The armored truck ahead of us quickly turned them into road kill, and any that happened to escape collision, I killed with my gun, unleashed all my bullets as I swished my hands back and forth, the gun vibrating in my hands and thundering in the air. The truck zigzagged and jerked as we ran over bodies, crunching bones. There was another jerk as the vehicle swung to the left, throwing me and Claire, who were sitting on the edge, out of the vehicle.
I moaned as pain shot across my left side when I landed. When I opened my eyes, I saw stars, and then I heard gunshots and moans. I tried to focus because I knew I had to. I sucked in a quick breath and staggered to my feet as my heart started beating again. “Where’d they go?” I asked, not spotting the Land Rover anywhere.
“ Get up!” Claire shouted. “They left us, Dean. You’ve gotta get up and fight!”
My raw anger and adrenaline surged. I’d lost my semiautomatic, but I still had my pistol. I was fighting for my life, and I had to give it everything I had; otherwise, I would not survive. I’d gone down for a minute, but I wouldn’t stay down. I’d get right back up and keep fighting. A zombie with torn skin and no hair on its rotting scalp shambled toward me. Its lips had been ripped from its mouth, revealing yellow teeth. It stretched out its arms for me, and I squeezed off a shot that landed straight between its cloudy white eyes. Another zombie moaned, and I was sure it was signaling the rest of the mob that a snack was near.
“ I’m out of ammo!” Claire screamed. “Just used my last magazine.”
A green, dead hand suddenly lashed out, and jaws bit into my upper thigh. Pain exploded in my arm as two more zombies bit my arm. I whipped out my handgun and fired off two shots, taking down the beasts that were trying to make a meal of my biceps. Another one approached, followed by at least a dozen more. The closet one snapped its jaws like a wild animal, and I could feel the intensity of its white-eyed stare. Raw fear gripped me, making my stomach churn; I knew they’d never stop coming. The herd was breaking through the fire, and I knew we had to get away fast. I pulled the trigger again and again, spraying a burst of bullets, and the undead corpses sank to the ground.
Chapter 11
I continued firing shot after shot, until my gun clicked empty. I gasped, and every muscle in my body tensed, my brain screaming that I should flee the scene. Still, I refused to run without Claire. I turned to find her, and my eyes bulged at the sight before me. Four zombies had pounced on her and knocked her to the ground. My heart thundered as they attacked her viciously, chewing on her arms and legs like dogs on a rawhide. Claire reached for a knife and stabbed one zombie right through its eye, and I clenched my teeth and quickly rammed the butt of my gun into another zombie and then another. When I glanced over at Claire, she was stomping on a zombie’s skull.
A sickening choir of grunts and groans echoed in the air. A zombie came at me, hobbling because its left ankle was turned at an unnatural angle. Its leg was merely a bone, devoid of skin and muscle, but it managed to amble along on its broken foot, moving in my direction. At the same time, another one joined in on the pursuit. That one was missing its stomach and had been gutted like a ravenous bear had devoured it. I smashed one on the head with the butt of my gun, and it flew down into the grass. I hit the other in the mouth, shattering its decaying teeth.
I’d taken down enough of them for us to get through. I yanked Claire’s hand, and we ran faster than the wind—or at least it felt that way. When the adrenaline kicked in, I ran like an Olympic track star, faster than I’d ever run before, yelling for Claire to keep up.
After fifty more feet. I leapt forward. I fixed my gaze on my destination and threw my body into a whole other gear. Run faster, Dean. Faster! Thirty feet? Ugh. Why does it feel