As the World Dies by Rhiannon Frater Page B

Large chunks of flesh were torn from his shoulder and back.
        
        "Pepe, come here," Eric ordered as his nerves steadied.
        
        The little dog, which seemed properly impressed, trotted over trailing his leash.
        
        Eric pulled the shovel free of the zombie's head and wiped the brains and blood off on the grass. To his surprise, he saw the man had a revolver still tucked into his holster. With trembling fingers, he retrieved it then backed away from the body.
        
        "Okay, we're going into the house," Eric said in a quivering voice.
        
        Pepe waited for him to grab the end of the leash then together they hurried back to the house. Eric took one last long look around the property then slammed the door shut behind him, sealing him and Pepe into the safety of the old farmhouse.
        
        

Chapter Nine
    Revelations
        
        That night was rough. He opened a bottle of wine and drank the whole thing while watching the news on the TV and sobbing. He had let Pepe up on the bed with him, something Brandy would never do, and managed to eat some roasted chicken he had found in the refrigerator and some left over pie. It was hard to do anything other than cry as the news continued to show the end of the world and Brandy's body lay prone beneath the bedroom window.
        
        Today was the day he was supposed to slip the big diamond ring on her finger and instead he had killed her. Well, killed her a second time. But still, Brandy was gone. Her beauty, her laugh, her smile, her kisses, everything. And though she had given him a rough time, cheated on him and had one of the worst tempers he had ever encountered, he had loved her. And she was gone.
        
        He fell asleep around midnight and didn't wake up until morning. Pepe woke him up with a cold nose to his forehead and an insistent whine. Pepe needed to go do his business.
        
        Eric's head throbbed with a wine hangover and he grunted as he sat up. "You do realize there are zombies outside. And me taking you outside might get my ass eaten."
        
        Pepe gave him an annoyed look and jumped down to the floor.
        
        "Gimme a sec," Eric muttered.
        
        He staggered into the bathroom, relieved himself, and then splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up all the way. Pepe waited impatiently for him in the doorway, looking pretty disgruntled that Eric's bladder was empty while his was still full.
        
        Eric snatched up the revolver and binoculars and began his rounds of looking out all the windows to make sure nothing was staggering around in the early morning. Brandy's body and that of the solider lay where he had left them and nothing else stirred except for the Waskom cat stalking a bird.
        
        "Okay, lets do this," Eric said in a voice that sounded a little stuffy from all his crying the night before.
        
        Making sure Pepe was secure on the leash, he hurried down the stairs and double-checked through the peephole before opening the door.
        
        The morning was glorious. The sunlight streaming through the trees was hazy and full of tiny motes. Spring flowers in all their colorful raiment flowed down the sides of the driveway and filled the garden. Birds sang in the trees and in the distance a rooster was announcing the morning routine. It was a perfect day.
        
        Except for the dead soldiers on the porch and in the garden and Brandy's body around the side of the house.
        
        Pepe skipped down the steps and began sniffing around for a proper place to go.
        
        "I like it better when you dump and go," Eric chided him. "You know. Zombies."
        
        Pepe gave him a dark look and continued to nose around a birdbath.
        
        Eric's gaze slowly slid down the drive and he began to wonder where the car was. Obviously, Brandy had