The Dead Series (Book 4): Dead End by Jon Schafer Page B

rifles held at a semi-resemblance of port arms. Edging to the side of the roof, he cautiously looked down.
    Disgust welled up in his throat at the sight of the nude and semi-nude dead bodies pushing up against the side of the building. Disfigured and torn in ways that would gag a maggot, they were strangely silent. Pushing away his revulsion, he studied the dead for a moment as he tried to figure out why they were being so quiet. Nothing had changed in their demeanor, as they were still desperately trying to get into the mansion, but most of them weren’t making the high-pitched keening sound anymore.
    Realizing Tick-Tock had joined him, he asked, “What gives ? Not even a couple hours ago, you couldn’t hear yourself if you screamed up here.”
    Tick-Tock shrugged and said, “They were like this when we came up. I thought they’d start back with all the noise when they saw us, but it’s been like this ever since. Maybe they know we’re trapped or some other shit and they’re saving their breath.”
    “They don’t breathe,” Steve said absently as he focused on a Z with the left portion of its skull missing and its brain exposed. Dark fluid covered the wound , and he could see that underlying grey matter was actually a dark red.
    “No shit, Sherlock,” Tick-Tock said with a laugh. “What was your first clue they don’t breathe?”
    Shaking off the sight below him, Steve turned to his friend and laughed. “Sorry, just talking. The sight of these things makes me want to blow chunks, but it also makes me want to know what makes them tick.”
    “You should have been a scientist,” Tick-Tock said wryly.
    “And you should have been a proctologist,” Steve shot back with a laugh.
    “ Then you’d only have to worry when you felt both my hands on your shoulders,” Tick-Tock replied.
    They both laughed at this old joke before Steve asked , “How are your trainees doing?”
    Tick-Tock shrugged and said in a low voice, “A couple of them show promise, but…”
    “But what?” Steve asked.
    “I need at least two days with them to be able get them to shoot straight,” Tick-Tock answered.
    “You’ve got until tomorrow morning at dawn,” Steve told him.
    Already having guessed this, Tick-Tock was nonetheless excited at hearing they would be going soon. With a slight grin, he said, “I figured as much, that’s why I’ve been busting ass to get these people ready.” Pointing to the dust cloud to the east that had dissipated for a short while, only to reappear closer to the mansion, he added, “Looks like the Zs crossed the lake. Even tomorrow morning might be cutting it close, but we should be able to get out of here before they hit us.”
    Steve nodded and said, “If I had it my way, we’d go today, but we don’t have enough light left. We need to keep an eye on that herd , though, so they don’t surprise us. I want two people on watch at all times through the night. Even if they can’t see shit, I still want them up here.”
    Tick-Tock nodded and said, “Done deal . Denise and I will take the first watch, and then you and Heather -”
    “The trainees take their turn , too,” Steve cut him off. “Split them up and get them organized. They stepped up, so they’ll help in everything we do from here on out. I want one of us and two of them to take each watch. I hate to be still making the distinction between us and them, but until they get up to speed, that’s the way it is. I want everyone well rested for tomorrow, so that means they pull their weight, too.”
    Tick-Tock nodded and said, “Consider it done, and it’s about time.” Turning to where his people were standing along the edge of the roof, he said in a loud voice, “We’re done snapping in, so now it’s time to use live ammunition. For those of you with a magazine fed weapon, I want you to extract the clip from your pocket and insert it into your rifle like we showed you. For those of you that have a top-fed, bolt action rifle, I