In The End Box Set | Books 1-3 Stevens, GJ (story books to read TXT) 📖

The rear doors opened and Cassie jumped to my side, pausing as she stared down at the soldier, weighing the decision I'd made only moments earlier.

Eventually taking my place, she helped remove his helmet as he squinted through the pain. I ran around to the back of the crashed Land Rover and pulled open the back doors, reeling as I found the space filled only with two camouflage rucksacks. The passenger and his long rifle were gone.

Pulling the heavy bags by the shoulder straps, I stood back beside the soldier as Cassie knelt. With his helmet on the road, I watched him peer around, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

By the time our Land Rover had given up my plan and backed up, its metal scraping, wood snapping as it withdrew, the chaotic sound was overshadowed as McCole gave a great call and the report of his rifle rattled an assault.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the three creatures behind us who continued their chase.

My reaction was instant and matched Cassie's, grabbing under the guy's arms and dragging the soldier over the sheared end of the tree trunk.

McCole's rifle stopped and another took over.

I glanced back to see that by the time the driver's shots were done, McCole was out on the road, kneeling down to reload. The driver ran around his back, performing a well-practiced role.

We were soon over the long trunk, dragging the soldier despite his fight for us to stop. Doing as he begged, he climbed to his feet with his sidearm out and popped off bullets into the frenzy.

We ran, not able to watch, not able to hope the two creatures still running wouldn't last long enough to leap into the air and make their deadly attack.

Still, I twisted around as we raced forward, looking back as a pained scream lit up the air. A curtain of doom fell around with its grating call, knowing when I turned to face forward a monster from our nightmares would block our way.

I was right and stopped dead in my tracks. Standing on the road was a woman who'd died in her mid-forties, her face still bright with colour, cheeks rouged and lips, I guessed, were the same underneath the blood and sinew dripping from her mouth as it ran down her sweet, daisy-covered white dress, its outlines still visible underneath the dark-scarlet apron.

Sweeping Cassie behind my back, I fired before the gun came level, my hand waving wild with each recoil. Bullet after bullet veered wide until the click of the empty chamber echoed in the sudden quiet.

I watched the creature’s skirt billow as she crouched, not pausing as her legs flung her high in our direction.

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I couldn't step back. I couldn't move. It was all I could do to make myself the biggest target possible, covering Cassie as much as I was able whilst hoping she would make the right choice and run.

High in the air, the creature started its fall. My gaze locked onto its white, unblinking circles, barely hearing the racket of gunfire at my back.

Instead, I watched the monster jerk with a spasmodic movement, whilst feeling the full force of its cold weight as I crumpled to the tarmac.

Surprise forced my eyes wide, rushing through me as Cassie's head bared down close to mine. Behind her, clouds built in the sky until McCole’s pained face blocked out the view.

“Can you get up? We need to go,” her voice said, with an echo I was sure only I heard.

Standing was easier than I'd expected, the heavy weight gone from my chest leaving only the thick crimson stain running down my face and across my front. I spat to the road and a great wad of clots landed, but I knew it wasn't my own as I tried my best to keep my empty stomach from overflowing.

Stepping over the body of the woman who once was, I didn't need Cassie's help to keep myself steady, but took the offer so she'd be close.

McCole ran by our side, his rifle slung over his shoulder beside another heavy-packed rucksack, his face thick with the same frown. In his left hand he held his pistol, his right tucked under his left armpit, but I could still see the growing ring of darkness radiating out and across his camouflaged jacket.

Urged on by them both and the not-so-distant screams reverberating in the air, I cleared my mind of all but keeping one foot in front of the other.

McCole went first, his pistol pointed out as we scraped through a gap in the hedge-line, grateful for the wide-open field the other side.

We ran, then jogged, soon slowing to a walk as the adrenaline cleared and the weight of the packs and our empty stomachs returned.

With a quick change of direction towards a small copse of trees, we settled at the base of a wide oak and slumped to the ground as the memories of the last few moments bore down.

The distant screams hadn't repeated since we'd had grass under our feet and I lifted my head while McCole gave a cough, turning to Cassie as we both remembered his hand.

“Show me,” Cassie said, as we pried off our rucksacks.

McCole squirmed on his butt and he gingerly pulled his hand from under his armpit, but as the blood cascaded he pushed it back under and bit his teeth together hard; he'd lost his pinkie finger.

“QuikClot gauze in the med kit,” he said, his mouth barely moving.

The words of the doctor came back in my head: stop the bleeding quick and he'd have a chance.

Both Cassie and I turned, upending the bags. Mirroring our motions, we rifled through the Aladdin's caves, pushing aside heavy camo bags, bottles of water, warm clothes and ration packs.

We found the dark-green first