Read Online Out of the Dark: An apocalyptic thriller by Ashlei Hawley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ashlei Hawley
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pursued.
Amy knew the things came after them, and they ran.
Down one hallway and another, Amy pushed herself to run like she had in high school, trying out for track and field. She kept her arms tucked tightly by her side, kept her head down and pumped her legs for all they were worth.
More doors opened, in front of them and behind them. Creatures were stirring, hearing their frantic passage and knowing the game was up. Amy was no longer convinced she could sidle through the darkened hallways, ignoring the monsters like a child beneath the blankets. These monsters chased, they hunted, and Amy fled like the stalked prey she knew she was.
Ray and Amy burst out the dorm doors, gulping air and looking around anxiously. The world outside was silent, but it did not buzz with the heady anticipation of secret life as the interior of the dorm building had. This was a more relaxed, normal silence, expected to be broken by the hum of a passing car or conversation of companionable youths.
Amy pushed back her hair and stepped a good distance away from the closed door, into the near-white sunlight of the winter morning. Her breath plumed on the air, and she watched it almost joyfully. She was glad to be out of there. Now that she was in the open, breathing clean air, she realized that the building had felt polluted. It had almost been like breathing smog or some toxic gas.
“Ray, you gotta tell me what’s going on,” Amy said between panting breaths. “What was that? Who was chasing us?”
Ray was breathing in a whistling way, each breath sucked into him like he didn’t know if he’d be able to take another. He held up a hand, imploring Amy to wait for a moment while he caught his breath before explaining.
After he finally stood from his previous position of crouching over with his hands on his knees, Ray had finally developed a more normal rhythm of breathing. He looked at Amy, taking in the bright, intelligent blue eyes and long, thick brown hair he’d always admired. He’d longed since he met her for those eyes to meet his with something other than companionability, inquiry or laughter, but things had never progressed between them. Now, he was almost glad of it. He’d hate to have to leave her alone-as he knew he’d have to before night fell-if they were romantically involved.
“We’ll walk while we talk,” Ray said in a voice still slightly strained from their run. “We want to get as far as we can while we’re still together.”
Amy didn’t like what that implied: that they would be splitting up. Deciding not to confront Ray about that possibility, she silently nodded and followed as he began walking.
Though he didn’t ask, Ray knew which way Amy had intended to be going. She was going home to her family, and he knew the freeway would be her first destination. If he could find a car for her, he would. His own had been destroyed the night before, along with the rest in the parking area he typically parked in. He didn’t know what had exploded or burned to accomplish the devastation, but the cars were burned-out hulls of mangled metal completely unusable to anyone who wanted to drive them.
“You were going to talk, Ray,” Amy reminded him softly as they walked at a fairly quick clip over the hard, frozen ground of the campus forefront. “So go ahead and talk. I want to know whatever you know about this.”
Ray admired that about Amy, as he admired so many things about her. She wasn’t panicked; she wasn’t scared; she was merely inquisitive and cautious. She wanted to know what she could about what was going on so she could approach it as smartly as she was able.
“There were two others with me when it started,” Ray recalled as they walked. “When it hit, we all felt it. Some people couldn’t take the power of it, and they passed out when the corruption swept through.
Amy knew the things came after them, and they ran.
Down one hallway and another, Amy pushed herself to run like she had in high school, trying out for track and field. She kept her arms tucked tightly by her side, kept her head down and pumped her legs for all they were worth.
More doors opened, in front of them and behind them. Creatures were stirring, hearing their frantic passage and knowing the game was up. Amy was no longer convinced she could sidle through the darkened hallways, ignoring the monsters like a child beneath the blankets. These monsters chased, they hunted, and Amy fled like the stalked prey she knew she was.
Ray and Amy burst out the dorm doors, gulping air and looking around anxiously. The world outside was silent, but it did not buzz with the heady anticipation of secret life as the interior of the dorm building had. This was a more relaxed, normal silence, expected to be broken by the hum of a passing car or conversation of companionable youths.
Amy pushed back her hair and stepped a good distance away from the closed door, into the near-white sunlight of the winter morning. Her breath plumed on the air, and she watched it almost joyfully. She was glad to be out of there. Now that she was in the open, breathing clean air, she realized that the building had felt polluted. It had almost been like breathing smog or some toxic gas.
“Ray, you gotta tell me what’s going on,” Amy said between panting breaths. “What was that? Who was chasing us?”
Ray was breathing in a whistling way, each breath sucked into him like he didn’t know if he’d be able to take another. He held up a hand, imploring Amy to wait for a moment while he caught his breath before explaining.
After he finally stood from his previous position of crouching over with his hands on his knees, Ray had finally developed a more normal rhythm of breathing. He looked at Amy, taking in the bright, intelligent blue eyes and long, thick brown hair he’d always admired. He’d longed since he met her for those eyes to meet his with something other than companionability, inquiry or laughter, but things had never progressed between them. Now, he was almost glad of it. He’d hate to have to leave her alone-as he knew he’d have to before night fell-if they were romantically involved.
“We’ll walk while we talk,” Ray said in a voice still slightly strained from their run. “We want to get as far as we can while we’re still together.”
Amy didn’t like what that implied: that they would be splitting up. Deciding not to confront Ray about that possibility, she silently nodded and followed as he began walking.
Though he didn’t ask, Ray knew which way Amy had intended to be going. She was going home to her family, and he knew the freeway would be her first destination. If he could find a car for her, he would. His own had been destroyed the night before, along with the rest in the parking area he typically parked in. He didn’t know what had exploded or burned to accomplish the devastation, but the cars were burned-out hulls of mangled metal completely unusable to anyone who wanted to drive them.
“You were going to talk, Ray,” Amy reminded him softly as they walked at a fairly quick clip over the hard, frozen ground of the campus forefront. “So go ahead and talk. I want to know whatever you know about this.”
Ray admired that about Amy, as he admired so many things about her. She wasn’t panicked; she wasn’t scared; she was merely inquisitive and cautious. She wanted to know what she could about what was going on so she could approach it as smartly as she was able.
“There were two others with me when it started,” Ray recalled as they walked. “When it hit, we all felt it. Some people couldn’t take the power of it, and they passed out when the corruption swept through.
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