. “I’m not Rochie anymore Samantha. The name’s Robert.”
She laughed. “Well you wanderers do look all alike.” She rose out her arms. She glanced with her head left then right. Her pets seemed ready. “Get him boys.” She lowered her arms down hard with a slap to each hip.
All four wolves pounced. They pushed hard. They kicked with everything they had.
Robert felt the bounce. He saw the charge. He closed his eyes, taking in everything he felt. When he opened them again, they now burned with a powerful deep blue color that practically lit up his face. His power flowed through him like hot water flows through soft butter. It heated his very core.
The first wolf jumped. It kept to its right and his left. It flew up to the top of the car’s trunk then roof.
Robert felt its jump. He felt the car beneath it bounce, its springs coiled at the tires. Feeling the coil, he pushed them up with a blast.
As soon as the wolf hit the roof, and as soon as it was about to jump to the hood, the car beneath it, moved up at it. The forced of the entire car came up, crushing into its legs. It continued as it flipped towards the wall on its left.
The entire car crashed the wolf into the wall with its roof. The roof caved in, and the wolf instantly smashed into it and the wall.
Letting the car go, Robert blinked and looked right. The second wolf made it to the car and by the time he saw it, it jumped to the hood. He knew instantly that he couldn’t use the car and went back to the other objects in his thoughts.
He felt for the cans. He felt for the lid closest to him. He looked to the can and then lifted his left hand to it.
The wolf jumped from the hood.
The lid of the can swung out, looking like a Frisbee flying through the air. It stuck the wolf at its neck just as it came up in the air. The lid kept going, flying through it and severing its head from its body until it came out the other side. Blood splattered everywhere as the wolf’s body slid back down, turned back to its human shape, and came to a dead stop maybe five feet from his feet. Its head went with the lid, and both smacked the wall to his right.
He felt the lid leave his mind, looked back, and saw a third wolf stop just to the side of the remaining car. A fourth wolf was already on its hood. They looked at each other with wide deep yellow eyes.
“That’s right. Who’s next?” He smiled. He readied for anything they were about to do. As for him, he had one car left. He had one more trashcan lid too.
The wolves hesitated. They looked concerned. They looked almost scared.
Samantha watched the car flip over to the wall. She watched the can lid fly through the air to her left. She heard the yelp of both wolves as they died. She saw the other ones stop. Seeing their weakness, she had enough.
Screeching with a bellowing roar, Robert watched her turn. He saw her hands form into wings with her fingers growing long and strong. He watched her hair fall out and her head turn pure white. Formed, on all fours, and with a huge gust of wind, she flew up. He watched her leave the ground. “Oh fuck.” He looked back to the wolves, and just caught them as they pounced forward towards him.
Reacting as fast as he could, he felt for one of the cans, grabbed it, and pulled it.
The first can, almost looking like it jumped off the ground, flew through the air with a metal on pavement crashing, rubbing sound. It smacked into the side of the first wolf, sending it off towards his right.
The other wolf waded around it and its friend.
The first wolf struck the wall. He turned his attention back to the other one, and realized he had nothing in him to grab. Instead, instinctively, he brought up his hands, looking like a boxer ready for a match.
The wolf jumped him.
He swung with his right.
His fist hit the wolf’s right at the side of its head.
The impact carried it to his left, and it fell hard back to the pavement and rolled over several times until it stopped several yards from him.
He pulled his arm back, catching the pain that raked through his knuckles as it wound its way up his arm and into his shoulder. The wound in his shoulder also screamed. He did the same as he reached for it and fell to his knees.
He looked back to the wolf he punched and watched it pick itself back up to its paws. It looked dazed. He found pride in the sight, but even that failed when he watched a pair of bare looking woman’s legs land in between the beast and him. He followed the legs up, finding a naked Samantha now standing there and smiling down at him.
“You wanderers never learn do you Rochie?” She stepped once towards him. The wolf behind her was now at her side.
The second wolf he heard move the can. He looked to the sound and watched it come at his right. Seeing all of them, he winced. But he also saw something else. He saw two forms coming down the alley behind Samantha. One of them looked huge and black. The other looked thin and suddenly blurred. He looked back to Samantha and smiled, feeling better than ever.
“What you walkers never learned is friendship Samantha.” The blur became Brandon and he was now standing directly behind her.
She must have felt him there. The look on her face turned from a smile to fear all at once.
40
Jimmy led Rachel deep into building. He truly had no idea where he was going, but he knew that he had to keep moving. They found themselves running through what looked like a large empty warehouse floor. It looked huge. Pillars were everywhere as they stood like trees holding up the second floor. He led her to the end of the floor and found a door. He opened it finding a set of stair that went up.
“We have to keep going.” He pushed her through the doorway. The sounds of a large crashing echoed to them from behind them. Hearing it, his heart gripped him. He knew what it meant. They reached Robert. If he was right, they were gaining on them. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to hold them off. He joined her on the first step, letting the door close behind him all by itself.
They ran up the stairs. He found yet another door at the next small landing, tried to open it, but it wouldn’t open. Now, he started to get worried. “This is wrong.” He turned and looked past her standing on the top step and looked back down the stairs.
She could see the worry on his face. He had true fear in his eyes. “What is it?”
“We need to leave the building …not head up again.”
She nodded. “We can’t go back. Yo
u heard the crash.”
He breathed. “You’re right.” He turned to his left to a new set of stairs that continued up. From outside, seeing the windows he knew there were only three floors to this building. There was also the roof. Neither one sat well with his instincts. In fact, he started to feel like a mouse in a maze. He could only hope that there was no one there forcing them to go the way they wanted them to go.
Like it or not, they had to move on. They had to hope. They had to go.
He headed to the stairs and ran up them, leading her with his left hand into hers.
They reached the next landing and stopped at the door. He readied himself for anything as he reached for the handle to it. It flipped open with ease. He pulled open the door and pulled her inside. As the door closed behind him, he turned back to it, noticing that he could hear what sounded like running on the concrete steps coming up behind them. He didn’t like that. They weren’t alone. They were still after them. They were following them to the third floor.
He ran back to the door. He studied the handle, hoping to find a way to lock it. He didn’t see anything. That figures. He slammed the door hard with an open right palm. He felt helpless and unforgiving. Hopeless was only the beginning.
Rachel watched him turn. She watched him bang on the door with a solid thump. Suddenly, and quite shockingly at that, someone came up behind her and grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her back from him. All she could do was go with them. All she could do was scream with a sense of shallowness to his back. “Jimmy!”
He turned around.
This floor looked like it was filled with offices. They were now standing in a long wide hallway that stretched out from the stairs. It was lined with doors on either side of it. In the center of the hallway was Rachel. She wasn’t alone. Ten, maybe more than that, other people were with her. They were all wearing black clothes. They were all wearing black masks that covered their faces just below their eyes. To Jimmy they looked like some kind of Ninjas from the movies. When they pulled out long silver colored swords, he thought that was they actually were.
A Werewolf's Saga Books 4, 5, & 6 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 2) Page 18