The Monster Apocalypse

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

A hand from behind removed the sword from the clan leader's grasp. Droz didn't even have time to turn around, when the sword pierced through the center of his face.

Black blood spurted out of his head, and chunks of Droz's brain matter sprayed against Brin's chest. She opened her mouth in horror, as she stepped to her right to see Paul, barely alive.

"Paul," Brin said.

He looked at her, only once. "Get out of here."

"But what about—"

"Go to him. Go to the one who loves you."

Brin hesitated. "What are you talking about?"

"I've seen it. He loves you. And you love him. Do me this one favor, Brin Skar. Be happy."

And with that, Paul pulled his father's body back toward him, all the way back into the hole.

"Noooooo!" Brin shouted, as Paul and Droz disappeared from sight. She jumped forward and looked down.

But then she took two steps back.

The hole grew wider and wider—and the standard mill started coming down.

Brin readied herself to fall into the vast, empty hole toward the center of the earth, to a monster's heaven, to a monstrous hell, to God knows what.

But Ash grabbed her arm just in time and pulled her toward the door.

"Oh my God! Brin!"

"Ash!" she screamed, loud and boisterous and thankful. She wanted to kiss him but knew there wasn't time.

"We have to get out of here! The whole mill is falling apart!"

Brin looked to her right to see the creaky mill swaying back and forth. Zombies stood at the door, the only way in or out, all clearly confused what to do now that the big bad Droz was gone. At the golf course earlier Brin and Ash had done all they could to avoid their touch, but now they were colliding against them, like the humans and the zombies were the best of friends.

"Hi," Ash said, brushing past the creatures to find a way out of the mill. "Sorry, sorry, excuse me, pardon me." He didn't let go of Brin's hand. He kept a tight grip and pulled her out.

Brin didn't say a word to the zombies, but she bounced off one of them, an obese female who had part of her face missing. Brin saw the zombie in a blur—but she knew who it had to be.

"Oh no," Brin said.

"Brin, hurry!"

"Oh God, Ash, I think I just saw Anaya—"

They re-entered the mill, just in time for the roof to start collapsing. They raced across two large, empty rooms, avoided about fifty more zombies, and made a sharp left at a tiny corridor to find an exit door, wide open.

Brin glanced back. The hole was growing, just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

"Brin! Jump! Goddammit, jump!"

"OK!"

Brin and Ash leaped away from the exit door and crashed down against the snowy hill, just as the entire standard mill imploded in on itself and dropped into the widening hole. Zombies screamed and moaned as they all fell back against the mill, down, down, down, into the black, vast nothingness.

Brin looked up at the awesome sight, marveling at it and worrying about it at the same time. "Holy shit, Ash," she said. "With Droz gone... I think... the hole's just going to keep expanding."