his heels. Opening the sliding glass door, he was immediately assaulted with the smells and the sounds of the dea ders that had come through the busted plate glass window in the living room.
He dropped the first couple and then moved for the front door. If they were going to have any chance at all, the gate had to be shut. To her credit, April stuck to his side, killing just as quickl y and efficiently as he did.
Closing the gate was easy once they moved the bodies out of the way. April produced a length of chain and they secured the gate as best they could. Once that was finished, it was a ma tter of finishing off the rest of the zombies that were milling about.
When they moved down the stairs, Juan froze. Still a ttached to the posts where he’d left them were the squirming corpses of Frank and Donna. They both strained uselessly to get at the living souls that had come into view.
“Jesus,” Kip breathed. “Who the hell did this to Frank and Donna?”
He turned back to Juan with wide eyes. The other young man did not seem as concerned with that at the moment. He went to each and plunged his blade into their eye socket. His eyes began to scan the boxes of supplies. Eventually, his gaze came back to Juan.
“Does not make sense,” he said in his thick accent. “If somebody came here and did this, why did they not take all of these supplies?”
Juan noticed that April had moved over behind the one talking. She gave the appearance of just peeking in the boxes, but her eyes continued to dart back and forth between him and the two young men.
“Why tie them up and then leave all of this stuff?” Kip said as he flipped open box after box. “Even if whoever did this got spooked by the incoming zombies, they would have grabbed at least a couple of things.”
He picked up a pristine looking Springfield .30-06 with a scope. There was a band around the stock with several cartridges at the ready, their brass casings glittering in the light of the lantern.
“Nobody would have just left this here…” Kip ’s voice trailed off and he turned to face Juan. His back was now completely to April. “When you left them…is there something—”
A solid crack to the back of the skull ended his question a bruptly. Kip collapsed and a pool of blood was already beginning to spread around his head like a liquid halo.
“April!” Juan gasped.
The young man whose name Juan still did not recall had amazing reflexes and was already running for the door. April’s thrown axe caught him behind the left knee with a nasty crunch. The head had not embedded itself, but the weight and the force of the throw had been enough to buckle the man’s leg.
“Don ’t just stand there, Juan!” April barked.
Juan jumped into action on reflex. Before he even had the chance to weigh his options, he had scooped up the axe and brought it down with a crunch on the back of the man ’s head.
He spun to confront the woman, his chest heaving, the sur ging adrenaline causing his hands to start to tremble. She was staring at him in the light of the lantern, but the shadows hid her eyes from view. Instead, all he saw were two black and soulless orbs. (In the nightmare, they swirled with a malevolent fire.)
“What did you do?” Juan gasped.
“Protecting our interest,” April retorted. “Like it or not, you are the person leading our little community. For some reason that I cannot begin to understand…folks like you.”
“But not you,” Juan said it as a statement of fact.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Juan always woke right around then in the nightmare. This time was no different. He sat bolt upright and looked around in the darkness. Mackenzie stirred briefly beside him but continued to sleep peacefully.
Easing out of the bed, Juan walked into the living room and sat in the rocking chair that faced the huge picture window. The curtains were open and the night was clear. The world was bathed in a silvery glow that should have
He dropped the first couple and then moved for the front door. If they were going to have any chance at all, the gate had to be shut. To her credit, April stuck to his side, killing just as quickl y and efficiently as he did.
Closing the gate was easy once they moved the bodies out of the way. April produced a length of chain and they secured the gate as best they could. Once that was finished, it was a ma tter of finishing off the rest of the zombies that were milling about.
When they moved down the stairs, Juan froze. Still a ttached to the posts where he’d left them were the squirming corpses of Frank and Donna. They both strained uselessly to get at the living souls that had come into view.
“Jesus,” Kip breathed. “Who the hell did this to Frank and Donna?”
He turned back to Juan with wide eyes. The other young man did not seem as concerned with that at the moment. He went to each and plunged his blade into their eye socket. His eyes began to scan the boxes of supplies. Eventually, his gaze came back to Juan.
“Does not make sense,” he said in his thick accent. “If somebody came here and did this, why did they not take all of these supplies?”
Juan noticed that April had moved over behind the one talking. She gave the appearance of just peeking in the boxes, but her eyes continued to dart back and forth between him and the two young men.
“Why tie them up and then leave all of this stuff?” Kip said as he flipped open box after box. “Even if whoever did this got spooked by the incoming zombies, they would have grabbed at least a couple of things.”
He picked up a pristine looking Springfield .30-06 with a scope. There was a band around the stock with several cartridges at the ready, their brass casings glittering in the light of the lantern.
“Nobody would have just left this here…” Kip ’s voice trailed off and he turned to face Juan. His back was now completely to April. “When you left them…is there something—”
A solid crack to the back of the skull ended his question a bruptly. Kip collapsed and a pool of blood was already beginning to spread around his head like a liquid halo.
“April!” Juan gasped.
The young man whose name Juan still did not recall had amazing reflexes and was already running for the door. April’s thrown axe caught him behind the left knee with a nasty crunch. The head had not embedded itself, but the weight and the force of the throw had been enough to buckle the man’s leg.
“Don ’t just stand there, Juan!” April barked.
Juan jumped into action on reflex. Before he even had the chance to weigh his options, he had scooped up the axe and brought it down with a crunch on the back of the man ’s head.
He spun to confront the woman, his chest heaving, the sur ging adrenaline causing his hands to start to tremble. She was staring at him in the light of the lantern, but the shadows hid her eyes from view. Instead, all he saw were two black and soulless orbs. (In the nightmare, they swirled with a malevolent fire.)
“What did you do?” Juan gasped.
“Protecting our interest,” April retorted. “Like it or not, you are the person leading our little community. For some reason that I cannot begin to understand…folks like you.”
“But not you,” Juan said it as a statement of fact.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Juan always woke right around then in the nightmare. This time was no different. He sat bolt upright and looked around in the darkness. Mackenzie stirred briefly beside him but continued to sleep peacefully.
Easing out of the bed, Juan walked into the living room and sat in the rocking chair that faced the huge picture window. The curtains were open and the night was clear. The world was bathed in a silvery glow that should have
Similar Books
Dungeon Games
Lexi Blake
Beware
Richard Laymon
Seen and Not Heard
Anne Stuart
Rivulet
Jamie Magee
La Linea
Ann Jaramillo
Perception
Kim Harrington
Up in Flames
Trista Ann Michaels
The Promise of Provence (Love in Provence Book 1)
Patricia Sands
Golden Girl
Sarah Zettel
The Creeper
Tania Carver