Someone to Remember Me: The Anniversary Edition Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Brendan Mancilla
few hours later, sometime close to noon, Eight thought her sensibility might have finally abandoned her. When it came it took them both by surprise. A long, hideous, drawn out roar echoed through the bowels of the city.
“What was that?” Seven demanded, trying to locate the origins of the roar behind them. The sound had reverberated around the travelers, echoing off the buildings and down the alleys. Eight couldn’t trace the source and stopped trying to, surprised as she was when Seven took a defensive step in front of her. Her mind went dark, clubbed into thoughtless submission, as she watched a man she hardly knew try to protect her from an invisible threat.
Nothing happened in the seconds after the sound. She thought it might have been her imagination. For one joyous moment she began to relax.
The base of a tower down the street exploded, rending chunks of metal, glass, and stone through the air. Violent tremors spasmed across ground beneath Eight’s feet. Their silent attacker issued another predatory roar and the whole building collapsed, buckling and snapping, screeching in agony as it imploded. A garish cloud of debris blossomed into the sky and expanded outwards. Another roar blared in Eight’s ears, rippling the swirling mass of brown dust, while more explosions shot chunks of the street into the air.
Seven broke the spell and reacted first.
“Run!” he shouted, grabbing Eight with his good hand and dragging her away. Eight felt compelled to stay; to study the anomaly tearing the city apart but she couldn’t resist Seven’s pull and burst into a frantic run at his side.
Tremors pulsed beneath their feet as the creature chased them down the empty road, giddily pursuing them with another malevolent shriek. Eight kept looking over her shoulder, but the dust cloud created by the explosions hid their pursuer. Lights flashed as metal and cabling snapped and sparked in the debris cloud.
“Come on!” Seven bellowed, pulling Eight closer to his side as they tore down the empty sidewalks. They flitted past more abandoned shops and stores whose windows were caked with grime, only to hear the sound of glass shattering and metal splintering.
The rapid change in the scenery didn’t register with Eight until they were well into the dead park. Like the university, they fled into a clearing that had become an ashen cemetery beneath time’s neglectful stewardship. Withered trees and decomposed soil flashed around Eight and Seven until they passed through the far side of the park. Seven’s abrupt stop caused Eight to smack into his shoulder.
She saw what had stopped him. An aged stone building where every shape adorned its exterior: ovals, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Statues occupied alcoves carved from different shades of white brick. Wings and horns, shields and swords decorated the immovable guardians. What windows she spotted were blackened by time and nature. One immense staircase led towards the old wooden doors that barred their entry.
The sounds of destruction continued to scream at them.
“In there!” Seven decided, yanking Eight up the stairs. Planter boxes lined the stairway but nothing occupied them. The dirt had turned to poisonous ash. At the top of the stairs, with the sun in the middle of the sky, Eight studied the illuminated park surrounding the building. Dead, like everything else.
Seven threw the doors open, pushed Eight into the darkness of the grand building, and slammed the doors shut behind them. A pathetic amount of light managed to pierce windows layered by grime. It was enough for Seven to see, and to drag her through the empty lobby. He pulled another set of doors open and pushed Eight through, slamming them shut with an exhausted gasp.
Eight grabbed Seven, afraid that her mind might drag her back into the past, and she walked alongside him in the dark. Panting for air, Seven nevertheless remained still as the building shook from the force of their attacker’s presence
“What was that?” Seven demanded, trying to locate the origins of the roar behind them. The sound had reverberated around the travelers, echoing off the buildings and down the alleys. Eight couldn’t trace the source and stopped trying to, surprised as she was when Seven took a defensive step in front of her. Her mind went dark, clubbed into thoughtless submission, as she watched a man she hardly knew try to protect her from an invisible threat.
Nothing happened in the seconds after the sound. She thought it might have been her imagination. For one joyous moment she began to relax.
The base of a tower down the street exploded, rending chunks of metal, glass, and stone through the air. Violent tremors spasmed across ground beneath Eight’s feet. Their silent attacker issued another predatory roar and the whole building collapsed, buckling and snapping, screeching in agony as it imploded. A garish cloud of debris blossomed into the sky and expanded outwards. Another roar blared in Eight’s ears, rippling the swirling mass of brown dust, while more explosions shot chunks of the street into the air.
Seven broke the spell and reacted first.
“Run!” he shouted, grabbing Eight with his good hand and dragging her away. Eight felt compelled to stay; to study the anomaly tearing the city apart but she couldn’t resist Seven’s pull and burst into a frantic run at his side.
Tremors pulsed beneath their feet as the creature chased them down the empty road, giddily pursuing them with another malevolent shriek. Eight kept looking over her shoulder, but the dust cloud created by the explosions hid their pursuer. Lights flashed as metal and cabling snapped and sparked in the debris cloud.
“Come on!” Seven bellowed, pulling Eight closer to his side as they tore down the empty sidewalks. They flitted past more abandoned shops and stores whose windows were caked with grime, only to hear the sound of glass shattering and metal splintering.
The rapid change in the scenery didn’t register with Eight until they were well into the dead park. Like the university, they fled into a clearing that had become an ashen cemetery beneath time’s neglectful stewardship. Withered trees and decomposed soil flashed around Eight and Seven until they passed through the far side of the park. Seven’s abrupt stop caused Eight to smack into his shoulder.
She saw what had stopped him. An aged stone building where every shape adorned its exterior: ovals, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Statues occupied alcoves carved from different shades of white brick. Wings and horns, shields and swords decorated the immovable guardians. What windows she spotted were blackened by time and nature. One immense staircase led towards the old wooden doors that barred their entry.
The sounds of destruction continued to scream at them.
“In there!” Seven decided, yanking Eight up the stairs. Planter boxes lined the stairway but nothing occupied them. The dirt had turned to poisonous ash. At the top of the stairs, with the sun in the middle of the sky, Eight studied the illuminated park surrounding the building. Dead, like everything else.
Seven threw the doors open, pushed Eight into the darkness of the grand building, and slammed the doors shut behind them. A pathetic amount of light managed to pierce windows layered by grime. It was enough for Seven to see, and to drag her through the empty lobby. He pulled another set of doors open and pushed Eight through, slamming them shut with an exhausted gasp.
Eight grabbed Seven, afraid that her mind might drag her back into the past, and she walked alongside him in the dark. Panting for air, Seven nevertheless remained still as the building shook from the force of their attacker’s presence