Parchman, стр. 28

Logan nodded and held out a fist. ‘You got this,’ as he watched Xanderpick up a machine gun and head down the stairs to where the rest of themen were already fighting for their lives.

The Savages were everywhere. Their pale white bodies flashed back andforth between the prisoners striking them with their knife-like hands andkilling them almost instantly. They were hunters and like a tiger stalkingits prey they were deadly.

Xander reached the bottom of the stairs just as one of the Savages brushedpast him with its head down running towards another hapless victim andleaving Xander stood there breathless, with his heart pounding. He raisedhis gun and wondered where to shoot first. He made eye contact across thecourtyard and one of the creatures stooped down to its hands and feet andbounded towards him like an animal.

His arms started shaking and the gun jammed and locked as it got closerand closer. Just as it was almost on top of him he heard the gun click andthe flurry of bullets threw the Savage backwards as they made impact. Butas this one fell another one came at him. Xander fired the gun again killingyet another and then another. He pulled himself to his feet and composinghimself started walking into the crowded courtyard picking his targets offone by one.

He watched Jose lift and throw one of the Savages into another pack ofthree which then turned on its own kind, ripping it to pieces. He had neverseen anything like it. He retched and then carried on walking forward. Themore he worked his way into the middle of the yard the less focused hewas on his surroundings but more on what was in front of him.

A sound came from behind him and he was thrown to the floor and pinneddown by another of these monsters. Its nails dug into his shoulders and with his gun pressedagainst his own chest he couldn’t move. The creaturesface was just inches from his and saliva hung from its mouth with its jawspoised to attack. Xander closed his eyes.

Just as the Savage was about to strike the killer blow he felt the weight ofthe creature lift from him and his gun become free. He looked up to seethat Max had dived across him and pulled the monster away from him.

Xander watched in awe as Max pulled his knife out and killed the Savage.Max held out a hand and pulled Xander up from the floor.

‘You ok?’ said the Captain.

‘I am now,’ he replied, feeling a stinging pain in his shoulders.

‘Stay back to back and only shoot what’s in front of you,’ said Max. ‘I’lltake anything else.’

‘Look,’ said Xander. ‘They’re slowingdown.’

Nearly all of the Commander General Roderick’s Savages had made itthrough the tunnels and into the courtyard, which was where most of theprisoners were still gathered. The Savages were purely incentivized by thethought of food and the inmates were all potential meals.

A few Savages were in the prison corridors, but most were here lookingfor as many meals as they could make from the men fighting them. However, as each Savage took down another man they were crazed by thesmell of the blood. In groups they were huddled over each kill frenziedwith bloodlust and more concerned about feeding than actually fighting.The more inmates that dropped the more condensed and vulnerable theSavages became.

‘Target the groups around the bodies Xander,’ said Max. ‘they can’t evensee us as they are too busy feeding.’

Xander picked up a machine gun from the floor and turned it on a groupofseven Savagesfeeding on aman Xanderrecognized fromthecelebrations the night before. He had been drinking tequila with the manand now he was chopped liver for these carnivores.

They were like pack animals and even though he managed to kill six ofthem the last one didn’t even give Xander a second look and went back tothe body. Hisnext shot didn’t miss.

‘Xander, what can we do to help?’ It was Scott and Seth.

‘Aim for the groups around the bodies,’ said Xander, emotionally unableto contain his joy to see the boys. ‘It’s like they don’t even know we’rehere.’

The remaining prisoners saw what the boys were doing and turned theirfocus to the other Savages who couldn’tforcetheir way into the scavenging packs. The glint of the sun on raised knives shone around theyard as the men started to drive back the Savages.

All of a sudden the prisoners looked to have the upper hand, but it stillwasn’t enough. Still outnumbered each time a Savage made a kill thegroups thinned out as they moved from one body to another.

‘We’ve got to do something,’ said Xander to Max.

‘We need to get back up to the battlementsand take the higher ground,’said Max backing towards the steps.

As he did they looked towards the walls of the prison and saw that theSavages were using their unique claws to climb the walls and were headingtowards Logan, Professor Brittle, Jay and a handful of prisoners who stoodoblivious with their focus still firmly on the Commander General.

‘They’re heading for the battlements. We need to get up their now and stopthem,’ said Max. ‘Xander, get to Logan and let him know.’

Xander rushed up the steps closely followed by Scott and Seth as Maxstood at the bottom of the stairs holding off the oncoming Savages. Moreand more came and beyond the oncoming monsters he could see theprisoners slowly starting to tire.

Max’s machine gun clicked out of ammunition and he pulled his revolverout just in time to shoot the next nearest Savage. Clambering over eachother the next one pushed him backwards onto the steps and as he heardXander shout his name from above he threw one of the creatures off ofhim with his knife now also in his hand.

Slowly crawling backwards up the