Every ounce of instinct in Nancy’s body was screaming at her. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening. But even as her muscles and her limbs refused to accept the bodies and blood, the broken glass crunching beneath her feet, she felt a strange, cold sharpness. A clarity she’d never felt before. There was no anxiety, no panicking, just a burning desire to get to the front of the train while keeping Amir safe, and getting outside.

She wanted to get to her kids. Jenny and Oliver. Were they safe? Were they in danger? The earthquake had to have brought them back. This was an act of God. But what are these angels? Were these things attacking her children too?

And her damn phone. It didn't seem to be connecting now. She'd gotten a warbled call through before. She'd heard Henry's voice. But nothing would load now. No texts would send. She couldn't call for help. There was no more signal. Was that because of the earthquake? Was there a power outage on the surface too?

But these worries wouldn’t help her, so she didn’t worry. Her mind emptied of everything but her surroundings, and she put one foot in front of the other.

She tried not to slip on blood. Tried not to notice the carnage. Opening the heavy doors at the end of each train car was painful; it took too much arm strength to slide open. Then she had to hold it for Amir to get out, and her hands were injured already. The crossing between cars wasn’t easy either. Once she’d shut one door behind her, they were stuck in between cars, in the sweltering heat of the underground tunnel, in the dark, as all the train lights had finally gone out. If it weren’t for their phones, they would’ve been helpless.

There was a tiny gap between each car that they had to step over. She’d been worried about Amir’s legs being too short, but he’d crossed well enough. Though he kept looking down in fear. After the second car they’d gone through, an angel tried to attack from above as they moved into the next car.

Nancy spritzed the creature in the face with pepper spray then ducked as its arms swung blindly, the hissing and screaming hurting her ears as she pulled the next door open, hurried Amir inside, and followed as quickly as she could. Each breath was strained. Her ribs hurt so much, she was barely upright, but there wasn't a moment to rest.

An angel was already in this train car, feasting on a man crying softly for help. Amir flashed it in the face with his phone's light, and the creature scrambled to the far side of the car, screeching in pain, moving on all fours like some sort of demented zombie. It crawled out through a window, glass cutting into its hips and thin legs.

Footsteps followed along the metal ceiling. More hissing noises echoed around the tunnel, and Nancy stepped over bodies, making sure not to trip. If she fell again, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get back up. She ignored the man who was crying softly and told Amir sternly to keep moving. The man wore a dress shirt and tie, and was lying on his side, eyes glossed over. The angel had torn into his side, exposing much of his guts, and Nancy knew he didn’t have much time left. There was nothing she could do for him.

She tried to move quickly, but there was too much blood, too many bodies. And Amir was struggling to keep up. Their lights shone on torn chunks of flesh, teeth marks, and exposed bones. Streaks and hand prints of blood on poles and door windows and benches. But that wasn’t even the worst part. It was the eyes.

People’s eyes stared at nothing, glistening in every flicker of light. And the smell. It smelled like metal that had been sitting in the sun too long. She got the sense that the angels had attacked so quickly and suddenly. But there were too many people, too much prey, and they pounced from one to the other trying to gorge on as many as possible. Or were they just hunting for sport? Killing just because they could.

Some bodies had been trampled to death, shoe prints on their backs or faces. Others must’ve gotten hurt in the initial earthquake, easy targets for the angels when the onslaught began. She wished she could cover Amir’s eyes. She wished she could scoop him up and carry him out of this nightmare, but she needed his set of hands. They both had to be alert with their phones. That was the only thing keeping the angels at bay, and her pepper spray was almost out. She wished Henry was with her. Henry and his gun. Was this the “just in case” he’d had in mind?

It helped that Amir was quick. Even though he trotted along slowly behind her, whenever a ghastly face appeared at a broken window, he’d cry out and shine the light right into their eyes. The angel would tumble off in a fit of screaming, shards of glass raining down in and outside of the car. The boy didn’t seem too bothered by the bodies. Or if it did bother him, he didn’t say anything. Maybe he thought it was a video game. Or a movie. Kids grew up watching much worse these days, she told herself. Or was she just trying to convince herself that things weren’t as bad as they were?

What would happen once their phones died? Batteries didn’t run forever. And what if the angels realize they could just shut their eyes or cover their faces? In a face-to-face fight, those things would tear Nancy apart.

Don’t worry about that now. Calm. Stay calm.

They made it to the last train car, the very front of the entire train. But this final door wouldn’t open no matter how hard Nancy shook the handle and yanked. It was locked from the inside. She shone her light through the window. This one was denser and darker than the other windows on the train, but Nancy could see the conductor.

A uniformed body lay slumped against the controls. He was missing most of one shoulder and arm, blood dripping from the wound. Nancy grimaced. Beyond him was the shattered front glass of the train; she’d been hoping they could get into the conductor’s room then out through his door.

Exasperated, she tried turning the handle again, but it wouldn’t budge. She glanced to her right and left at the sliding doors. Could she pry them open? With her hand as injured as it was? With how weak she was? And all that noise would surely attract the angels right to them. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Her plan had come to a dead end, and her clarity was falling apart. It was too hard to think.

She was too aware of the footsteps above and the hissing echoing around the tunnel. At least the angels weren’t inside the car with them. But... She wondered if she could crawl out through a broken window. If she could get the boy out that way. But it was no good. The glass would cut into them, and they’d be an easy meal for the angels.

Did she really have any chance of surviving this? She squeezed her phone and glanced around the train car again, trying to find any possible escape route. They just had to get to the station ahead. Then they could get to the surface. To sunlight. And there’d be more people there. Police officers. Firemen. Rescue operatives. Maybe even the National Guard. She just had to get there.

Maybe... an idea lit up Nancy’s thoughts as her light shone on the opposite side of the train car. Between each car was that tiny gap, and it was a little more of a gap on either side of the hooks that connected the cars. There were large cables that prevented them from just stepping off the sides, but that gap beside the hook... they’d have to squeeze through, but she was sure she could fit. She was thin and small, and the boy was even smaller. That was their best hope.

“C’mon,” she said, hobbling briskly back the way they’d come. Amir hurried after her, one hand on her skirt, the other hand aiming the phone behind him. A hand emerged from a window and squeezed jagged glass, drawing blood. The sheen of a forehead appeared next, but Nancy put it out of her mind. Her heart was pounding so hard, she felt it in her throat, and she focused as intently as she could on the door. Get to the door.

She slid it open, forearms straining, just as that angel climbed into the train car and went sprawling over a bench. “You first,” she whispered, holding the door for Amir. Once they were in the gap, she shut the door before the angel could realize where they’d gone. She held her breath.

Amir looked up at her with wide eyes. He puffed out his cheek and glanced at the doors. “Are we moving back to Nana?”

She shook her head. “We’re going to drop down here. See the gap?”

She shone her light on the space between the two cars. A large metal hook and binding went across the center, but on either side of the hook was space. Glass clinked in the train car, and she hoped more angels had gone inside. She nudged the boy forward with one hand and gave his shoulder a squeeze. In the sweltering heat, it was difficult to breathe, and Amir kept clinging to her leg. He glanced down at the dark tracks below and shook his head.

“It’s going to be alright,” she said, trying to stifle her own pounding sense of dread. She scanned the ceiling of the tunnel, keeping the light focused on the floor. That gave her enough visibility to make sure nothing was above them. Nothing would pop out from the train tops. “Okay, I’ll go first. We’re going to duck down under these cables, see? Then edge along the tunnel.”

The gap looked even tinier now. Shaking, she lowered herself till she was sitting on the metal ledge, lowering her feet into the space below. She ignored the horrifying image of getting stuck halfway, her head and upper body a buffet for the angels as her legs kicked uselessly.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Were there rats down there?

Filthy, disease-ridden rats?

Did rats really matter right now?

She sucked in her belly, wincing at the sharp pain in her ribs, then glanced assuredly at Amir. Holding onto train with her good arm, lowered her hips through the gap. She went lower and lower until her shoe felt the metal hardness of the railing. Never touch the third rail, she remembered. That’s where the electricity ran, but she had no way of knowing which one was the third rail, and either way, nothing responded to the bottom of her shoe. Slowly, she let go of the train and stood on the rail.

She tried to smile encouragingly at Amir, most of her body beneath the train now. He shone his light into her face, and she squinted.

“Don’t look,” she whispered, holding out her hand. “Come one now. Nearly there.... yes. I got you.” He sat down on the edge just as she had. But instead of letting go, he held on. And she realized he couldn’t jump. He was too short. He’d trip on the rail and... She repositioned herself so he could slide off the train and onto her.

But as he threw his arms around her, his phone slipped from his grip and cluttered down to the bottom. She clutched his head to her chest as she knelt into the dark space, her heart pounding so hard, terrified the angels had heard the nose. The phone had landed face down, its light shining upward and illumining the metal underbelly of the train. She kicked it away, so that its light wouldn’t be as visible, then she ducked beneath the cables, suppressing a groan as her bones protested, and made her way to the side of the train.

She wished there was enough space for them to crawl beneath the train. Even if it meant being on her hands and knees, crawling over the filthy railing. But there was no time for what ifs, and she slipped into the gap between the side of the train and the tunnel wall.

“I’m setting you down,” she whispered as quietly as she could. The boy shook his head, but she had no choice. They couldn’t move in this space if she was holding him; they had to flatten themselves against the wall.

Once she’d set him down, she showed him her plan. She tucked her phone into her coat pocket, obscuring the light so that only a soft glow illuminated the metal skin of the train in front of them, and flattened herself against the tunnel wall. She ignored the crawling sense of filth, how dirty it must be, how she was ruining her hair and the back of her coat, but what did that matter. She stepped forward, the train in front of her, its unmoving metallic body looking like a gigantic insect.

Sucking in her breath, she heard a soft crackling in her lungs. Her knees burned as she extended her leg to the side before sliding her body forward. She motioned for Amir to follow, and he did the same as her. Flattening himself against the tunnel side and moving sideways, shuffling his feet with careful steps. If there was just a bit more space, the two of them could walk facing forward, but at least the windows were too high up for them to peer into the train car. She could hear angels scrambling inside. Could hear them hissing and sniffing.

Could they smell her?

Could they smell her fear?

She heard a loud thud somewhere behind them. It must’ve been two train cars down. Were the angels leaving? Had they found someone else to eat? That didn’t matter.

They moved slowly. Carefully. Continuing their sideways shuffling. One step to the side before the other foot slid over. The movement made her hips ache. Her hamstrings tightened. Her ribs were ready to pop out of their cage. But bit by bit, they made their way.

The angels must not know the two of them were off the train. Maybe they didn’t understand. Or maybe the thick, disgusting stench of the tunnel, the pallid hot air, was masking them. As long as Nancy and the boy remained quiet, they could go. They could slip away unnoticed!

Her back and hips ached from their awkward movements. Her lungs burned. But they got to the front of the train car again, right below the conductor’s window, and the tunnel opened ahead of them. They could face forward again and move...

She held her breath, too afraid to step out from their little compact space between the train and the tunnel wall. It was claustrophobic, but at least it was safe. The empty space ahead looked daunting. It was hardly visible, and the darkness opened like an enormous mouth. The tracks led to nothing.

But with every passing moment, every bead of sweat dripping down her back, she knew her phone was running out of battery. They were down to one phone now. They had to keep going.

She reached for Amir’s hand, wincing as she tapped the tunnel wall twice before finding Amir’s sleeve. Then, pulling him with her, she stepped out into the open space and sped away from the train without looking over her shoulder. She was careful to step between each of the tracks so that there would be no tapping sounds against the metal, and she hobbled as quickly as she could, forcing Amir to keep up.

His breaths came quick and shallow, and he was half running, but adrenaline pumped through Nancy’s limbs. Her exhaustion and pain faded to a dull throbbing. They were going to make it. They were going to be just fine.

A short while later, after they’d put five or so minutes of distance between themselves and the train, she heard a hiss that sent a chill shooting down her spine.

Her hope fell apart, and she froze. Amir bumped into her leg. This hiss was coming from up ahead.

Then there was another. And another. And Nancy pulled her phone out from her coat pocket, careful to cover the flashlight so as to not give away their position. She shook her pepper spray gently, trying to measure how much was left.

Not enough. There wasn’t enough. Amir clung close to her, and she dragged him along, holding her breath as the hissing sounds grew louder, as another sound became terribly clear.

Chewing. Chewing and tearing and swallowing.

A dim, eerie glow came into view. She’d hoped the station would be more brightly lit, but it must’ve lost power too. The rock face of the tunnel walls gave away to cold, white tiles. A strip of green tiles ran along the center stating the station’s name in big, bold letters. 57th Street, Lexington Avenue. Her phone vibrated, and she almost dropped it. Her eyes went wide. Her heart pounded in her ears as she realized she had a connection again.

She tapped on the screen, struggling to unlock it as the notification bar kept popping up.

Where are you???

Are you okay?

Nancy!

Nancy pick up

What ix going on:?

There were dozens like that from Henry. But then, the worst notification, and it flashed by so quickly she wasn’t sure if she’d seen it: Ollie’s at the hospital. Heading there right now.

The trains are stuck. The mta’s not updting shit.

Nancy!

We’re at Mnhattan hope fgeneral

NAncy, please respond

They wn't let me insde

There were endless miss calls from Henry, from coworkers and friends and family, from numbers she didn’t recognize. But tears filled her eyes and blurred her vision, and the light and colors on the screen blurred into a meaningless blob.

She blinked them away. I can’t cry yet. I have to get out of here. Oliver’s safe. And Jenny... Jenny. Where’s Jenny?

Trying to recompose herself, she lowered her phone, ignoring the vibrations and the oncoming notifications, ignoring the desperate need to call Oliver’s number and then Jenny’s and then Henry’s. She stepped forward.

As the station came into view, she spotted an angel on the tracks ahead. It was on all fours, feeding on someone. Two more angels were on the station platform.

Blood dripped steadily onto the tracks, but Nancy eyed the little service stairwell on the side. They’d have to climb that, cross the station platform, and get through the turnstiles. Then they could bolt up the main stairs to the surface. She could almost feel the sunlight on her skin. The lungful of fresh, clean air. Then she could respond to her messages. Then she could call her husband and her children. And she could help Amir find his family.

They were so close.

So close that it ached. She took Amir’s hand and whispered, “We’re gonna run for the stairs.”

He nodded, looking determined. If only he had his phone, she thought.

She swallowed hard and went up the steps, counting each one to keep her mind focused. One... two... three... at twelve, as soon as her feet were on the platform, she shouted, “Hey!”

The angels whipped their heads around, most of them on all fours, the whites of their eyes focused on her. They bared their stained teeth and hissed, all attention on her. Perfect.

She raised her phone, bringing the flashlight up, shining it right into all those bony, blood-covered faces.

The result was immediate shrieking. Hissing and screeching echoed all around as the angels scrambled to get away. Nancy led Amir up the stairs, picking up her pace, keeping her light pointed forward. Two of the angels ran up the tracks, to the safety of the darkness ahead. The other went for the turnstiles, spilling over it and onto the other side.

She swore silently; it was blocking off their exit. Its thin limbs flailed as it ran headfirst into the metro card kiosk with a loud crack. It scrambled away on all fours, clawing at its face, nearly tripping as it bounded over several bodies before hitting the stairwell. A shout came from above, a human shout.

Three shots rang out, nearly in unison, sounding like claps of thunder, and the angel screamed. Nancy dropped down and pulled Amir against her, holding him tight until her ears stopped ringing. She glanced behind her, making sure nothing was sneaking up on them, then glanced at the angel that tried to go up the stairs.

It lay on the steps, a bullet hole in its forehead and another in its shoulder, oozing blood.

Hope, warmer and more powerful than before, filled Nancy’s chest as she stood up, still holding Amir. Adrenaline surged through her legs as she ran for the stairwell. She could already hear hissing echoing in the tunnel behind her. But that didn’t matter. There were people up there. People with weapons. They were safe.

Amir shouted something she couldn’t fully hear. She ran as fast as her legs could go. She stepped over the bleeding angel and looked up at the long flight of stairs, at the top where sunlight was leaking through the entrance, when another shot rang out.

“Hold your fire! Hold your fire! She’s a civilian!” roared a voice. Everything blurred and echoed around her. The light dimmed. Shadows darted around her. She turned instinctively to the side, trying to shield Amir with her body.

Nancy felt like she’d been punched in the thigh. Amir cried out, and she fell to her knees, still holding Amir. Something hot and wet ran down her leg.

I’ve been shot...

I’ve been shot!

Something grabbed her foot and yanked. Nancy let Amir go as her chin and elbows bounced on several steps. She screamed, trying to grab onto something, as the pain in her leg felt like something was ripping her in half. Amir reached down and grabbed her arm, and she screamed at him to run.

The shadows from above swarmed closer and closer. Blue uniforms. Frightened faces. Flashlights. More shots rang out. Like cannon fire echoing in the stairwell. The static of walkie-talkies rang through her head like electricity. Crackling voices. Urgent call outs.

Whatever had grabbed her foot let go. Screeching and hissing and shouting erupted at the foot of the stairwell; she couldn’t tell what was human or what was angel, but she grabbed the collar of the nearest officer as they tried to help her.

“Manhattan Hope,” choked Nancy. Her vision faltered. Her ears throbbed from the loud shots. She wasn’t sure if she was screaming or whispering. She wasn't sure if her leg was still attached. “My son... take me to him right now.”