Apocalypse - Keith R. A. DeCandido [59]
Besides, it explained why the monsters wouldn’t touch her.
Because she was a monster, too.
The monsters wouldn’t leave the other five people alone, the ones who came later. There were the two men in black, and then the two women and the funny-dressed man. Angela saw them from where she was hiding on the roof, clutching her lunchbox.
After a minute, she decided to go downstairs and see if they could help her—or if she could help them, and keep them from becoming monsters.
Angela saw as they took one of the women away. She was too late to save her.
Another woman, the one wearing the blue top, came in after the monsters took the first woman away. This woman carried a gun.
“You can’t help her. Not now.”
The woman turned around, holding up the gun.
“I’ve seen what they do.”
Lowering the gun, the woman asked, “Are you Angela?”
Angela nodded. “We should hurry, before they come back.”
The woman saw something on the floor and picked it up. It looked like some kind of video camera. Angela supposed it belonged to the other woman.
She’d be a monster soon.
“My name’s Jill. Your father sent me to find you.”
Relief spread over Angela. She knew Daddy would find a way to save her!
Jill led her out into the corridor.
“Angela Ashford—that’s a pretty grown-up name for a little girl.”
“I’m nine years old, I’m not a little girl.”
“I see.”
“Besides,” Angela muttered, “everyone calls me Angie.”
“Angie. I like that.”
Normally, Angela hated it when grown-ups called her that. But when Jill said it, she kinda liked it.
They turned toward the cafeteria.
Angela stopped.
“We can’t go through there.”
“It’s okay, honey, this is the quickest route.”
“No! Those things are in there!”
Jill took Angela’s hand. It felt warm and comforting.
“It’s okay. They’re slow—we can run around them.”
Sure enough, as they entered the cafeteria, there were a few of the monsters roaming around.
They looked up as she and Jill entered.
But that wasn’t what Angela was worried about. “No, not them.” She pointed at one of the dog monsters. “Them.”
The dog was hunched over yet another dead body. It was Ms. Modzelewski.
Angela would have cried for her favorite homeroom teacher, but she’d run out of tears hours ago.
With a growl, the dog monster charged Jill.
Jill raised her gun and shot the monster, but it still crashed into her. Jill fell down, and her gun went skidding across the floor and into the kitchen area.
Even though the dog monster had been shot, it was still moving.
Angela ran for cover. She couldn’t watch. She’d seen enough people die, she didn’t want to make a new friend and watch her die, too.
Then she heard a sound like a thousand drumbeats. After a minute, she realized it was machine-gun fire, like in the movies.
A deep voice with a funny accent said, “Thought you might need a hand.”
Then Jill said, “You work for Umbrella.”
That was Daddy’s company!
“Used to—till they left us for dead in this place. Now I consider myself freelance. Nicholai Sokolov at your service.”
This must have been one of the two men in black.
But then Angela heard a lot of other noises—screams, bumps, growls. She risked looking up.
Mr. Sokolov was being torn to pieces by a bunch of dog monsters.
Jill was okay, though. Angela ran up and grabbed her leg. As long as the dog monsters were focused on Mr. Sokolov, they might be able to escape.
“Come on! This way!”
Angela led them into the kitchen. There were more places to hide in there, and most of the dog monsters were out in the cafeteria.
Besides, Jill’s gun was there.
There were only two dog monsters in the kitchen, both on the far side from the stove Jill had chosen for them to hide behind.
Jill put a finger to her lips. Angela nodded. She knew to be quiet.
With any luck, they’d get out and she’d see Daddy soon.
They got very close to Jill’s gun. So far, the dog monsters hadn’t seen them.