Dead Pulse Read Online Free PDF

street that was once so familiar and welcoming now appeared alien. Jayne’s feet ached and she couldn’t shift the thought that she had come a long way for nothing. She had hoped to find her family, but now she had nobody. She looked intently at the central road markings of the street, which disappeared into an engulfing mist.
    “Hello,” she whispered without realising. She had not spoken to anyone for over a long-time. She followed the painted white lines walking further down the street. She stopped and against all hope gave another, “Hello?” Not really recognising her own voice, she cleared her throat and tried again, “Hello, anyone?” her voice echoed. Stupid, she thought, filling with dread.
    A small boy emerged from the haze up ahead, from a distance he looked quite normal but Jayne noticed that his movement was flawed. He wore a Spiderman t-shirt, dirty grey jeans and one trainer. As the boy came towards Jayne, she could see his bare foot was almost cobalt blue, focussing up on his face she saw that his skin was pale, hair matted and lips stained wi th blood.
    She took aim at the little boys head, her finger rested on the trigger, she could now make out his eyes, glazed over and lifeless. She fired the gun, in front of the boys feet tarmac flicked up into the air.
    The mist rolled, oozing its way across the dimly lit street that eerily began to stir to life. Out of doorways, houses, alleys and abandoned cars under the flickering streetlights came more of the creatures, walking and crawling in search of blood, it seems even the dead slept, but their slumber had now been disturbed. A priest, a homeless person, a man wearing a superhero outfit, another in the local ice-cream parlour uniform, office workers, soldiers, teenage gangs, all mixtures of a once ‘normal’ society emerged. Shuffling forward they began to fill the street with a longing and hunger for the warm blooded, nourishing and active female that stood before them.
    Lowering her gun, Jayne was panic-stricken and stunned as she stood there in amazement watching the undead lynch mob ambling towards her. Her brain wanted her to move but her legs had gone numb. She stood stock-still as if waiting for the adrenaline to kick-in. Setting the gun from three round bursts to semi automatic she fired into the crowd before making a run through a narrow and cluttered a lley to her left.
    Splashing through the puddles from the recent rain, she made her way out into the next street. Suddenly two of the bloodied creatures made a grab for her out of the shadows. Quickly she shot one in the shoulder sending it crashing to the floor. The other one took a shot between the eyes, it dropped to its knees almost headless and fell face flat onto the damp ground. Even though she was exhausted Jayne kept running, heading towards her old secondary school.
    Dead bodies lay at the school gates and fencing. Peering through the fence the school seemed different than she remembered it, newer maybe, but she couldn’t be sure in the mist that now circled around it. Climbing the fence at speed, one of the dead reached up and seized her worn combat boot, she swiftly kicked it away; it fell to the floor and then sat there, gazing at her. She landed on the yard making eye contact with the man through the bars of the gate. He was in his twenties with a face that would once have been good-looking, handsome almost but now pale and cold, his neck was broken and torn. She could see no emotion, no soul in the ‘living’ thing’s eyes. Knowing there was only one thing to do, Jayne ended its suffering and hunger for her with one burst from her powerful gun; the hydrostatic shock effect sent matter shooting through the air, it was a sight that Jayne could not get used to.
     
    Gunshots awoke Sam from another uneasy and fitful sleep, he ignored what sounded like decreasing gunfire outside; survivors, thugs or scavengers didn’t concern him, as long as they stayed away and out of his school.