unsuspecting hand and pushed past Orpheus into the stairwell.
Orpheus growled, "Get your fuckin' ass back here!"
Tim shook his head vehemently and put several stairs in between them. He was committed now.
"Goddammit, cover him," Orpheus said to his team. "Bloody Hell."
Tim gulped. He moved very slowly, making absolutely sure of each step before he made the next. All he could see in his mind was him falling down the steps and getting savaged while everyone else was already thinking about his replacement. He was pretty sure he was being unfair to them, but he couldn't help but think that three guys previously in his position had probably been less paranoid, and now they were dead.
Tim got to the last step and he thought he heard something coming from the thing's direction. He strained to hear it and thought that it might be mumbling something. Don't trust it , Orpheus had insisted. So Tim didn't. He moved close enough to loop the apparatus around its neck. He looked to either side of him instinctively; nothing else appeared in the dull red glow. He held his breath and extended.
Just like playing “Operation” when I was a kid.
He had about a foot left to go when he heard it say, “Not fair.” It said it over and over. He reflexively said, “Sir?” and kicked himself for it. The thing whirled around.
It looked human. And then it screamed, a monster unleashed.
Tim knew that he'd made a huge mistake. He slammed the loop downward and was lucky enough to get it around the neck. The thing lunged at him. The pole was strong, and Tim had a firm grip, but the forward momentum knocked him onto his back. It kept screaming.
Each floor of the library was a great circle around a central atrium. There were two wide staircases at each end. Tim felt more than heard a change in his situation. The Jekyll hadn't been alone, after all. He was just separated from the rest of the zombies in the library, and they were all coming now. Most slowly, but too many swiftly.
The Jekyll was still screaming and trying to get at Tim. Because of the pole, it couldn't reach him; its flailing arms passed a foot from Tim's face. Due to its weight, however, Tim couldn't get to his feet, either. The end of the pole was braced against the floor and steadied under Tim's armpit; it probably wouldn't seem like it to an observer, but Tim had control. He just couldn't risk moving. He'd screwed up the approach for sure, but he was going to follow Orpheus' other order to hold on if it killed him and trust that they would save his ass again.
There was no pretense of stealth anymore, so the rest of the team turned on their high-powered lights and waded into combat. Some Sprinters were on top of them in the blink of an eye. Several well-placed rounds knocked them backwards and sideways, but they were moving too fast to get an easy headshot. The team couldn't concentrate solely on them either, because though the slower ones moved at a walking pace, they hadn't had much ground to cover. Everywhere Tim looked he saw pairs of legs closing in on him. He started to slide towards the roof stairs by doing a sort of wriggle on his butt and shoulders, still scraping the pole along the ground. It was slow going, but each inch further away from the zombies was worth it.
He was almost to the stairs when a zombie fell down, its kneecaps blown off, right next to him. Its jaws were only a few feet away from Tim's face, and he had no time to think. He hoped he could hold the pole with one hand for a second or two, pulled his sidearm, and blew a hole in its face.
Lacking the other arm to steady the pole, the Jekyll managed to twist sideways and yank the pole out of Tim's hand. It thrashed the pole to the side and dove for Tim again, this time with nothing in its path.
The thing was stopped in mid-dive by Orpheus, who had managed to secure the pole. He wrestled it towards the stairs and yelled, “Let's go! Let's go!” Tim scrambled to his feet and added his firepower to keep
Orpheus growled, "Get your fuckin' ass back here!"
Tim shook his head vehemently and put several stairs in between them. He was committed now.
"Goddammit, cover him," Orpheus said to his team. "Bloody Hell."
Tim gulped. He moved very slowly, making absolutely sure of each step before he made the next. All he could see in his mind was him falling down the steps and getting savaged while everyone else was already thinking about his replacement. He was pretty sure he was being unfair to them, but he couldn't help but think that three guys previously in his position had probably been less paranoid, and now they were dead.
Tim got to the last step and he thought he heard something coming from the thing's direction. He strained to hear it and thought that it might be mumbling something. Don't trust it , Orpheus had insisted. So Tim didn't. He moved close enough to loop the apparatus around its neck. He looked to either side of him instinctively; nothing else appeared in the dull red glow. He held his breath and extended.
Just like playing “Operation” when I was a kid.
He had about a foot left to go when he heard it say, “Not fair.” It said it over and over. He reflexively said, “Sir?” and kicked himself for it. The thing whirled around.
It looked human. And then it screamed, a monster unleashed.
Tim knew that he'd made a huge mistake. He slammed the loop downward and was lucky enough to get it around the neck. The thing lunged at him. The pole was strong, and Tim had a firm grip, but the forward momentum knocked him onto his back. It kept screaming.
Each floor of the library was a great circle around a central atrium. There were two wide staircases at each end. Tim felt more than heard a change in his situation. The Jekyll hadn't been alone, after all. He was just separated from the rest of the zombies in the library, and they were all coming now. Most slowly, but too many swiftly.
The Jekyll was still screaming and trying to get at Tim. Because of the pole, it couldn't reach him; its flailing arms passed a foot from Tim's face. Due to its weight, however, Tim couldn't get to his feet, either. The end of the pole was braced against the floor and steadied under Tim's armpit; it probably wouldn't seem like it to an observer, but Tim had control. He just couldn't risk moving. He'd screwed up the approach for sure, but he was going to follow Orpheus' other order to hold on if it killed him and trust that they would save his ass again.
There was no pretense of stealth anymore, so the rest of the team turned on their high-powered lights and waded into combat. Some Sprinters were on top of them in the blink of an eye. Several well-placed rounds knocked them backwards and sideways, but they were moving too fast to get an easy headshot. The team couldn't concentrate solely on them either, because though the slower ones moved at a walking pace, they hadn't had much ground to cover. Everywhere Tim looked he saw pairs of legs closing in on him. He started to slide towards the roof stairs by doing a sort of wriggle on his butt and shoulders, still scraping the pole along the ground. It was slow going, but each inch further away from the zombies was worth it.
He was almost to the stairs when a zombie fell down, its kneecaps blown off, right next to him. Its jaws were only a few feet away from Tim's face, and he had no time to think. He hoped he could hold the pole with one hand for a second or two, pulled his sidearm, and blew a hole in its face.
Lacking the other arm to steady the pole, the Jekyll managed to twist sideways and yank the pole out of Tim's hand. It thrashed the pole to the side and dove for Tim again, this time with nothing in its path.
The thing was stopped in mid-dive by Orpheus, who had managed to secure the pole. He wrestled it towards the stairs and yelled, “Let's go! Let's go!” Tim scrambled to his feet and added his firepower to keep
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