The Aberration Read Online Free PDF Page B

Others rammed against it in their unchecked flight, vibrating the hinges.  They pressed in with numbers so thick that for a moment he could not see anything but their shuffling bodies.
    It was the peering faces that made bile rise in his throat.
    There was nothing there.  Every head was devoid of its face, replaced by skin as pale and smooth as a boiled egg.  Yet he knew they saw with eagle vision, staring at he and Michael through the narrow window ravenously.  Howls from their missing mouths reverberated in his skull until he wanted to cover his head to escape.
    Michael knelt on the floor, clutching his temples.  “Shit!  What the hell are those things?”
    Guy backed away from the door, where the Others still pressed inward as though willing it to collapse.  The silence was almost as eerie as their appearance.  Their frantic movements were without sound, yet he could feel their every movement crawl on his skin like cockroaches.
    He backed away and picked up the duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder.  “Let’s get out of here.”  His voice was alien to his ears, a monotone that belonged to a saner man.
    “Where to, Guy?  They could be all around the building…”
    “We’re joining up with the others.  We’re gonna need everyone if we’re going to do this.”
    “Do what ?”
    “Survive.”
    The silent shrieks pursued them as they fled to the brightly lit hallway.
     

 
    11

Differentiating Conceptions
     
    Fran exhaled her relief when Michael and Guy returned, both dripping wet.  The uncomfortable silence had thickened to near solidity after they left.  Rob and Drake weren’t exactly the type to inspire confidence in harrowing times.
    Rob actually yelped when the door opened.  “It’s about time you, uh… got back.  We uh, thought that maybe you had… -hey are those guns ?”
    Michael’s flawless face had hijacked her attention so thoroughly that she didn’t even notice the sawed-off shotgun resting on Guy’s shoulder.  A couple more pistols were holstered at his waist.
    “Hope that’s a rhetorical question,” he said.  “Right now we have more to worry about.”
    “That’s about the biggest violation of company policy I’ve ever…”
    “Shut up!” 
    They all stopped and stared as though they had forgotten she was there.  “Someone killed Greg.  Drake’s a mess.  We’re all stuck in here, and you’re worried about stupid company policies ?  The main thing is -can we get out of here?”
    “It’s not going to be that easy,” Michael said.  She and the others listened in growing horror at his tale of faceless beings that surrounded the building.  None of it seemed possible, but even though Guy could easily be dismissed as crazy, there was no way Michael would repeat the story unless it were true…
    “Jesus.  No faces ?”
    Rob scratched his head.  “Are you sure?  It’s hard to see anything in that rain.  Maybe you saw…”
    Guy rounded on him.  “Do we look like idiots to you, Rob?  You think that storm is natural ?  Wherever it came from… it brought something with it.  We’d be fools to go back out there.” 
    “Why didn’t you just shoot the bastards?” Drake asked suddenly.  The manifestation of firearms seemed to have enhanced his courage.  “Those guns do shoot, don’t they?
    Guy glared.  “They’re not exactly human, you helpless ass .  I didn’t want to risk creating a volatile situation.”
    “Volatile situation?”  Drake sputtered in disbelief. 
    Fran shook her head.  “Wait.  How… how is any of this possible?” 
    “If this isn’t a volatile situation , what the hell is?”
     Fran felt her nails dig painfully into the palms of her hands.  “What’s happening to us?
    “An Aberration.”  Guy’s stare was slightly glazed, his voice barely audible. 
    “Wha… what?”
    Everyone looked at Guy.  He continued to stare into space as though seeing something they couldn’t.
    Michael raised his hands.