Wesley Snipes - Talon of God

But creepy as the constant unfamiliar croaking of scavenger birds was, they had nothing on the screams that occasionally went off like gunshots in the dark. Each one triggered Lauryn’s doctor’s instinct to stop and see what the problem was, but she made herself ignore them. Stopping was not an option. Despite the seemingly empty road, there was movement in the dark. Sometimes it was just one: a hunched, inhuman figure shambling just off the road. Other times it was dozens, whole groups moving in packs from house to house and building to building like zombies in a horror movie. Alone or together, they always looked up when Robbie’s car drove by, and there were always some following when she glanced at the rearview mirror, their bloody eyes gleaming in the orange streetlights.

Just the knowledge that they were back there was terrifying, so Lauryn stopped looking and focused on Will, holding him down to make sure the detective’s miraculously closed wound stayed that way through the bumps and jostles as Robbie pushed his souped-up car down the icy street faster than she ever would have dared.

“We’re not going to make it,” he muttered, glancing wild-eyed in the mirrors at the figures shambling after them. “You know what? To hell with this. Let’s grab Dad and get out of town while we still—”

“No,” Lauryn said sharply. “Running won’t help anything. You think all these people are just from the drugs?” Even if a third of Chicago had been on some kind of illegal substance, it wouldn’t account for citywide chaos going on around them. “It’s the contagion. This drug is spreading like a plague through the population, and it’s going to keep spreading unless we find a way to stop it. We need to— watch out! ”

She grabbed the handle as Robbie turned hard, narrowly avoiding spinning out as he swerved to avoid the old woman with red eyes who’d jumped into the street to make a grab for Lauryn’s door. By the time he got them back on track, Robbie looked like he was ready to have a heart attack. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “Oh my—”

“Robbie!” she said sharply, making him jump. “Now is not the time to panic. Just drive. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

He shook his head. “Don’t lie—”

“I’m not lying,” Lauryn said, and she wasn’t. There was no way she could have had the experiences she’d had tonight without reason, no way God would finally touch her just to let her fail. She wasn’t sure how yet, but she knew they’d get through this if she just kept the faith and kept her head, so that was what she focused on, calling on everything she’d learned about how not to panic over her years in the ER. “Just get us there. I’ll do the rest.”

Robbie didn’t look like he believed that, but he did keep driving, careening them through the city before finally smashing his car through an ornamental-fence gate and skidding to a stop in front of the largest mansion Lauryn had ever seen.

“This is it?” she asked, looking around in confusion. “But, this place belongs to Christopher St. Luke. He’s one of Mercy’s biggest donors, one of the leading philanthropists in the state.”

“Hey, this was where I was told to go,” Robbie replied with a shrug. “I warned you it might not be the right place.”

He had, but the more Lauryn looked at the dark, shuttered mansion, the more sure she became that this was the right place. The birds that had been gathering over the city were thicker than ever here. It had been hard to tell when they’d pulled up, but as she stepped out of the car, Lauryn could see that every tree on the mansion’s expansive riverfront grounds was jam packed with crows and buzzards and carrion feeders, all of whom seemed to be watching her, their black eyes glittering in the dark.

“Keep the engine running,” she said quietly, leaning over to grab Talon’s sword from the floorboards. “I’m going to go in and have a look around.”

“You can’t go!”

“I have to. I’ll be okay—I promise.”

Robbie’s face turned ashen. “What am I supposed to do with him?” he asked, jerking his head toward Will.

Lauryn frowned. Honestly, she’d been counting on him to wake up during the drive, but he must have lost more blood than she’d thought, because he was still out. “Just make sure he doesn’t try to get up,” she said at last. “Whatever happens, do not let him follow me. He’s lost way more blood than he should. If he moves too much, he’ll pass out and hurt himself, and even with the wound closed, there’s no telling what other internal damage might still be there. Tie him down if you have to, but don’t let him go anywhere. I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

“Hurry,” Robbie said, glancing over his shoulder at the busted gate. “It’s quiet up here so far since these houses are so damn big and spread out, but I wouldn’t count on it staying that way for long.”

Neither did she. Lauryn already thought it was suspicious that no guards had come when they crashed through the gate. Considering this was supposedly a drug kingpin’s mansion, she would have thought there’d be armed men all around them by now. But it was quiet. She tried to tell herself that this was just more proof of God’s divine intervention, but this time, Lauryn wasn’t so sure.

“I’ll hurry,” she promised. “But don’t be afraid to run if you need to.”

Robbie didn’t look too happy about that, but he nodded, and then… “Lauryn?”

She looked down at him through the window.

“Be careful,” he said, his voice stumbling. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, smiling to hide the growing dread in her stomach as she turned away from her brother to face the darkened house.

She wasn’t exactly used to this prayer stuff, but a plea to God for safety definitely seemed in order as she climbed the once elegant, now frozen-over marble steps. She’d fully expected to have to break a window, but to her surprise, the doorknob turned when she tried it, the well-hinged door sliding silently open the moment she pushed.

Lauryn snatched her hand back. For all that this had been exactly what she’d asked for, finding an open door to your enemy’s lair felt more like a trap than a blessing, especially once the smell hit her.

“Ugh,” she muttered, putting her hands over her nose.

The moment she’d cracked the door, the smell of rotting flesh had hit her like a wave. She couldn’t see what was rotting thanks to the dark, but it smelled like someone had left roadkill in a hot oven: a gut-churning combination of rancid meat and burning hair. But you didn’t last long as an ER doctor if you had a weak stomach, and once the shock of the stench passed, Lauryn was able to push ahead.

Keeping Talon’s sword ready in one hand, she lifted her phone with the other, using it as a flashlight as she stepped into an elegant foyer that still held the remains of what must have been one hell of a party. Everywhere her light fell, furniture had been toppled and, in some cases, crushed. Clothing—men’s and women’s—lay scattered around like confetti, and entire trays of canapés had been left to rot on the floor. There was also more than one puddle of vomit soaking the fine Persian rug, but not nearly enough to account for the stench. That seemed to be coming from farther in, because it only got stronger as Lauryn stepped away from the door. Breathing through her mouth, Lauryn was wondering what the hospital board would make of their favorite donor if they saw the state of his house when she heard a noise from the next room.

She whirled, sword clutched in her hand, but there was nothing to see. Just more dark. But then she heard the noise again. It was a sort of musical clunk, almost like someone had dropped a plate on a carpeted floor.