Bone Hunter: A Novelette in the Dark of Dawn Series Read Online Free Page B
Author: Sebastien Woolf
his momentum would not be enough to carry him through.
Think God-damnit man, think!
Experience had taught him to be prepared no matter what, abiding by the Boy Scout motto he had learned when he was younger. It had stuck with him all his life right through until the world turned, right up to this very point in time.
Reaching inside his backpack he withdrew a medium size steel box, rusted and grey with the word ARMY stamped on it in big bold white lettering. Sliding the lid open the man carefully took out two hand grenades and placed them gently on the seat in front of him, this was the very situation he had kept them for. He knew what he had to do, it was his only hope against the hundreds of creatures swarming toward their position. Now totally surrounding the tram they blocked every possible exit for man, beast and child.
With an almighty bang the first grenade went off some twenty feet from their location, the blast radius inflicting massive damage on every creature unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. Rising from his position of cover over the infant child the man tossed the second grenade through the open window, grabbed everything in readiness and waited. The second blast rocked the tram from side to side, shattered glass and caused massive chaos.
Grasping the dead woman by the arm he dragged her body out from the stairwell, flung the door open and made a run for it. Clutching at the bundle of rags which held the baby tight, he hurdled dismembered body parts and piles of red goo, bolting for the open spaces beyond the swarm. The explosions had torn through life and limb, creating just enough of a hole for an escape, but it was a very close call.
As the remaining creatures turned to slowly take up pursuit, the sound of the baby wailing like a Police siren faded fast as it disappeared into the distance.
6
Ashes in the Night
Later that evening the man sat alone consumed by thought, chewing at the rabbit stew he had just cooked on the gas burner. It had a strong gamey taste to it, tough and stringy. Adding freshly picked rosemary made the meal somewhat bearable, but it was food and he honestly cared little for the flavor.
Washed his dishes in a bucket of rain water then set them aside to drip dry on a table. The room was dark, save for the flickering flame of a solitary candle in the middle of the floor. Staring at the bundle of rags on the sofa the man rubbed his bald head as he pondered his predicament.
Aside from the occasional soft cry the child was rather lethargic and hadn’t stirred for hours. With an extremely swollen stomach and dark patches on its skin, the man was well aware that this infant was malnourished and now in peril. His mother was all skin and bone and no doubt could hardly even raise a drop of milk to provide for her desperately unfortunate child before she died.
With no milk or food of any kind to provide it with sustenance, the man was resigned to the fact that there was little or no hope that the baby would survive the night. There was nothing he could do, nothing at all and that cut him to the bone. He was a strong man both physically and emotionally but this, this bleakest of situations was to test his every resolve.
As he sat in near darkness the man continued to justify killing the child’s mother earlier that day. She had lunged at him from down the aisle of the tram as soon as he had entered, causing him to fire instinctively. Thinking about it now he came to the conclusion that she was merely doing what any mother would do in that situation, desperately trying to keep her child safe and protecting it from every possible threat. Her thin gaunt body was no match for the shotgun pellets that had hit her hard, sending her sprawling backwards killing her instantly. That single shot was ultimately responsible for taking two lives that day.
It was a long and painful night for the man who tossed and turned in his makeshift bed all evening. Despite sticking to his
Think God-damnit man, think!
Experience had taught him to be prepared no matter what, abiding by the Boy Scout motto he had learned when he was younger. It had stuck with him all his life right through until the world turned, right up to this very point in time.
Reaching inside his backpack he withdrew a medium size steel box, rusted and grey with the word ARMY stamped on it in big bold white lettering. Sliding the lid open the man carefully took out two hand grenades and placed them gently on the seat in front of him, this was the very situation he had kept them for. He knew what he had to do, it was his only hope against the hundreds of creatures swarming toward their position. Now totally surrounding the tram they blocked every possible exit for man, beast and child.
With an almighty bang the first grenade went off some twenty feet from their location, the blast radius inflicting massive damage on every creature unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. Rising from his position of cover over the infant child the man tossed the second grenade through the open window, grabbed everything in readiness and waited. The second blast rocked the tram from side to side, shattered glass and caused massive chaos.
Grasping the dead woman by the arm he dragged her body out from the stairwell, flung the door open and made a run for it. Clutching at the bundle of rags which held the baby tight, he hurdled dismembered body parts and piles of red goo, bolting for the open spaces beyond the swarm. The explosions had torn through life and limb, creating just enough of a hole for an escape, but it was a very close call.
As the remaining creatures turned to slowly take up pursuit, the sound of the baby wailing like a Police siren faded fast as it disappeared into the distance.
6
Ashes in the Night
Later that evening the man sat alone consumed by thought, chewing at the rabbit stew he had just cooked on the gas burner. It had a strong gamey taste to it, tough and stringy. Adding freshly picked rosemary made the meal somewhat bearable, but it was food and he honestly cared little for the flavor.
Washed his dishes in a bucket of rain water then set them aside to drip dry on a table. The room was dark, save for the flickering flame of a solitary candle in the middle of the floor. Staring at the bundle of rags on the sofa the man rubbed his bald head as he pondered his predicament.
Aside from the occasional soft cry the child was rather lethargic and hadn’t stirred for hours. With an extremely swollen stomach and dark patches on its skin, the man was well aware that this infant was malnourished and now in peril. His mother was all skin and bone and no doubt could hardly even raise a drop of milk to provide for her desperately unfortunate child before she died.
With no milk or food of any kind to provide it with sustenance, the man was resigned to the fact that there was little or no hope that the baby would survive the night. There was nothing he could do, nothing at all and that cut him to the bone. He was a strong man both physically and emotionally but this, this bleakest of situations was to test his every resolve.
As he sat in near darkness the man continued to justify killing the child’s mother earlier that day. She had lunged at him from down the aisle of the tram as soon as he had entered, causing him to fire instinctively. Thinking about it now he came to the conclusion that she was merely doing what any mother would do in that situation, desperately trying to keep her child safe and protecting it from every possible threat. Her thin gaunt body was no match for the shotgun pellets that had hit her hard, sending her sprawling backwards killing her instantly. That single shot was ultimately responsible for taking two lives that day.
It was a long and painful night for the man who tossed and turned in his makeshift bed all evening. Despite sticking to his
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