Capital Falling | Book 4 | Sever Winkless, Lance (most popular ebook readers TXT) 📖

of sight of the top step. With my focus caught on the dead upside-down face, I missed the squelching sound that now seems so clear. But it is not until I see the movement above, and beyond the head that I realise that the man’s body is being fed upon.

Suddenly the rasping sound returns and a Rabid rises off the body below it, its head floating up as if by magic from behind the petrified dead face. The back half of the creature’s navy-blue blazer is still almost in pristine condition, in complete contrast to the double-breasted front, which is doused in thick red blood.

Oblivious to me crouched down near the bottom of the flight of stairs, watching the scene in horror, the creature continues to stare down at its meal below. The beasts lower face, in profile to me, glistens with its meal’s red liquid, the light reflecting off its jaw as it chews on its mouthful of flesh.

With my sudden fright passing, if not my horror, I begin to stand and as I do the Rabid finally notices me. The creature turns its head in my direction, its jaw working overtime to chew up its meat. The beast gives me a cursory look before jerking its head back to allow its mouth full of flesh to slide down its throat. As soon as its mouth is empty, it turns away from me, its back bending to let it carry on with its feast.

My M4 spits a bullet straight through the Rabids temple just before its mouth reaches its goal. Instantly, the creature’s back releases its head, to flop straight down and into the gorged-out hole in the petrified man’s torso, where it sinks in and comes to a stop.

I stumble up the remaining steps to reach the halfway point to the next floor, where the gruesome scene is frozen in time. I try to be careful not to tread in any of the blood that is seeping down the steps or that is pooled around the dead Rabid and its meal. I am fairly sure that the petrified man is dead, but I fire a bullet through the bottom of his chin to be certain, his brain matter ejected, only adding to the slip hazard on the stairs. I think that my first instinct that he hit his head is right, because if he hadn’t, he would have turned into a Rabid himself.

In my over-eagerness to leave the torrid scene behind me, I turn for the remaining steps up to floor seven. I am out of position; however, my rifle is not leading the way and my eyes linger too long on the blood and guts below.

A Rabid launches itself at me from the steps above, stunning me. How long it had been watching me? I don’t know, for long enough, is all I can think as my camouflage from the undead slips and the baying creature hits me across the shoulders. Only the wall behind stops me from going down and hitting the ground. The blow knocks the wind out of me, nevertheless. In reflex, my hand releases the M4, which is useless down by my side and my arms push up to try and stop the Rabid’s frenzied attack.

I lock eyes with the terrifying Rabid’s, and only rage and hate stare back at me. The creature’s teeth snap at my face, desperate to gorge on my flesh. Hands grip tightly onto my shoulders and I strain to keep the teeth away from me. The female’s long blond hair waves in the air as its rage increases and its head jerks back, ready to strike again.

A chilling screech echoes out from the floors above as our fight continues and it is instantly followed by a clattering sound. Other Rabids have heard our struggle and even now are descending the stairwell, rushing to join in the feeding frenzy.

Gathering all my strength, I push my arms up further, lifting the slender body of the female Rabid with them, my hands now gripping tightly under her armpits. The motion sends the Rabid to an even higher state of rage as its mouth moves away from its target and the flesh it craves.

In one swift motion, I step forward, with the Rabid held in the air and push my arms out with all the force I can muster. At my maximum extension, I release my grip and throw the creature over the side of the stairwell, and with a whimpering screech, the Rabid plummets down through the air and smashes into the hard floor outside door six. The Rabids stocking-clad legs hit the ground first with a sickening crunch as its bones crumble beneath it, the force of the fall carrying it into the corner next to the door.

Shriek’s blast of out the Rabid’s mouth, whether from pain or anger at the loss of its meal, I couldn’t say and don’t have time to ponder. The next attack is upon me and I reach down to retrieve the M4 from my side, quickly whipping it up to meet the threat.

The first Rabid careers around the corner, its speed slamming into the wall opposite the stairwell’s handrail. The blow doesn’t faze the creature and it quickly scrambles to carry on its descent, its eyes fixed on me.

I step to the side bringing the M4 to bear, the back of my foot kicking into the Rabid hunched over with its head sunk into the guts of the torn open belly of the petrified man. My aim is true and the M4 spits out a bullet at the Rabid above, the bullet hits home straight into the face of the Rabid as it is about to launch itself at me. Blood and brains splatter onto the wall and the Rabid tumbles down the flight of stairs, head over heels.

Next to me, my kick has overbalanced the Rabid behind me and it topples sideways with a squelching sound, as its head pulls out of the