Division Zero Read Online Free PDF

okay?”
    No amount of fighting moved them for a minute, until the energy that turned them to iron faded. The officer tore her way loose and lifted the visor of her helmet.
    “Never in my life did I think I’d be happy to see one of you Zero spooks.”
    Kirsten helped her up, sulking. “We’re just like any other cop; no one’s happy to see us until they need us.”
    The patrol officer offered a guilty smile and an extended hand. “Yeah, you got that right. Sorry, Reya Menendez.”
    The handshake became a hug. “Kirsten Wren.”
    “Do me a favor? Don’t tell anyone I was screaming like a little bitch.” Officer Menendez looked down. “I was seeing crap in the walls from the street; right out of my nightmares.”
    “Yeah…” Kirsten broke eye contact. “Me too. It’s what he does. I won’t breathe a word. You good to make it out of here?”
    Reya took a few quick breaths and her cop-presence returned. “I think so. What in the fuck
was
that? You gonna be okay alone?”
    “A ghost, my guess is he used to be a doctor.” Kirsten relayed her opinion about the mechanic and asked her to make sure they treated him as a victim. “The ghost made him shoot at you. Thanks, I appreciate it… There’s nothing you can do to hurt him. Go on, get outta here. Stay safe.”
    After what had already happened to her, Reya offered little protest.
    Kirsten watched Reya jog to the stairway.
At least I got them both out of here alive. One thing left to do.
She jogged to the end of the hall, pausing for an instant at a fancy door tucked into an alcove.
    Trappings of numerous faiths decorated the chapel. She did not recognize the iconography of most of them, nor did she care to. After what Mother had done to her in the name of God, she paid little heed to religion. She had peered too deep into the other side to believe in man-made stories. She knew the Abyss existed and something else opposed it―a lighter energy that defied exact definition.
    She advanced through the dusty air, walking on tiptoe to prevent the creaking floor from giving way beneath her. Shifting colors shimmered along the walls from fading stained glass windows, sending frightening shadows dancing through the edges of her sight. Kirsten executed a tactical entry in all ways except for the lack of a readied weapon. Captain Eze would be upset if he saw this, but she did not trust her weapon as much as her gifts.
    A heavy scrape drew her eyes to the right. The ancient mace she had been expecting, solid and real, dragged itself out of an explosion of dust and flew at her from a table in the back. She ducked and one of its many spikes lodged into a support beam.
    The ghostly doctor filled in around it, tugging to get it loose. His effort to force himself to remain invisible to her lapsed; he used too much energy to free his weapon from the wall. Kirsten drew a deep breath, watching him struggle. Images of twitching, mangled bodies ran through her mind. Helpless people murdered in their beds. People that once trusted him, now trapped here for eternity by his malice. The Doctor’s gaze held fear and hatred, she sensed not a whiff of remorse.
    “I usually give souls a chance to redeem themselves, but after what you did to these defenseless people, I don’t think there’s anything left in there to save.”
    Thoughts of his victims focused emotion through her power. The wisp of energy appeared in her hand, so pure white it appeared blue. Coiling it sideways, she snapped it through the doctor like a whip.
    The ghost roared with rage and desperation. Tangling with someone not only able to defend against him, but with a distinct advantage, infuriated him. He vanished and reappeared next to her. Turning, she braced her mind to resist what she expected to be an attempt at possession.
    She did not notice the mace fly free of the wall of its own accord and sail into her. While short of a full swing, the impact remained severe enough to knock her off her feet and send her