Read Sanctuary for Free Online Page B

face of the hospital to the next window. It wasn’t far. Easy. Jump !
    “Outlaw, where’d you go? What are you doing?”
    “Flanking maneuver,” I said. “Just like Call-of-Duty!” Another Jump! I balanced myself on the window sill by pressing my fingertips firmly into the edges of the frame.
    “Explain,” Samantha demanded.
    “Coming in behind them.” Jump! “Get ready.” Jump! “Else they’ll shoot me a lot.” Jump Jump!
    I broke the glass and re-entered the mayhem from a new location.
    The most beautiful girl I’d ever seen was hiding in the adjoining hallway. We were both startled, and for several seconds we only stared. She was perfect. So perfect it was hard to think. She had long blonde hair and an oval-shaped face and full lips and big blue eyes, and she was dressed in tight, trendy (and very unmilitary) blue clothes. The girl shook off her surprise and said, “Stop.”
    I stopped. Immediately. No questions asked. No movements. She was so attractive I had no choice. The lights dimmed. The sounds faded. There was only her.
    “Go back out the window,” she smiled. Her voice was as smooth as silk. Soothing and pleasant, with musical notes. My ears turned hot, like she’d said something indecent.
    I obeyed. I went back to the window. The pretty girl told me. I had to…
    “Wait.” I closed my eyes and shook my head. Something was wrong. I was…where was I? My brain was full of fog. I was dizzy. “Wait. Why? What’s…I’m confused.”
    “Go outside,” she said again. “Please? Jump out the window.”
    “Okay,” I nodded. That made sense. She asked nicely. I’d do anything for her. All I could think about was the beautiful girl; she was everywhere. She smelled so good I tripped and fell into the wall.
    “Chase,” a voice said loudly into my ear. “Chase, dummy. What are you doing?”
    Puck. Puck’s voice. His words blew away some of the mist in my brain. Where am I? My face was pressed against the blue wallpaper. I felt like a toy with two puppeteers. What’s wrong with me?? My mouth wouldn’t work. “Huh?”
    “Stop being an idiot,” he yelled. “She’s Infected!”
    I couldn’t function. My mind was thick and slow. The gorgeous girl was inside my head. I stared suspiciously and said, “Who…you… who are you?” Behind her, the gunfight raged but it didn’t seem to matter.
    She planted fists onto her hips and said, “The Father predicted you might be able to resist me.”
    I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Every move she made, every noise, was intoxicating.
    She appeared caught between frustration and amusement. “You’re a handsome specimen, and I wish I had more time to play with you.”
    “…what?”
    She winked and then she intentionally changed her expression to one of fear, and she cried, “Help me! Please!”
    Help me?! My first instinct was to obey her. Was she hurt?
    A pack of hospital workers, hidden and cowering from the nearby gun battle, began pouring out of doorways. They leapt to obey her. Men, women, doctors, nurses and even patients all charged me, glaring and shouting. She was commanding them!
    Puck said, “This is super weird.”
    “How is she controlling people?” I shouted, knocking hands away and shoving the mob backwards. There were about a dozen attackers.
    “Who cares, stupid! Take her out!”
    I Moved . I went through the crowd. Easily. They were slow and clumsy and I advanced like a nightmare. The startled girl turned to run. I tried not to notice her astonishing figure. She was Infected, that was obvious, but she didn’t move well. She had locomotion issues, like her bones were brittle or her legs were injured. I grabbed and threw a cordless phone that connected solidly with her skull and she collapsed. The deranged crowd watched and wailed with grief, but at least they quit chasing me.
    “That was trippy. Careful, here comes Walter.”
    Walter rushed into view, reloading his weapon. He was unprepared for me. I put the heel of my hand