the window. I'll be back in a minute." Taking the club in his right hand and swinging it like a scythe, Alex practiced for what he was about to do. "Sam, hold my left hand and don't let me fall." Grasping his father-in-law by the hand, Alex leaned out over the edge of the house and placed the club head next to the creatures left temple. With the practiced ease of a golfer Alex brought the club back smoothly then, reaching the top of the swing arc, brought the club down and through the target.
A sickening, wet crack echoes through the backyard, silencing the moaning of the creature immediately. For a few seconds after only silence could be heard; no guns, no screams, no terrifying moans of the damned zombies. To Alex, it was peaceful.
"Is it dead?" Sam's harsh whisper broke Alex's revery.
"Well, technically it was already dead," Alex snarked as he hauled himself back from the edge of the roof. "But if you mean will it walk again, no. You have to destroy its brain to kill it, and I think that gold swing took care of the job." He peered over the edge once more. "How did it get back here anyway?" Alex scanned the surrounding fence line and walked the perimeter of the yard. The side gate hung open. "Well I'll be damned. We nearly had a serious problem on our hands because we forgot to lock the side gate." Alex crouched at the edge of the roof and pivoted, swinging his body around in order to lower himself to the ground. Hanging from the gutters about to drop to the earth, Alex's heart stopped.
A deafening moan sounded from his left only feet from where he hung from the roof. A shambling nightmare appeared from the darkness, reaching its broken and bloody hands for Alex who was desperately and unsuccessfully trying to pull himself back up to safety. A gray, lifeless hand grabbed his shoe...
The rifle exploded above Alex's head, tearing the creature's head from its body. What was left of the zombie slumped to the ground and remained still. Alex's ears sounded as if a bomb had gone off in his head and he realized that he was holding his breath. Alex gasped for the air to fill his lungs and began to hyperventilate, causing his vision and senses to become overwhelmed with the rush of oxygen. His vision began to fade and stars burst in his eyes. He lost his grip on the roof. Alex's last thought was to push himself away from the corpse lying on the ground under him. He landed off-balance and the tunnel vision made it impossible for Alex to keep his feet under him. Alex landed hard against the fence, slamming his head into the wooden supports and finishing the job his hyperventilation had begun. Alex's world faded into darkness.
-----
Alex awoke to gunfire and something cold pressed against his forehead. He could hear crying as if from a long way distant, he sat up suddenly, realizing it was Gemma. The quick movement was too much for Alex's pounding head. He leaned to the side just in time to keep from retching all over himself.
Once the contents of his stomach had emptied realization set in. "What did you do?! Why am I here? Dammit, you should have shot me when I was knocked out." Alex struggled to get out of bed, hands and a spinning head keeping him from doing so. Paula was holding him down.
"Lay down, Alex. You took a really hard fall and need to rest." Alex had stopped struggling and now allowed Paula to readjust the washcloth on his head. "Sam and Tony are on the roof handling things so you stay put." There was a tremor in her voice that she could not hide.
"Where's Gemma and Morgan?" Alex felt as if there was something being kept from him. "How long have I been here?" This last was asked with urgency.
"You've been asleep for almost three hours, but you lost a lot of blood when you hit your head. You need to take it easy for a while. Morgan and Laura are with Gemma right now...they don't need you," Paula cut off her last sentence abruptly, pain and embarrassment washing across her face. She winced and tried to
A sickening, wet crack echoes through the backyard, silencing the moaning of the creature immediately. For a few seconds after only silence could be heard; no guns, no screams, no terrifying moans of the damned zombies. To Alex, it was peaceful.
"Is it dead?" Sam's harsh whisper broke Alex's revery.
"Well, technically it was already dead," Alex snarked as he hauled himself back from the edge of the roof. "But if you mean will it walk again, no. You have to destroy its brain to kill it, and I think that gold swing took care of the job." He peered over the edge once more. "How did it get back here anyway?" Alex scanned the surrounding fence line and walked the perimeter of the yard. The side gate hung open. "Well I'll be damned. We nearly had a serious problem on our hands because we forgot to lock the side gate." Alex crouched at the edge of the roof and pivoted, swinging his body around in order to lower himself to the ground. Hanging from the gutters about to drop to the earth, Alex's heart stopped.
A deafening moan sounded from his left only feet from where he hung from the roof. A shambling nightmare appeared from the darkness, reaching its broken and bloody hands for Alex who was desperately and unsuccessfully trying to pull himself back up to safety. A gray, lifeless hand grabbed his shoe...
The rifle exploded above Alex's head, tearing the creature's head from its body. What was left of the zombie slumped to the ground and remained still. Alex's ears sounded as if a bomb had gone off in his head and he realized that he was holding his breath. Alex gasped for the air to fill his lungs and began to hyperventilate, causing his vision and senses to become overwhelmed with the rush of oxygen. His vision began to fade and stars burst in his eyes. He lost his grip on the roof. Alex's last thought was to push himself away from the corpse lying on the ground under him. He landed off-balance and the tunnel vision made it impossible for Alex to keep his feet under him. Alex landed hard against the fence, slamming his head into the wooden supports and finishing the job his hyperventilation had begun. Alex's world faded into darkness.
-----
Alex awoke to gunfire and something cold pressed against his forehead. He could hear crying as if from a long way distant, he sat up suddenly, realizing it was Gemma. The quick movement was too much for Alex's pounding head. He leaned to the side just in time to keep from retching all over himself.
Once the contents of his stomach had emptied realization set in. "What did you do?! Why am I here? Dammit, you should have shot me when I was knocked out." Alex struggled to get out of bed, hands and a spinning head keeping him from doing so. Paula was holding him down.
"Lay down, Alex. You took a really hard fall and need to rest." Alex had stopped struggling and now allowed Paula to readjust the washcloth on his head. "Sam and Tony are on the roof handling things so you stay put." There was a tremor in her voice that she could not hide.
"Where's Gemma and Morgan?" Alex felt as if there was something being kept from him. "How long have I been here?" This last was asked with urgency.
"You've been asleep for almost three hours, but you lost a lot of blood when you hit your head. You need to take it easy for a while. Morgan and Laura are with Gemma right now...they don't need you," Paula cut off her last sentence abruptly, pain and embarrassment washing across her face. She winced and tried to
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