it might summon more, and we could be completely surrounded by dozens of undead freaks within seconds; they’d come faster than we could take them out with our guns.
When the first zombie stumbled into the chasm, Nick was on it in seconds, bashing its head in with a chunk of concrete. When another one fell in, Val beat Nick to the punch and crunched its skull before it even knew what hit it.
Suddenly, the SUV groaned, and the ground below us started to shift.
I carefully walked through the slush of water, dirt, and debris and climbed on the metal meshing, then shot Nick a glance. “We gotta shoot ‘em...fast, then climb out of here and shoot some more. It’s our only option.”
“If we’re fast enough, maybe we can get away before more come,” Kate said.
Huge chunks of wet clay and sand suddenly fell on me. I wiped my eyes and spat out the pebbles and dirt. I could hear the dirt slowly caving in. I climbed up the metal meshing and fired at the first rotten zombie I saw looking down at me. Gunfire rang out as the others followed my lead. I climbed up the slippery metal, careful not to lose my footing, as I didn’t want to fall and knock the others down. When I got to the top, I climbed out. The sinkhole had left a huge crater in the middle of the street, but even worse than that, dozens of zombies came at me. I had to hold them off long enough for the others to hurry out.
The rain continued coming down in sheets. When lightning illuminated the sky, every freak’s gory details came into perfect view. I kept squeezing the trigger. When my gun clicked empty, I reloaded while Nick and Lucas fired away.
A beeping sound caught my attention, and I looked up to see a pickup coming straight toward us. The truck screeched to a stop and an older woman peered out the driver’s window. “Hop in!” she screamed. “Hurry!”
We didn’t hesitate to take her up on the offer for a ride. I bolted into the truck bed, hopping over the tailgate like a track star, and then I helped the others in. Zombies moaned and started to walk toward the truck, but the tires spun and sprayed them with a thick layer of mud as the vehicle sped off down the road. I gasped, but I felt relieved. About time somebody helped us out, I thought. We’ve been helping other people ever since the helicopter crash.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked Nick when I noticed the bone protruding a bit; his shoulder was visibly deformed and out of place. I could tell he was miserable and in excruciating pain, even if he wouldn’t admit it, because he grimaced every time we went over a bump.
“I’m fine,” he breathed out.
“You don’t look fine,” Kate chimed in.
“You know how much I hate being fussed over.”
“Let me pop it back into place,” Val said.
“When we stop,” he said. “Truth is, my arm’s a little numb, and the pain is pretty...” he said, then trailed off, refusing to admit any weakness.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you all patched up,” Val said.
“We lost the SUV,” Kate said. “It’s at least an hour back.”
“Longer on foot,” Lucas said.
I blinked the rain out of my eyes as the truck flew down the dark, deserted street. No one said another word as we glided around the corner and down a long street, then stopped.
Kate opened the tailgate, and we all hopped out.
The elderly driver, dressed in a yellow raincoat, asked, “Are you guys okay?” Her black bangs were sticking out under her hood, and she had dark eyes and a friendly smile. I guessed her to be about sixty years old.
“My brother dislocated his shoulder,” Val said.
“We’d better get him inside then,” she replied.
Nick grimaced in pain. “No. Thank you for the ride, but we’ll be on our way.”
The woman stepped closer. “On your way? It’s nighttime, for goodness sake. Have you even eaten? Come inside and warm up by the fire, and I’ll make you a bite. You can stay the night and rest, and we’ll get that shoulder fixed up for
When the first zombie stumbled into the chasm, Nick was on it in seconds, bashing its head in with a chunk of concrete. When another one fell in, Val beat Nick to the punch and crunched its skull before it even knew what hit it.
Suddenly, the SUV groaned, and the ground below us started to shift.
I carefully walked through the slush of water, dirt, and debris and climbed on the metal meshing, then shot Nick a glance. “We gotta shoot ‘em...fast, then climb out of here and shoot some more. It’s our only option.”
“If we’re fast enough, maybe we can get away before more come,” Kate said.
Huge chunks of wet clay and sand suddenly fell on me. I wiped my eyes and spat out the pebbles and dirt. I could hear the dirt slowly caving in. I climbed up the metal meshing and fired at the first rotten zombie I saw looking down at me. Gunfire rang out as the others followed my lead. I climbed up the slippery metal, careful not to lose my footing, as I didn’t want to fall and knock the others down. When I got to the top, I climbed out. The sinkhole had left a huge crater in the middle of the street, but even worse than that, dozens of zombies came at me. I had to hold them off long enough for the others to hurry out.
The rain continued coming down in sheets. When lightning illuminated the sky, every freak’s gory details came into perfect view. I kept squeezing the trigger. When my gun clicked empty, I reloaded while Nick and Lucas fired away.
A beeping sound caught my attention, and I looked up to see a pickup coming straight toward us. The truck screeched to a stop and an older woman peered out the driver’s window. “Hop in!” she screamed. “Hurry!”
We didn’t hesitate to take her up on the offer for a ride. I bolted into the truck bed, hopping over the tailgate like a track star, and then I helped the others in. Zombies moaned and started to walk toward the truck, but the tires spun and sprayed them with a thick layer of mud as the vehicle sped off down the road. I gasped, but I felt relieved. About time somebody helped us out, I thought. We’ve been helping other people ever since the helicopter crash.
“How’s your shoulder?” I asked Nick when I noticed the bone protruding a bit; his shoulder was visibly deformed and out of place. I could tell he was miserable and in excruciating pain, even if he wouldn’t admit it, because he grimaced every time we went over a bump.
“I’m fine,” he breathed out.
“You don’t look fine,” Kate chimed in.
“You know how much I hate being fussed over.”
“Let me pop it back into place,” Val said.
“When we stop,” he said. “Truth is, my arm’s a little numb, and the pain is pretty...” he said, then trailed off, refusing to admit any weakness.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you all patched up,” Val said.
“We lost the SUV,” Kate said. “It’s at least an hour back.”
“Longer on foot,” Lucas said.
I blinked the rain out of my eyes as the truck flew down the dark, deserted street. No one said another word as we glided around the corner and down a long street, then stopped.
Kate opened the tailgate, and we all hopped out.
The elderly driver, dressed in a yellow raincoat, asked, “Are you guys okay?” Her black bangs were sticking out under her hood, and she had dark eyes and a friendly smile. I guessed her to be about sixty years old.
“My brother dislocated his shoulder,” Val said.
“We’d better get him inside then,” she replied.
Nick grimaced in pain. “No. Thank you for the ride, but we’ll be on our way.”
The woman stepped closer. “On your way? It’s nighttime, for goodness sake. Have you even eaten? Come inside and warm up by the fire, and I’ll make you a bite. You can stay the night and rest, and we’ll get that shoulder fixed up for
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