out of the vulnerable people milling around on the tracks, then they hurried on their way down the tunnel. Many of them scurried into the open subway cars, attacking the people still hiding within. From her vantage point, Sandy saw a hand rise to the Plexiglas divider between her car and the one in front of hers. It slapped feebly at the divider, leaving a bloody, red handprint. In seconds, it sank under the weight of the hundreds of mutants invading that car.
Luckily, Sandy and the others in her coach had not pried the doors open to join the others on the tracks, and the rats bumped against the Plexiglas, making screeching noises, but unable to gain entrance. Some of them scratched at the doors, sensing the tender flesh inside the car but unable to find a way inside. They moved quickly, and, in the red, dim emergency lighting, all Sandy saw were teeth, flashes of fur, and scrabbling claws. Many of them climbed over the car, moving across the roof, their talons scraping as they searched for a way inside.
Alice sobbed into Beth’s shoulder, and the older woman hid the young girl’s eyes from the massacre outside the train. She could do nothing for the sounds, however. The screams, the tearing and chewing of skin and muscle, the desperate pleading and praying of the passengers being slaughtered.
Sandy spoke into her Blackberry, saying, “They’re everywhere around us, but they can’t get inside. At least, I don’t think they can, so we’re safe for the moment. Just do whatever you can, sweetheart. Get here or get someone else here to help us.”
She paused and listened as Nicole asked her about Lycanthropes.
“No,” she answered. “Why? Are the rats connected somehow? Oh no, do they carry the virus?”
The multitudes of rodents began to disappear down the tunnel, leaving behind a scene of carnage. A few rats lingered, gnawing on the fallen bodies of the people on the tracks. Most of them were dead. The bite of the huge rodents was quite wide, and each wound had a circumference of at least two inches – often several inches of important organs, tubing, and bone. The things had left several of the passengers crawling, bleeding, and dying. The living victims moaned outside the train. Some were unable to make a sound, but they tried to sit up, only to topple over. To Sandy, they looked dizzy, as if their sense of balance was affected. Some inched their way through the bodies lying in pools of their own blood. Some, sightless after their eyes were devoured from their sockets, moved in zombie-like jerks.
Sandy listened to Nicole’s voice, her heart hammering in her chest.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “Carriers? The rats? No, most of them are dead, but I can see a dozen or so still moving. No, I won’t go out and help them. Don’t worry; just get here as soon as you can. I love you. How soon do you think you can…”
Her Blackberry went dead as the signal was disturbed.
Craig, the lawyer, looked at her beseechingly. “Is someone coming here for us? A rescue team or something? Who was that?”
The group huddled closer to her.
Sandy said, “That was my girlfriend.” Craig and Howard visibly flinched at the word, but nobody said anything, so she continued. “She’s part of the Lycanthrope Sniper Team, and she said she’s coming here for me.”
“What about the rest of us?” Alice asked, her head peeking from below Beth’s arm.
“She’s going to try and get us all out. She said the rats were carriers of a new mutant strain of the Lycanthrope Virus. The whole city up there is infected, and the explosions we heard and felt were the bridges being blown up by the military. They’re cutting Manhattan off from every direction. Lycanthropes can’t swim – we learned that in Cincinnati during the first outbreak. Their bodies are too top heavy.”
“If they’ve sealed us off from the rest of the country,” Sylvia asked, her voice quivering. “How do we get out?”
Sandy shrugged and
Luckily, Sandy and the others in her coach had not pried the doors open to join the others on the tracks, and the rats bumped against the Plexiglas, making screeching noises, but unable to gain entrance. Some of them scratched at the doors, sensing the tender flesh inside the car but unable to find a way inside. They moved quickly, and, in the red, dim emergency lighting, all Sandy saw were teeth, flashes of fur, and scrabbling claws. Many of them climbed over the car, moving across the roof, their talons scraping as they searched for a way inside.
Alice sobbed into Beth’s shoulder, and the older woman hid the young girl’s eyes from the massacre outside the train. She could do nothing for the sounds, however. The screams, the tearing and chewing of skin and muscle, the desperate pleading and praying of the passengers being slaughtered.
Sandy spoke into her Blackberry, saying, “They’re everywhere around us, but they can’t get inside. At least, I don’t think they can, so we’re safe for the moment. Just do whatever you can, sweetheart. Get here or get someone else here to help us.”
She paused and listened as Nicole asked her about Lycanthropes.
“No,” she answered. “Why? Are the rats connected somehow? Oh no, do they carry the virus?”
The multitudes of rodents began to disappear down the tunnel, leaving behind a scene of carnage. A few rats lingered, gnawing on the fallen bodies of the people on the tracks. Most of them were dead. The bite of the huge rodents was quite wide, and each wound had a circumference of at least two inches – often several inches of important organs, tubing, and bone. The things had left several of the passengers crawling, bleeding, and dying. The living victims moaned outside the train. Some were unable to make a sound, but they tried to sit up, only to topple over. To Sandy, they looked dizzy, as if their sense of balance was affected. Some inched their way through the bodies lying in pools of their own blood. Some, sightless after their eyes were devoured from their sockets, moved in zombie-like jerks.
Sandy listened to Nicole’s voice, her heart hammering in her chest.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “Carriers? The rats? No, most of them are dead, but I can see a dozen or so still moving. No, I won’t go out and help them. Don’t worry; just get here as soon as you can. I love you. How soon do you think you can…”
Her Blackberry went dead as the signal was disturbed.
Craig, the lawyer, looked at her beseechingly. “Is someone coming here for us? A rescue team or something? Who was that?”
The group huddled closer to her.
Sandy said, “That was my girlfriend.” Craig and Howard visibly flinched at the word, but nobody said anything, so she continued. “She’s part of the Lycanthrope Sniper Team, and she said she’s coming here for me.”
“What about the rest of us?” Alice asked, her head peeking from below Beth’s arm.
“She’s going to try and get us all out. She said the rats were carriers of a new mutant strain of the Lycanthrope Virus. The whole city up there is infected, and the explosions we heard and felt were the bridges being blown up by the military. They’re cutting Manhattan off from every direction. Lycanthropes can’t swim – we learned that in Cincinnati during the first outbreak. Their bodies are too top heavy.”
“If they’ve sealed us off from the rest of the country,” Sylvia asked, her voice quivering. “How do we get out?”
Sandy shrugged and
Similar Books
