Zombies! Episode 3 - Love Bites Read Online Free PDF Page B

door.
     
    "You're a cop, right? There's some girl
getting mugged in the alley."
     
    Damn! "Call 911."
     
    Then he was out the door and down the stairs.
He couldn't even hope that it was some nameless, faceless fifty
year old victim. When he got to the alley, he knew he would see
Rose.
     
    And he did. But the rest of the scene was a
nice surprise. She was pressed up against the building, cowering
between two dumpsters. Four men were approaching her, moving in
slowly. Three of them could have been the same person for what they
wore and the way they acted. They were dressed in dark denim and
grey hoodies. The hoods were up and the draw strings drawn. One of
them wore sunglasses even though it was nighttime. The fourth man,
however, was what drew Culph's attention. He was a big guy, dressed
in a dark green overcoat. He had his head down but Culph could see
a fat face and a bushy beard. He also wore dark glasses but they
couldn't hide the truth.
     
    One of the other three men held the zombie on
a leash. It was made of a long strip of leather, a third of which
was stapled along a run of pipe. Culph wasn't sure how long the
pipe was but it was long enough to keep the zombie away from its
keeper. He was so astounded at first to see these three men taking
a zombie for a walk like some pet that he missed a step.
Fortunately, they were just as surprised by him.
     
    The keeper nudged the zombie toward
Culph.
     
    "Is he the only weapon you've got?" Culph
asked looking straight through the dark glasses.
     
    The three men laughed. "Why don't you give
him a kiss?"
     
    Culph chuckled a bit, too, then pulled out
his gun and fired. The zombie dropped like a stone. For a moment,
everything was frozen in place as the three men tried to make sense
of what had just happened. Then, even before Culph could tell them
they were under arrest, they bolted down the alley and disappeared
into the city.
     
    Rose stood looking at the zombie on the
ground, a look of pure disgust on her face.
     
    Culph came to her and put his arms around
her. "Are you all right?"
     
    She pushed him away, not even afraid of him
anymore. "All right? What are you, a god damned hero now?"
     
    He crossed his brows but he dared not hit her
here out in the street. The sirens were already wailing in the
distance.
     
    Smacking him in the shoulder, she cried, "Do
you think this was some romantic gesture, paying a bunch of guys to
attack me with that…that thing just so you could rescue
me?"
     
    "Rose…"
     
    "No way, Frank. You're too sick for me." And
she stalked off down the alley, right in the same direction as her
would-be muggers.
     
    He wanted to follow her but he couldn't leave
the zombie. Frustrated, he pulled his phone out and dialed a
number. "Hey, it's Culph. You're never going to believe this."
     
    ***
     
    LIKE John Arrick, Shawn Rudd also had
a date. At least, he hoped he had a date. He'd been out of jail for
two days (three if you counted the afternoon of his release) and
hadn't had the opportunity to go and see Marcus. In fact, he hadn't
even spoken with Marcus since encountering the zombie three weeks
before. For all Marcus knew, Shawn had just abandoned him. But it
was Friday. Shawn could stay out a little late and get away with
it. Marcus would be leaving a little early and their times should
coincide nicely.
     
    He wasn't able to bolt out of class, though.
It was his first day back and he needed to see each teacher about
the missing work. So far, the load had been light. Apparently it
hadn't taken too long for word of the zombie attacks to get around
the city and people had started barricading themselves in their
homes. That all worked out for Shawn. It had all worked out
for Shawn.
     
    Two weeks before, that detective had come to
see him again. He'd told Shawn that he thought he'd done the right
thing. He could see that now. Of course, Shawn had to play up the
act. Like I needed you to tell me that . But he had
needed to hear it and it had lifted