Taking It Back Read Online Free PDF Page A

there and ran back to the building. We checked inside and saw the zombies hadn’t made it past our barrier yet. We went to the stairs and poured gasoline down on the barricade and the zombies groaned again when they saw us. Mark emptied his can and I emptied mine. I threw the can down and bounced it off the head of a female crawling over one of the desks. I dug into my backpack for my matches, and lit the whole package. I stepped back and tossed the flaming brand down the stairs.
    Thankfully, Mark and I were not at the top of the stairs when the gas went up. The building shook with the whoosh of the lighting gas and the skylight above the stairs shattered from the explosion. Mark and I fell back and headed towards the entrance. One zombie managed to reach the top of the stairs, and a flaming figure limped towards us for about twenty feet before succumbing to the flames and falling to the floor, setting fire to the carpeting. Mark and I left the building, and headed back to the school. The center burning brightly, with flames shooting out of the skylight. With luck, the blaze would consume the zombies for good. If not, we were going to have to search around for a few ‘extra crispy’ Z’s that had managed to escape.

3
     
    When we got back to the school Sarah was waiting for me with Jake. She wrinkled her nose, and I explained to her and Jake what had happened. Sarah shook her head and handed me Jake after I had stripped my gear off.
    “Got a surprise for you.” She headed into the hallway.
    I followed with Jake, who was pulling at my collar and cooing.
    Sarah stopped at a classroom and peeked in. She stepped aside and motioned me in. I went in puzzled, then went into defense mode as something grabbed me from behind. I held Jake out with one hand, slammed my elbow back and spun around, hoping to dislodge whatever had me.
    I heard a “Whoof!” as my elbow connected and then a “Whoa!” as my spin tossed the person off of me into a cluster of desks. I put Jake down and stepped in front of him as the other person climbed painfully to his feet. Jake sat down and waved his hands, excited as he recognized the newcomer. Sarah covered her smile with her hand as Nate stood up and rubbed his ribs.
    “Nice shot, John. Good to see you too.”
    I relaxed. “Nate!” I went over and wrapped the big man in a bear hug. Nate groaned as I squeezed his sore ribs. “Oops Sorry about that. Can’t be too careful.”
    Nate shrugged it off. “My fault. I should know better than to mess with someone who just came in from the outside. Your nerves are still on overload.”
    I nodded. “No kidding. You should have seen what Mark and I found at the recreation center.” I filled Nate in on the details and Sarah just shook her head and put an arm around my waist. Nate noticed her but said nothing. I finished, pointing to the burning building out the north window. “That glow? That’s mine. The good news is the building is isolated so no others will go up. The bad news is the building could have been useful.”
    Nate shrugged. “At least you dealt with it. Some people would have stayed and fought.”
    I hoisted Jake and rubbed his belly with my head, getting a giggle out of him. “I didn’t have enough ammo.” I said. “I only brought enough for about half of them.” Jake leaned towards Nate and he took him from me, giving Jake a big kiss on the cheek and smiling at him. Jake grinned and grabbed Nate’s collar, burying is head in his friend’s shoulder. Nate gave Jake a hug and was silent for a little while. I didn’t say anything, knowing how Nate felt about Jake. A lot of people loved Jakey, and I began to realize he represented the future, something to hope for. If Jake was ever lost, that hope would be gone, and people would have nothing to live for. I know I wouldn’t, Sarah not withstanding.
    After a minute, Jake leaned again, this time towards Sarah. She took him and said, “Dinnertime,” as she left the room. Sarah knew