Free Deadrise by Steven R. Gardner

shot." Matt climbed back aboard the bus. "Thank you." he said, then closed the door. He looked back and saw David had taken Zack’s assault rifle and moved into a position to cover Matt had things turned ugly there. It saddened Matt that a fifteen year old boy who just weeks ago had been a star athlete for his school, was now becoming a hardened warrior. He should have been thinking about getting his driver's license, or his first piece of ass, not wondering if he would live to see the next day.
    For the millionth time, Matt prayed. Around the time he discovered that the plague caused you to become one of the walking dead, he had begun to doubt the existence of God. But he still prayed.
    "That guy was starting to make me nervous." David said.
    "Me too." Matt said. "He kept asking if any of us had been bit by one of the zombies."
    The yellow school bus continued up the weaving road, and the congestion of people and parked vehicles actually became worse. Everywhere they looked, there were vehicles and people. Some of the vehicles had been there so long that tents, and lean-tos had been attached to them. Another military Humvee came down the road, followed by a pick-up truck, half a dozen men sitting in the back, clutching military rifles.
"Those guys weren't army." David said. "But they were on patrol with the soldiers in the Humvee."
"It seems they run things a bit differently up here." Matt said. "Nobody has even asked us about our guns."
A trio of helicopters passed overhead, a pair of old Huey's and one AH-64D Apache, headed east toward the mountains.
    Eventually they emerged from the sea of metal and humanity onto the main parking lot. An Army Humvee was parked to the side of the road, and two soldiers in full body armor, clutching M-16s guarded the way. Matt brought the bus to a halt and opened the doors as one of the soldiers stepped to them.
    "This area is restricted to injured and medical personnel." the soldier said dryly. His eyes were bloodshot from too little sleep, and his patience had been lost long ago.
"We have an injured man aboard." Matt said.
"Is he a bite victim?" the soldier asked, suddenly interested.
"No. He's been shot."
    "Ok, pull ahead and off to the side of the road please." the soldier stepped back, and Matt closed the door. He heard the soldier calling to someone and pointing towards the bus. Matt eased ahead fifty feet and pulled the bus to the side of the curb. To the left was the parking lot, the blocky white hospital beyond it. To the right, the lawn swept gently down to the encampment of steel and flesh below. Matt killed the engine to the bus by disconnecting the wires Frank had twisted together, grabbed his rifle, and opened the doors.
    "Lets go take a look around." Matt said and he and David exited the bus.
    Susan knelt beside Zack. His face was ghostly pale, and he trembled as if cold. Sweat beaded his forehead, and although not as watery, his breath still sounded labored. Susan gently stirred him. Zack’s eyes snapped open, and he weakly clawed for his rifle.
    "Easy." Susan said, laying his arm across his chest. "We are at the hospital." she said.
    "We made it?" Zack smiled.
    "I told you we would." she said, squeezing his hand. "Matt and David just went to find a doctor. You're going to be ok." Zack let out a raspy sigh of relief and sank back onto the seat. Susan looked back to her Mom. She was staring blankly out the window. Susan walked back and sat in the seat in front of her mother. One look at her was almost enough to cause Susan to burst into fresh tears. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes swollen and bloodshot from crying. Her face seemed to sag from her skull. She looked…hollow.
    "How are you doing?" she asked her Mother.
    "I don't know." Sharon said robotically. She turned her head slowly to look at Susan. "Why?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Why?" Sharon’s eyes filled with tears, and she lowered her head and began crying anew. Susan found that she was crying again as