didn’t like that one bit. I wanted to think ego was a thing of the past, that surviving the Grand Guignol meant chucking the “self” out the window. Even as the thought was given the spark of life, I realized how utterly impossible it would be to survive this wretched nightmare without thinking the slightest bit selfishly. Besides, had we all bothered to think of others first all along, none of this would have happened. But then, the human creature is impossibly insane by nature. In the decade leading up to the spread of the Mengele Virus, we had devolved into creatures of such hedonistic focus it amazed me we’d survived at all. Humanity’s predilection for power made it nearly impossible for the selfless to survive.
Joshua opened the door to the back of the Hummer and pulled out an assault rifle. Chills raced up and down my flesh as the barrel of the gun came to bear on the zombies that surrounded the car. Josh opened up the supports on the rifle and set the business end down on the secondary Hummer’s hood.
“ What’s he doing?” Jamal whispered.
I turned so that Jamal could witness the incredulity in my eyes.
“ Seriously, Jamal?” My voice was louder than I anticipated. I dropped the tone to a whisper. “Have you ever fired a weapon near a crowd of zombies? You’ll get one shot off before the entire zombie bunch is all over you like hairspray on a beehive.”
Confusion lined Jamal’s face when he turned to me.
“ The hairstyle, not an apiary.”
Jamal nodded with a newfound confidence.
“ I’m going out,” I started. Echo grabbed my arm and held on for dear life.
“ You can’t go, B. If you leave, what will happen to us?
I stroked Echo’s arm. “I’ll only be twenty feet away. If you need anything, I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”
Echo eased off her grip and I slipped out of the truck. Morgan spotted me creeping across the divide between us; her eyes went wide with fear, her hands shot up in a gesture to make me stop. This was all so confusing. She knew I’d taken out my fair share of the horde—many of which I’d done on my own.
Josh dropped his right eye to the scope and lined up his sights. He took his time. When he finally allowed his finger to drop, all bets were off. I could almost feel the rhythm of the sniper taking hold of Joshua. As soon as he carefully pulled the trigger of the gun, I expected uproar to follow. It didn’t. In fact, the gang of four ignored the shot and continued giving the car the beatdown of its life.
Morgan’s hand reached up and came to rest on Josh’s shoulder. He turned back to her, purest confusion lining his brow. With the slightest nod toward the car, Josh communicated to Morgan his next move. She gently nodded and stepped back, her arms spread wide to indicate anyone and everyone alive should stay clear of the area.
I didn’t hesitate to find out what the next move was. I backed up until the cool metal of the truck chilled the skin of my back.
“ Hey,” Josh shouted. “Over here. Fresh brain all around.”
The zombies didn’t so much as turn toward the sound of life behind them.
“ What’s in that car?” I whispered to Morgan, once she was within range. She shrugged.
Josh raised his gun and, without warning, dropped one of the Moaners with a bullet through the head. The corpse fell with a wet thud, completely unnoticed by its fellow undead who continued the laying on of hands.
“ Bethany,” Josh called back. “Humor me and fire up the Obliterator. I want to see if these bastards will react to anything.”
Morgan nodded, as if to give the idea a final stamp of approval.
Under normal circumstances, the apocalypse dictated a “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude—especially when dealing with the undead horde. A part of me wanted to yank the gun from Josh and lay waste to the gang of monsters surrounding the car. Something about the situation was odd, though. Zombies never ignored a fresh brain buffet.
Joshua opened the door to the back of the Hummer and pulled out an assault rifle. Chills raced up and down my flesh as the barrel of the gun came to bear on the zombies that surrounded the car. Josh opened up the supports on the rifle and set the business end down on the secondary Hummer’s hood.
“ What’s he doing?” Jamal whispered.
I turned so that Jamal could witness the incredulity in my eyes.
“ Seriously, Jamal?” My voice was louder than I anticipated. I dropped the tone to a whisper. “Have you ever fired a weapon near a crowd of zombies? You’ll get one shot off before the entire zombie bunch is all over you like hairspray on a beehive.”
Confusion lined Jamal’s face when he turned to me.
“ The hairstyle, not an apiary.”
Jamal nodded with a newfound confidence.
“ I’m going out,” I started. Echo grabbed my arm and held on for dear life.
“ You can’t go, B. If you leave, what will happen to us?
I stroked Echo’s arm. “I’ll only be twenty feet away. If you need anything, I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”
Echo eased off her grip and I slipped out of the truck. Morgan spotted me creeping across the divide between us; her eyes went wide with fear, her hands shot up in a gesture to make me stop. This was all so confusing. She knew I’d taken out my fair share of the horde—many of which I’d done on my own.
Josh dropped his right eye to the scope and lined up his sights. He took his time. When he finally allowed his finger to drop, all bets were off. I could almost feel the rhythm of the sniper taking hold of Joshua. As soon as he carefully pulled the trigger of the gun, I expected uproar to follow. It didn’t. In fact, the gang of four ignored the shot and continued giving the car the beatdown of its life.
Morgan’s hand reached up and came to rest on Josh’s shoulder. He turned back to her, purest confusion lining his brow. With the slightest nod toward the car, Josh communicated to Morgan his next move. She gently nodded and stepped back, her arms spread wide to indicate anyone and everyone alive should stay clear of the area.
I didn’t hesitate to find out what the next move was. I backed up until the cool metal of the truck chilled the skin of my back.
“ Hey,” Josh shouted. “Over here. Fresh brain all around.”
The zombies didn’t so much as turn toward the sound of life behind them.
“ What’s in that car?” I whispered to Morgan, once she was within range. She shrugged.
Josh raised his gun and, without warning, dropped one of the Moaners with a bullet through the head. The corpse fell with a wet thud, completely unnoticed by its fellow undead who continued the laying on of hands.
“ Bethany,” Josh called back. “Humor me and fire up the Obliterator. I want to see if these bastards will react to anything.”
Morgan nodded, as if to give the idea a final stamp of approval.
Under normal circumstances, the apocalypse dictated a “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude—especially when dealing with the undead horde. A part of me wanted to yank the gun from Josh and lay waste to the gang of monsters surrounding the car. Something about the situation was odd, though. Zombies never ignored a fresh brain buffet.
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