Impact
a scene out of one of those multimillion-dollar Hollywood productions, the concrete floor broke apart and fell down to the floors below. Steel bent and twisted, windows shattered, and doors were smashed into pancakes. The building groaned deeply as plaster and concrete rained down on us. I covered my head as tiny chunks of falling debris and plaster smacked me in the skull. Other than that, there was really no time to react. All I could think to do was grab Jackie’s hand and pull her the other way, then glance around to make sure the others were all right. By the time it all settled down, Claire was bleeding from a gash on her head, Lucas was carrying an unconscious Kate, and Val was coughing and struggling to breathe in all the dust. 
    Jackie motioned us back the way we came.
    “We can’t go that way!” I shouted, shaking my head.
    “It’s the only way out,” she said, coughing. “Either we face that hungry horde of zombies or we die in this cave-in!”
    Suddenly, as if we needed more trouble, a shadow emerged in the darkness.
    “It’s just Nick,” Val said.
    “The corridor is a zombie-fest!” Nick said.
    Jackie frantically looked at him. “But it’s our only way out.”
    I swallowed hard. “What are we gonna do?”
    “We need a game plan, people!” Nancy screamed. 
    Nick reloaded his weapon. “If that’s the only way out, we have no other choice but to fight our way past them.”
    “There’s a hall to the right, about 100 feet away,” Jackie said. “If we can get to that hall, there is a double-door at the end. Hopefully, there’s no one on the other side.”
    “What if there are more waiting for us?” Buddy asked. “What then?” 
    “Then we fight like hell,” I said.
    We crept forward, wading through the sea of dust. I was careful not to trip on the uneven remnants of the floor. The smell of death and decay assaulted my nose, a foul stench that clung to the back of my throat. When I heard the sounds of heavy, raspy breathing, I froze.

Chapter 6
    I knew that sound, the erratic breathing of the undead. My hand shook as I shined the flashlight into the darkness. I couldn’t see anything through the cloud of dust surrounding us, but I knew something was close, because I could clearly hear its shuffling footsteps and gurgling breaths. My eyes scanned the darkness as I aimed for my undead target.
    Nick stopped and held a hand up for all of us to halt. “Watch out for an ambush,” he whispered back to us.
    We all peered around in the darkness, searching for the creature we knew was lurking in the shadows. My throat tightened, and droplets of sweat rolled down my back. Suddenly, my light beam illuminated a short zombie with a droopy face and a crooked nose.
    “Zombie!” I said.
    “Boy, somebody needs a nose job,” Lucas said, grimacing at the putrid thing. 
    “Allow me to perform the surgery,” Nick said, positioning his axe. As soon as the thing lunged at him, he swung. The blade sliced through the top of its head, down into its decaying flesh, past its neck and into its chest. Nick tugged, but the axe was stuck. He kicked the zombie to the ground and pried his axe back.
    Another zombie hissed, and I turned to meet its ghostly white gaze. It was dressed in torn, blood-splattered clothes, and its hair was dusty and tangled, like a mangy dog’s. I cringed at the deep bite marks lining its tattered face. The hell-spawn reached for me with bony fingers. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger, but it hissed and continued walking toward me. I took aim and unleashed another bullet. That one imbedded in its head, sending the vile demon crashing to the ground. My relief was short-lived, though, because in an instant, another zombie moaned from the left. 
    I delivered four more carefully aimed shots into the quartet of ghouls heading toward me. When Jackie screamed, I turned and saw that one of the monsters had her pinned against the wall. I aimed at the back of its rotting skull and fired.

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