Kapitel 99: UBER ZOMBIE [10]

It thundered towards Charon like a bull elephant, its terrible ratcheting cry a jagged blade of sound that ripped the air apart. Sam had to hand it to the skinny guy – if nothing else, the man had balls. Most people would have turned and run, but Charon stood his ground, leveled his gun, and began to fire. Arm ramrod-straight, he pumped bullet after bullet into the creature's head – or at least, into the grotesquely swollen protuberance on its shoulders that now passed for a head. Each shot ripped away dough-like chunks of flesh, thick blackish fluid gushing from the gaping wounds. The first few bullets barely slowed the creature down, but then the barrage began to take its toll. Punctured in a dozen or more places, the creature started to stagger and sway, leaving a black trail like engine oil behind it. Still, Charon backed away before its advance; still, he fired his gun, reloading quickly when he needed to. Eventually, he could back away no more. He came to a halt a meter from the edge of the tower roof. The creature was stumbling now, wheezing as it came. Charon stopped firing his gun and slowly raised his arms, like a high diver preparing for a plunge into the water below.