can use back there to hit it?” he shouted.
The girls dug under the seats behind him. Dan reached for the pistol tucked in his pants, but the creature had begun to swat at him, as if sensing what he had in store.
“I’ve got something!” Sandy yelled.
Dan’s eyes flicked to the rearview; the girl had found a crowbar. He watched as she leaned over the seat and started clubbing the thing. The creature spit and flailed.
“I’m going to roll down the window! When I do, hit it as hard as you can!”
“OK!” the girl cried.
He jabbed the button, lowering the window, and watched as Sandy swung at the thing’s skull. The crowbar connected with its forehead, and it fell limp into the passenger’s seat, resting on top of the dead woman.
Dan swerved left and then right, shaking it loose, and it toppled backward and fell out into the street. He rolled up the window, just in time to avoid another pair of lunging hands.
The creatures in the street had thickened—there were now several hordes approaching from the front. So far Dan had been able to drive unimpeded, but the road was getting worse. Up ahead, a minivan and a dump truck barred the majority of the street, and the sidewalk wasn’t looking much better.
Despite his practiced driving skills, there was only so much Dan could do.
He withdrew his gun and set it on his lap. If he’d counted correctly, there were five bullets left. The rest of their weapons had been stolen with the station wagon.
He glared at the grim path ahead of them, looking for options.
The sidewalk was covered in restaurant furniture, trees, and newspaper boxes. Even if he were to veer onto it, they wouldn’t make it more than a few feet. At the same time, the road ahead was completely blocked off.
He had to do something. The creatures had them surrounded.
“Hang on!” he shouted.
Eyeing the two tear-stained faces in the backseat, Dan swerved off the road, heading straight for the nearest building.
10
M eredith bit back the tears. She clenched the phone in her hand, dialing John’s number over and over, but it was useless. There was no answer. After the fourth try she let the receiver drop and grabbed her rifle.
She needed to get to him. Fast.
She darted back out the door, feet pounding the grass, and jumped inside her pickup. The engine growled. She revved the gas and spun the tires, doing a U-turn on the field, then roared down the driveway.
When she reached the end, she barreled onto the main road without stopping.
She thought back to what she’d heard. There had been noises; of that she was certain. Someone or some thing had been in John’s store, or trying to break in. That alone had her panicked. But even more troubling was the single gunshot. That was enough to make her stomach feel queasy, hollow inside.
She just hoped to God he was all right.
In spite of John had done to her, she couldn’t deny what they’d once had. She’d repressed her feelings for months, trying to forget this man, but now that he was in danger her emotions had come back stronger than ever.
Before the phone disconnected, John had said that he loved her. And try as she might, Meredith couldn’t deny the fact that she loved him, too.
Meredith had first met John on a trip to town about a year ago.
She’d been driving to the market, intent on getting the week’s groceries, when she saw a sign on the side of the road that she’d never seen before.
“Furniture Shop.”
The sign was simple and plain, propped against a wooden barrel in the parking lot of a small log-cabin storefront. Formerly the building had been used to house one of the local farmer’s vegetables, but it hadn’t been occupied in years. For as long as she could remember, it’d been boarded up and closed down.
Driving by that day, she’d been surprised to find the building open, the doors ajar and the lights on inside. A blue pickup had been sitting in the gravel parking lot, a Michigan license plate on the
The girls dug under the seats behind him. Dan reached for the pistol tucked in his pants, but the creature had begun to swat at him, as if sensing what he had in store.
“I’ve got something!” Sandy yelled.
Dan’s eyes flicked to the rearview; the girl had found a crowbar. He watched as she leaned over the seat and started clubbing the thing. The creature spit and flailed.
“I’m going to roll down the window! When I do, hit it as hard as you can!”
“OK!” the girl cried.
He jabbed the button, lowering the window, and watched as Sandy swung at the thing’s skull. The crowbar connected with its forehead, and it fell limp into the passenger’s seat, resting on top of the dead woman.
Dan swerved left and then right, shaking it loose, and it toppled backward and fell out into the street. He rolled up the window, just in time to avoid another pair of lunging hands.
The creatures in the street had thickened—there were now several hordes approaching from the front. So far Dan had been able to drive unimpeded, but the road was getting worse. Up ahead, a minivan and a dump truck barred the majority of the street, and the sidewalk wasn’t looking much better.
Despite his practiced driving skills, there was only so much Dan could do.
He withdrew his gun and set it on his lap. If he’d counted correctly, there were five bullets left. The rest of their weapons had been stolen with the station wagon.
He glared at the grim path ahead of them, looking for options.
The sidewalk was covered in restaurant furniture, trees, and newspaper boxes. Even if he were to veer onto it, they wouldn’t make it more than a few feet. At the same time, the road ahead was completely blocked off.
He had to do something. The creatures had them surrounded.
“Hang on!” he shouted.
Eyeing the two tear-stained faces in the backseat, Dan swerved off the road, heading straight for the nearest building.
10
M eredith bit back the tears. She clenched the phone in her hand, dialing John’s number over and over, but it was useless. There was no answer. After the fourth try she let the receiver drop and grabbed her rifle.
She needed to get to him. Fast.
She darted back out the door, feet pounding the grass, and jumped inside her pickup. The engine growled. She revved the gas and spun the tires, doing a U-turn on the field, then roared down the driveway.
When she reached the end, she barreled onto the main road without stopping.
She thought back to what she’d heard. There had been noises; of that she was certain. Someone or some thing had been in John’s store, or trying to break in. That alone had her panicked. But even more troubling was the single gunshot. That was enough to make her stomach feel queasy, hollow inside.
She just hoped to God he was all right.
In spite of John had done to her, she couldn’t deny what they’d once had. She’d repressed her feelings for months, trying to forget this man, but now that he was in danger her emotions had come back stronger than ever.
Before the phone disconnected, John had said that he loved her. And try as she might, Meredith couldn’t deny the fact that she loved him, too.
Meredith had first met John on a trip to town about a year ago.
She’d been driving to the market, intent on getting the week’s groceries, when she saw a sign on the side of the road that she’d never seen before.
“Furniture Shop.”
The sign was simple and plain, propped against a wooden barrel in the parking lot of a small log-cabin storefront. Formerly the building had been used to house one of the local farmer’s vegetables, but it hadn’t been occupied in years. For as long as she could remember, it’d been boarded up and closed down.
Driving by that day, she’d been surprised to find the building open, the doors ajar and the lights on inside. A blue pickup had been sitting in the gravel parking lot, a Michigan license plate on the
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