Read Online Life Among The Dead by Daniel Cotton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Daniel Cotton
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The soldier locks the knob. The shiny orb shakes as he turns the bolt. He doesn’t put much confidence in it being able to hold them back for long.
On the adjoining wall to the right of the door is a window. Dan throws it open. The window overlooks the backyard. He was hoping for a drainpipe, or some sort of lattice. What he gets instead is a small porch.
“ It’ll have to do.” He concedes, turning towards the bed. He snatches the girl from the mattress and brings her to the window. She continues to cry as he slides her passed the sill and on to the wooden platform. Dan drops the useless shotgun before exiting himself. Once outside he reaches into the room and moves the curtains back into place and shuts the window.
Inside the house the bathroom door crashes open. The girl’s eyes go wide when she hears them. Dan makes contact with her tear-glazed eyes and puts a finger to his lips. She nods in acknowledgement. The fresh air seems to be calming her down.
The porch they stand on is rough and unfinished. Dan suspects it was added as an afterthought considering the difficult accessibility. A busy man’s project left undone. The craftsmanship isn’t the greatest. The boards are uneven and the nails stick out of the wood at weird angles.
Dan looks up. He thinks he can reach the roof if he stands on the railing. He gestures to his companion by pointing a finger up to the sky. She just stares at him blankly. She’ll get it, Dan tells himself as he steps on top of the rail.
The unsteady structure wobbles beneath his feet. He has to hold onto the wall for balance. With one hand he reaches up and grabs onto the edge of the roof. The other arm joins the first and he pulls himself up, his feet walk along the wall. When his shoulders crest the top he is able to swing a leg over and slowly wiggle his way onto the slanted surface.
He lies prone looking down at the girl. She has a disbelieving and bewildered look on her face. Dan un-slings his rifle and unfastens one side of the weapon’s nylon strap to lower down to the child. She stares at the black synthetic band and then to the man on top of her house. The look she gives him asks if he’s crazy. He wants to offer her verbal encouragement, but can’t risk giving away their location. All he can do is nod and try to prod her along by widening his eyes, mouthing the words ‘grab it’. He tries to will her into taking the strap.
The adolescent takes hold of the lifeline and wraps it around her right hand, the left grabs above the other. Dan pulls with all his might. His first attempt almost takes him off the roof. He had pulled too fast and realizes now he has to go slower.
Inch by inch he raises her from the splintery wood. The higher she gets the harder it is to remain on his perch. She kicks her dangling legs causing her weight to shift. She is trying to find the wall. Her desperate flailing limbs want something solid underneath them. One of her bare feet strikes the window, invoking a yelp of pain. Dan knows where this is going to lead, he is just happy she hasn’t let go. He pulls her up to the edge.
The curtains have been parted and the little girl can now see into the room from where she hangs. She screams at the faces of the dead that watch her with an eerie fixation.
“ Shit!” Dan says. She is only a few inches away from the top. “Grab on.” He instructs her, no longer concerned about being quiet. He needs to get her back on task, and not staring into the window.
She looks up and sees Dan’s outstretched hand. She reaches for it. Hand in hand Dan groans as he starts to haul her up.
The window explodes outward from the weight of the dead pressed against it. They lean out the open portal, caught at their waists. The ghouls twist and turn trying to grab the legs that tease them from above.
The soldier has the girl halfway to safety. She still clings to the strap with one hand as her rescuer hauls her up completely like an angler bringing in a fish.
He
On the adjoining wall to the right of the door is a window. Dan throws it open. The window overlooks the backyard. He was hoping for a drainpipe, or some sort of lattice. What he gets instead is a small porch.
“ It’ll have to do.” He concedes, turning towards the bed. He snatches the girl from the mattress and brings her to the window. She continues to cry as he slides her passed the sill and on to the wooden platform. Dan drops the useless shotgun before exiting himself. Once outside he reaches into the room and moves the curtains back into place and shuts the window.
Inside the house the bathroom door crashes open. The girl’s eyes go wide when she hears them. Dan makes contact with her tear-glazed eyes and puts a finger to his lips. She nods in acknowledgement. The fresh air seems to be calming her down.
The porch they stand on is rough and unfinished. Dan suspects it was added as an afterthought considering the difficult accessibility. A busy man’s project left undone. The craftsmanship isn’t the greatest. The boards are uneven and the nails stick out of the wood at weird angles.
Dan looks up. He thinks he can reach the roof if he stands on the railing. He gestures to his companion by pointing a finger up to the sky. She just stares at him blankly. She’ll get it, Dan tells himself as he steps on top of the rail.
The unsteady structure wobbles beneath his feet. He has to hold onto the wall for balance. With one hand he reaches up and grabs onto the edge of the roof. The other arm joins the first and he pulls himself up, his feet walk along the wall. When his shoulders crest the top he is able to swing a leg over and slowly wiggle his way onto the slanted surface.
He lies prone looking down at the girl. She has a disbelieving and bewildered look on her face. Dan un-slings his rifle and unfastens one side of the weapon’s nylon strap to lower down to the child. She stares at the black synthetic band and then to the man on top of her house. The look she gives him asks if he’s crazy. He wants to offer her verbal encouragement, but can’t risk giving away their location. All he can do is nod and try to prod her along by widening his eyes, mouthing the words ‘grab it’. He tries to will her into taking the strap.
The adolescent takes hold of the lifeline and wraps it around her right hand, the left grabs above the other. Dan pulls with all his might. His first attempt almost takes him off the roof. He had pulled too fast and realizes now he has to go slower.
Inch by inch he raises her from the splintery wood. The higher she gets the harder it is to remain on his perch. She kicks her dangling legs causing her weight to shift. She is trying to find the wall. Her desperate flailing limbs want something solid underneath them. One of her bare feet strikes the window, invoking a yelp of pain. Dan knows where this is going to lead, he is just happy she hasn’t let go. He pulls her up to the edge.
The curtains have been parted and the little girl can now see into the room from where she hangs. She screams at the faces of the dead that watch her with an eerie fixation.
“ Shit!” Dan says. She is only a few inches away from the top. “Grab on.” He instructs her, no longer concerned about being quiet. He needs to get her back on task, and not staring into the window.
She looks up and sees Dan’s outstretched hand. She reaches for it. Hand in hand Dan groans as he starts to haul her up.
The window explodes outward from the weight of the dead pressed against it. They lean out the open portal, caught at their waists. The ghouls twist and turn trying to grab the legs that tease them from above.
The soldier has the girl halfway to safety. She still clings to the strap with one hand as her rescuer hauls her up completely like an angler bringing in a fish.
He
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