Crowded Yet Desolate: A Zombie Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

could be born here.

 
    Chapter 4
     
    The road became too crowded, people and empty cars littering the streets. Ryan and the twins cut left into the parking lot of a diner, which ended abruptly and paved the way into a grassy area sporadically littered with trees. They ran into the grass, their footsteps becoming silent. As he followed, Ryan was beginning to feel uneasy about his decision to follow these strangers. He knew nothing about them, and his assumption that he was safer with them could be completely untrue. They could be dangerous people. Just stop following, then , he thought, make your way to the hospital . Yet even as the thoughts formed, he knew there was no hospital to go to.
    Ryan looked up and saw that the twins were breaking ahead. He tried to pick up his pace, but he was too exhausted and fell farther behind. Pain flared in his side, his legs burned, and the bat became surprisingly heavy in his grip. Finally, he was forced to stop. He hunched over, falling into the grass, sucking up as much air as he possibly could. Now that he was on the ground gasping for breath, Ryan wished the twins would stop and wait, and to Ryan’s relief, they took notice of him and did. They were barely out of breath compared to Ryan. This is why they hesitated to bring me along, he thought . They’re not the danger. I am. No one spoke as Ryan regained his composure; no words could assuage anyone’s shocked state. Ryan found the silence uncomfortable, but he was too out of breath to do anything about it. When ready to run again, he stood. “All right. I’m ready now.”
    Shortly after restarting their run, a figure suddenly appeared from behind one of the trees in the distance. The twins readied their crowbars and charged, and the figure yelled, “Hey, hey what are you doing? I’m not a freaking zombie! Put your weapons down, man!”
    A zombie? Ryan thought. Did he just say a zombie ? No, of course not. Zombies were fictional beings. He was too far away to hear accurately, that was all. Before he could contemplate further, the kid was in front of them. He was around the age of twenty and the same height as Ryan, although far skinnier. He wore a pair of tight blue jeans, and a gray V-neck that revealed the upper portion of his skinny, hairless chest.
    “Whoo,” he said, bending over. “Pretty crazy what’s going on, huh? The name’s Cameron. You can call me Cam.” He rose up and extended his left hand, expecting someone to take it. When no one did, he awkwardly pulled it back. “Er, right. Well, do you guys think I could stick with you? Strength in numbers, right?”
    The twins simultaneously shook their heads. “Nope, wrong,” Joe said. “You’ll just slow us down more. Sorry, but you can’t come with us.”
    Cam smiled for a second, thinking it a joke, then it fell away. “Hold on, you’re joking right?”
    “Not at all.”
    Ryan, appalled, shouted at the twins: “Guys, hold on. You can’t be serious. Odds are he’ll die if we leave him here alone . . . we can’t do that to him.” Came gave Ryan an appreciative glance, then nodded.
    The twins stopped and, with their backs to Cam and Ryan, talked under their breaths. Once finished, they turned to deliver their judgment. “Fine, you can come with us. But don’t make us regret this.”
    Such sympathy , Ryan thought. But he couldn’t complain: they said yes.
    Once they began moving again, the grass quickly faded into concrete. To the left of the group was a small lake. They ran past its glossy shine, crossed over more concrete, and came to the corner of Piedmont Park, an oval collection of soccer and baseball fields. The park was not empty today: screaming people ran for their lives towards countless destination; some monsters pursued while others took care of the prey that they had already caught. In the center of the park, under a collection of trees, a group of stoners sat, smoking and watching all of this happen.
    As Ryan and the others ran along the