Lakewood Memorial (22 page)

He took his best guess and ran for the
remains of the dispatch desk. Several corpses reached for him but
he knocked them aside. He leapt up onto the smashed desk and looked
at the ambulance.

Fuck
yeah
, he thought.
Gonna see my girls yet
.

He leveled the rifle at the side of the
ambulance.

Or more specifically, at the gas tank.

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

The force of the ambulance exploding threw
Angie against the wall. The corpses surrounding her were knocked
forward, falling into her. The fireball flooded their backs and set
the corpses alight. The corpses groaned and scattered.

It looked like the whole world was on fire.
Thick smoke choked her as she stumbled forward, looking around.
Corpses were still groaning and scattering, all of them more
concerned with the fire than with her.

“
Park?” she
yelled.

The fire grew around her. The fire alarm
shrieked. Smoke and the smell of burning flesh surrounded her.

“
Park?”

Nothing.

* * *

Maylee and Dalton clutched each other in the
darkness. Dalton was crying. Maylee was too, but she was fighting
to hide it. The corpses were close now. She could hear them
groaning and scratching at the car.

She looked up at the sky. It had gone from
black to just a hint of dark blue. The sun was coming up.

Great,
she thought.
Just in time for us to
see the things eat us
.

Then the front of the hospital exploded.
Flame shot out into the parking lot, dousing most of the corpses.
The corpses groaned and scattered. Away from the fire, each other,
and the car.

Maylee let go of Dalton and stood. “What the
hell?”

“
Who cares?” said Dalton.
“Let’s go!”

Dalton climbed off the car and ran for the
hospital.

Maylee hopped down and followed.

Thirty-Three

Angie looked around one last time for Park,
then turned to run outside. She heard movement from behind the
smashed remains of the dispatch desk. She stopped and looked.
Park’s form emerged from behind the desk.

“
Park?” she
yelled.

Park lumbered forward.

“
Shit,” said Angie,
turning to run.

Park coughed. “Wait for me, dammit!”

Angie sighed and turned back. “Say something
quicker next time!”

“
Mom!” came a voice from
outside.

Maylee
.

“
Maylee?” yelled Angie.
She rushed out of the hole in the wall. The cool morning air hit
her. Flaming corpses were scattered around the parking lot. Maylee
and Dalton were running toward her.

“
Mom!” yelled
Dalton.

Angie ran forward after them.

They met and Angie hugged them both as tight
as she could. “Are you both alright?”

“
Yeah,” said Dalton,
nodding. “But man do we have a lot of crap to tell you!”

“
Me, too,” said Angie.
Park stepped up behind them, brushing off his hunting jacket and
looking around.

Angie looked at Maylee. She looked tired.
Dirty, bruised and tired.

“
You sure you’re okay?”
Angie said.

“
Yeah,” said Maylee,
nodding.

“
You did good.”

Maylee smiled and nodded.

“
Damn,” said Park, looking
around.

Angie looked around too. The lot was
scattered with corpses, some of them still moving.

Beyond that, she could see a few corpses
stumbling down the road.

Beyond that, corpses wandered the woods near
the hospital.

And beyond that, she could see the faintest
dots of corpses stumbling on the horizon.

She gripped her kids to her. Tightly. “Well,
shit.”