The Shining City: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (Beyond These Walls Book 19) by Michael Robertson

Author:Michael Robertson [Robertson, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

The lumpy ground and the sharp decline combined to send a jolt through Eleanor with every step as she and the others descended into the deep valley. Gravity spurred her on like a hard shove to the back, forcing her through her reluctance. She’d never chicken out. No chance. But that didn’t mean she had to look forward to what lay ahead. She pointed at the pipe running up the side of the city’s steel wall. It ran nearly all the way to the top. “That’s the⁠—”

“Main sewage pipe.” Blink bent down and scooped up a large rock. She handed it to Eleanor and scooped up a second.

Cold, heavy, and jagged, Eleanor held the dead weight. “What are these for?”

“Breaking into the pipe. Why do you think I asked if you’re all right getting dirty? Besides, it’s no different to the food tube.”

“Except the food tube isn’t flowing with piss and shit!”

Matthew said, “I wouldn’t mind betting it probably was.”

Eleanor’s already tight stomach clamped. But with where she’d come from, what right did she have to complain? “So we smash our way in and slither up the inside?”

“Unless you have a better plan?”

A blood-curdling squall came from behind them and cut across the meadow.

Blink gasped and spun around.

What they were heading for had taken all their attention. None of them had looked back. A horde of diseased at least seventy strong gathered at the top of the hill. They loomed over them like a storm cloud. They blocked their route back to the tank. Eleanor ducked into the long grass. The others, save for Blink, ducked with her. She reached out to catch the woman’s arm, but Blink stepped away before she could grab her. “You need to get do⁠—”

Blink yelled back at the diseased. She raised her rifle.

Eleanor stood up. “What are you doi⁠—”

Blink opened fire. Her bullets bit chunks into the hill and sent up small eruptions of mud and grass.

“Blink!” Eleanor shoved her over. “What the fuck are you doing? There are too many to fight.” She pointed towards the shining city. “And what about those inside? We fight that lot and they’ll hear us coming from a mile away.”

“Yeargh!” Blink kicked Eleanor in the shin, rolled away, and again opened fire.

At best, she dropped two more diseased before Eleanor dragged her weapon from her, yanking the woman as she pulled the strap clear. She wore the rifle with her own. Give her the slightest excuse and she’d turn it on Blink.

The remaining diseased loosed a roar that shook the heavens. They fell into their charge like a landslide. Most tripped within their first few steps. They toppled and rolled, travelling down the hill quicker than they would have had they remained on their feet.

Ralph, Rayne, and Matthew had already taken off. They’d reached the bottom of the hill and sprinted towards the shining city.

“You silly prick!” Eleanor stamped her foot, her shin still sore from where Blink had kicked it. She picked up the stupid woman’s rock and shoved it into her arms.

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