Read Online Z Children (Book 2): The Surge by Eli Constant, B.V. Barr - Free Book Online Page B

stammered.
    I
pushed her out of the way and shoved the combat lock into place just as the Z girl
from the roof slammed its body into the rear passenger door. Bonnie had
retreated to the front seat, her body pushed against the dash as her eyes
stared at the Z girl shoving her bloody face against the glass.
    “What
about Ranger? We can’t leave him out there alone,” Bonnie’s voice quavered. Her
eyes had moved from the Z to stare at the combat lock I’d just bolted; the one
she’d consciously or unconsciously forgotten to lock.
    “He’ll
be fine, Bonnie. He’s more equipped to fight them than we are.”
    Her only
response was a quick nod. It was not brimming with trust in my words.
    Outside,
Ranger was moving away from the Hummer, trying to draw the rest of the horde
away. I worried that he would be overwhelmed. It was amazing that he’d fought
them off for so long. He was only one dog. One amazing dog. But only one.
    It was
like Mighty Mouse against a sea of alley cats.
    Fumbling
with the rifle, I tried to get another magazine in place. Twice it dropped out,
and I cursed at it like it wasn’t operator error. Once it was in, held tight
and ready to be deadly once more, I breathed. I didn’t want to leave the vehicle,
didn’t want to re-enter perdition, but I had to—for Ranger. “Lock the door
behind me. You hear me? This time, I want them all bolted.”
    “Gin,
don’t go out there again.”
    “You
think I want to? I’m basically messing my pants here.”
    The
young girl frowned at me, her face wrinkled and worried. “Don’t leave me all
alone, okay?”
    I knew
what that meant. She was telling me not to die.
    “I’m a
doctor. If I get hurt, I’ll patch myself up. Promise.”
    Because
that’s what I was. A doctor. Not a killer. Not a soldier.
    But
when the world becomes a cycle of killing or being killed, then you have to
adapt—even if that means changing in the worst way possible. I didn’t want to
change, for worse or better.
    I took
a deep breath before re-opening the passenger door.
    Ranger
and the following mass of zombies were quite far away now. I needed him to
separate from them. I didn’t want to risk hurting him. Whistling low, I watched
the dog’s ears perk up, but he didn’t look my way. I whistled low again. I
didn’t want to be too loud, draw them back here and ruin all of his hard work.
    Come
on, Ranger. Just hear me. Get the hell out of the way and let me help you now.
    But he
didn’t. He kept playing cat-and-mouse with the Z’s until he rounded a corner
and all of them were out of sight.
    I
stood there like an idiot for a long time. Part of me hoped that JW would never
come back—because if he did, and his loyal companion had died because we hadn’t
listened to him and stayed in the hotel, then I knew we wouldn’t need Z kids to
kill us.
    The
longer I waited for Ranger to appear, the more moisture built in my eyes. It
was ultimately my fault. If we’d just stayed put in the suite…if we hadn’t
gotten cocky and decided to take matters into our own hands. I couldn’t even
think about Chris now. All I could think about was that stupid dog, that stupid
and heroic dog. When the tears finally began to stream down my face, they were
unstoppable, acidic things that burned my skin. Salty and unyielding.
    So…I
almost truly soiled myself when Ranger jumped onto the hood of the Hummer and
startled the crap out of me. “Ranger! Oh, thank God!”
    The
self-satisfied look on the dog’s face as he looked at me was picture-worthy. It
seemed to say— No need to waste bullets, woman. I got this. Easy-peasy. I
wanted to hug the animal, but I didn’t get the chance. Bonnie beat me to it,
exiting her safe haven with bounding enthusiasm.
    “Oh,
Ranger, I knew you wouldn’t die.” She hugged him tightly and whispered into his
scarred and hairless neck. She had to step on her tippy toes to reach him atop
the hood. “You’re just the best dog ever.” He grunted in satisfaction