Free The Gates: An Apocalyptic Novel by Iain Rob Wright Page A

morning in the city’s busiest shopping
street, began to emit light. What happened next was something right out of a
nightmare. These scenes were captured less than five minutes ago. ”
    The reporter disappeared, and video footage took
her place. It showed a glowing lasso of light emanating from a black stone in
the centre of the road. The lasso spread out into a wider circle and formed an archway.
There was no loss in quality as the first creature emerged onto Oxford Street.
It leapt at a nearby police officer and tore into the man’s neck with blackened
teeth. The crowd broke apart, screaming in terror, and people fought each other
to flee as more creatures poured through the archway behind them. An endless
stream of monsters appeared.
    A legion of burned and twisted horrors.
    The video ended and the news reporter returned. “ This
is happening in numerous locations. The mysterious black stones, recently
discovered throughout the country and the world, have opened, what appears to
be some kind of gateways, and an unknown enemy is pouring through. New York was
the first city under siege, but we can now confirm similar attacks in several
of the world’s major cities. The Armed Forces are mobilising, as are those of
other countries. The best thing to do right now is to stay indoors and stay
tuned to your televisions.”
    Keith put his hands on his head. “Shit. I need to
call Marcy.”
    “I need to call my mum,” said the barmaid.
    “Jesus fucking Christ,” said Rick.
    Sarah fainted.

~MINA MAGAR~
Soho, London
    Less than twenty feet away
from where Mina now stood, a BMW hit a shopfront at 50 mph and sent a shower of
glass into the air. The driver got out, dazed but miraculously alive. People
strolled around the wreck as if they hadn’t even noticed it, and the only
person to even react was a young boy who pointed and laughed.
    “David, we need to get out of here.”
    “Mina, why aren’t you taking pictures? We need
pictures.”
    Mina fondled the heavy camera hanging around her
neck and considered ditching it, but she just couldn’t. It was a part of her,
and had cost as much as her car—not that her decade-old Peugeot was worth much.
She sighed and took a skewed photograph of the crashed BMW. The angle would add
to the disorientating feeling of the accident. She made sure she got a snap of
the shell-shocked driver, too. Next, she intended to take a photo of a burning coffee
shop on the corner of the street, but when she looked through her viewfinder,
she saw something that made her take notice.
    A young woman lay trapped inside the building,
crushed beneath an overturned table. She was screaming for help as the flames
crept towards her.
    Mina realised she was taking pictures of other
people’s misery instead of trying to help, so she let the camera hang around
her neck and raced towards the burning coffee shop, even as David yelled at her
to get back and focus on her job.
    The young woman trapped inside had a broken leg—left
foot pointed backwards.
    “Help me, please,” she begged, eyes swollen with
pained tears.
    Mina grabbed the edge of the table and strained to
lift it. The fire was at the back of the room by the service counter, but it
was hot enough to make her break out in a sweat. The girl screeched as the
weight shifted against her ankle. Mina had to grit her teeth to keep from
dropping the table, for it was heavier than it looked. Too heavy.
    “It hurts, it hurts.”
    “I know it does,” said Mina, straining with all
her strength. “Can you get yourself free?”
    “No, it hurts.”
    Mina’s arms trembled—couldn’t hold the table much
longer. With a groan, she lifted it another few inches, but that was everything
she had. “How about now…? Can you get free?”
    The girl screamed in agony. “I can’t. The pain…”
    Mina’s knuckles creaked. It was only a question of
what gave out first—her hands or her biceps. “You need to move. I can’t hold it!”
    “It hurts.”
    The table