The Demented Z (Book 2): Desolation (Book 2) by Derek J Thomas Page B

within reach
when their lives were snuffed out by gunfire from Hank and Dennis on the tower.
    As they neared the edge of the building, Tom shouted,
“Planting!”   The two men flipped the
ladder horizontal and Tom dropped the front until it stuck into the soft
ground. He hunched down holding the base
firmly in place.
    Smoke came to a stop and began rapidly firing into the
oncoming horde, trying to keep them at bay.  
For every one he, Hank, and Dennis killed, they were immediately
replaced by two more.
    Eddie lifted his end of the ladder over his head and began
rapidly working his way down the ladder rungs, pivoting the ladder up toward
the top of the wall. As it reached the
midway point, standing straight up, he gave it one final push and then began
speed climbing it as it toppled over toward the wall.
  The procedure went perfectly.
  Their late night practice in the dark had
paid off.
    As the ladder slammed into the wall, Tom spun around and
began rapidly climbing. He looked up to
see Eddie disappearing over the top of the wall.
  Below him he continued to hear the crack of
Smoke’s rifle. Just as Tom reached the
top of the ladder he saw Eddie leaning over the buttress and yelling down to
Smoke.
    Climbing up over the top, Tom immediately unslung his rifle
and spun around to see where Smoke was at.  
Looking down, he saw Smoke had dropped his empty rifle and was just
beginning to climb up the ladder. Several
demented were right behind him. The
nearest ones grabbed at his legs. Tom
began taking shots, trying to knock them loose.  
More demented kept coming.  
Several had a hold of Smoke, trying to pull him from the ladder.
  He began howling in pain as they ripped into
the flesh of his legs.
    Eddie had unslung his rifle and joined Tom in firing down at
Smoke’s attackers.
    Blood was beginning to spill to the ground as they tore into
Smoke. Tom’s eyes met his.
  Terrified, anguished eyes stared back at
him. It was a look that could never be
forgotten. His fingers slipped off the
ladder rungs and he was pulled down into a churning mass of infected.
    “No!”   Tom
shouted. Unable to do anything else, he
fired several rapid shots into the place he last saw Smoke, finally ending his
agonizing screams. He slung his rifle
and shouted to Eddie, “Help me!”
    The two men grabbed the top of the ladder and pulled it up
onto the roof while the demented were busy down below.
  They both flopped down onto their backs,
gasping for air. Over the shrieks and
growls of the demented, they could hear the gut wrenching sounds of Smoke being
torn apart and devoured. It was the
worst sound either of them had ever heard.
    Eddie rolled over onto his side, heaved, and threw up his
breakfast.

Chapter 4: Nightmare
    It had been days since Lincoln and his men returned to their
school turned fortress, only to find that it had been overrun by infected.
  They spent an entire day and countless
bullets clearing the entire compound room by room.
  With every shot fired his hatred of Thomas
Pike increased tenfold. He had returned
to find his new play thing gone...freed by the self-righteous dirtbag.
  His only solace was the idiots that allowed Tom
to escape had met their demise...and a couple of them in the worst of ways, eaten
alive.
    After getting the school back they gathered weapons and went
out hunting for Tom and his companions.  
Starting with his home, they only found an empty house and bodies
dotting the yard, none of which were Tom or those that followed him.
  Mike ordered his men to track them, track
them to the end of the world if they had to.  
“Find them...don’t kill him or his family...I want them.”
  Were the last words he gave
them.
    Two days later, Lincoln sat in his office chair staring out
the window. He watched as the old orange
truck Tom had used in his escape pulled in through the gate.
  Peering carefully into the windows, he made
sure it was his men that returned.