Read Hissers II: Death March for Free Online Page B

over.
    She ran for all she was worth, her ribs blazing in pain, the hissers banking to meet her at the steps. She got there first, took them two at a time, yanked on the doors with all her might.
    They were locked.
    “No! C’mon!” She beat on them.
    The hissers hit the stairs, reaching for her, snarling. Without a thought she leapt off the side into the bushes, rolled up and sprinted down the sidewalk, past a small boutique, past a sunglass store, heading for the end of the block and an alleyway that might hopefully provide some sort of fire escape or fence she could use to get away.
    Behind her, the hissers raged, coming on with tremendous speed. She glanced back once and saw them right on her heel. “Go away!”
    She hit the alley and turned down it, seeing now it was shut off at the end by a metal, corrugated fence that was too high to jump over. There were no fire escapes, either, just dumpsters and some trash cans that had been knocked over.  The fence didn’t budge or fall over when she slammed into it and pushed it with her hands. “No no no no,” she cried.
    She turned, placed her back to the fence, saw the hissers coming down the alley. In a strange sort of calm, she almost didn’t care now. They were moving so fast, death would have to be fast too. At least that was something. This new life was just too much running, too much loss, it would be better this way, she thought. She’d be with her parents again. With Nicole and Seth and everyone else. She just didn’t want to die alone. It stung her that she wasn’t going to see a familiar face as death took her. “I love you,” she said. Not knowing if she was talking to her parents or her friends or who? It was just something to say to feel alive.
    She took a breath and waited for the teeth to take her.
    But instead of pain a nd torture, a door opened just to the left of her, and a man dressed in black stepped out with a guitar in his hand. He swung the instrument at the nearest creature, caught it in the ear and sent it flying. His came around with a back stroke and caught the next one in the neck. The monster’s spine cracked and its head fell to its chest. As it fell the hissers behind it stumbled over it, snarling and reaching for their meal.
    “Inside, darling,” the man said, not bothering to look back at Amanita. “I’d do it now I were you. Ain’t got much left of this Gretsch to swing again.” He held the guitar high above his head. It was all but destr oyed, stings dangling like Spanish moss, blood dripping off the shattered body. As another hisser righted itself, the man brought the instrument down on its head. The body of the guitar splintered into a thousand little shards of wood. The neck broke in two, leaving nothing in the man’s hand but a sharp shiv. This he stabbed into the hisser’s eye. Blood spit up and hit the side of the building as the creature went down.
    Amanita rushed into the door, turned and waved for the man. “C’mon! Hurry!”
    In a whirl of black, the man spun and raced inside, threw the deadbolt and hoisted up the makeshift katy bar someone had built. Outside, the hissers banged against the door, scratched at it and even bit it by the sounds of it, trying to get in.
    “You doing alright,” the man asked. “You get bit?” He wore a black button down, black jeans and sunglasses and had dyed black hair. A pair of blood-covered black cowboy boots rounded out the motif. With a sigh he slumped against the door, slid down until he was sitting on his heels.
    “No.” She checked her legs and arms for good measure. ‘Not bit.”
    “That was close,”
    “Thank you,” Amanita said, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “Oh my god my parents are dead. Oh my god.” She cried and shook and fought back the desire to good look through the wreckage of the crash for confirmation. When her sobs became chokes, she finally found the strength to calm down. “Thank you,” she said again, as if trying to erase the