Read Online Whatever It Takes by Mike Staton - Free Book Online

Karl, in that order. Go!” He shouted the last word.
    It was as though he’d fired a starter’s pistol at a track meet. Sarah vaulted the counter and sprinted across the room with Evan quick on her heels.
    “No arguments, old man. I’ve got the rear.” Percival shoved Karl toward the counter. He followed the older man over the counter and sprinted after him.
    A screech startled Percival. He reacted by ducking away from the sound, swept his pistol around and squeezed the trigger. The bullet punched through the stalker’s outstretched hand and splattered Percival’s visor with specks of red. The stalker howled and darted back into the darkness.
    Percival stumbled for a step and corrected his dash to the staircase. Sarah and Evan were already three-fourths the way up the. Karl stood at the base, scanning the darkness. He didn’t move until Percival joined him.
    Together they dashed up the stairs. At the top they met a door labeled ‘Employees Only.’ Percival wasted no time in pressing past Sarah and Evan to thrust his foot against the door. It popped open without any resistance at all.
    He stepped through and swept the room with his pistol and flashlights. He motioned for the others to come up.
    His flashlight revealed boxes labeled with blue tags held on by yellowing, clear, packaging tape. One of the closer boxes read ‘Car Deals, 2004, Ng-Nu.’ Percival muttered a soft curse. A file room likely meant another maze-like series of aisles and shelves. A maze that the stalkers knew and the survivors didn’t.

Chapter 4
     
    “Let’s go into the creepy infested building.” Percival was angry. He slammed the door to the stairs. It helped to shut out the growls and screeches. “Alright, who’s got the next great idea?”
    “Are you okay?” Sarah moved close to him, examining his front.
    “I’m fine. I don’t like being in here where they obviously know the building and we don’t. But other than that, I’m—“
    “Were you scratched, boy?” Karl broke Percival’s tirade.
    Percival took a deep breath, held it for a moment. He was losing it, but was physically uninjured. He needed to calm himself and present a good, focused leader to the others. He let the breath out slowly.
    “I’m fine. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Percival turned away from them and moved toward another nearby door. The growling was growing on the other side of the door leading to the stairs and if he could put more physical barriers between his team and the stalkers, he would gladly do so.
    “If you were scratched, we need to know,” Karl said.
    “I’ll let you strip search me once we’re in a safer location,” Percival muttered. “Infection doesn’t cause an instant turning like in the movies. It takes as long as a month.”
    Percival dropped his flashlight into a pocket and wrapped his hand around the doorknob. He held his pistol up and yanked the door open, ready to squeeze the trigger. A pair of hallways was all that greeted him. He motioned the others through and closed the door behind him. It wouldn’t stop the stalkers entirely, but it would slow them down slightly.
    Percival moved to take point, taking the right-hand hallway instead of walking straight. The concrete walls were blank and gray and the temperature seemed to drop the further he went. Winter was coming and this building retained the night’s cold rather efficiently.
    Percival moved forward and froze as the hallway ended in a room. A pair of desks was set facing each other in the middle with filing cabinets lining both walls and gray metal shelves holding more boxes beyond the desk. A single stalker perched atop the desks.
    It studied him for half a moment before letting out a bloodcurdling screech and sprang from the desks at him. Percival let out a shout and thrust up his leg in a kick that caught the stalker square in the chest as it flew at him.
    He drove the kick forward, and the stalker back with it. It lashed once, ripping his jeans in the