Eve's Hollow by Charles Bedlam (best free e reader .txt) 📕

She closed her eyes, listening to the distant sound of the Punished bypassing the alley that she had chosen to hide in. Sitting in this lonely alley, she could think of a world of wrong that her past life had committed. It seemed as though Estelle was receiving karma for it all. If she was so pure, then why was she being punished for the actions of her past life? She began to feel angry. Estelle contemplated this for too long and was awoken from her thoughts by a low moaning accompanied by creaking.

At first she thought that the Punished had located her. She peeked around the dumpster and there was no one there. She looked down the alley and still there was no one. She sat back, gun ready and realized that the sound was coming from the corpse that sat directly across from her. Estelle didn't pay much attention to it because she thought it was dead. This body was badly decomposed and she could not tell if it was a man or a woman. Its flesh was dried and torn. She watched the dark, mummified body begin to twist and stretch. It sat forward, then rose on shaky, boney legs. It looked right at Estelle through the dark holes in its eyes, then the orange light of the Punished appeared.

Long deteriorated vocal chords stopped it from screaming out, but it reached forward and tried to mouth something at Estelle. It grabbed at the air, intending to capture the girl. It breathed through its dusty throat and without warning, lunged. It all happened so fast and Estelle didn't even have time to react to the attack. The Punished gripped her throat with both of its hands and wrung.

In her moment of desperation, Estelle raised her revolver and blew a chunk out of the creature's head out. Skull and dust shot out everywhere and the Punished fell to the ground, dead. At least it seemed to be.

“There she is!” came a voice from down the alley.

Estelle ran before the crowd of Punished all noticed her at the same time. At first there were only three or four chasing her, but soon the entire crowd followed.

The back alley ways of Eve's Hollow were like a labyrinth, confusing and never ending. It was even darker here than it was on the street. Estelle had no sense of direction, but she knew that she could not stop. She still felt the icy hands of the Punished around her throat. If one Punished nearly strangled her to death, she shuddered to think of what one hundred would do. Desperation filled her body when she came face to face with a multi-story brick wall. She looked around for a way out. Her only hope was a fire escape ladder about one hundred and fifty yards behind her.

There was absolutely no time to think. She rushed as fast as her tired body would carry her. All she needed was to get to that ladder before they caught up with her. She could see the first few glowing faces searching for her. They saw her and sprinted. She was nearly to the ladder and completely depleted of energy. Once she grasped the cold metal bar, she was almost unable to lift herself. The pain in her right shoulder had lessened, but it still stung. With all of her will power she pulled herself up the first few bars. She was able to rest for just a moment.

The Punished pooled beneath her, black and gray hands reaching up at her. This particular fire escape consisted of a single ladder that rose to the roof of the building. Estelle estimated that the building was between fifteen and thirty stories tall; one of the smaller buildings. She was many bad things, but a positive trait that she possessed was that she was quite intelligent. She was able to accurately estimate great distances as far as she could see. She was surprised to see that the Punished had not begun climbing. She was afraid to look down to see why, and instantly regretted her curiosity.

It was not that the Punished could not climb the ladder. It seemed that each one wanted to go after Estelle first. When one man jumped up on the ladder, an angry elderly pulled him down only to fall to the next Punished who sought to kill the girl. They became more violent by the second. Estelle hurried up the ladder. Just as she did, one of the Punished escaped the frenzy and began to climb after her.

“You won't get away from me!” she screamed at Estelle, glowing holes peeking through tangled hair.

Estelle was still a good distance away, but the Punished began to file up the ladder while the frenzy moved deeper into the crowd. Once she reached the top she drew her gun. She waited until the female Punished had nearly reached the top of the ladder, then she dispatched her. Two more quickly followed. With two shots left, she hesitated to pull the trigger, but the need to preserve her life overcame the logic to save ammo, but was then defenseless.

She immediately ran to the opposite side of the building, seeking an escape. There was a large stairwell encased in glass and metal that began on the roof of this building and ascending to the rooftop of a neighboring tower. The stairs were worn out and they looked unsafe. The threat at her back pushed her forward. The structure shook as she stepped forward, creaking angrily as if being intentionally agitated. She held onto the rail as she climbed several flights of stairs.

After she felt she had gained a lead, she leaned against the railing, near a broken window. She looked out. The buildings made it hard to see. It made her feel claustrophobic. She looked down and realized that she couldn't see the street anymore. She didn't realize how high she was. Even she couldn't judge this distance without seeing the ground. The buildings seemed to sink into a hollow, black abyss. She stared into the darkness, mesmerized. She tried to imagine what it must be like to fall from this height. It was so dark that you wouldn't even see the street coming at you.

Estelle was quickly awoken from her trance when the stairwell began to shake. She looked down the stairs and saw the familiar faces of her pursuers. Having been able to rest, she was better prepared to pace herself in escaping. The Punished were more mobile now that there was more room for them to move, but she wasn't ready to quit. She had just begun. She had died already once before. The pain was still fresh in her mind and she was not willing to go through it like this. She hurried up the stairs and came out on what must have once been a beautiful rest area.

It was the roof top of another building, but this area was made to socialize. There were several sitting areas as well as refreshment stands. Long abandoned bags and personal possessions lay scattered about. A glass pyramid topped the roof. Several of the panes were broken or covered in dirt and filth. Estelle sought a way out or a place to hide. There was another bridge, but it was separated and raised tilted up on both sides like a drawbridge, held by four heavy chains.

Time quickly ran out as the first half dozen Punished came up the stairs. There was nowhere to hide on this roof, the bridge was impassible, and the only other way off of the roof was back the way she came. She tried to back away and remain out of sight. She kicked a knife on the ground and picked it up. A steak knife, it was dull, but heavy. It would work well for stabbing. She held it at the ready and prepared to defend herself. Shooting one was easy enough at point blank range, it would be a different experience to fight them like this, especially considering her size. She found herself wishing she was still an adult, but she couldn't focus on that now.

The first Punished saw her and moved in for the kill. He held his arms out, ready to kill her, but before he could, Estelle lunged forward and dug the knife into his neck. Dark blood spilled out and the light faded from his eyes and mouth. She was afraid that she couldn't kill them at first, but after her second victory over the monsters, she felt a burst of confidence.

She killed the next a little easier the same way. Blood covered her small hands. She heard more of them coming and she knew she couldn't stab them all in the neck. Four of the Punished ascended the stairs and immediately picked their target. Estelle knew that she couldn't fight them. She could hear more of them coming up the stairs. She could stay and fight or she could just end up dying. Either way, she was determined not to give up. As the Punished approached, she held her knife and prepared for pain of death.

Just then BANG! With the Punished mere yards from where the girl stood, two of their heads exploded off of their bodies. The shock wave was enough to stop the others in their tracks. The remaining two were also executed, following two more bangs. There was a third bang, followed by the sound of ringing metal. Estelle looked up to see one of the chains vibrating. The fourth shot broke the chain. Someone was trying to help her.

Another shot rang out and another one of the chains broke. The half of the bridge closest to Estelle fell just as the full wave of the Punished was coming up the stairs. Estelle rushed onto the bridge as the next shot broke the third chain. A crazed Punished woman lunged at Estelle and met with her knife to the gut. She fell atop her killer. Estelle heaved the body off of her as the last chain broke and she had access to the next roof. She wasted no time and went up the stairs as the Punished followed.

The top of this bridge brought her to a very broken looking hallway with large windows on both sides. A line of cushioned seats divided the hallway down the middle. Estelle quickly rushed down the hallway with the pack of angry, screaming animals behind her. As she ran, she heard several more shots fired off as well as the dying wails of the Punished. There was a door at the end of the hall and Estelle pushed through it, ignoring the construction warning sign.

She found herself in an unfinished section of the building. Wooden boards lined the floors, metal girders stood like pillars in a crypt, and large plastic tarps fluttered with the breeze that swept through the building. Estelle noticed a crowbar on the ground and used it to jam the door shut. No sooner did the Punished begin beating and scratching at the door, howling obscenities at the girl. She backed away from the door, making sure that it would not open then she turned and left.

Her mind was like a boulder rolling down a steep hill. Every thought and possible answer just lead to more questions and made her worries grow. Why did the Punished want to kill her so badly? Was it something she did? What if the shooter wants to kill her too? Was his next shot going to be aimed at her? How would she get away from both the shooter and the Punished? How much longer could she survive?

Trying to push the brain's most brutal questions and scenarios out of the mind is a difficult task, but Estelle accomplished this just enough to will herself onward. She kept her knife at the ready and jumped