Free The Zombie Chronicles by Chrissy Peebles Page B

to close it behind them. I yanked it open and stopped in my tracks when I took in the two towering guys resembling wild mountain men with their unkempt appearance, greasy hair, and long, thick beards.
    “ Going somewhere?” one asked.
    “ What the heck?” I took a step back, unsure whether they were friends or foe. They didn’t look like zombies, but for all I knew, they could’ve been bitten and might turn on us any minute. Even if they weren’t part of the undead army yet, they could have still wanted our food and weapons. “Who are you? How did you get in here?” My grip tightened around Jackie’s hand as I pushed my body forward to form a shield between her and the wildlings. If they wanted her, they’d have to force their way past me first—not that I could have been much of a safeguard against a pair like that, but I hoped I could at least buy her a few seconds to get away.
    The one in the red checkered shirt raised his hand and waved his rifle at Jackie and me. “You two with them?” He pointed behind him, toward my brother and Val, who were lying on the ground, their mouths pressed in a grim line that didn’t leave me much hope. With Nick holding the back of his head and Val’s bloody lip, I knew they’d been attacked and put up a good fight. The wildlings were clearly after our food and weapons. Whether they’d leave us alive or not wouldn’t make much difference with the zombies out there, ready to burst in any minute.
    I took a deep breath, and then a step forward while pushing Jackie behind me. “Look, mister, there’re zombies out back! We’ve got to get outta here now!”
    The other wildman regarded me for a second, probably considering my words and trying to read my expression, to see if I was telling the truth. He patted Jackie and me down and took our guns.
    “ You don’t trust me?” I spat through gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t either in your situation, but if I am telling the truth—which I am—we’re all dead. Go and see for yourself.”
    The red checkered shirt guy motioned the other forward and then aimed his gun a bit higher, right at my face. I didn’t even flinch as I watched his companion walk past. The mountain man then forced me and Jackie to stand next to the others. A few seconds ticked by before his friend returned, his face a pale mask of horror. I saw his faint nod, and then the red checkered guy lowered his weapon. “We’re gonna have to work together if we wanna make it out alive.”
    I nodded and heaved a big breath. “Give us back our weapons,” I said, pointing at my brother and the girls. “We won’t be of much help if we can’t shoot.”
    The red checkered guy nodded and held out his hand. “I’m Earl, and that’s my friend Tahoe, like the lake.”
    I ignored him as I walked past. We had to work together to get out of this mess, but I had no doubt the hillbilly twins would happily shoot our heads off and take all our food and supplies once the zombies were properly dispatched.
    “ I’m Nick,” my brother said. “That’s Dean, Val, Jackie, and Claire. Give us back our weapons… now !”
    Tuning them out, I headed for the side door, pulling Jackie with me. I wanted to see if the zombies were starting to come around to the front of the house. Unfortunately, we didn’t get far before a flat, metallic click warned me of danger. I turned on my heel slowly, my gaze focusing on Earl’s rifle, which was now pointed at me again.
    “ Stop, or I’ll shoot you both dead in your tracks.”
    My automatic response was to touch my holster, but then I remembered that Tahoe had disarmed me, so I remained frozen to the spot. “I figured that much,” I said dryly. “But I thought you said we need to work together.”
    “ We were just trying to get a position on the zombies,” Jackie said. “Do you think we’d leave our friends behind?”
    My gaze became harder and colder, signaling I wasn’t scared of him.
    Earl narrowed his gaze. “We are working