by Dia Cole
“Reed,” I screamed over the sound of fists pounding on the door. I wouldn’t leave without him.
He and Grady struggled to keep the shelf pressed against the door.
“Get of out here, Lee,” Reed shouted.
“We can’t hold it,” Grady shouted. “Lee, get those pills to my daughter. Tell her that I love her and that—”
He was interrupted by the sound of wood splintering.
“Let me help.” I scrambled to the edge of the counter.
Dominic jumped up, blocking my way. Even crouching down, the top of his head brushed the ceiling. He pushed me back toward the window.
“Go now.”
“I’ll fight with you.”
Dominic’s face was impassive. “Take this.” He pushed the radio into my hands. “Radio for help. If Corporal Ross survived, she can get you out. If not, get in range of the safe house and call for help.”
“No.” Pushing him was like shoving a cinder block wall. I resorted to trying to wriggle out of his grasp.
He gritted his teeth and hauled me over to the window.
Twisting around, I pleaded, “Let me stay.” I couldn’t leave Reed. Losing both him and Eden in one day would be soul shattering.
What’s the point in living when the only people I’m living for are dead?
Dominic gave me a searching look, as if he was trying to memorize my face. “Survive,” he said before slanting his head down and claiming my mouth in a searing kiss.
I tasted the sharp, sweet flavor of cinnamon on his tongue. Shock gave way to a rush of desire so strong my knees nearly gave out.
What the hell…?
Without saying a word, Dominic broke the kiss, picked me up, and threw me feet first out the window opening.
6
I landed hard in the alley. Sharp pain radiated from my right ankle. Losing my balance, I fell into a dense patch of chin-high oleander muscling its way along the building.
Other than scattered piles of fur and animal bones, the alley was clear.
Inside the building, someone screamed.
“Reed. Dominic,” I called up to the window opening above my head.
The silence was deafening.
Hoping against hope, I futilely willed the men to appear. They didn’t.
They’re gone.
My throat constricted. A storm of emotions threatened to overwhelm me. Giving myself a mental bitch slap, I remembered Dominic’s words, Survive now, grieve later.
I gingerly pulled myself out of the bush, while keeping my weight on my uninjured leg. My ankle pulsed with pain.
Crap. Is it broken?
I quickly rolled the cuff of my jeans halfway up to my shin and slid my sock down. Although my ankle was turning the color of an overripe tomato, it didn’t appear to be broken.
Thank God for small favors.
A bald zombie in an Armani suit staggered around the trash bin at the back end of the alley.
I have to get out of here. I need the radio to call for help.
It must’ve fallen into the oleander. As I leaned over to peer into the bushes, my hip-length hair fell out of its knot at the back of my head. Dark brown strands fanned around me, tangling in the branches.
Damn it.
My frantic tugs sent dozens of pale pink flowers cascading to the ground.
The click-click of teeth made the hair on my neck dance on end. It almost seemed like the creature was right next to me. But that would be impossible. Unless it was one of those super fast zombies…
Gritting my teeth, I yanked against the branches. My hair tore free at the same moment my calf exploded in sharp tearing pain.
I looked down, and my heart stopped.
A shriveled husk of a zombie, wearing faded blue medical scrubs, lay at my feet. The bottom half of its body was missing, and most of its raven hair had sloughed off. Skeletal arms twined around my leg. Its jaws clamped around my bared calf.
A primal scream ripped from my lips.
The thing bit down harder.
My scream turned into a shriek. I tried to kick it loose.
Oh, God no.
Emaciated arms tightened around my leg like a boa constrictor.
With a burst of adrenaline, I seized my knife and swung it into the top of the creature’s skull. The blade made a crunching sound as it broke through brittle bone.
I swung it again.
And again. And again.
My hand stilled only when the back of its skull caved in and the Biter went limp. Gasping for breath, I finally shook my leg free.
The creature slipped to the ground. One milky white eye mocked me from its shattered face.
Goddamn it.
It’d probably been there, half concealed by the bushes, the whole damn time and I’d missed it.
In my mind’s eye, Dominic scowled at me with the I-told-you-so look in his black eyes.
With a roar, I kicked the thing into the alley wall.
A dozen yards away, Baldie tripped over something and fell to the ground.
I sheathed my knife with shaking hands.
Please, please, don’t let the Biter have broken the skin.
The acrid taste of fear burned my tongue as I slowly looked down.
Blood welled in three places where teeth had sunk into my flesh. As far as injuries went, it was nothing. I’d had paper cuts that sliced deeper. But innocuous-looking or not, the bite would kill me.
The area around the wound tingled as the ramifications hit.
My life is over.
The world rocked on its axis. I collapsed onto the cool asphalt.
My gaze went to the window above me. Once again, I searched for a face in the opening. Biting back a sob, I looked back down at my wound.
Who am I kidding? The guys are dead. And now so am I.
If only I’d been paying closer attention, I might have noticed the zombie in the bushes. If only I’d rolled back down my jeans, maybe it wouldn’t have been able to puncture my skin. I let out a moan of frustration. Playing the what-if game wouldn’t change a goddamn thing.
Down the alley, Baldie stumbled to his feet, and shuffled closer in bloodstained Gucci loafers. Black flies buzzed around his head like a halo.
In twenty-four hours, I’ll be like him.
First came the black veins that marked the infection’s progress throughout the body. Then came numbness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death. Moments after that, I’d rise as a flesh-eater.
I won’t let that happen.
My hand pressed my gun against my head before I’d even registered the thought. The barrel was cold against my temple. “Goodbye,” I whispered to empty window.
I pressed the trigger. Nothing happened. Crap. No ammo. I dropped the useless gun.
A bubble of hysterical laugher escaped my lips.
Can nothing go right today?
Then I heard the sound of men shouting. My heart skipped a beat.
Were the guys still alive?
Gravel crunched near my head.
Baldie stood over me.
With a flash of horror, I realized he wasn’t bald after all. His scalp had been ripped off, exposing the white of his skull. Tiny white worms wriggled in the space where his eyes should’ve been.
He lunged, half leaping, half falling toward me.
I rolled to the side, barely escaping his gnashing teeth.
I drew my knife.
He reared over me, jaws snapping at my face.
My blade found a home in one of his empty, maggot-filled eye sockets.
As he collapsed on top of me, the stench of roadkill marinated in sewer swallowed me whole.
Gagging, I used my good leg to kick him off. Bits of bone and fetid brain matter stuck to my blade as I yanked it free.
Yuck. I wiped the knife clean on his two-thousand-dollar suit and tucked it back into my thigh sheath.
More shouting from inside the building propelled me into motion.
I might be as good as dead, but t
he guys don’t have to be.
An eerie calm enveloped me. Like glitter settling in a snow globe, my purpose became clear.
“I’m going to get you out,” I called up to the window.
There was no response.
Remembering Dominic’s rule number nine, never leave a weapon behind, I picked my gun off the ground, and holstered it. I pulled up my sock and rolled the cuff of my jeans down, completely covering the bite. Ignoring the pain from my ankle and calf as best I could, I stumbled over to the bushes and fished out the radio.
I pressed several of the buttons. “This is Lee, over. Darcy, are you there?”
Silence.
“Darcy, do you read me?” I pushed the talk button several more times, trying desperately to hail her. I figured it was a long shot. She must’ve been killed along with Eden.
Next, I tried to hail the safe house. I was rewarded with radio static. Damn it. We were out of range.
I’ll have to figure this out on my own.
I limp-jogged down the alley. My backpack sat on its side in the middle of the asphalt. I’d nearly passed it, when Eden’s last words rang in my ears. Remember your promise, sissy.
A sound of frustration escaped my lips.
She’d died for those damn pills.
I stopped, picked up the backpack, and stuffed the radio inside. The pills inside rattled cheerfully as I slung it on. To keep my promise, I’d have to make sure the meds got back to the safe house. I’d do it. But first I had to focus on the guys. Time was running out.
What can I do to save them? Think, Lee. Think.
I shook my head as if to clear it. Dominic was the strategic one.
What would he do?
I could run into the hospital, but my feeble rescue attempt would be over in the time it took to say “feeding frenzy.” Then, at the moment of my death, I’d rise as another flesh-eater. The idea of me attacking the guys sent bile climbing up the back of my throat.
As I headed down the alley, the absence of sound struck me. The background noise of everyday life was gone. There was no buzz of landscaping tools or beeping of construction vehicles. No jets streaking across the sky. No car engines rumbled in the distance. No cell phones rang. The world was as silent as the grave.
I tripped over a child-sized sandal stained with dried blood. It sent me careening into the side of an army-green electric box the size of a deep freezer. I tensed, worried that the sound would attract more Biters, but none appeared. It gave me an idea.
I’ll use sound to draw them out.
Brandishing my knife in front of me, I exited the alley and walked to the front of the building. The stairs and memorial fountain were deserted. I headed straight to the parking lot.
A decaying teenage boy in a gray hoodie lunged out at me as I passed a van. I stabbed him through the roof of his gaping mouth. Not pausing for a second, I jerked the blade back and stepped over the corpse.
As I made my way to the back of the lot, I peered through the windows of the cars I passed. None had what I needed. I rubbed a sweaty palm down my thigh trying not to let the anxiety take over.
There are more cars over there.
Moving as quickly as I could, I headed to the gas station across the street. The store and the cars parked there had been looted. Gas tank covers had been pried open.
Not stopping to acknowledge my throbbing leg, I peered through the windows of the cars. Bloodstained dashboards and seat covers told gruesome stories of owners who wouldn’t be returning.
A red sports car parked on the curb had what I needed. Its doors were locked and inside a red light blinked near the steering wheel.
Finally.
After covering my hand with my leather jacket, I smashed the window with the hilt of my knife. The shriek of the car alarm blasted through the eerie afternoon silence.
Moving away from the shrill sound, I ran to the silver truck in the back of the parking lot. It had a good visual of the front of the building, and some part of me wanted to be where my sister died.
Eden’s sunglasses lay in pieces near the front tire. Nearby, two Biters slurped at the blood-soaked asphalt like children licking the bottom of a bowl of ice cream. So absorbed in their task, they failed to raise their filmy eyes as I approached.
An all-consuming rage took over me.
They killed my sister.
The pain in my ankle dulled as adrenaline flooded every cell in my body. I raised my sneaker, and stomped it down on the closest head. It crunched in like the shell of a rotten egg. Not caring that my shoes and jeans were now covered in blood and brains, I did the same to the next zombie.
I looked around for Darcy’s remains or her weapon, but I didn’t see anything. Of course, the zombified version of her had probably headed into the hospital with the others.
What if she’s a Howler too? My insides twisted at the idea.
Weakened by the exertion, I leaned against the battered side of the truck. The windshield and side windows had been busted in.
There was no end to the damage a horde of that size could do. There was no way the guys could survive in there much longer.
Goddamn it.
I scanned the front of the animal hospital searching for any hint of movement.
Nothing.
It wasn’t working.
The zombies are probably feasting on the guys right now.
Aguish threatened to cut me off at the knees. I pushed it away.
The car alarm will draw them out.
I pulled myself into the bed of the truck to get a better view.
A bone-chilling shriek rang out.
I froze.
Eden sprinted down the stairs at inhuman speeds. Whipping past the fountain, she raced through the parking lot, bounding over cars like an Olympic hurdler.
God. How can she jump that high?
Within seconds, she was on top of the sports car, sniffing the hood. She shrieked again.
The knowledge that Eden, or what was once Eden, was still alive both comforted me and scared me shitless. The hair on the back of my neck rose as her cries grew louder. I crouched down as low as I could.
Chattering teeth and crunching glass brought my attention back to the front of the animal hospital.
Zombies streamed out of the building like a river of death. Most made a beeline toward the alarm. A few sniffed the air and turned in the direction of the truck. And me.
I looked down at my leg.
Can they smell the blood from the bite?
My grip on the knife tightened.
Another cry from Eden had them turning back in her direction. It was as if she was purposely calling them to her side. But that would be impossible.
Zombies can’t communicate, can they?
The frightening implications froze the air in my lungs.
The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. The men didn’t appear.
A wave of dizziness had me shifting my weight. Maybe I’d only hallucinated hearing their shouts.
Sweat burned my eyes. I wiped them with the back of my hand. The sports car rocked back and forth under the pounding of dozens of hands.
How much longer can the alarm last? When it shuts off, will Eden and the horde head straight toward me?
My mouth dried as I imagined dying at the hands of my little sister.
I have to get out of here.
There was a crunching sound behind me. Before I could spin around, large hands grabbed my waist and dragged me off the truck.
7
My knife flew out of my hand. Panic stole my breath. Biceps, thick as tree trunks, tightened like bands of steel around me.
“I told you to survive, not to commit suicide,” a deep voice snarled in my ear.
Some of my tension melted away. I’d never been so glad to see Dominic. Blood-splattered clothes and all.
“Where’s Reed? Did he make it out?” I whispered, afraid of attracting the attention of the mob.
“Over here, Lee.”
&n
bsp; He was crouched down next to Grady near the rear tire. Both men panted as if they’d recently run fast and hard.
Relief made me dizzy. “Are you okay?” I couldn’t tell if the blood covering him was his or the Biters.
“Yeah,” Reed said, trying to catch his breath. “You?”
I struggled against Dominic’s hold. “Let me go.”
Dominic held me tighter then let me go with a slow slide down his body that had me feeling every chiseled muscle along the way. My head was spinning by the time my sneakers hit the pavement.
Confusion made me blink up into Dominic’s impassive face.
How can he continue affecting me this way?
My ankle buckled, as if it too was exasperated with my body’s reaction.
Dominic scowled. “You’re injured.” He looped his arm around my hips and pressed me against his side for support. One of his holstered guns dug painfully into my ribs.
A quick push had him releasing me. But instead of stepping back, he hovered close enough that the heat of his body scalded me.
“I sprained my ankle when you threw me out of the window.”
And then a zombie took a bite out of me. By trying to save me, you killed me, jerk.
The concern etched across his face wiped away my anger.
It’s not his fault. I have only myself to blame for not seeing the Biter in the bushes.
Grief rode fast and hard on the heels of bitterness.
I have to tell them.
Anguish lodged in my throat as I imagined the relieved expression on Reed’s face turning to horror.
Dominic pressed his lips together. The movement brought my attention to his sensual mouth, and the memory of our last moments together in the animal hospital.
Why did he kiss me?
Not that it mattered. As soon as he found out that I was infected, he’d stab me in the head with one of his knives. My mouth dried at the memory of what’d happened to Roger. I swallowed hard.
I have to say something. “Guys, I was—”
Dominic bent down, retrieved my knife and handed it back to me. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters. I need you…” He coughed, lifted his head, and looked into the questioning stares of Reed and Grady. “We need each other if we’re gonna make it out of here.”