The Sin in the Steel by Ryan Van Loan

Author:Ryan Van Loan [Loan, Ryan Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250222572
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

29

Sharp, jagged fingers clawed at my dress, others latched on to my wrists and calves, and still others pummeled me where they couldn’t grab hold. I kept screaming obscenities as I lashed out around me, but even though the dead lacked flesh and muscle and in some cases even sinew, they were stronger than I’d believed possible. I flailed uselessly as the one trying to rip my shoulder off hissed in my ear. One of its teeth bounced against my chin as its jaws snapped together, searching for my throat. I jerked away and my head rebounded hard off the deck. The taste of smoke filled my mouth and the world shrank to a few fingers in front of my face.

This is how it ends.

The thought echoed clearly through me as I felt more bony hands grasping my legs. They began pulling in different directions and my screams turned from variations of “fuck” and “fucking” to plain old screaming. The Shambles let go of my shoulder, but another grasped my wrist, bending over me so I could see the hole through the bottom of its chin, bits of flesh still clinging to a few teeth while something that felt like breath passed across its nub of a tongue. Its jaws snapped again. Closer. Again. Closer. Its teeth ground together as it fought to pull itself closer to me, impeded by the swarming host of undead around us. I could almost feel its teeth meet through my throat, severing my jugular between them.

Instead its jaw slammed shut again on air. Not there. But closer. Closer. I tried to head-butt it, but the Shambles pulled back and I missed. The Shambles hissed as it managed to elbow a few others away. It lowered itself toward me, the skull leering as its jaws spread even farther apart. A fetid, rotten stench filled my nostrils, so raw that there was almost something sweet to it. This was it.

I screamed until my throat tore and blood filled my mouth as I willed my muscles to move, but the press of bone was too much and I managed little more than a shudder. The undead thing hissed in my face, jagged mouth parting in an evil smile. Cracking, crushing, horrible sounds drowned out the sibilant hissing as a barrel bounced into my vision and out again, leaving twisted and broken bones in its wake.

Most of the hands on my arms disappeared and the few that remained no longer clutched at me, all power gone from them.

That’s not right; I was supposed to die.

I reached out mechanically, caught up a humerus, and set to smashing the three or four Shambles still pulling on my legs. Turns out, bone on bone is pretty effective against the undead. I regained my feet and the world swooned in front of me. I turned in a circle, waiting to go down, and not sure why that was a bad idea. Something thought it was, but the blood rushing to my head didn’t carry any answers with it.

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.