holding tightly to her’s as he felt her being pulled sideways.
Kate cried out in pain as she was being wrenched from the seat. The bloody man stumbled to keep up but lost his grip falling hard on the pavement. Kate could still feel his hand gripping her. She knew her arm would be bruised. Even with the pain she wrapped it tightly back around her father as the bike increased in speed.
The two bikes flew down the road. Everywhere they looked bloody and battered people seemed to be materializing out of nowhere. Bear nearly ran down a kid who was blindly wandering across the road dragging a skateboard behind him with one arm, his other arm was missing.
Martin was ahead now. He motioned to take a side street. They barely made the turn when they were faced with a wall of people. Smoke billowed from the bike’s rear tire, rubber screeched, Martin shouted while Kate screamed. The heavy Electra glide slammed into the bloody wall of the stumbling horde. The handle bars snapped out of Martin’s hands twisting sideways. The bike lurched. Kate lost her grip on her father. For a moment she was airborne leaving the back of the bike. Time slowed, she twisted in the air, hands reached out grabbing at her and Martin. Time caught up, pain exploded in her back while fireworks burst before her eyes. She slammed onto the pavement rolling painfully. Her shoulders slamming one then the other onto the ground. She slid from there until she was stopped by knocking down a woman who had been standing in the road.
The woman fell heavily across Kate’s legs. Kate’s helmet slammed into the ground again. She was sick and dizzy. Her neck ached as it hung in the air. Kate had landed in a somewhat seated position due to her backpack. The world spun, she felt as if she were just waking, that had to be it. That was the only explanation for what had just happened. It was a dream, a nightmare.
Reality crashed down in the form of pain, pain that was shooting through her leg. The woman Kate had knocked down now had a grip on her thigh, the woman’s teeth pinched the flesh like a clamp. She was trying to bite through the thick leather pants. Kate’s knee felt like it was being ripped off. Then her arm was in a vice and being pulled up to a man’s mouth. Fingers dung at her chest trying to rip through her jacket.
In a blur of motion and sound the woman at Kate’s knee flew backward. The woman's head nearly separating from her body. To Kate’s horror the eyes still followed her every movement. A Huge arm reached down lifting Kate off the ground, in the air then hard onto her feet. Hands still clawed at her, fingers tangled in her hair, her arm still being held by a disheveled man. Kate screamed in agony, her shoulder felt as if it was separating from her body.
Another blur of motion and the ringing of metal like a bell. The man lost his grip on Kate’s arm. She was in the air again then her breath was gone as she slammed onto Bear’s shoulder. She fought to gain air as she bumped along. Her back cried out in protest as she slammed onto the back rest of his bike. She barely got her leg over before she was smashed between Bear and the sissy bar.
“Dad! DAD! Where’s Dad?” Kate pounded on Bear’s huge back. She could see her father’s bike on its side. She watched his boots twitching next to it. Her father was completely covered by people.
The engine roared, tires screamed, dirt and gravel spit while the tires fought for traction. The front wheel left the ground for a second; Kate was crushed between the huge man and the seat again. She tried to turn to look back as Bear flew down the road. Tears streamed down her face from the pain of her body and knowing they couldn’t help her father.
Time to Clock Out
Steve rubbed his eyes, then the back of his neck. So far the early part of his shift at the distribution center had been its usual mundane repetition. He was using one of the larger forklifts to stack empty shipping containers. The work was boring and Steve’s mind was wandering. He was back on the football field, the stadium at the college roared. He was dropping back to pass. It was first and goal with seconds left on the clock. This pass would win the game and the division. CRASH! The container he was moving slammed down harder than it should on the loading dock.
Shaking out of his fantasy he tried to play off the blunder. “Damn! I need a break. Hey Brad, let’s get a cup a coffee.” He shouted to the man who was passing on another forklift.
Brad Stevens was an older man.. He had a short grey pony tail that framed the bald top of his head. He slowed his lift, thought for a second then grimaced, “Yeah alright be right there.”
“Well only if it isn’t too much trouble.” Steve laughed Jumping down from his machine. Brad waved him off as Steve passed by on his way toward the office. Halfway there Brad jogged up to join him, slapping Steve on the back.
“Figured it was about break time, you woke me up with that last container.” Brad laughed.
Steve looked over at Brad’s pony tail and bald head. “When you gonna cut that thing off? You look like a bowling ball wearing a hula skirt.”
“You can…” But Steve never heard what he could do. Their conversation was interrupted as an office window exploded. Glass and an office chair tumbled to the ground at their feet.
Steve stopped short throwing out an arm to stop Brad. Their attention was drawn from the chair at their feet to the shattered window. Screams erupted through the opening. A hand shot up then another grabbing onto the glass splintered ledge. Rachel was trying to claw her way out of the shattered window.
“Help me, dear GOD! Steve, Brad! HELP!” She screamed. Her eyes were full of terror. They glanced at each other then ran to the terrified woman, Steve searched for smoke or fire. He couldn't see or smell either. There were no alarms just Rachel’s pleas.
Each man grabbed an arm trying to pull her free of the window. No matter they're struggle she remained stuck screaming louder and louder for help. Steve could barely keep a grip on her arm. Her hands and arms were full of cuts from the broken glass. Her skin was slick with blood and she was flailing in terror. They tugged and pulled, each time she cried out in pain and fear. The more they pulled the more she seemed to be pulled back.
Her face was pale with terror. Her screams became more frantic by the second. Suddenly her grip tightened painfully on their arms. “Pull me out pull me out NOW!” She struggled wiht all her might. She wriggled her feet kicking hard. Her cries increasing in pitch and intensity, she was truly panicked. She grabbed and clawed at the men, blood oozed down the wall where the broken glass cut into her stomach. Steve heard crashing from the room. He had to cover his head as she thrashed and pulled. Steve tried to calm her, get her to work with them to free her from the window.
“They…They…They’re getting in! Get me out! Pull PULL PULL! Get off GET OFF AAARRGHGGGH GET ME OUT NOW!!” Rachel screamed at them. Tears streamed down her face as her eyes bulged. Steve and Brad pulled with all their might urged on by her panic. With a sudden lurch like a cork being pulled from a bottle she slipped free from the window.
Steve knew in an instant that something was terribly wrong. Rachel was far too light. Looking down, “Sweet Jesus!” Steve cried in horror. Lying at his feet was only half of the woman. She gasped as red covered her lips and ran down her chin. Blood was draining quickly from just under her rib cage, her spine was exposed and her intestines made a trail from her torso to the window.
Steve’s eyes followed the gruesome trail from the ground to the gaping shattered glass, “Holy Shit!” He cried stumbled backward tripping over Rachel’s sputtering torso. Gaining his balance he grabbed Brad’s arm. The men were shocked at horror. The watched as the woman’s intestines were being pulled back through the window.
Rachel gurgled blood. It spurt from her mouth with
