Sliding her baton in its ring on her belt, she fired ceaselessly into the mass before grabbing a mag from his belt and reloading. Lisa felt for his weak pulse before she picked up his M4 and continued to fire. Benson had become her weapons cache as well as the focus of her protection while the stranger with the limp tried to get the kids into a safer area. She had to select her shots because she didn’t want to hit any of the defenders who were now becoming scattered amongst the Zs in a dangerous array of bodies. She realized that something had to change or they would all become food, so she tried to shout above the crowd.
She started by trying to shout out instructions which were ignored, and she couldn’t focus due to the press of teeth around her. Finally she just shouted, “On me! On me! Rally on me!”
At first she didn’t think it had an effect but then realized that a couple of people had joined her so she continued with the shout and others with her joined in. She kept looking for Buck or Skit to show up but settled for Amber and Tyrell in their bloodied regalia. She saw Cat continuing to use the .22 magnum with grim efficiency as the men who witnessed Norman’s demise also joined by her.
What had been a mass of scattered living and dead in battle soon formed distinct lines as Lisa’s followers pressed into the gap as a more cohesive unit. She pointed at a rebar wielding fighter who caught her eye and signaled. He then got the attention of his friends and led an arm of fighters out to the side of the mass, which pushed the zombies back.
She dropped Benson’s now empty M4 and grabbed her .40 just as she heard the air horn of a large semi backing into the unfinished wall of trailers, destroying several of the dead. A second and third trailer did the same; by no means did it eliminate the threat, but it served to compact the dead into an immovable wall of rotting flesh that forced them back into the compound.
Lisa stopped when her boots hit Benson’s feet. He had become her focal point and she wasn’t going to leave him unconscious in the midst of a horde of flesh eaters. She didn’t know if he was alive or infected. All she knew was that she would die before she allowed him to become a chunk of meat. Her gun holstered and empty, she fought with her baton swinging with both hands and feeling like her army had melted past her and left her alone. She flailed wildly from side to side, trying to aim her swings, but there were just too many. The ground was becoming slick with blood and all she wanted to do was run to give her some room but she couldn’t. Benson was at her feet and if she dropped back, he was dinner. She could hear Tonka growling and fighting alongside but she couldn’t see him. The crowd was too much and she felt herself starting to get pushed backwards and she panicked. She swung her baton erratically hitting anything she could see. Arms ending in stiff, rigor-filled hands grabbed at her arms and hair, clutching, pulling… she felt herself screaming as she hit. Blood and goo sprayed in her face; her planted foot slipped and she went down. The bloody handle caused the baton to slip and it slid out of her hand and along the pavement until stopped by the multitude of dead feet closing in.
She reached out with her right, grabbing the shirt of a slow mover who was leaning in to take a chunk of flesh from anywhere his teeth could find purchase. Another came from the other side and she grabbed him with her left. Lisa wasn’t a gym junky or an exercise freak, but she was athletic and she managed to get her elbows locked so she could keep them at bay and even manage to pull them from side to side to keep others from behind getting any closer. Why the zombies hadn’t swarmed around the side and got both her and Benson was a mystery she couldn’t worry about, but the sound of heavy metal crashing through flesh and bone told her that she might not be as alone as she felt.
Her arms, shoulders, and pecs were starting to burn from the pain as everything moved in slow motion. She knew she couldn’t hold on much longer, and when a third zombie came around, practically falling on her, all she could do was simply watch as it opened its mouth widely and moved toward her exposed forearm. She screamed at her inability to react and anticipated what it was going to feel like to have her flesh torn with dull, flat teeth.
She watched the scene unfold through a stringy strand of sweat-drenched hair with exhausted eyes. She was beat; there was no fight left in her. All of the plans spurred through the day’s events were moot and Lisa had nothing left. She pulled her arm away, causing the third zombie to miss and bump his head on the inside of her elbow, which collapsed under the weight of the other zombie that she held back. It was all she could do to direct it to the side and on top of the one who had just tried to bite her arm, causing both to fall on the ground. She looked up at the remaining one held in her right, knowing that the other two would be gnawing on her thigh in a matter of seconds. She hadn’t heard a gun report in a while and that meant they were all dead, out of bullets, or she was too surrounded in order for them to shoot… it was over.
Her eyes met the undead gaze of the last one she held and she noticed that at some point he had been a very handsome and fit man, but now he was simply a dead husk that wanted her as his next meal. Then his face changed. There was no surprise or shock when a straight blade was slammed into his temple, but everything from eyes to mouth stopped moving.
Two reports from a sidearm startled her from a type of resigned haze and she looked at the two she had pushed to the side, stunned at the perfectly round bullet holes in their foreheads.
“Get off my legs, man!” Benson’s voice said and she felt a hand under her right arm lifting her up and pushing her away from the mass of infected. Bryan from the dojo blocked her view as he began to take the battle to the infected while his partner joined him from the other side of Benson.
Benson was on his feet and looked into her eyes as he handed her his own baton before he picked up a discarded chunk of rebar, blood still oozing from a gash on his forehead. He turned and started swinging the bar with grim efficiency. Lisa wanted to join him but was spent and allowed hands to pull her back and away from the fight. She heard the welcome rumble of skid loaders approaching the scene, along with more semis that were coming in to fill the gap.
“Holy shit, girlfriend, you and three others were completely surrounded for more than a couple there. I have never seen anything like it.”
“Me and… and… who?” Lisa asked, wanting to know who could stand with her against such odds. One was Amber who sat with a face covered in sprayed blood and a type of adrenalin-inspired grimace on her face. The next was Skit who simply sat and breathed heavily as he stayed focused on something on the ground in the crowd of dead. Lisa followed his gaze and saw the hammer lying on the ground before she saw the top plate of a bald head.
“Oh no… Buck,” she said and looked again at Skit, who returned her gaze with a profound sadness upon his features. She felt the weight of something heavy and reached up to find the Rhino still in her chest holster, causing her to wonder why she hadn’t remembered it when she was defending Benson.
The twitch of a hand caught her eye and she looked back at Buck’s prone form. An arm twitched, yet his back did not rise from the intake of air—he was dead and starting to return. His head was suddenly up, looking right at her with milky eyes and teeth exposed. People fought on both sides and all it would take was a simple turn of his head and a bite for another infected to be added to their ranks.
Lisa drew her Rhino and heard Skit shout no! but she couldn’t wait. She could see Skit out of the corner of her eye moving toward her, but she had to do it before it was too late and she pulled the trigger.
Something hard and heavy came down on her and the world went dark.
****
Her head felt like it had been hit with a ton of bricks, making her want to stay in bed forever. Smattering from a loud conversation was slowly breaking through the haze around her brain. She remembered sitting down to go over the map of the recent string of murders. But no, that was the morning, the morning of… then she remembered. She remembered it all. Poor Buck, she thought. Lisa hadn’t known him long and he immediately annoyed her, but she liked
him. He was like so many people she had met in her life yet still his own person; she would miss him.
She felt the bandage completely encircling her head and then had a moment of panic that they may have shaved her hair when her thoughts were interrupted by shouting in the hallway.
“Skinned alive, do you know what that means?! He tied her up and peeled her like a grape right in front of that poor kid! She needs help!” Elise screamed to someone she thought was a nurse.
Lisa’s eyes popped open as she sat straight up in bed. “He’s alive.”
****
Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read this story. It was a lot of fun to write and book two is already at 50K so hopefully I can have that out in a couple of months for you to enjoy. If you want to find out more on this story—as in the actual beginning—you will have to go to my alter ego H.J. Harry and pick up Splinter, here is the link.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PPZZOJM
Splinter is a fast action high-energy tale about a young couple who find themselves facing insurmountable odds in a hell all their own. I love it and think you will too. All of the ‘up north’ and Minnesota references from Zombie Rush are about what is happening in Splinter and it will give you insight to the magnitude of events that the people in Hot Springs, Arkansas just don’t have. If it doesn’t interest you, that’s okay as Zombie Rush is designed to be read as a standalone series.
You will find discrepancies in my descriptions of Hot Springs, as I have never been there. I did get caught in an ice storm and met the grill of a Peterbuilt near Mena, Arkansas, but only know the hotel and the greyhound station there, as I was more concerned about the steering wheel imprint on my chest coming to fruition. I do know that it is a beautiful state and a place where I would love to spend some time.
I am keeping the story to the mid-western states because that is what I know and love. Nothing against the coastal states but America’s heart is where I live and love and I don’t know that much about the coasts other than they are beautiful. No matter what religion or political stance you take, I think that most of you will agree that America is truly the beautiful.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Joe
If you want to hook up and shoot the breeze, you can find me on Facebook under HJ Harry or better yet, sign up for my mailing list and post a review for Zombie Rush and I will send you a .mobi edition of Splinter so you can read the beginning of this story for free. If epub or PDF versions work better for you then you have to let me know which is best. Sign up here: [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you. Here are some links to some of my very best friends who happen to be incredible authors:
Chapter 1: Reynolds
Chapter 2: The Clinic
Chapter 3: Benson
Chapter 4: Hot Springs PD
Chapter 5: Extortionist
Chapter 6: Ernie
Chapter 7: Das Boot
Chapter 8: En Route
Chapter 9: Skitter Pop
Chapter 10: 1430 AM
Chapter 11: Sam’s Club
Chapter 12: Mercy, mercy
Chapter 13: Questions and Answers
Chapter 14: Little Help
If you are looking for some excellent reading from some incredible authors, check out these titles from Phalanx Press. I have read them all and can tell you truthfully that there is some good stuff here. Enjoy! Just scroll down to the next page and I know you will find something that you want to read and review. Of course read the next Zombie Rush and anything by H.J. Harry first, LOL.
SIXTH CYCLE
Nuclear war has destroyed human civilization.
Captain Jake Phillips wakes into a dangerous new world, where he finds the remaining fragments of the population living in a series of strongholds, connected across the country. Uneasy alliances have maintained their safety, but things are about to change. -- Discovery leads to danger. -- Skye Reed, a tracker from the Omega stronghold, uncovers a threat that could spell the end for their fragile society. With friends and enemies revealing truths about the past, she will need to decide who to trust. -- Sixth Cycle is a gritty post-apocalyptic story of survival and adventure.
Darren Wearmouth ~ Carl Sinclair
DEAD ISLAND: Operation Zulu
Ten years after the world was nearly brought to its knees by a zombie Armageddon, there is a race for the antidote! On a remote Caribbean island, surrounded by a horde of hungry living dead, a team of American and Australian commandos must rescue the Antidotes' scientist. Filled with zombies, guns, Russian bad guys, shady government types, serial killers and elevator muzak. Dead Island is an action packed blood soaked horror adventure.
Allen Gamboa
INVASION OF THE DEAD SERIES
This is the first book in a series of nine, about an ordinary bunch of friends, and their plight to survive an apocalypse in Australia. -- Deep beneath defense headquarters in the Australian Capital Territory, the last ranking Army chief and a brilliant scientist struggle with answers to the collapse of the world, and the aftermath of an unprecedented virus. Is it a natural mutation, or does the infection contain -- more sinister roots? -- One hundred and fifty miles away, five friends returning from a month-long camping trip slowly discover that death has swept through the country. What greets them in a gradual revelation is an enemy beyond compare. -- Armed with dwindling ammunition, the friends must overcome their disagreements, utilize their individual skills, and face unimaginable horrors as they battle to reach their hometown...
Owen Ballie
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Alone in a foreign land. The radio goes quiet while on convoy in Afghanistan, a lost patrol alone in the desert. With his unit and his home base destroyed, Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson suddenly finds himself isolated and in command of a small group of men trying to survive in the Afghan wasteland. Every turn leads to danger
The local population has been afflicted with an illness that turns them into rabid animals. They pursue him and his men at every corner and stop. Struggling to hold his team together and unite survivors, he must fight and evade his way to safety. A fast paced zombie war story like no other.
W.J. Lundy
ZOMBIE RUSH
New to the Hot Springs PD Lisa Reynolds was not all that welcomed by her coworkers especially those who were passed over for the position. It didn’t matter, her thirty days probation ended on the same day of the Z-poc’s arrival. Overnight the world goes from bad to worse as thousands die in the initial onslaught. National Guard and regular military unit deployed the day before to the north leaves the city in mayhem. All directions lead to death until one unlikely candidate steps forward with a plan. A plan that became an avalanche raging down the mountain culminating in the salvation or destruction of them all.
Joseph Hansen
THE ALPHA PLAGUE
Rhys is an average guy who works an average job in Summit City—a purpose built government complex on the outskirts of London. The Alpha Tower stands in the centre of the city. An enigma, nobody knows what happens behind its dark glass. Rhys is about to find out. At ground zero and with chaos spilling out into the street, Rhys has the slightest of head starts. If he can remain ahead of the pandemonium, then maybe he can get to his loved ones before the plague does. The Alpha Plague is a post-apocalyptic survival thriller.
Michael Robertson
THE GATHERING HORDE
The most ambitious terrorist plot ever undertaken is about to be put into motion, releasing an unstoppable force against humanity. Ordinary people – A group of students celebrating the end of the semester, suburban and rural families – are about to themselves in the center of something that threatens the survival of the human species. As they battle the dead – and the living – it’s going to take every bit of skill, knowledge and luck for them to survive in Zed’s World.
Rich Baker
THE FORGOTTEN LAND
Sergeant Steve Golburn, an Australian Special Air Servi
ce veteran, is tasked with a dangerous mission in Iraq, deep behind enemy lines. When Steve’s five man SAS patrol inadvertently spark a time portal, they find themselves in 10th century Viking Denmark. A place far more dangerous and lawless than modern Iraq. Join the SAS patrol on this action adventure into the depths of not only a hostile land, far away from the support of the Allied front line, but into another world…another time.
Keith McArdle
Table of Contents
Chapter One:Reynolds
Chapter Two:The Clinic
Chapter Three:Benson
Chapter Four:Hot Springs PD
Chapter Five:Extortionist
Chapter Six:Ernie
Chapter Seven: Das boot
Chapter Eight: En route
Chapter Nine:Skitter Pop
Chapter Ten:1430 AM
Chapter Eleven:Sam’s Club
Chapter Twelve: Mercy, mercy
Chapter Thirteen: Questions and answers
Chapter Fourteen:Little Help
Zombie Rush Page 24