The Rain: The End, Marietta Standlee [year 7 reading list TXT] 📗

my feet with all this might. I feel like the rope in some sick game of tug-of-war. Sticky blood runs down my arm, and I close my eyes for a second against the pain.

A shot rings out, and I open my eyes in time to see Derek, who has thrown himself on his back; his torso is half lifted off the ground, his huge .45 held up high as he is shooting at the bird-creature. It screeches in pain, the bullet's impact rips into the skin of its wings, but it's still trying to go up.

Somewhere to my left, from my peripheral vision, I watch Sean prying the door to the stairway open to give us an escape route, should we live that long, while everybody else is shooting upwards.

Two more large dinosaurs have arrived, flying through the air, circling like vultures. Derek shoots again, followed by a loud screech, the pressure in my shoulders eases and I begin to fall. Down towards Colin. I stretch my arms out to soften the blow of the landing as my body makes contact with the roof.

The dinosaur-bird, dying or dead, also begins its descend, faster and faster, as it comes down, right on top of Colin and me. A yelp of pain emanates from Colin, and a sickening crack as over two hundred pounds of bird land on him.

I roll to my side; the pain in my shoulder is making me see white flashes. I blink at them angrily; I don't have time for this. Shots still ring out from the others, but Derek is moving towards me. He grabs one of the incredibly big wings and pulls the dinosaur over. I notice movement underneath, Colin kicks at the bird, and together, he and Derek get it off him.

Colin's face is a mask of pain; he's holding his right arm with his left in place, blood runs down the length of it, but he is getting up. Gently I take his arm into my hands to see. Derek has his gun back up and is covering us while I tend Colin.

"Over here!" Sean yells.

"Can you run?" I ask Colin.

He gives me an incredulous look and takes off towards the doorway, but I can tell by the way I'm able to keep up with him that he's hurting pretty bad. Derek is following us, still shooting into the air.

"There are more!" Levi screams, and I look up; at least ten of the monsters are circling us now. We need to get into that stairway.

"Move!" I bark.

Sean covers us from the entryway, and as soon as Richard and Drew reach him, they do the same, keeping them at bay long enough for the rest of us to get to safety. Derek stays back until Colin and I clear the entryway; only then does he kick the door shut.

Chapter 10

With a bang, the door falls closed behind us, followed by another boom as one of the birds crashes into it. It's dark inside, until Drew and Derek pull out their flashlights and illuminate the way for us down to the third floor.

Just like yesterday, the door squeaks as Richard pulls it open, and we follow him into the hallway full of marked doors on the left and right. All seems quiet and clear.

"At least we know the building is safe," Levi states dryly.

"As long as the maniacs didn't break through the entrance again downstairs," I warn, remembering seeing plywood covering the broken glass doors earlier.

"Let's get into the hallway to check on Colin and Viv's injuries," Derek commands. "As soon as we're in, we can cover the stairway and secure us from any maniacs getting up here, even if they manage to break in from downstairs."

Levi closes the door quietly, and for a moment, we stand in the empty hallway. Light filters in from a large glass window from the other side, but we hear no sounds besides our heavy breathing.

I swat Drew's hands away when he tries to look at my left shoulder, which is still hurting like hell. But with the mix of adrenaline and worry for Colin, the pain is bearable. Derek has already sliced Colin's sleeve off, and we have an unobstructed view of my fiancé's broken arm.

"It's a compound fracture." Derek states with a grimace.

Gently my fingers probe around the flesh, and I can feel where Colin's bones are misaligned; he's lucky the bone hasn't broken through his skin, even though there is a small wound.

"I need to set it," I say, with my heart in my throat.

Colin looks at me skeptically. "Have you ever done this before?"

I swallow, "I've seen it done."

"On an animal?" He double checks.

I look up sharply. "If you don't want me…."

"By all means, Doctor Doolittle, have at it." Fine beads of sweat caused by the pain have formed on his forehead. The broken bone has to hurt like a son of a gun. I've been lucky; I've never broken anything yet.

"Lay down," I order. "Derek, hold him." Drew, Sean, and Levi step forward, holding Colin's shoulders and legs, while Levi and Richard guard the stairway door.

"I'll need something to wrap his arm with, after I set the bone," I think out loud, trying to remember the time I helped my aunt set the broken leg of an Irish Setter. Never mind the dog was sedated, never mind the bone hadn't broken skin, and never mind that it was a dog and not my Colin.

Derek takes his shirt off and folds it. "Will that do?"

I inspect it carefully, I don't like the sweat and blood on it, but we have to move fast here. "Give me your belt too," I demand.

Derek raises his eyebrow. "Sweetheart, all you had to do was ask."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Derek." Colin pants.

I fold the belt and put it between Colin's teeth before gently touching his cheek, trying to reassure him.

"Ready?" I ask everybody.

Colin bites down hard on the belt, and the others reaffirm their grips on