Read Catalyst (Book 1): Decay Chains for Free Online Page A

panicked cry. Her sneakers stuck to the tile as she took on the hallway. Arms outstretched, she searched for the walls. Nothing. Her next step landed upon something mushy. She slipped on it, but caught herself before falling over.
    She reached out for the walls. Her left hand turned up nothing, but her right fingertips grazed a flat surface. She probed again. Her hand flattened against the wall, right as an explosion lit up the smoky hallway.
    The fireball backlit the haze in a rush of color. Destruction radiated the hall with surreal beauty that astounded her. What her eyes saw juxtaposed what was really going on in an awe-inspiring and morbid way.
    Eardrum bursting noises thudded through her skull. A migraine formed instantly. She choked down a smoky breath, propped her forearm over her eyes, and hit the deck. Only flecks of dirt sprayed upon her. The crying stopped mid-wail and never started back up. She breathed again. Relief and smoke filled her up.
    Back upright, she felt her way along the wall one unsteady step at a time. Her eyes dried out before she reached the first door and her lungs felt like they were crammed full of glass shards. The focus she clung to faded. She couldn’t remember which side of the hall Matt’s room was on and she wasn’t even sure if this was the stairwell that neighbored his room. Going room to room was impossible. She wouldn’t make it that far before passing out.
    She couldn’t remember if the stairwell door had closed behind her. If it hadn’t, she might have unwanted company steps behind her. Company that wouldn’t be slowed by breathing in smoky air.
    The sprinklers choked off. This cut the lifeline the steam thrived upon. Two steps later, she tripped and landed lengthwise on an overturned medical cart. The wheels spun in a feeble attempt to ride the air down the hall. Syringes and crinkly packets splayed across the floor creating little mines in her path. She rolled off the medical cart, crawled around it, and sought out the wall again. When she found it, her fingers pushed straight through and she was back, face first, on the floor again. Her butchered elbows and knees detested her with good reason.
    Gusts of smoke, laced with vapor, made each cough harder than the last. Now her ribs despised her too. She leaned against the wall and braced herself as the coughing grew into a full fledge fit. This is it. Cause of death: smoke inhalation. It’s still a better way to go than becoming an hors d'oeuvre.
    She fumbled through the smoke and banged her hands against the wall. The banging and her cries for Matt never even reached her own ears. When she opened her mouth to call out again, only coughs escaped. A gas chamber boasted fresher air than this hallway. He couldn’t hear her and he would never know that she came back for him. He wouldn’t hear her die. No one would.
    She hacked violently on the smoke, which eventually brought her to her knees. Something flickered. A second later, it caught her eye again. The flickering was either closer or bigger this time. The third time she saw it, she noticed that it bobbed up and down. When she flattened against the wall, the flicker moved to the side, mirroring her action.
    Shallow breaths weren’t even manageable now and she felt uber lightheaded. She tilted her head up in search of fresh air that wasn’t there. Her coughs tasted of blood and bonfires.
    A hand she never saw coming closed around her arm and dragged her forward. Stormy flailed back. There was no strength to resist when a second arm caught her shoulder and pulled. She let the arms drag her down the hall.
    Her head bobbed up and down, but her feet moved on their own terms. She stumbled down the hall behind the light holder. Unconsciousness would overcome her any second now, she felt it coming. She tripped over herself, debris in the hallway, and occasionally, the feet just ahead of hers.
    Another explosion filled her ears and brought her a brief moment of lucidity. Flecks of