idiot! Are you okay?”
“Dammit, Suz, why did you come down here?”
Noises, all too familiar guttural ones, came from the mouth of the alley. Three of the creeps were shuffling toward us. I pulled my gun, but knew if I fired it we’d be overrun in seconds. The sound would attract them as sure as the kids’ screams had done. Chuck pulled out his rifle and pushed me behind him. “Climb back up,” he ordered. “Do it now.”
“There’s not time for us both to make it, and I’m not leaving you.”
“Dammit, Suz, why are you being so–
“Because, you idiot, I–”
Something hit him in the shoulder, then clanged against the wall. We both jumped, but it was the firehose from the other building. The girl was leaning over the ledge, strawberry blond hair and pale skin with freckles. Not a local, that was for sure. “Hurry!”
There wasn’t time. They were too close.
Chuck shouldered his rifle, and with a series of shots– pffft! pffft! pffft! –shot the three creeps in the head with framing nails. One after another, they dropped to the ground.
I wondered if body shots would’ve worked just as well, and doubted it. “Go,” he told me. All confident and bossy. It probably should’ve pissed me off, but it made me feel safe and protected instead, despite that another handful of stragglers were already coming into the alley.
Chuck grabbed the new hose. I grabbed the original one, and we both climbed for dear life while the people above us pulled. The second teenager and the little boy were helping strawberry paleface haul Chuck up as he climbed. Mom and the Chief were pulling me.
I got three feet above head level before the creepers grabbed onto my hose and started jerking it around while they tried to figure out how to climb up after me. Bright, they were not.
I aimed my gun, but before I could fire it, pffft! Nail to the head. Zombie to the pavement. End of story.
I looked across at Chuck. He had one arm and one leg twisted around the firehose, and was shouldering the rifle in his free arm, looking hot and heroic and not the least bit like a science geek. He winked at me. Winked . Who was this sexy super hero anyway? Then he slid the rifle’s strap over his shoulder and returned to climbing.
I did the same, finally making my way over the top, mostly because of Mom’s and Chief Mallory’s efforts, not my skills at rope-climbing. I’d never done very well at that.
Then again, neither had Chuck.
Mom grabbed me, sobbing, but I extricated myself to turn. Chuck had made it to the top of the next building, but the creatures were flooding onto it from the still attached fire escape.
Chuck started taking them out with the air rifle, but I had no idea how many nails he had in his pockets. Mom and the chief took aim, too.
“Chuck!” I shouted. “Pull up the fire hose and throw one end over here!” I rapidly pulled ours up, made sure it was still tied securely on our end. I threw the nozzle side across the gap to the other building. He threw his to me in return, and then we were both tying the loose ends off.
We ended up with two hoses side by side, spanning across the gap between the two buildings.
Chuck shouldered the rifle again, dropping to one knee and firing at the creeps who were still piling onto the roof. He yelled at the others, “Come on, you have to cross to the other roof. It’s your only chance!”
Mom and the chief were on opposite corners of our building, where they could pick off the zombies on the other one, with no risk of hitting the survivors. I pointed my gun as well, keeping it aimed far from the people now gathering near the makeshift rope course. “Come on,” Chuck shouted. “Come on!”
The strawberry blond came first. No hesitation. She sat on the ledge, then eased herself onto the hoses, leaning forward and wrapping her arms and legs around both of them at once. Almost immediately she rocked sideways, and shrieked but held on. Now she was face up, arms and legs
“Dammit, Suz, why did you come down here?”
Noises, all too familiar guttural ones, came from the mouth of the alley. Three of the creeps were shuffling toward us. I pulled my gun, but knew if I fired it we’d be overrun in seconds. The sound would attract them as sure as the kids’ screams had done. Chuck pulled out his rifle and pushed me behind him. “Climb back up,” he ordered. “Do it now.”
“There’s not time for us both to make it, and I’m not leaving you.”
“Dammit, Suz, why are you being so–
“Because, you idiot, I–”
Something hit him in the shoulder, then clanged against the wall. We both jumped, but it was the firehose from the other building. The girl was leaning over the ledge, strawberry blond hair and pale skin with freckles. Not a local, that was for sure. “Hurry!”
There wasn’t time. They were too close.
Chuck shouldered his rifle, and with a series of shots– pffft! pffft! pffft! –shot the three creeps in the head with framing nails. One after another, they dropped to the ground.
I wondered if body shots would’ve worked just as well, and doubted it. “Go,” he told me. All confident and bossy. It probably should’ve pissed me off, but it made me feel safe and protected instead, despite that another handful of stragglers were already coming into the alley.
Chuck grabbed the new hose. I grabbed the original one, and we both climbed for dear life while the people above us pulled. The second teenager and the little boy were helping strawberry paleface haul Chuck up as he climbed. Mom and the Chief were pulling me.
I got three feet above head level before the creepers grabbed onto my hose and started jerking it around while they tried to figure out how to climb up after me. Bright, they were not.
I aimed my gun, but before I could fire it, pffft! Nail to the head. Zombie to the pavement. End of story.
I looked across at Chuck. He had one arm and one leg twisted around the firehose, and was shouldering the rifle in his free arm, looking hot and heroic and not the least bit like a science geek. He winked at me. Winked . Who was this sexy super hero anyway? Then he slid the rifle’s strap over his shoulder and returned to climbing.
I did the same, finally making my way over the top, mostly because of Mom’s and Chief Mallory’s efforts, not my skills at rope-climbing. I’d never done very well at that.
Then again, neither had Chuck.
Mom grabbed me, sobbing, but I extricated myself to turn. Chuck had made it to the top of the next building, but the creatures were flooding onto it from the still attached fire escape.
Chuck started taking them out with the air rifle, but I had no idea how many nails he had in his pockets. Mom and the chief took aim, too.
“Chuck!” I shouted. “Pull up the fire hose and throw one end over here!” I rapidly pulled ours up, made sure it was still tied securely on our end. I threw the nozzle side across the gap to the other building. He threw his to me in return, and then we were both tying the loose ends off.
We ended up with two hoses side by side, spanning across the gap between the two buildings.
Chuck shouldered the rifle again, dropping to one knee and firing at the creeps who were still piling onto the roof. He yelled at the others, “Come on, you have to cross to the other roof. It’s your only chance!”
Mom and the chief were on opposite corners of our building, where they could pick off the zombies on the other one, with no risk of hitting the survivors. I pointed my gun as well, keeping it aimed far from the people now gathering near the makeshift rope course. “Come on,” Chuck shouted. “Come on!”
The strawberry blond came first. No hesitation. She sat on the ledge, then eased herself onto the hoses, leaning forward and wrapping her arms and legs around both of them at once. Almost immediately she rocked sideways, and shrieked but held on. Now she was face up, arms and legs
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