Soul Survivor: A gripping tale of the living, the dead, and the struggle to survive in an apocalyptic world. by Arthur M Wyatt

up to the front door of the deli. It was pretty much intact. There was no broken glass and it looked like it had just been closed for the night. The doors were closed but not locked.
       “Alright, lets do it,” Amy said.
       Amy stepped through the door first. There were a few things scattered on the floor but for the most part the place was still clean and orderly.
       There was rancid meat and cheese in the glass case. Dried and molded bread sat on the counter.
      Shotgun in hand Amy searched the Deli and the restrooms. Nothing. The place was empty.
       They stacked cans of ham and turkey on the counter and filled several boxes with chips, soda and water. Tommy spotted a massive jar of pickles and set it with the rest of the food.
       “Tommy I think we’ll skip the courthouse for now,” she said. “Lets load up everything we can find and go home. It’s too dangerous out here.”
       “No argument from me,” Tommy said feeling relieved.
       They were about to start loading things into the truck when Amy noticed the walk in cooler.
       “Hey, maybe there are some goodies in there,” she said.
       She clutched the handle and pulled. In an instant the door  flew open knocking her back.
      Two dead burst from the cooler and were on Tommy before he could react. They knocked him down. One of them leaped on top of him as soon as he hit the floor.
       Before Amy could act, the zombie began ripping at Tommy’s throat. It turned toward Amy and growled as if it were a wild  hyena protecting its kill. Blood ran down it’s chin. Flesh hung from its mouth. 
       She leveled the shotgun and pulled the trigger. The zombie jerked from the blast then fell over to the side. Its head mostly gone.
       T he other one turned to look at Amy as she pumped a shell into the chamber and fired again. It fell dead over Tommy’s body.
       She kicked it off of him revealing the damage. His neck had been ripped apart. His jugulars laid open. A huge puddle of blood was spreading out on the white tile around his body.
      His eyes were wide with terror and unblinking. He was gone. At least for the time being.
       Amy knew what she had to do. She picked up the pistol, put the barrel to his forehead and pulled the trigger. A hole appeared between his eyes. The red puddle beneath him grew larger. He would not rise again.
       Amy fell to her knees and began to weep. Something she had promised herself she wouldn’t do. After all they had been through Tommy was dead now. She was alone.
       Suddenly there was something heavy on her back as she felt the pain and pressure of teeth sinking into her left shoulder.
       My God, there’s another one, she thought.
       The smell of its putrid, rotten breath entered her nostrils.  She gagged and threw up in her mouth.
       She had let her guard down and it had cost both of their lives.
       Ther e was another sharp pain and a tug as she felt a huge chunk of skin, tendon and muscle being ripped away from her shoulder.
       She elbowed the zombie hard in the ribs then whirled around and raised the pistol to meet her attacker.
       He lunged at her again just as she fired. The bullet entered its left eye. The back of its head flew apart. Blood and brains spilled out the gaping hole in the back of its head and dropped to the floor with a sickeningly wet thud.
       His mo mentum sent him crashing into Amy’s legs causing her to slip on the bloody floor.
      She stuck her elbow out to try to catch herself on the counter. As her arm hit, it bent back toward her body. The impact causing her to accidentally pull the trigger.
       The force of the blast caused her to lose her grip on the gun and it fell to the floor with a metallic clatter. She knew instantly what had happened.
    The bullet entered her stomach, ripped through her liver then blew up through the right lung severing the pulmonary artery before exited her back.
       Her head came down hard on the counter top.