Free End of the Line by Lara Frater

saw the light, she turned around, screeched, and rushed after me as fast as zombie could. Since she was newly dead, she moved quicker than her decaying brothers. Her face looked almost alive due to her recent death but her eyes had sunken in and she had pieces of ripped flesh, probably from Eli, surrounding her bloody red lips. Mindy had gotten a shot in, but not a head one. A hole was in the girl’s arm, ripping her clothes and the flesh underneath, but it didn’t deter her. Several of her nails had been ripped off, possibly from trying to claw through the blanket. When she got closer, I didn’t move. I could only stare at her face and those glazed over eyes. I remembered those eyes in my dreams. I had spoken to this child only a few hours ago. Her name was Jennifer, a scared little girl, who only wanted her mother. Instead of raising my tire iron, I lifted my hand almost as to wave hello. It wasn’t like I was frozen. I could easily raise the tire iron and bash her h ead in. I just didn’t want to.
                  Dan stood next to me and didn’t see my reaction. He took his tire iron and swung it hard against her head. It connected and sent her little body flying off and smashing against a display of antacids. A bunch of bottles fell to the floor with a clang. I kept my light on her the entire way.
                  The girl got up again, the bottles on top of her falling and making more noise. Her head had a large dent in her formerly cute little face but no blood covered it, only decaying matter. Dan hadn’t hit her hard enough. She planned to charge again. She made the moan. The sound they make when close to a kill. Despite that Mindy was crying and Dan had hit her, the girl had her dead heart set on me. She moved in my direction. Her month open with flesh and blood dribbling out of it. I wasn’t afraid, not of the pain or of me dying because if she killed me, I died for keeps.
    A loud bang and the girl flew back with a bullet in her throat. She didn’t die but it was enough force to knock her down.
    I turned around and to see a startling sight. Tanya, clad only in underwear and a tank top, her dark skin a contrast to the white clothes. She held out her handgun in front of her.
    She went over to the girl who was down but not dead. The moaning returned but whether it was the constant flinging, the dent in her head or the bullet in her throat, she couldn’t get up. The girl reached out to Tanya almost as if she wanted to hug her.
    Tanya didn’t fall for it. She shot her once more in the head. The sound reverberated all around the infirmary and probably the store. No blood splatter because the girl was already dead. This time for good.
                  I felt lightheaded. I gathered my wits or I would faint. I didn’t want to do it here. I kept thinki ng about the glazed over eyes.
                  “You good?” Tanya said to me and then looked to Dan, still holding his bloodied tire iron. He dropped it to the floor with a clank. He was always a good hunter, better than me, but he hated killing kids. I looked at him and knew he thought about his own daughter. He didn’t seem to notice Tanya’s lack of clothes.
                  “Boss lady,” Tanya said. “You okay?” She spoke the wo rds slowly so I finally nodded.
                  “How many of ours dead?”
                  “One for sure, Eli—“ My voice trailed off.
                  “Come on boss lady,” she said, her voice still slow but stern. “Don’t fall apart. Tell me what’s going on?”
                  “Mindy—it bit Mindy.”
                  “I put a tourniquet on,” she called from the dark. “I’ll be all right.”
                  The flood lights came on illuminating the room and revealed Jake, wearing only pants, and Dave. Robert had returned but stood far behind them looking sickly.