against a rock-wielding madman. Even his family would understand that I had no choice.
He thought about proper police procedure and realized he’d better wrap things up by the book. Better place some road flares for the meat wagon to see. Show them my head was on straight.
He stood up to go grab the flares from the trunk of his cruiser.
The dead man grabbed his ankle and sunk its teeth into his calf.
11
Ryan stood at the window peering through the blinds, keeping a vigilant watch for police lights or the men who’d attacked his mom. It was hopeless. The fog was like a white curtain. Every now and then he caught a glimpse of some shadowy movement, but he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just his eyes playing tricks on him. He held his mother’s revolver at the ready. If the fog wasn’t blindingly thick he’d be out there n ow, hunting the dirty bastards.
He’d helped Mary Ellen to her bed when she started feeling weak. When last he checked, she was lying semi-delirious on her back, her body cold but her face drenched in feverish sweat. Kevin was curled beside her on the bed, quietly so bbing, holding her hand in his.
It broke Ryan’s heart to see his normally carefree little brother so distraught, but he didn’t have time to console him. He needed to stand guard in case the culprits came back to finish what they started.
Muffled sounds came from the bedroom. Ryan heard his brother cry out, a soft exclamation of surprise. Dropping the blinds, he hurried to check it out.
He found his mother on her knees on the bed, hunched over Kevin who was spastically twitching his legs.
“Mom! What’s going on?” Ryan called out.
His mother turned to look at him as he stepped to the side of the bed. His puzzlement turned to shock as he saw blood streaming down her chin… and saw Kevin clutching his neck, sputtering and burbling as blood pumped from his torn open throat.
Ryan stood numbly, trying to digest the hellish scene. He raised the handgun mechanically as his mother crawled toward him across the bed, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
The thing that had been Mary Ellen teetered forward and raised up on the bed, trying to grab her son—but she lost her balance and tumbled off the side. She landed hard, face first on the floor—a fall that should have stunned her, at least momentarily. But there wasn’t a second’s delay before she starting moving again.
As she clumsily tried to right herself, Ryan looked at his dying brother sprawled on the blood-soaked mattress. With every agitated heartbeat a fresh spurt of blood shot across his twitching body. He was clearly beyond any aid Ryan might attempt to render.
His mother’s icy fingers gripped his ankle. A hungry growl rolled softly from her throat. Ryan looked down at her bloodstained face… and her cold glassy eyes. The warmth and love he always felt when she looked at him was absent. Her spirit was gone. All that remained was an empty animated shell.
Ryan kicked her hand away and fled, not stopping until he was outside on the lawn, gun in hand, shivering in the cold night air.
Whatever was happening to his family was more than he could deal with on his own. He knew that the cops were on the way, and he needed to find them, fast.
12
Deputy Jurgensen struggled to free his leg but the zombie’s jaws were clamped like a bear trap. Inflamed by the taste of fresh blood, it buried its teeth in the sinewy meat of his calf and shook its head like a rabid terrier, worrying the muscle from the bone.
A flash of searing pain shot through the deputy’s leg, racing up his spine to his brain. His mind went blank as the hot pain washed over him, and he toppled to the ground in a faint.
Struggling to stay conscious he hastily unsnapped his holster and drew his Glock, but it slipped from his trembling hand as he wrestled it out and clattered to the ground by his side. He clawed at the cold damp asphalt trying to
He thought about proper police procedure and realized he’d better wrap things up by the book. Better place some road flares for the meat wagon to see. Show them my head was on straight.
He stood up to go grab the flares from the trunk of his cruiser.
The dead man grabbed his ankle and sunk its teeth into his calf.
11
Ryan stood at the window peering through the blinds, keeping a vigilant watch for police lights or the men who’d attacked his mom. It was hopeless. The fog was like a white curtain. Every now and then he caught a glimpse of some shadowy movement, but he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just his eyes playing tricks on him. He held his mother’s revolver at the ready. If the fog wasn’t blindingly thick he’d be out there n ow, hunting the dirty bastards.
He’d helped Mary Ellen to her bed when she started feeling weak. When last he checked, she was lying semi-delirious on her back, her body cold but her face drenched in feverish sweat. Kevin was curled beside her on the bed, quietly so bbing, holding her hand in his.
It broke Ryan’s heart to see his normally carefree little brother so distraught, but he didn’t have time to console him. He needed to stand guard in case the culprits came back to finish what they started.
Muffled sounds came from the bedroom. Ryan heard his brother cry out, a soft exclamation of surprise. Dropping the blinds, he hurried to check it out.
He found his mother on her knees on the bed, hunched over Kevin who was spastically twitching his legs.
“Mom! What’s going on?” Ryan called out.
His mother turned to look at him as he stepped to the side of the bed. His puzzlement turned to shock as he saw blood streaming down her chin… and saw Kevin clutching his neck, sputtering and burbling as blood pumped from his torn open throat.
Ryan stood numbly, trying to digest the hellish scene. He raised the handgun mechanically as his mother crawled toward him across the bed, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
The thing that had been Mary Ellen teetered forward and raised up on the bed, trying to grab her son—but she lost her balance and tumbled off the side. She landed hard, face first on the floor—a fall that should have stunned her, at least momentarily. But there wasn’t a second’s delay before she starting moving again.
As she clumsily tried to right herself, Ryan looked at his dying brother sprawled on the blood-soaked mattress. With every agitated heartbeat a fresh spurt of blood shot across his twitching body. He was clearly beyond any aid Ryan might attempt to render.
His mother’s icy fingers gripped his ankle. A hungry growl rolled softly from her throat. Ryan looked down at her bloodstained face… and her cold glassy eyes. The warmth and love he always felt when she looked at him was absent. Her spirit was gone. All that remained was an empty animated shell.
Ryan kicked her hand away and fled, not stopping until he was outside on the lawn, gun in hand, shivering in the cold night air.
Whatever was happening to his family was more than he could deal with on his own. He knew that the cops were on the way, and he needed to find them, fast.
12
Deputy Jurgensen struggled to free his leg but the zombie’s jaws were clamped like a bear trap. Inflamed by the taste of fresh blood, it buried its teeth in the sinewy meat of his calf and shook its head like a rabid terrier, worrying the muscle from the bone.
A flash of searing pain shot through the deputy’s leg, racing up his spine to his brain. His mind went blank as the hot pain washed over him, and he toppled to the ground in a faint.
Struggling to stay conscious he hastily unsnapped his holster and drew his Glock, but it slipped from his trembling hand as he wrestled it out and clattered to the ground by his side. He clawed at the cold damp asphalt trying to
Similar Books
