Free Dead Cells - 01 by Adam Millard Page B

came down again; Terry Lewis took a deep breath before continuing.
    'Against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.'
    He slammed the bat down; there came the sound of bones cracking. The creature slumped to the floor, growling and grunting, still snapping with whatever teeth remained.
    'Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness.'
    'Fucking thing!' Jared snapped, spitting on it and giving it a cautious kick in its backside. Terry lifted a hand and told his cellmate to take a step back, which he did.
    'And whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the Devil.'
    He pulled the bat high into the air and drove it down with such force that it hit the concrete beneath the creature's face. The bat stood up, sticking out of the back of Dale McCarthy's head like a candle on a birthday cake. Both of the prisoners took a step back now; Terry's hands were shaking.
    'What was all that about?' Jared asked. 'I didn't know you were a religious nut.'
    Terry wiped the sweat from his brow. 'I was ,' he said. 'A long, long time ago.'
    They watched as the creature continued to twitch for a few seconds, and then stopped moving completely.

    *

    'How many times?' Shane said to Billy, who was laughing. 'I've never dressed as a woman. That's just your fantasy.'
    'My fantasy,' Billy said, 'is to get out of here one day, track you down, and teach you how to fight like a man.'
    'You've never seen me fight,' Shane said.
    'Exactly,' said Billy. 'Which leads me to believe that you fight like a girl.'
    Their banter was immediately silenced as something crashed against the cell door. Shane jumped to his feet, ready to hit anything that tried to penetrate their fortress; Billy backed up against the wall and reached into his boot. A small knife, although big enough to kill someone if you stuck it in the right place, came out. Shane offered Billy a silent glare; he wondered where Billy had managed to procure the weapon, and why he needed it at all.
    Something slammed the cell door again, but neither of them could see who, or what, it was. The wedged furniture had worked so well that their view of the outside was compromised.
    'Get the fuck out of here!' Shane yelled, but he knew that whoever was hitting the gate was unlikely to listen. These were hardened criminals they were dealing with, not impertinent children. Telling them to back off was about as good as inviting them to try their luck at getting in.
    There came one more slam, a scream, and then a gargle so close that Shane could practically smell the breath of whoever had made such a noise. Through a crack between the cabinet and a chair, Shane could see skin-colour, and a small rivulet of blood dripping across it. Then he was staring into the wide, bloodshot eye of a man as he slid down the cell door.
    'It's getting bad out there,' Shane said, stepping away from the bed.
    A pool of blood began to work its way into the cell. When Billy Toombs saw it, he said: 'No shit.'
    The next hour was filled with screams, and Shane and Billy sat waiting, trying to figure out what was happening. They finally reached the conclusion: All Hell had broken loose.

    *

    Marla was starting to feel the effects of the whisky and decided that she had had enough, despite it being a free bar.
    'Prick,' she mumbled, referring to Charles Dean and the ridiculous array of self-gratifying bullshit adorning his office walls. The thing was, it got boring after a while, and once Marla had read each of the certificates twice, she wanted to go home more than ever.
    She wiped the glass clean on the sleeve of her blouse, and dropped it back into the fake globe where it smashed against one of the miniatures at the bottom. She smiled, said ' Ooops ,' and decided that it was a good thing that she would be leaving pretty soon, as soon as she could find another job.
    This really was taking the piss, now. She had been stuck in the governor's office for well