Alive! Not Dead! Read Online Free PDF Page B

five and dime slash Western clothing store.
    Another minivan was parked by the fuel island outside.  I guessed that the van probably needed fuel, but it turned out to be full.  Whoever owned it must have just got done filling it up because the gas cap was still off.  Thank goodness they had shut the pump off when they finished fueling.
    We transferred all of our supplies to the minivan.  When we were finished, Tara said she needed to use the restroom which was adjacent to the food store somewhere near the back in the Western clothing store.  The two shops were separated by an old wooden swinging Saloon bar door.
    While she was doing that, I went into the food store to see if I could find some more food; or maybe a roadmap.  There was a map stand near the back by some refrigerated drink coolers.  The electricity was now off so the drinks had lost their chill.  By the back wall there was a rack of western shirts, jeans and a large section full of junk food.  I grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the drink cooler even though they weren’t cold anymore.  The junk food really didn’t look very appetizing.  What I really could have gone for was a full steak and baked potato dinner with all the trimmings, but I really didn’t think it would happen.
    Tara screamed.
    Dropping everything, I ran through the swinging door.
    She screamed again.
    Ah shit my tire iron, I thought to myself.  There was no time to go get it.  I dead-headed toward the restrooms.
    She came out of the ladies room, backing up, her hands outstretched toward the restroom door.  Her jeans were wet on the seat.  She saw me coming toward her.  She screamed again.  “Dan get her!”
    An old woman zombie came out the door, its hair ragge d, its mouth in a drawn sneer. Its back was arched crookedly at the shoulders.  Her arms were covered in sores.  She had no shirt on.  Her breasts were saggy.  The nipples were hard and dark as well as covered in sores.  A large dripping bruise was on her neck.  It ran up behind her ear on the right side of her head.
    I had no weapon.  I grabbed Tara by the left hand.  I yanked her to me then moved her around, behind me.
    The zombie gargled at both of us.
    I looked around for any type of weapon.  There was a fire extinguisher far away on another wall.  The only thing next to us was a magazine stand and an empty mop bucket lying sideways on the floor
    I heard Tara flip open her switchblade.  I knew it wasn’t a very good weapon for close zombie combat, but before I could stop her, Tara lashed out at the zombie.  She cut its arm deeply.
    T he zombie didn’t stop coming.  It grabbed Tara by the hair pulling Tara toward her.  Tara screamed again.  Her hair was being ripped out by the root.
    Tara’s head was within inches of the zombies discolored teeth.
    With my free hand I swung out with my fist.  I hit the zombie hard in the face.  It didn’t stop.
    The zombie’s teeth clamped down.  Tara dodged just in the nick of tim e! The zombie only got a mouthful of hair.
    Suddenly, the men’s bathroom door slammed open.  From inside, another zombie shambled out.  This one only had one arm.  He wore a Conoco gas station uniform.  Around his ne ck bloodied toilet paper hung. In his one hand he held a good size crescent wrench.
    “That’s it!” I shouted.
    I let go of Tara for a split second.  This gave me enough time to reach down for the crescent wrench.  Grabbing it out of the zombie’s loose grip, I swung it up into his head, breaking his chin.  This caused him to stumble backward.  Seeing my chance, I swung out with the crescent wrench toward the female.  It smacked with a clank on the side of her head, shattering her head into two wedges.  One half of her head split on the ground like a dropped watermelon when it hit the floor; the other half lopped to the side as her body went down.
    Tara fell to her knees, holding her head where the zombie had just yanked the hair out by the