Free Blog of the Dead (Book 1): Sophie by Lisa Richardson

guys with his iron bar, despite the fact that two of our people pummelled him with a baseball bat and a walking stick from behind. The big guy didn’t seem to notice the beating he received, and went psycho on our guy as he cowered on the ground, his head a bloody mess. Sam whacked the big guy in the head with his claw hammer. The big guy went down to land on top of our guy. Someone pulled our guy out, but he seemed pretty unresponsive. I saw four of our people beat another big guy to the floor. I joined in to take down a big guy who was brutally kicking a woman in the stomach after she collapsed. We overpowered the last three big guys. All seven had been reduced to bloody blobs. I tried not to think about whether any of them were actually dead. Emotions had run high.
    Before any of us could make our way to the entrance, a few guys (not particularly big ones) piled out of the store. When they saw us, their twisted faces distorted with even greater horror. At the sight of their fallen comrades, terror gripped them and they ran.
     
    8.15pm Day 25
I sprinted into Asda and bombed it up the stationary escalator. The big glass doors that led to the lower level of the car park were shut. I turned right into the main part of the store and saw some of our people. One frogmarched a guy (again, not so big) past me, towards the escalators. A scuffle still raged on further down the store, at the far end of the clothing department.
    ‘Sophie, we’ve pretty much secured the place,’ said Hannah, the woman with the knitting needles, as she approached me. ‘It’s just a few trouble makers left back there,’ she nodded towards the scuffle. ‘Nothing we can’t handle. And we found who we think are the ring leaders in some offices on another floor up.’
    ‘Where are they now?’ I asked. Hannah didn’t say anything. ‘ What ?’ I said, noting Hannah’s shifty look. ‘Where are they?’
    Hannah looked pained, and then she said, ‘Polly. She, um, thought that because they’re the ring leaders they’re too dangerous to let go …’
    ‘She’s keeping them prisoner?’
    ‘Not exactly.’
    ‘You’re not telling me …?’ Hannah looked at me. ‘Where are they, Hannah?’
    ‘The car park on the roof.’
    I sprinted up the escalator to the next floor, up another escalator until I reached the top level of the car park. I ran out the doors and scanned the area. At first I could only see abandoned cars. But then I saw them. On the roof of a hatch back stood two of our men, a struggling and screaming guy gripped between them. Two more of our men stood beside the car, another struggling guy between them. Polly stood next to them, her arms across her chest, looking apathetic. She had stopped wearing a bandage, and I could see the healing gash on her arm from when she cut it that first trip to Sai’s.
    ‘Polly! No!’ She looked at me but turned back to the men on the car roof.
    There was nothing I could do. I watched as the men threw the first guy off the roof. I fell down onto my knees, dropping my hammer, and put my hands over my head. I don’t know why, other than to shut out what had just happened. I heard the second guy scream and beg them to let him go, that he’d do anything if they just let him live. His cries intensified and I looked up to see the men on the ground shoving him up onto the roof of the car, while the two already up there hauled him up by his arms. The guy struggled but the two men held him firmly between them as they waited for Polly’s orders.
    ‘Stop! Polly! Stop this now!’ I got to my feet and ran at them. The two men beside the car lunged forwards to block me from getting to Polly.
    ‘Stay out of this, Sophie,’ she said.
    ‘Polly. Let him go.’ I tried to push past the men and get to the car, but they held me back. I struggled and kicked out. I heard Sam shouting then. I turned to see him racing towards us.
    ‘Please, Polly,’ I said, turning to her. ‘Let him go. Let him go or you can