Gore exploded as the zombie slumped over, freeing my girlfriend from its grasp.
“Behind you!” Jackie shouted.
I turned and saw four more coming at me. My gun clicked empty after only a couple more shots, and I cursed under my breath. I reloaded while Jackie fired off shot after shot. As soon as I had ammo in my weapon again, I turned and took careful aim at the closest zombie. It had frizzy black hair and a huge gash across its nose, as if it had gotten in a fight with an angry lawnmower. I fired, it fell, and I bolted down the corridor and turned the bend. They sure weren’t kidding about there being too many, I thought. I pointed my gun and began blasting zombie after zombie as we entered the hostile corridor.
Claire squeezed the trigger and fired off a full magazine into a group of stumbling zombies. The long burst of automatic fire rang in my ears, but she took a good number down. The others joined in, until the gunfire reached a loud crescendo that temporarily deafened us all.
“We’re almost there!” Jackie yelled. “Keep going!”
I could barely hear her through the crackle of gunfire, but I tried to nod at her to let her know we understood.
BOOM !
A jarring noise pierced the air as the ceiling caved in on a group of stumbling corpses. It was a bittersweet thing; while the crumbling block took out several of our adversaries, it also blocked our path to the hallway.
As I shined my flashlight through the new pile of debris, fingers wrapped around my ankle. I kicked the zombie’s head so hard that it cracked like a soft-boiled egg. It loosened its grip, and I took off, climbing over rocks.
“Stop!” Jackie said, pointing. “The doorway should be here.”
Unfortunately, the door was buried beneath several layers of plaster, metal, brick, and concrete. We all began grabbing armfuls of rubble to clear a path. Nick and the other men helped me move a long metal beam out of the way. Meanwhile, Claire and Jackie kept firing down the hall at the oncoming face-munchers.
With a lot of manpower, we finally cleared enough of the debris away to get the door open. We all pushed on it, and with one mighty heave, the door was ajar.
Just as we were about to exit stage left, something sprang at me, and I fired, dropping the zombie onto the pile of garbage. I frantically looked around to survey the situation. It looked clear, except for a straggler or two, nothing we couldn’t handle. The zombie closet to me let out a long, painful moan. Greasy hair hung in tendrils, its dirty clothes were loose on its thin frame, and its ankle was bent in some unnatural contortion, likely a result of the ceiling caving in. I took aim, but someone grabbed my arm.
“Don’t shoot!” she said. “It looks clear. No use drawing any more of them here.”
The flesh-eater held out its skeletal hands, and Asia quickly ran over to it and bashed it in the head with a bat. “Batter up!” she squealed as the thing spun and fell, with a dazed look on its rotted face. “What do ya know? A grand slam,” she said, looking at us with a satisfied grin on her face, as if she’d just won the World Series.
“Asia!” Claire said. “What happened? Where were you?”
“I had a few hybrids to finish off,” she said, “and I had to fight off Jim and his men.”
I was glad to see her, but we had no time for war stories or a happy reunion. Vibrations shook the walls, and hissing and crackling filled the air, like the sound of ice melting on a hot bed of coal. More dust and plaster rained down on me. With my eyes wide, I glanced up. “This place is coming down!” I said.
“Let’s go!” Jackie said, motioning for us to follow her.
More uneasy noises echoed in the air, and pillars began to crack and wobble before finally collapsing. I zigzagged as glass shattered all around us. My boots struggled against the shifting rubble and debris, and when Claire stumbled, I helped her get her balance.
Suddenly, from out of the dusty shadows,
“Behind you!” Jackie shouted.
I turned and saw four more coming at me. My gun clicked empty after only a couple more shots, and I cursed under my breath. I reloaded while Jackie fired off shot after shot. As soon as I had ammo in my weapon again, I turned and took careful aim at the closest zombie. It had frizzy black hair and a huge gash across its nose, as if it had gotten in a fight with an angry lawnmower. I fired, it fell, and I bolted down the corridor and turned the bend. They sure weren’t kidding about there being too many, I thought. I pointed my gun and began blasting zombie after zombie as we entered the hostile corridor.
Claire squeezed the trigger and fired off a full magazine into a group of stumbling zombies. The long burst of automatic fire rang in my ears, but she took a good number down. The others joined in, until the gunfire reached a loud crescendo that temporarily deafened us all.
“We’re almost there!” Jackie yelled. “Keep going!”
I could barely hear her through the crackle of gunfire, but I tried to nod at her to let her know we understood.
BOOM !
A jarring noise pierced the air as the ceiling caved in on a group of stumbling corpses. It was a bittersweet thing; while the crumbling block took out several of our adversaries, it also blocked our path to the hallway.
As I shined my flashlight through the new pile of debris, fingers wrapped around my ankle. I kicked the zombie’s head so hard that it cracked like a soft-boiled egg. It loosened its grip, and I took off, climbing over rocks.
“Stop!” Jackie said, pointing. “The doorway should be here.”
Unfortunately, the door was buried beneath several layers of plaster, metal, brick, and concrete. We all began grabbing armfuls of rubble to clear a path. Nick and the other men helped me move a long metal beam out of the way. Meanwhile, Claire and Jackie kept firing down the hall at the oncoming face-munchers.
With a lot of manpower, we finally cleared enough of the debris away to get the door open. We all pushed on it, and with one mighty heave, the door was ajar.
Just as we were about to exit stage left, something sprang at me, and I fired, dropping the zombie onto the pile of garbage. I frantically looked around to survey the situation. It looked clear, except for a straggler or two, nothing we couldn’t handle. The zombie closet to me let out a long, painful moan. Greasy hair hung in tendrils, its dirty clothes were loose on its thin frame, and its ankle was bent in some unnatural contortion, likely a result of the ceiling caving in. I took aim, but someone grabbed my arm.
“Don’t shoot!” she said. “It looks clear. No use drawing any more of them here.”
The flesh-eater held out its skeletal hands, and Asia quickly ran over to it and bashed it in the head with a bat. “Batter up!” she squealed as the thing spun and fell, with a dazed look on its rotted face. “What do ya know? A grand slam,” she said, looking at us with a satisfied grin on her face, as if she’d just won the World Series.
“Asia!” Claire said. “What happened? Where were you?”
“I had a few hybrids to finish off,” she said, “and I had to fight off Jim and his men.”
I was glad to see her, but we had no time for war stories or a happy reunion. Vibrations shook the walls, and hissing and crackling filled the air, like the sound of ice melting on a hot bed of coal. More dust and plaster rained down on me. With my eyes wide, I glanced up. “This place is coming down!” I said.
“Let’s go!” Jackie said, motioning for us to follow her.
More uneasy noises echoed in the air, and pillars began to crack and wobble before finally collapsing. I zigzagged as glass shattered all around us. My boots struggled against the shifting rubble and debris, and when Claire stumbled, I helped her get her balance.
Suddenly, from out of the dusty shadows,
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