Page 12
The woman stumbled out of the haze, her grip tenuous on the struggling child wrapped in the blanket. The thick coils of her hair blew around her head in a dark halo. Twisting around in the woman’s arms, the small child gazed up at Emma.
“Oh, shit.”
The little boy was definitely dead. A catcher’s mask secured on his head with duct tape was the only thing keeping him from sinking his teeth into the flesh of the woman clutching him close.
“Help us!” the woman cried out again.
A slower zombie emerged from the smoke, its form so emaciated it resembled a walking skeleton. Aiming with her rifle, Emma concentrated on eliminating one threat at a time. Her mind was racing despite her determination to focus. How the hell were they going to deal with a mother desperate to keep her dead son with her?
Juan emerged from the smoke, swinging a machete to neatly decapitate a slower zombie. “I got them! I got them!” Gripping the woman’s arm, he jerked her past a trap and toward the corner where the makeshift elevator waited. Nerit and Kevin were already on the move with three remaining survivors.
“Give them cover,” Katarina ordered from nearby.
Reloading, Emma tried to blot out the dead boy’s eyes peering up at her. He was a little older than Billy, a child who should have a long life in front of him. Instead, he was a zombie, snarling behind a mask.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she whispered.
Dizzy, her stomach a tight knot, Emma fought the urge to vomit.
Instead, she concentrated on killing the risen dead.
5
All Clear on the Zombie Front
A few minutes later, the last bleats of the all-clear horn echoed into the hills then fell silent. The zombies were dead and the crane was lifting the survivors into the Fort.
“You did good,” Katarina said.
Listening to the whine of the crane, Emma glanced up at the redhead. “I did what I had to.”
“You pulled through for those survivors.”
“It’s the first time I’ve saved people. Usually I was putting down zombies. I can’t believe we saved anyone in all that chaos. It went to shit so fast.”
Katarina hoisted her rifle over one shoulder with a weary sigh. “That’s the reality of the world now.”
Sitting down on the catwalk, her rifle resting on her knees, Emma stared at the towering hotel. The air smelled like burned flesh and smoke obscured the glaring sunlight overhead. She concentrated on steadying her breathing, her trembling fingers brushing over the warm metal of her weapon. The little boy’s dead gaze haunted her.
“Did you see the kid’s face?”
Katarina shook her head. “No. Why?”
“He’s not alive. They had a mask on him to keep him from biting.”
The color washing out of her ruddy face, Katarina muttered, “Shit.”
“He can’t be let inside.”
“I’m sure he won’t be. Nerit would never let that happen.” After a tense moment, Katarina added, “I’ll check in and see what’s up.”
The catwalk trembled as Katarina strode away. When she started talking over the walkie-talkie, asking for the status of the mother and child, Emma wasn’t surprised. Paranoia was the standard of the world.
Emma closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall. Though the little boy had dark skin and eyes, he’d reminded her so much of Billy. He was at that sweet age where children had chubby arms and a round tummy that felt so soft and warm when you held them close.
“That was intense.”
Rashmi dropped into a squat next to her and Emma opened her eyes. Ennis and Stacy were down on the other end of the catwalk.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12 (Reading here)
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87