She heard him moving around, the sound of his feet echoing on the concrete floor inside the large room. She could also hear him mumbling to himself, although she couldn’t make outthe words.
The sound of the stairwell door opening caught her attention. It was also noticed by the black clad man, who whirled around and raised his weapon.
“Look out! He’s got a gun!” she screamed at whoever had come downstairs, hoping it would save the person’s life. She heard the pistol fire, and expected to either hear a returning shot, or a body to hitting theground.
Something stepped into view. Something she didn’t fathom at first. It was tall. Huge. Bulky.
Inhuman.
The man fired again. The bullet zinged off of the thing’s chest, but it never faltered. It continued to walk toward the man with slow, lumbering steps. Brielle caught sight of an immense pair of wings rising above the thing’s shoulders. Risingand spreading outward, almost blocking her view of the man.
He fired twice more, and both times the bullets ricocheted off. One struck close to her, and she shrieked as the wood planks next to her exploded in splinters.
The creature advanced on the man and reached out with muscular arms that ended in hands bearing thick claws. The man in black bolted for the back doorwhere he fired twice at the lock, then barreled into the door with the side of his body. The door slammed open, and the man vanished out the rear.
The creature stopped just short of the exit as the claxons went off. Brielle saw this as her opportunity to make a run for it and tried to make it to the service elevator, which was closer.
She never believed the creaturecould move so fast. Before she was halfway across the room, it was there, blocking her way. She zigzagged in an effort to elude it, when its hand snagged her by the arm. She screamed and tried to fight it off, but her fists were ineffective. It tossed her over its shoulder and carried her out the broken back door, where it launched itself into the air.
