The Zombie Chasers #4 by John Kloepfer Page A

Rice’s shopping cart into the bowels of the city.

T he walls of the subway were grime-black and smeared with mucus-y green and yellow driblets oozing through the cracks in the concrete ceiling. The smell down there was suffocating, and Zack covered his mouth and nose, inhaling through the fabric of his shirt. Madison and Zoe did the same, gasping and coughing through the thick, hot underground stench.
    As they reached the turnstiles of the subway station, Zack peered over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the massive throng of undead brainmongers waddling down the subway steps behind them.
    Ozzie bounded over the turnstiles and hurled open the emergency door. The alarm shrieked and Zack pushed Rice through. Madison and Zoe ducked under the turnstiles and the four of them halted on the platform.
    Twinkles lapped his tongue happily at a puddle of zombie slime.
    â€œEw, Twinkles, gross!” Madison cried, picking up her pup.
    On the other side of the tracks, a mass of zombies tottered on the opposite platform, groping through the air frantically, moaning in agony for a bit of live human flesh.
    Standing on the edge of the subway platform, Zack swiveled his head in all directions. “Quick,” Zack said. “We need a plan.”

    â€œDown there!” Madison shouted, pointing toward another exit at the opposite end of the subway platform.
    They raced toward the exit, but as soon as they reached the bottom step, a dense bunch of undead cannibals came crushing down the staircase, heading right for them.
    The kids retreated and stopped dead in their tracks, trapped between two converging zombie mobs.
    â€œWe could take the tunnel . . . ,” Ozzie suggested. “The trains probably aren’t running.”
    They peered over the edge, looking down on a stream of dirty garbage water flowing down the train tracks. Near the threshold of the tunnel, a roiling herd of undead rats and cockroaches churned relentlessly in the pit of subway filth.
    â€œAre you kidding?” Madison squealed. “I’d rather get my brains eaten!”
    â€œWhat other choice do we have?” said Ozzie.
    The first zombie mob struggled to fit through the turnstiles behind them, no thanks to a bloated zombie at the head of the pack stuck firmly in the center lane. His midsection was so gigantic that it looked like he had swallowed a wrecking ball, and he wore a blue triple-XL T-shirt that gave him the appearance of a walking piece of M&M’s candy. The sumo-size zombie’s lips retracted back in a broad psychotic smile, showing off a crooked row of chompers blackened at the root.

    Zoe ran forward, pushing the shopping cart into the zombified turnstiles. The big blue M&M’s monster man thrashed in a burst of zombie superstrength. Pow! The metal turnstile snapped off, unleashing a surge of undead subway dwellers onto the platform. Zoe jumped back and the shopping cart tipped onto its side. Zombie Rice spilled out, rolling past the yellow caution line and over the ledge to the tracks below.
    â€œRice!” Zack yelled, rushing to keep his friend from falling, but Rice had already landed in a rank puddle of muck.
    Zack and Ozzie jumped down fast and pulled Rice up to his feet, while the girls fended off the oncoming zombies.
    â€œMadison, Zoe!” yelled Zack, standing on the tracks below. “Come on. We don’t have a choice!”
    Just then, Twinkles made a little whinnying sound as the tunnel began to vibrate with a distant rumble.
    â€œThere’s a train coming!” Madison screamed. “Get off the tracks!”
    â€œGrab his arms!” Zack shouted, lifting Rice up with Ozzie. The girls crouched down on the platform and reached over, gripping Rice by his wrists, while Zack and Ozzie pushed Rice back up to safety.
    Ozzie planted the palms of his hands on the platform edge and hoisted himself back onto the platform. He stood up and reached a helping hand down to Zack just