The Zombie Chronicles - Book 6 - Revelation (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (4 page)

“
Did you tell ‘em we actually saw the herd?” Lucas said.

“
Yeah. My scouts saw ‘em too, but some folks are just stubborn. Either they don’t believe zombies are coming, or they’re convinced the gates can hold off an army.”

“
Fools,” Nick said sadly, shaking his head. “Is there any other way out of the city? We gotta get out of this traffic jam.”

“
We ran out of metal fencing a while back, so there’s a patch on the south side of the city that has towering wooden walls,” George said. “In a matter of life and death, I guess it’d be okay to burst through it, but I don’t wanna breach the wall unless it’s an absolute emergency.” George then shot his gaze over toward Claire. “You can come back once we deem the area safe, hon’. This is just a temporary measure. We can fight off a few undead, and we have, but we can’t take on an entire arm. We just don’t have the resources.”

Claire looked at him. “All right. Once it’s safe, I’ll be back.”

“
Good. Your house will be ready and waiting.”

“
Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Claire said.

“
Not a problem.”

Panic and screams drifted through the air, and my heart raced as I peered out the window. The towering fence with coiled razor wire was shaking as dozens of gnarly fingers gripped it; some of the creatures had already broken through. Soldiers shot at the zombies that were breaking the barrier through the open gate, but there were just too many.

“
They’re here!” a woman screamed, hysterically stating the obvious.

My jaw dropped as I met Val’s gaze.

My sister’s terrified expression mirrored my own. “Turn around!” she screamed.

Chapter 4

Nick’s breath quickened as he weaved in and out of the line of vehicles. He threw the truck in reverse and turned around, but more cars blocked us, coming from the other direction.

“
What the heck!?” Claire yelled, her voice trembling.

“
Move it!” Nick yelled out the window, shaking his fist and, quite possibly, flipping a bird or two, though I couldn’t see for sure.

Snarls and undead growls echoed in the air, making me shudder. “Let’s ditch the truck and make a run for it.”

“
And lose the guns?” Lucas asked. “No way! I don’t know about you, but I don’t exactly have a black belt in zombie kung fu!”

Nick beeped the horn and yelled at a woman in front of us, demanding that she move out of our way.

She opened her door, screamed hysterically, then hopped out and made a run for it.

“
She can’t just abandon her vehicle like that! She’s blocking everybody in,” I said. “How are we going to get through?”

“
Ever heard of a demolition derby?” Nick said.

“
Yeah!” Lucas said. “Just ram right through them.”

Nick put the truck in reverse, then sped up to bust between the two cars blocking the road.

More and more zombies staggered onto the scene, and again, a cold chill shot down my spine. We needed to get the heck out of there and fast! “We’re never gonna get through now,” I said when even more cars blocked our path. “We’d better make a run for it before we’re completely surrounded by zombies.”

“
Look!” Claire said. “That woman left the keys in the engine. If we move her car, we’ll be able to maneuver around the others.”

“
Brilliant,” Lucas said.

“
Can you guys cover me?” Val asked.

“
You know we got your back, sis,” Nick said.

We all stepped out of the truck to take down any undead freaks who dared to come near us or Val.

Gripping her gun tight, Claire’s eyes widened. “Hurry! They’re flooding in.”

Val reached for a gun and jumped out. With perfect aim, she started letting off shots, taking down every zombie in her path.

A towering zombie in a tattered black suit lurched toward my sister, but with expert precision, I shot him down and watched him crash to the ground. Lucas took down a zombie in Army fatigues, and Claire shot a zombie with long, white, scraggly hair. Nick started firing, too, and more zombies dropped.

I glanced in Claire’s direction and swallowed hard. The guards were nowhere to be seen. They had either flown the coop or had already been killed. I peered more closely and realized zombies were squeezing in around the cars and through the gate, but they seemed distracted somehow. Instead of rushing into the city, they were gathering around something on the ground. My stomach clenched when I saw what it was. Others were gnawing on some unlucky person’s legs, like predators on some African veldt who’d taken down prey. The person was already dead, so there was nothing we could do to save them. In any case, the gruesome distraction would serve Val well, but she had to act fast.

My gun clicked, indicating that it was empty. Four zombies were quickly approaching, and I only had enough time to replace four shells, one for each zombie. Beads of sweat rolled down my face as I realized I’d have to make each bullet count. I carefully aimed and squeezed the trigger until every cursed thing lay dead at my feet.

Val started the abandoned car, and it puttered off to the side. I could hear the fence shaking, and I turned around in shock when it finally crashed down. The army of zombies had broken through the perimeter, and that was not a good thing for the people who’d chosen to linger behind.

“
The car! It’s stalling!” Val yelled, frantically trying to get it started again.

“
Hurry, Val!” I shouted, squeezing off another shot.

When I saw a gang of undead corpses heading straight for her, I hurriedly loaded my gun and squeezed the trigger and kept shooting, until I was completely out of bullets once again.

“
Guys, get back in here!” Nick ordered. “We’ll pull up to her.”

I jumped in right behind Claire and Lucas. Just as Val jumped out of the woman’s car, with zombies approaching from all sides, Nick pulled up and started firing away through the open window. Val squeezed in, and the U-Haul tires squealed as Nick sped off.

“
What are we gonna do?” Claire asked. “We’re still stuck.”

“
We’ve got no choice. We gotta bust through those wooden gates on the other side of the city,” Nick said.

Everything was a blur again as Nick pressed the gas pedal to the ground. We still had a chance to get out. The zombies couldn’t possibly keep up with our truck, and we were sure they hadn’t yet reached the other side of the small town.

Val reached for my hand when she caught me holding my breath and biting my lip. “It’s okay, Dean,” she said. “We’ve been through far worse.”

Nick slowed the truck down when he reached the wooden part of the fence. People had gathered and were climbing up ladders in a frenzy, hoping to hop the towering wooden fence.

“
Hear that?” Nick asked, gesturing out the window to the screams and zombie moans.

“
How many do you think are on the other side?” Lucas asked.

“
Only one way to tell,” Val said, jumping out of the truck.

I rushed out behind her and watched her scurry up the ladder.

She glanced down as screams pierced the air. “Dean, get me a rifle!” she shouted.

I threw mine to her, and she snatched it out of midair.

“
They’re being massacred over there…and George’s daughter is down there! Get up here and start shooting.”

When I went to grab another gun, I saw that Nick was backing up to align the U-Haul with the eight-foot fence. Once he was parked, he jumped out and joined Lucas, who was already on the roof. I climbed up and scooted next to Lucas.

Women, men, and children were huddled together against the fence. A few brave guys were shooting and fighting with bats, but it was a losing battle, because there were far too many. Zombies came from every imaginable direction.

I took a deep breath. Nick lay flat on his stomach, Lucas knelt, and I stood.
Game on,
I thought. I picked up my rifle, squinted into the scope, and shot the zombie that had wandered closest to the women and children.

Nick barked out instructions, but my mind was focused on killing the zombies to give George’s daughter and everyone else a fighting chance. George had been kind enough to let us stay with him, and it was time to repay the favor; I refused to let his daughter die. I squeezed out my next shot. The children were screaming bloody murder, staring their nightmares right in the face, but I tried to remain focused.

My hands were sweaty, but I didn’t miss a shot. It was war, and I wasn’t as scared anymore. Sadly, fighting zombies had become commonplace, a normal part of life. I was mad, angry, and furious, and I planned to shoot every single cursed one of them and send them straight back to hell. “Die!” I shouted. “Die!”

Nick was shooting off to the left, and Val was aiming for those on the right. One by one, the zombies crashed to the ground. Some of the men threw ladders back over so the survivors could hurry back over the top of the fence. When George’s daughter finally made it over, I heaved a sigh of relief. I jumped off the U-Haul and ran to greet her. She hugged me, then ran off and hopped into a car that was already full of people.

I quickly studied the wooden fence. I was sure we could ram through it. Wiping the droplets of sweat off my face, I jumped back in the truck, and my brother turned it around.

“
We’re gonna need a lot of speed for this,” Val said.

“
And distance,” I added.

“
I know. I got this,” Nick said confidently, then raced away to get enough of a running start.

“
This is good,” Lucas said. “Stop.”

Nick put the truck in gear and turned around to face the fence.

“
Y’all ready for this, boys and girls?” Lucas asked. “Please keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times and—”

“
Wait!” Val screamed. “Look!”

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a group of people running toward us with zombies not far behind.

“
We can’t save them all,” Lucas said. “It’s them or us at this point.”

“
But they’re so close,” Claire argued.

“
George is with them,” I said. “We can’t desert him. He’d never do that to us.”

Val shot Nick a look. “We have to help them!” she said, then jumped out of the truck.

“
Val!” Lucas said. “Get your butt back in here! You’re gonna get yourself killed always acting like Rambette!”

Nick threw the truck in park and opened the door, and Lucas and I jumped out to go after her.

“
Help us!” I heard the group screaming in the distance.

I reached for a gun, but Lucas grabbed my arm. “The zombies are far enough back. Let’s concentrate on getting these people safely inside and saving ammo.”

Nick and Val slid the back door of the U-Haul open.

“
Get in the truck!” Claire yelled to the oncoming crowd.

I waved them in as they got closer.

A thin man grabbed my arm, his eyes bulging. “Help me!”

“
Get in,” I said.

“
They…those things have taken over half the city,” a woman said, panting.

“
I know. We’re going through the fence, so everyone hang on,” I said.

“
Try not to step on the guns,” Nick said. “Most of them are loaded.”

I swallowed hard, knowing everyone was at great risk of a gun-related accident as they piled in on top of our arsenal. Nevertheless, we helped everyone into the truck one by one. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed six women lagging behind the others. There were about ten zombies ahead of the horde, quickly gaining on the ladies, likely the fastest or the most hungry.