feelin’ in the morning.” His voice was steady and strong, but inside doubt crept around inside.
His thick hands started to sweat at the thought of what could be waiting for them at the next house.
XI.
The streets flooded with panic. Families ran for safety as the dead lumbered behind them, eager to sink their teeth into warm, tender flesh. Lonnie and Rowan crouched behind the thick trunk of a pine tree and watched it all unfold. The screams were unbearable to hear. Men, women, children, it didn’t matter to the mindless dead that were slowly taking over every inch of the lakeside town.
One woman gripped the hand of her twelve-year-old daughter, dragging her along as they fled from their surrounded minivan. The girl kept screaming for her daddy and looking over her shoulder at the massive dogpile of feasting bodies. The mother turned around, just for a moment, and fell to the ground when she tripped over a body lying in the middle of the road. The little girl tried to help her up, but they’d already made too much noise. A hungry swarm was upon them in a matter of seconds.
When the woman’s throat was ripped from her by blackened, dripping teeth, Lonnie stared, unable to look away. The arterial blood sprayed from the wound as the woman’s trembling hands clutched at the hole in her neck. Frenzied bodies threw themselves onto her as the little girl made a break for it.
Lonnie didn’t continue to watch to see if the girl made it to the shelter of the trees on the other side. It didn’t matter. She was alone. She was already dead.
“We need to—” he started to say, but stopped when he saw Rowan huddled with his head down and his hands over his ears. He slapped the cowering man’s arms down and continued. “We need to find an empty house right now. Looks like everyone’s out in the streets so it shouldn’t be too hard to get into one.”
“If the houses are safe, then why didn’t these people lock themselves inside?” Rowan pulled down on a branch to peek between the greens. He squeezed his eyes shut immediately and let the branch spring back into place.
Lonnie sighed and rolled his eyes. “I can’t explain stupid. Let’s just go.”
They kept low as they made off away from the two lane highway and into the wooded area claimed by the Dunes State Park. Most of the homes built there had been bought out and demolished decades ago to preserve the scenic route. There were only a few select families who stood their ground and denied the government their property. Those were the safest places to lay low for a while, far enough away from the town that there would be less dead, sick, or whatever they were, to deal with.
The sun was beginning to sink behind the towering line of thick trees, casting long shadows over the two men as they maneuvered the woods carefully. Every step they took made a muffled crunch over the bed of dead leaves and pine needles. There was no trail to follow since they were still outside the park’s entrance. They moved branches aside, stepped over fallen trunks, and kicked at the thick brush on the ground.
“I know there’s a house just up here,” Lonnie said. He squinted his eyes to see further. “Let’s just hope the family’s already left it.”
Rowan nodded, but couldn’t bring himself to hope such a thing. All he could hope for was that whoever’s home it was, they were kind enough to let the two men in. He followed closely on Lonnie’s heels with the 9 mm gripped tightly in his long, slender fingers. With his elbows bent awkwardly acute, the magazine rest high on his chest just below his chin.
“There it is!” Lonnie said through a
His thick hands started to sweat at the thought of what could be waiting for them at the next house.
XI.
The streets flooded with panic. Families ran for safety as the dead lumbered behind them, eager to sink their teeth into warm, tender flesh. Lonnie and Rowan crouched behind the thick trunk of a pine tree and watched it all unfold. The screams were unbearable to hear. Men, women, children, it didn’t matter to the mindless dead that were slowly taking over every inch of the lakeside town.
One woman gripped the hand of her twelve-year-old daughter, dragging her along as they fled from their surrounded minivan. The girl kept screaming for her daddy and looking over her shoulder at the massive dogpile of feasting bodies. The mother turned around, just for a moment, and fell to the ground when she tripped over a body lying in the middle of the road. The little girl tried to help her up, but they’d already made too much noise. A hungry swarm was upon them in a matter of seconds.
When the woman’s throat was ripped from her by blackened, dripping teeth, Lonnie stared, unable to look away. The arterial blood sprayed from the wound as the woman’s trembling hands clutched at the hole in her neck. Frenzied bodies threw themselves onto her as the little girl made a break for it.
Lonnie didn’t continue to watch to see if the girl made it to the shelter of the trees on the other side. It didn’t matter. She was alone. She was already dead.
“We need to—” he started to say, but stopped when he saw Rowan huddled with his head down and his hands over his ears. He slapped the cowering man’s arms down and continued. “We need to find an empty house right now. Looks like everyone’s out in the streets so it shouldn’t be too hard to get into one.”
“If the houses are safe, then why didn’t these people lock themselves inside?” Rowan pulled down on a branch to peek between the greens. He squeezed his eyes shut immediately and let the branch spring back into place.
Lonnie sighed and rolled his eyes. “I can’t explain stupid. Let’s just go.”
They kept low as they made off away from the two lane highway and into the wooded area claimed by the Dunes State Park. Most of the homes built there had been bought out and demolished decades ago to preserve the scenic route. There were only a few select families who stood their ground and denied the government their property. Those were the safest places to lay low for a while, far enough away from the town that there would be less dead, sick, or whatever they were, to deal with.
The sun was beginning to sink behind the towering line of thick trees, casting long shadows over the two men as they maneuvered the woods carefully. Every step they took made a muffled crunch over the bed of dead leaves and pine needles. There was no trail to follow since they were still outside the park’s entrance. They moved branches aside, stepped over fallen trunks, and kicked at the thick brush on the ground.
“I know there’s a house just up here,” Lonnie said. He squinted his eyes to see further. “Let’s just hope the family’s already left it.”
Rowan nodded, but couldn’t bring himself to hope such a thing. All he could hope for was that whoever’s home it was, they were kind enough to let the two men in. He followed closely on Lonnie’s heels with the 9 mm gripped tightly in his long, slender fingers. With his elbows bent awkwardly acute, the magazine rest high on his chest just below his chin.
“There it is!” Lonnie said through a
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