Plague Of The Revenants Read Online Free PDF Page A

reach me. It was no use. I would have to wait until they dispersed. After eight years in jail I was more than used to waiting and besides, I got the feeling it would be foolish to try and bolt from the creatures. I was still wearing the heavy coat pilfered off one of the revenants which I had used as a blanket whilst sleeping on the waste ground, so at least I would have some protection against exposure.

I remained on the roof for three days and night, drinking the stagnant water of the gutters when I needed hydration. Even though it was the height of summer by night it was still cold and the wind blew the rotten stench of death to chill my living bones. Throughout this time I tried to remain as quiet as possible in the hope that the revenants would soon disperse. By day I prowled as quietly as possible, waiting for my chance. The revenants wandered aimlessly in and out of the stadium, stumbled over the rubble and picked over the bloodied morsels of my fellow inmates. From the stadium I also had a good vantage point of the town but as I scanned the horizon all the way to the fields beyond not a firm sighting of life did I see. Sometimes I saw smoke which raised my spirits slightly but this almost always turned out to be an uncontrolled blaze from a factory which had started because there had been nobody left alive to stop it.
    My chance finally came on the fourth day, a slight path through to the road, a thinning of the revenants, a way out. I did not flinch, did not even stop to collect my coat. I was already half mad with hunger and knew that if I didn’t move now I would be too weak to make good my escape. I swung off the roof with my hands and slid like a fireman down the support beam, slowing myself towards the end to land silently on the stone floor. They saw me immediately, as I knew they would, but I hit the ground running, rushing through the stands and out on to the road beyond. I put my head down and charged, swinging with my fist to knock down a revenant who lurched into my path. Though weak I was still a big man from years of working out in the gym and reckoned myself a formidable force to be reckoned with despite the vast revenant numbers opposed to me.
    I hurried through the unfamiliar streets and when I tired I staggered , but I could not afford to stop. The revenants did not let up in their pursuit of me. This was the freshest meat they would have seen in days. I turned corner after corner and many times I saw a horde blocking my way. I was required to double back and try and dive down alleyways or through gardens in a constant, never-ending game of cat and mouse. If only I could find a moment to collect my thoughts, to think up a plan, and even through it all I could never quite forget how hungry I was.

The revenant fell on to me from the doorway as I ran past, the perfect ambush. I struggled hard, tried to shake it off but it gripped my shoulder tightly and together we fell, grappling to the floor. My frantic fingers reached up and seized a hold of its head, trying desperately to keep its ravenous jaws away from my skin. From behind and in front I heard the moan of the advancing hordes. I kicked out my legs for leverage and rolled over on top of it, pinioning its neck to the ground with one hand and bringing up my other to pound its hellish face into oblivion. It was a fast, frenzied attack and I had no time to make sure of my work. As soon as its body went limp I was on my feet and running once more. I put my head down and charged through a small crowd of the creatures, their clawing hands ripping at my clothes, and yet I came through it unscathed, for now at least. I turned a corner and came into a street I recognised from before, was pursued by revenants whose rotting faces I had seen before. I was going round in circles and in the meantime my energy levels were falling and my luck was surely fast running out.

I ran as fast as I could and as I ran the revenants turned to follow behind me until the