The Zombie Chronicles Read Online Free PDF Page A

have to kill the girl and put her out of her misery.”
    “What the heck are you talking about? I’m not killing anyone unless they’re dead already and trying to gnaw on my leg like a drumstick.”
    “But leaving her to her fate is just…it’s cruel.”
    My heart lurched. “No way.”
    He rolled his eyes. “You’re such a liar. You didn’t just meet her. How long have you been hiding your secret girlfriend from us?”
    Girlfriend? She’s pretty and everything, but that’s just wrong. “It’s not like that, man. I really did just meet her.”
    “Here’s your chance to be a man, Dean. A real man has to make tough decisions—decisions that will save his own life and the lives of his trusted comrades. This girl—this Val—will kill you in a heartbeat, giving no thought to all your pillow talk or those cute little hearts she scribbled around your name in her diary. Leaving your friend here to face her fate is heartless and cold. If you care about her at all, whether you just met her or have been seeing her for months, please be a man and put a bullet in her head for all our sakes.”
    I shook my head violently. He would never forgive himself, just like I wouldn’t.
    “I’ve had to make hard decisions myself,” Nick continued, unfazed. “For goodness sake, I even walked in on my zombie girlfriend devouring a couple of my best friends. Shooting her was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do…but it had to be done, so I pulled the trigger.”
    I shot him a hard look. “Who are you? You’re so cold, so heartless—not the big brother I grew up with. Protecting the city and killing zombies has made you a merciless killer.”
    “We have to face the reality of the situation. I know what she’ll become. Except for the first night it happened, you’ve never seen it outside of television reports, but I have.”
    “You’ve changed, Nick. When you suited up for the Army, you became…different. You talk about her becoming a monster, but maybe you should take a good look at yourself.”
    He cocked a brow. “You’re calling me a monster? Really?”
    I nodded. Even though I could see the way he clenched his fists, I kept going. “Just look at you. You’re somebody else. I don’t even recognize you anymore.”
    His eyes narrowed into slits, as if he might argue for a moment, and then they softened with the pain of the truth. “Well, yeah. I guess being out here all the time…well, it changes you.”
    I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I just wanted to get Val and getout of there before the army of the undead showed up. “Val’s coming with us, and that’s final.”
    “Dean, come on. Don’t you get it? Once she dies…” He threw his hands up in the air to make his point. “Look, I’ve seen it myself. When they come back—when she comes back—they aren’t people anymore. Give me the gun, and I’ll do it myself.”
    “Don’t you dare!” I shouted. I wanted to pound the idiot so hard. “Listen—”
    Grabbing the gun out of my hands, he cocked it and pointed down at Val’s head. “We’re doing her a favor. Besides, she’ll try to eat us the second we fall asleep. Is that what you want, little brother? I mean, I’m sure you would love her to nibble on your ear and all, but not literally.”
    Ignoring his attempt at sick humor, I jumped into the path of the gun.
    “You’re pathetic,” he shouted. “Just move out of the way.”
    I flung up my arms like a madman. “No! Put down the gun! You can’t kill her.”
    Nick shook his head. “You’re emotional, not thinking straight. She’s as good as dead anyway.”
    I hadn’t gone through all of that just to watch my brother murder the girl before my very own eyes. I lunged at him, but Nick twisted and dodged me; his military training had paid off. I lunged again and shoved him hard, and he threw me full force on to the ground. Crap!  
    Cool, calm, and collected, my brother aimed the gun at Val’s head. Obviously, it wasn’t his