The Hunt Chronicles (Book 2): Revelation by J.D. Demers

the cement floor, there had to be at least twenty zombies banging and pressing on the metal door.  It seemed to be holding, but I knew that wouldn’t last.  Zombies were like water.  Eventually, they would find cracks or cause weaknesses in whatever stood in their way.  The rails that held the slide for the door were shaking with each impact, and I could see the bolts that held them in place were starting to loosen.
    I had a problem.  I could easily get up the steps into the attic, but the way the hinges were, it would be impossible to pull up the ladder from the top.
    “Think, think, think,” I repeated.  I looked over near the tools and saw three ladders.  Each one was taller than the one in front of it and all were strapped to the wall with a bungee cord.  I ran over and detached the cord and the ladders fell with a loud bang.
    I dragged the tallest ladder over to the steps.  A cracking sound from the garage crack grabbed my attention and a ray of light shined through a fairly large gap between the wall and the door.  A rotted arm stretched through the hole, grasping at the air.
    I didn’t waste any more time.  Snatching my pack off the ground, I climbed halfway up to the attic and tossed it in, hitting Karina and earning a curse.  Boomer was panting intently at the top, as if he were telling me to hurry up.
    Another snapping noise from the front of the garage motivated me.  I didn’t bother looking over to see what damage had been done.  I raised the hinged steps so that only the door was accessible and laid the long ladder on the open hatch.
    More light illuminated the garage as I jumped on the first step.  I peeked behind me and saw two zombie bodies struggling to squeeze through the growing gaps they had opened.  One was the little girl zombie I neglected to put down earlier. 
    I wasted little time climbing up the ladder.  I froze twice as the ladder started to slip off of the hatch, but was eventually able to make it safely to the top.
    More sounds of stress from the garage door echoed as I spun around.  The entire floor was lit up from the outside and I saw shadows of the zombies struggling to enter the garage.  I pushed the ladder off of the hatch just as the little girl zombie placed her hand on it.
    CHUNK!
    The little girl zombie’s head jerked back and her body crumbled to the ground.  I turned around and saw Karina aiming the MP5 towards the ground.  Her face was stoic and calm as she lowered the weapon.
    “Are you going to close it or tease them?” she said earnestly.
    I nodded and shut the door.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
    Rain Keeps the Dead Away
    April 23 rd   Afternoon
     
     
    We sat quietly in the attic for a half an hour.  The zombies below were still moaning which meant they knew we were close.  I wasn’t sure how they knew, though.  I remembered back to when I had first found Boomer.  Zombies had followed me into my neighbor’s backyard, but seemed to lose my scent.  After a brief period, they’d wandered off.  But these were not going anywhere.
    I started to think they could smell us.  Zombies only moaned when food was close, and they were still vocal.  We weren’t making any noise, so that only left one conclusion.  They could sense us, either by smell or some other sort of perception.
    I looked around the attic.  Other than some Christmas decorations, there wasn’t anything except support beams and insulation.  There were small rays of sunlight peeking through the roof vents.  The frame was oddly shaped, with different easements making it extra difficult to maneuver the length of the house.  When I stood, I had to hunch over even at the tallest point of the attic.
    “What now?” Karina whispered as I made my way across the span of the attic.
    “I haven’t gotten that far yet,” I replied.
    She looked at me questioningly.  “Will they leave?”
    “I don’t know,” I whispered as I looked around.  I didn’t know