Read Online Sudden Death: A Zombie Novel by James Carlson - Free Book Online Page B

hand, Muz popped open the holster attached to his belt and pulled out the cylinder of CS spray. He had no intention of attacking the mad men , but he wanted the canister in hand as a defence, just in case. His hand was shaking so badly however that he fumbled and dropped the CS, causing it to clatter on the road.
    The blood racing through his veins suddenly ran cold with fear, as he thought the men would react to the sound and come at him. Thankfully, they didn’t. It seemed that nothing was about to distract them, so long as they were feeding.
    Muz snatched up the canister and began treading backwards now, increasing the distance between himself and the unbelievable carnage. He walked backwards all the way up to the junction with Engel Park, too scared to take his eyes off the demented coppers.
    As he was still witnessing the murder , two of the men got in each other’s way, as they frenziedly fed, face down in Kieran’s open stomach. The two officers immediately began to fight each other, while the third simply ignored them and continued to eat.
    It was like no fight Muz had ever seen. There was no posturing, no bravado, no insulting or antagonising words, no pacing around as they weighed each other up. The men instead attacked with the obvious sole intention of killing. They clawed at each other so violently that they tore their own nails from their fingers. One sunk his teeth into the other officer’s throat and biting down hard, tugged back with his entire bodyweight repeatedly. Despite the effort involved, he didn’t tire until the man’s trachea and larynx tore away from the rest of the neck.
    Muz ducked around the hedge at the end of the road. His chest was rising and falling in rapid succession and he felt dizzy with the amount of oxygen in his blood. He had been so transfixed and ho rrified by what he had seen, that he had he neglected to perform such a basic bodily function as swallowing, and now a thick trail of saliva slid from his chin and down his met-vest.
    He took control of his breathing, wiped his face , and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now. Along Engel Park, to his left, there was the cordon he was meant to be controlling. He really didn’t see that he could manage that though, not without some serious backup. The injured man who Kieran had tried to help was now nowhere to be seen. Where he had dragged himself off to, Muz had no idea. To his right was the quickest route back to the nick, to safety.
    He was already beginning to jog to the right, as he switched his PR to the IBO channel. There was no use in even attempting to transmit on Despatch One, or even the Support channel. There was just too much constant radio traffic. He was dismayed to hear that the IBO channel was just the same. Cursing, he pressed his emergency button again, cutting over the man who was already speaking.
    “Ops, I need help,” he said. It was almost a plea.
    “Go on. Where are you? What have you got?”
    “Engel Park. Kieran, Two Four Five, is dead. He... he was at tacked by three Herts officers,” Muz told the man.
    There was a long pause of radio silence. Muz was about to call up again and check the IBO officer had received him, when the man at last responded.
    “We’v e got no units to assist you at this time,” was all the officer said.
    “What?” Muz almost choked out. “Did you not hear me? Kieran is dead.”
    Silence.
    “I’m sorry. There’s nobody,” the IBO officer said with resignation and fatigue in his voice.
    Was he crying, Muz wondered.
    “Muz, it’s Sam,” a female voice now spoke over the radio.
    She was a core team officer but also worked in the IBO sometimes. Unlike her colleague, she seemed still to be managing to maintain a level of professionalism and control.
    “We’ve got more units running to assist from south of the river but they’re a while off yet,” she told him.
    “Shit,” Muz replied. “Well, I can’t control this cordon. I’m on foot, returning back