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hardened steel blades down in a savage arch. A direct hit, a fatal kind of final blow, ripped through the withered appendage, crushing the network of tiny bones, shredding the rotting tendons and muscles, and pinning the horrible thing to the floor like a giant spike. |
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For Cappy, there was a moment, a single brief void in space and time, when everything stopped. Out of all of that evolved one long, terrible, loud scream. |
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The excruciating pain in her mangled leg stemmed the hysterical urge to rejoice in her victory. She crawled across the floor until her trembling hands grasped the leg of the bed. Hand over hand, she pulled herself up until she could crawl out on the cool expanse of the white cotton sheets. |
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The room was painted in long, gray, somber shadows, empty and silent. There was only the sound of her own still hammering heart. |
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She curled up in the middle of her bed, sobbing, tortured beyond endurance. First she'd rest, then get help. Her eyes were heavy. Her labored breathing was interspersed with racking sobs. |
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When she awoke, it was on her, covering her face. It was too late. The sound she heard was the most terrifying sound of allthe hollow, empty echo of death. |
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