Read Online The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) by Chrissy Peebles - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chrissy Peebles
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forward onto one of the dry, brittle planks and felt a flutter in my stomach; I’d never been one for skydiving, particularly without a parachute and with such a spiky landing beneath me. The bridge swung with my weight, and as I looked down, the distance to the bottom seemed to multiply right before my eyes, dizzying me. I focused on every step, but by the time I reached the middle of the flimsy crossover, the thing was bouncing and rocking like crazy. I was paralyzed with fear, unable to take another step, and when Claire caught up to me, the bridge swung even more. I swayed backward, almost losing my footing, and grabbed the rope. As my grip began to falter, my heartbeat doubled its pace.
“ Dean!” she said.
“ I’m fine,” I said, regaining my balance. The planks wobbled and twisted as I took every tense step, and I took a deep breath to regain my composure.
“ Faster! We gotta move, people!” Nick yelled, his voice echoing over the canyon.
I glanced back, and my gut clenched when I saw zombies following us onto the rope bridge. “Doesn’t matter,” I whispered, trying to encourage myself. “We’ll be across in no time.”
“ Nick!” Val yelled. “How weak are the planks?”
“Pretty brittle,” he said. “A bunch of them are cracking.”
“Good! Kick ‘em out behind you as you go,” she suggested. “Those suckers will fall through and get skewered!”
My brother and Lucas, the last two in line, tried to kick the planks lose and break them, but it wasn’t as easy as Val thought. Many of them weren’t rotted or petrified and were securely fastened in place.
“ Val,” I yelled, “give them your axe!”
Before she could answer, Claire screamed. My head whipped around, and I couldn’t believe the nightmare before me. Groaning and growling sounds sliced the air as a group of zombies slowly shuffled toward us from the other side of the bridge, right in front of us.
“ Crap! This bridge will never hold all this weight,” Lucas muttered. “We’re gonna have to throw some of these freaks off it!”
“ Nick, more are coming from the front too!” Asia yelled over her shoulder.
I trembled as a feeling of dread encompassed my body. “What do we do, man?” I threw a terrified glance toward Lucas. As much as I wanted to be everyone’s hero, we were standing on a rope bridge hundreds of feet above jagged, fatal stone spears, with zombies coming at us from both sides, and we were armed only with a bat, a rifle, and an axe. There’s no way we could jump or escape, and we would have to fight.
“ Asia, Lucas, and I got the back!” Nick hollered. “You guys take the front.”
I could hear Claire’s screams and Val’s shouts as she fought them off with her axe. Zombies pushed forward, and the girls fought harder, with the bridge shaking violently beneath us. Asia fired several shots, the loud bangs echoing through the chasm beneath us. When I glanced over my shoulder, I realized the dead-again corpses were piling up, creating somewhat of a barricade. Our soldiers in back had taken care of the zombie assault from the rear, but there were still plenty of cannibalistic freaks coming at us from the front. I was suddenly glad for all my videogame experience; it wasn’t exactly PlayStation, but with all of them lined up neatly on a narrow bridge, they’d be easy enough to kill. Just like batting practice, I thought, raising my Slugger above my head as my adrenaline surged and I scooted past Jackie, Kate, and Claire.
“ What are you doing, Dean? Get back!” Val shouted.
“ No can do, sis. You need my help, and you know it.”
Realizing she wasn’t going to win that argument, she nodded and made room for me to stand next to her.
The bridge swayed and jerked beneath my feet with the weight of the oncoming undead. I frantically looked ahead to size up the herd of enemies, trying to determine just how many I would need to take down for us to make a smooth exit from the bridge. Beads of
“ Dean!” she said.
“ I’m fine,” I said, regaining my balance. The planks wobbled and twisted as I took every tense step, and I took a deep breath to regain my composure.
“ Faster! We gotta move, people!” Nick yelled, his voice echoing over the canyon.
I glanced back, and my gut clenched when I saw zombies following us onto the rope bridge. “Doesn’t matter,” I whispered, trying to encourage myself. “We’ll be across in no time.”
“ Nick!” Val yelled. “How weak are the planks?”
“Pretty brittle,” he said. “A bunch of them are cracking.”
“Good! Kick ‘em out behind you as you go,” she suggested. “Those suckers will fall through and get skewered!”
My brother and Lucas, the last two in line, tried to kick the planks lose and break them, but it wasn’t as easy as Val thought. Many of them weren’t rotted or petrified and were securely fastened in place.
“ Val,” I yelled, “give them your axe!”
Before she could answer, Claire screamed. My head whipped around, and I couldn’t believe the nightmare before me. Groaning and growling sounds sliced the air as a group of zombies slowly shuffled toward us from the other side of the bridge, right in front of us.
“ Crap! This bridge will never hold all this weight,” Lucas muttered. “We’re gonna have to throw some of these freaks off it!”
“ Nick, more are coming from the front too!” Asia yelled over her shoulder.
I trembled as a feeling of dread encompassed my body. “What do we do, man?” I threw a terrified glance toward Lucas. As much as I wanted to be everyone’s hero, we were standing on a rope bridge hundreds of feet above jagged, fatal stone spears, with zombies coming at us from both sides, and we were armed only with a bat, a rifle, and an axe. There’s no way we could jump or escape, and we would have to fight.
“ Asia, Lucas, and I got the back!” Nick hollered. “You guys take the front.”
I could hear Claire’s screams and Val’s shouts as she fought them off with her axe. Zombies pushed forward, and the girls fought harder, with the bridge shaking violently beneath us. Asia fired several shots, the loud bangs echoing through the chasm beneath us. When I glanced over my shoulder, I realized the dead-again corpses were piling up, creating somewhat of a barricade. Our soldiers in back had taken care of the zombie assault from the rear, but there were still plenty of cannibalistic freaks coming at us from the front. I was suddenly glad for all my videogame experience; it wasn’t exactly PlayStation, but with all of them lined up neatly on a narrow bridge, they’d be easy enough to kill. Just like batting practice, I thought, raising my Slugger above my head as my adrenaline surged and I scooted past Jackie, Kate, and Claire.
“ What are you doing, Dean? Get back!” Val shouted.
“ No can do, sis. You need my help, and you know it.”
Realizing she wasn’t going to win that argument, she nodded and made room for me to stand next to her.
The bridge swayed and jerked beneath my feet with the weight of the oncoming undead. I frantically looked ahead to size up the herd of enemies, trying to determine just how many I would need to take down for us to make a smooth exit from the bridge. Beads of
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