The Darkest Days (Death & Decay Book 0.5) by R. L. Blalock

upside down.
    The shrill wail of the tortured metal only
further agitated the deranged. Wyatt dove into some bushes as the
mass of monster raced towards the commotion.
    A barrage of shots rang through the air and
spurred Wyatt into action. He quickly crawled forward, but shock
rooted him to the plant.
    The car was completely obscured from view. The
monsters crawled all over it as they sought a way inside.
    Wyatt ran forward, weapon in hand. As quickly as
the shots had begun, they ceased. The deranged continued to swarm
atop the overturned vehicle. His footsteps quickly slowed and then
stopped.
    There was nothing he could do. His friends
needed him, but he was only one man. One man against dozens of the
deranged.

Day 3
4:25 pm
    Sleep had never come. If he was honest with
himself, he had never tried to welcome it. During the few sporadic
moments when he closed his eyes, the horrors of the day paraded
across his eyelids to give him an extra adrenaline boost. Instead,
sleep was replaced with brief breaks to rest his weary legs and,
occasionally, fill his empty stomach with food from his pack.
    Rather than dwelling on what had happened, he
had forced himself forward with the thought of returning to Sarah
and Ben. They needed him. He needed them. Only once they were in
his arms would the trepidation that had invaded every fiber of his
being subside.
    The short distance to the house had become an
ever more frustrating journey. Several times he had found his path
overrun with the deranged or blocked by destruction. Every second
that he hunted for a new path made him more desperate. After two
grueling days, though, he was almost home.
    Wyatt surveyed Keystone Court from behind the
corner of a house. He fiddled nervously with the baton. It hadn’t
taken him long to realize that the bullets wouldn’t last forever
and that he needed to preserve the precious few he had left. There
were signs that the street had been touched by the deranged, but
none of them lingered. Sarah’s van sat in front of the house at the
end of the court.
    Despite his exhaustion, every muscle yearned to
move. After one final scan of the street, he leapt forward, unable
to restrain his excitement any longer.
    But, as Wyatt ran through the cul-de-sac, his
blood chilled. A darkened and dried stain marred the pale pavement.
Sudden apprehension forced Wyatt to slow his approach.
    His breath hitched as his eyes followed the
trail of rust-colored spots. From the stain in the street, they ran
to the sidewalk and trailed up the driveway in front of his house.
The baton slid easily into its loop and he removed his gun from its
holster.
    A neighbor. Wyatt’s thoughts raced as he
made his way up the drive. That’s a neighbor’s blood. They came
here looking for help. He tried to convince himself that Sarah
had not opened the door for anyone.
    With his gun in one hand, Wyatt dug into his
pocket and pulled out his keys. The dark-brown color of the door
hid more of the gore marks until Wyatt stepped onto the porch. A
dried, rust-colored smear coated the doorknob, and another smudge,
just above it, had been left behind as the door was pushed
open.
    Wyatt gnawed on his lip as he slid the key into
the lock and nudged the door open. More of the rusty red blotches
tarnished the ivory entryway tiles.
    A large lump that he could not swallow settled
in his throat.
    Quietly, he slid through the door and eased it
closed behind him. The house remained eerily silent. His heart
began to thump wildly in his chest as his thoughts plummeted into
turmoil.
    The car was outside. Had Sarah been forced to
leave with Ben on foot? Had they been chased out as one of the
deranged forced its way in? Had Sarah unknowingly let it in? His
heart ached at the thought of his family out among the dangers the
city had been plunged into.
    “Sarah!” He knew he shouldn’t call out. Maybe
one of the deranged still roamed the house. But he could no longer
contain the ever-increasing urge to find his family