speeds that didn’t seem possible.
I caught sight of the fury in Harrison’s eyes at my vulnerability and instinctively knew what he was contemplating…If he threw himself in as bait to let the rest of us reach safety, would I try to stop him.
Yes, I would.
“Run!” I shouted, but it came out no louder than a whisper.
Don’t risk yourself , my mind pleaded, run, God please, run .
But he released Beverly and stayed in place, his focus locked on me.
When I reached him, he launched himself up alongside me, sprinting at my speed within seconds. I made the motion to check on our pursuers, but he stopped me.
“Don’t.”
He was right. It would only slow me down, and with his warning I knew they were close.
So we concentrated on running, swerving around vehicles, avoiding side mirrors and bumpers, anything that might slow us down, until we met the greatest obstacle of all.
A handful of large rigs, the kind that haul produce for chain grocery stores, had somehow managed to topple at the same place and at the same time. They formed a cone down the freeway and the vehicle pileup behind it funneled us directly into it. At its crux, we found Doc, Mei and Beverly trying to claw their way out. Their metal rods had been carried this far only to be discarded in their effort to find a way out.
There was no time to tell them that we were here now, and if we’d arrived, so had the Infected. The sheer number of feet pounding the pavement must have been the sign they needed because gradually they abandoned the effort and turned to face their demise.
As the Infected flowed down the cone toward us, Harrison stepped in front, preparing to sacrifice himself once more.
“NO!” I shouted, this time finding my voice.
I ran for him, but he held me back with a hand swiftly and perfectly placed to block me from going around him.
“NO!”
But as the Infected reached us, something unexplainable happened, and it was Beverly of all people who instigated it.
She went stark raving mad.
I’d seen it once before, when she’d found her dad had been bitten and met his end. She was facing the same death and it triggered something in her, a deeply seeded survival instinct that erupted with uninhibited force.
The scream that had started earlier in her throat found its way back and without Harrison there to block it, the shrillness pierced the air.
It didn’t stop the Infected, which only seemed to inspire her. She ran at them head on, with metal rod in hand and lifted well above her shoulder.
The first Infected never slowed her pace, even when Beverly swung the rod’s sharp edge across her neck and lobbed off her head.
She took down two more before any of us realized what was happening. Beverly just kept swinging that rod from side to side, taking out Infected one by one. Doc was the first to join her, poising his rod to stab at them as they approached, using their momentum against them. Mei, whose tiny frame required a different tactic, fell back and finished off the incapacitated who fell through.
Harrison released me and we met Beverly in the front with him snapping necks and me firing off rounds as fast and efficient as possible.
When it was over and Beverly had taken down the last Infected, she kept the rod poised overhead as she spun around in search of more. Her nostrils flared and her lip curled back as she seethed with rage. We observed her then, even while she was blind and oblivious to us, amazed at witnessing a person unravel before our eyes.
Harrison surveyed me for injuries, found none and turned his attention to her.
“Beverly,” he quietly called out. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
She didn’t acknowledge him.
“Beverly,” he said, making another attempt to break through her fixation. “You’re safe. Put the weapon down.”
She blinked and stopped her spinning.
“Beverly-”
“Stop already!” she snapped. “I heard you the first time.”
His head jerked in surprise, almost in unison with the
I caught sight of the fury in Harrison’s eyes at my vulnerability and instinctively knew what he was contemplating…If he threw himself in as bait to let the rest of us reach safety, would I try to stop him.
Yes, I would.
“Run!” I shouted, but it came out no louder than a whisper.
Don’t risk yourself , my mind pleaded, run, God please, run .
But he released Beverly and stayed in place, his focus locked on me.
When I reached him, he launched himself up alongside me, sprinting at my speed within seconds. I made the motion to check on our pursuers, but he stopped me.
“Don’t.”
He was right. It would only slow me down, and with his warning I knew they were close.
So we concentrated on running, swerving around vehicles, avoiding side mirrors and bumpers, anything that might slow us down, until we met the greatest obstacle of all.
A handful of large rigs, the kind that haul produce for chain grocery stores, had somehow managed to topple at the same place and at the same time. They formed a cone down the freeway and the vehicle pileup behind it funneled us directly into it. At its crux, we found Doc, Mei and Beverly trying to claw their way out. Their metal rods had been carried this far only to be discarded in their effort to find a way out.
There was no time to tell them that we were here now, and if we’d arrived, so had the Infected. The sheer number of feet pounding the pavement must have been the sign they needed because gradually they abandoned the effort and turned to face their demise.
As the Infected flowed down the cone toward us, Harrison stepped in front, preparing to sacrifice himself once more.
“NO!” I shouted, this time finding my voice.
I ran for him, but he held me back with a hand swiftly and perfectly placed to block me from going around him.
“NO!”
But as the Infected reached us, something unexplainable happened, and it was Beverly of all people who instigated it.
She went stark raving mad.
I’d seen it once before, when she’d found her dad had been bitten and met his end. She was facing the same death and it triggered something in her, a deeply seeded survival instinct that erupted with uninhibited force.
The scream that had started earlier in her throat found its way back and without Harrison there to block it, the shrillness pierced the air.
It didn’t stop the Infected, which only seemed to inspire her. She ran at them head on, with metal rod in hand and lifted well above her shoulder.
The first Infected never slowed her pace, even when Beverly swung the rod’s sharp edge across her neck and lobbed off her head.
She took down two more before any of us realized what was happening. Beverly just kept swinging that rod from side to side, taking out Infected one by one. Doc was the first to join her, poising his rod to stab at them as they approached, using their momentum against them. Mei, whose tiny frame required a different tactic, fell back and finished off the incapacitated who fell through.
Harrison released me and we met Beverly in the front with him snapping necks and me firing off rounds as fast and efficient as possible.
When it was over and Beverly had taken down the last Infected, she kept the rod poised overhead as she spun around in search of more. Her nostrils flared and her lip curled back as she seethed with rage. We observed her then, even while she was blind and oblivious to us, amazed at witnessing a person unravel before our eyes.
Harrison surveyed me for injuries, found none and turned his attention to her.
“Beverly,” he quietly called out. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
She didn’t acknowledge him.
“Beverly,” he said, making another attempt to break through her fixation. “You’re safe. Put the weapon down.”
She blinked and stopped her spinning.
“Beverly-”
“Stop already!” she snapped. “I heard you the first time.”
His head jerked in surprise, almost in unison with the
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