Fighting to Survive Read Online Free PDF Page A

stands just to
make sure they were truly empty. He held his machete at the ready,
but with a swift motion of his head, indicated nothing lingered
there.
    Jenni
lifted the ax a little higher as she headed down the first aisle. It
was loaded up with makeup and all sorts of lotions. A lone bottle of
shampoo lay in the middle of the aisle. She scooted it out of her way
with the tip of her boot. Bill moved up alongside her, close enough
for Jenni to hear his steady breathing. It was comforting. Slowly,
she edged around the corner, looking into the aisle that cut down the
side of the store. It was empty.
    Together,
they advance slowly to the next aisle.
    Ed
and Felix were obviously not finding anything as well, but the stench
and low moans told them all quite clearly something was dead in the
store and still moving. The aisle packed with baby supplies made
Jenni's head swim for a moment, but she shoved any thoughts of Benji
out of her mind and set her jaw determinedly.
    The
aisle was clear.
    Bill
moved up toward the next aisle.
    Another
low moan reverberated through the store.
    “ Is
anyone alive in here? ” Felix's voice called out.
    Another
low moan, not a screech, but a moan, answered.
    “ If
you're human and hurt, say something, ” Felix went on.
    Somewhere,
the moan grew into a hungry growl.
    “ Yep,
zombie, ” Ed said.
    “ For
sure, ” Felix agreed.
    Bill
froze for a second as they reached the aisle full of photo books and
frames. A lot of merchandise lay on the floor, broken and smashed.
Slowly, Jenni lifted her eyes upwards. An arm dangled off the shelf
over the display of cheap, but cute frames. It was savagely bitten
in several places. A low moan came from the shelf.
    “ Found
one, ” Bill called out.
    The
zombie moaned. Its arm twitched.
    “ I
bet he crawled up there to get away, ” Jenni whispered.
    The
zombie, wedged tightly between two metal shelves, wiggled anxiously,
knowing human flesh was nearby.
    “ How
do we do this? ” Bill looked perplexed.
    Jenni
motioned to the zombie's foot. “ Drag
it down and deal with it? ”
    Bill
frowned deeply. “ Could
go wrong on the way down. Could twist around and land on us or
something. ”
    The
zombie thrashed around still unable to free itself.
    “ Let's
go to the other side, ” Jenni suggested.
    Bill
and Jenni crept around to the other aisle, this one loaded down with
all sorts of household supplies. The zombie's other leg and arm were
hanging out on this side. It was a young man, probably in his late
teens. If he hadn ’ t
such a slim build, he may have never wedged himself between the two
metal shelves. He saw them and thrashed even more, growling. Jenni
looked around her and spotted a small stepladder used to stock the
higher shelves. It was toppled over on its side and she bet the kid
had used it to climb up out of the way of a zombie. Grabbing it, she
dragged it over in front of the zombie. Out of the corner of her eye,
she could see its decaying hand reaching out desperately to get her,
but she was out of reach.
    “ Hold
me, ” Jenni ordered Bill, then stepped up to the top step.
    Bill's
big hands grabbed her hips and held her tightly. Jenni was now face
to face with the zombie. Its hand waved in front of her eyes,
straining desperately to reach her. The kid's face was stained with
his tears and blood. She felt sorry for him. He didn't look that
much older than Jason. But, regardless of his youth, his time was
done on this earth. She was ready to send him on.
    She
swung her ax as hard as she could into the face of the zombie. He
grabbed her wrist just as the ax head buried itself into his skull.
Almost as soon as his fingers gripped her, they went slack. Jenni
wrenched the ax out of his dead features. Bill tightened his grip on
her hips.
    “ One
more whack to be sure, ” she said.
    She
swung the ax again and felt it cleave the zombie head in half. Now
she was sure it was over. Black goo slid out over the edge of the
shelf.
    “ It's
done!