The Portal by Poe Christopher Allan

Author:Poe, Christopher Allan [Poe, Christopher Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Paranormal Thriller
ISBN: 9781937329129
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Published: 2011-10-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

THE HALLWAY STRETCHED before Vivian, cool and dark as a train tunnel. Keeping one hand on the wall for guidance, she tried to keep a safe distance from Jarod, whose stench grew more rotten by the second.

Blindly, they inched forward, until reaching the balcony. Above, stars through the skylight gave the estate a twilight glow. Leon crouched at the top of the staircase. He held up his palm to say stop.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. “I’m going down to check if it’s safe.”

“If you leave us here—” Jarod took several short breaths. “I will find you.”

“Of course you will.” Leon turned and moved silently downstairs.

Cody wrapped his arms around her neck so tightly, that she had trouble breathing.

“We’re almost there,” she whispered in his ear.

Still clutching his arm to his chest, Jarod leaned against the wall for support. He closed his eyes. Could one bullet in his shoulder have done so much damage? She hoped so. Leon reappeared at the foot of the stairs and waved them forward.

Halfway down, Jarod began staggering. She desperately tried to hold him up. As he tumbled, the stairway shook, finishing with a sickening thud as his head smacked the marble floor.

“Move,” Leon whisper shouted. He put Jarod’s arm over his shoulder, and she ran downstairs. Blood, black as motor oil in the dark, dripped from a gash in his forehead.

“He’s coming.” Cody gripped her hair and pulled it.

They ran to the double oak doors of the library. As Vivian walked inside, she held one arm forward to avoid bumping into anything. Leon shut the doors behind her.

“Mommy.”

“It’s okay, baby.” She kissed his cheek. “We’ll be safe soon.”

Leon clicked on his flashlight and handed it to her. The thin beam barely held back the darkness. He locked the doors to the library.

“He’s here,” Cody said.

“Where?” She shined the light around the library. “Where is he, baby?”

He pointed to the doors from which they’d just come.

“Open the panels to the safe room.” Leon began dragging Jarod under his arms. “I’ll meet you there.”

“The power is off.”

“It has its own backup battery,” he said. “Hurry.”

A rattle came from the door, and something flicked her face. Shining the beam over, she saw wood chips flitter to the ground. Another bullet hole punched through the door handle. Stromsky was right outside.

“Move now,” Leon shouted.

The light beam bounced erratically as she raced behind the center bookshelf. Feeling under Jarod’s desk, she pushed the switch. Twenty feet away, mechanized wall panels pushed outwards and slid to the side. Leon set Jarod down and keyed in the code. A piston released the inner vault doors.

Gunshots forced her to the ground. She smothered Cody underneath her. Glancing up, she saw Leon drag Jarod by his shirt, backing up as he fired his gun.

“Kill that light,” he shouted.

She clicked it off. Muzzle flashes strobed his body in the darkness. He took cover in the niche created by the safe room doors.

“Get in here,” he said to her.

As she stood, bullets cracked into the wood next to her head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.