Free Dead Island by Mark Morris

and without another word stepped back over the body of the woman and started down the next flight of stairs.
    Logan scurried after her, Sam bringing up the rear.
    ‘You think that’ll be enough?’ Logan said. ‘Breaking her neck, I mean?’
    Purna halted briefly to glare at him. ‘You wanna go back and hack her head off? If so, be my guest.’
    Logan tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. ‘That’s OK. I’ll pass.’
    They descended the next few flights in silence, Sam all too aware of the stink of blood and raw meat coming off Purna’s clothes. He was aware too that Purna was still at the head of the group, and therefore would be in the front line if any more action went down. Pushing past Logan, he caught up with Purna a couple of steps ahead of him.
    ‘First to the bar buys the drinks,’ Logan called.
    Sam glanced back at him. ‘Just thought I’d take pole position, if that’s OK with you? Figured Purna here had done her share of zombie-bashing for now.’ He looked askance at Purna. ‘That fine with you?’
    Purna was looking straight ahead, face set, jaw clenched. When she caught Sam’s eye her features softened slightly. ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘My arm
is
pretty tired.’
    Sam gave a nod and stepped in front of her. They were descending the stairs below the landing to floor three when he halted, holding up a hand.
    ‘What is it?’ Purna asked.
    ‘This time I
do
hear something,’ Sam said. ‘Listen.’
    They all stood still and listened. From a flight or two below them came a shuffling, snorting sound.
    Immediately Logan was reminded of a football camp his mom and dad had sent him on when he’d been twelve or thirteen. One night he and a couple of guys had gone camping up in the hills and had been awoken in the early hours by a bear snuffling around their tent, looking for food. Logan had been shit-scared, but like the other guys he’d scrambled out of the tent and run at the bear, yelling and waving his arms. The bear, which it turned out had been only a cub, had taken fright, turned tail and fled. Logan and his friends had stayed awake the rest of the night in a state of nervous excitement. Next day, back down at the camp, they had bragged to the rest of the guys about how they had faced down a full-grown grizzly and survived.
    Logan knew that the thing below them now was not a bear, and nor would it run if they yelled at it. For the first time he wondered how much of a survivor he truly was, and how far he would have to push himself, both mentally and physically, in order to get through the coming ordeal. Could he bash the brains out of a little kid or snap the neck of a fatally injured woman like Purna had just done? True, he didn’t give much of a shit about anyone but himself, but that didn’t automatically mean that he’d be prepared to do anything to save his own skin. He usually liked to leave the dirty jobs to other people, to operate under the radar, so to speak. However, he had a feeling that wouldn’t be an option from now on. Like he’d told Sam, it was a dog-eat-dog world now; kill or be killed.
    All the same, there was nothing to be gained in
inviting
trouble, or rushing headlong into it. Sidling up to Purna, he whispered, ‘Maybe if we stay quiet, that thing, whatever it is, will go away.’
    Purna, still spattered with the girl’s blood, shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. It’s coming towards us.’
    Sam turned and glanced briefly at her. ‘Maybe it can smell all that shit on you.’
    ‘Let’s head back upstairs then,’ said Logan. ‘We can go through the door and wait in the corridor. Maybe it’ll lose the scent.’
    ‘I’m not going backwards,’ said Purna. ‘If we keep hiding from those things we’ll never get anywhere.’
    ‘Amen to that,’ said Sam, and hefted his multi-pronged coat-hanger weapon. ‘Let’s do this.’
    Leading the way, he descended towards the sounds of movement, step by careful step. Reaching the curve of the banister, he