Dying Light - Nightmare Row by Raymond Benson

Author:Raymond Benson [Benson, Raymond]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-04-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

11:00pm.

It was a very different environment on Nightmare Row at night. The bright sunlight and oppressive heat was gone, replaced by the sharply contrasting pallet of black and white and a prickly chill, that penetrated to the bone. The moon cast long shadows and turned the street into chiaroscuro imagery, that often tricked the eye into believing something was there, that wasn’t. What little illumination emanating from street lamps was weak, and in many places nonexistent due to destruction. The most innocent of objects—light posts, garbage cans, abandoned baby carriages—became malevolent shapes in the dark. Worst of all were the corpses, that littered the pavement. In the daylight they were bad enough; at night they exhibited even more intense characteristics of the unholy. Harran might have been hell during the day, but it wasn’t even close to the sinister and treacherous atmosphere of the city-state in the twilight.

Infected roamed the street at faster paces. They were much more animated, displaying agility akin to normal humans and perhaps even stronger. The noises they made were louder, angrier, and scarier. Screams in the distance grew in frequency. Death hovered over the road, like an omniscient demon ready to pounce.

Maybe I should have stayed in the apartment, Mel thought as she crouched behind a car parked at the curb. Nevertheless, she forged ahead and continued her method of darting from one piece of cover to another, waiting, and moving again. She had to be as quiet, as a mouse and as invisible, as a strand of hair. So far, so good. Mel feared, they might be able to smell her better at night, since the rest of their senses were more attuned. She could only hope for the best and keep going.

Eventually she came to the end of the block, and had to cross another big intersection. Before doing so, she hid behind an overturned police car, and scanned all four directions. Whatever movement she could see, was pretty far away. Darting to the other side was a risk, but she felt her chances were better, than usual. After taking a couple of deep breaths, Mel took off and dashed to the opposite corner, and ducked into a storefront alcove.

She realized, she had reached the section of the road, that consisted of touristy shops and restaurants, that the younger boys had told her about, earlier that day. That meant, she was very close to City Square—just another block away. This part of Nightmare Row sported more Western fast food franchises and dozens of souvenir and clothing stores. Most had demolished storefronts and were ransacked.

As she moved stealthily along the street, she noticed a dark hulk of a shape in the middle of the road ahead. It was some kind of truck. As she got closer, Mel recognized it as a tank. The smell of something like burnt toast was quite pungent; the military vehicle had been scorched. Two bodies lay beside it on the pavement; from the helmets on their heads, she could tell they had been soldiers.

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