Free Zombie Dawn Apocalypse by Michael G. Thomas Page A

the improvised wall. The battle raged on as more and more pieces of wood, stone and debris were brought forwards to repair the hole.
    Two more blasts from the hook guns cleared the space in front, finally giving the men the time they needed to erect something more substantial. Nick hacked down another creature before the numbers thinned enough for him to take a breath. He looked around, noting the greatly reduced numbers of undead. The breach was filling in nicely and the militia were now able to hold their own and continue repairing the damage.
    “Good work, people. We need to get back to the vehicles, let’s go!” he cried.
    The group moved back, their places now taken by the defenders of the sector. One of the men moved up it was Zack the gamer they met years ago.
    “Thanks, man. That was looking pretty rough. We can hold it from here, there was a weakness in the wall. Anything you need?”
    Nick tapped him on the shoulder.
    “We’re good, you just watch the wall.”
    Zack nodded and then turned back, helping the rest with the repairs.
    Nick and Artur faced the bloodied but uninjured reserves. They looked an absolute mess but they had certainly done an incredible job. Another flare arced across the sky, this time from the western sector, presumably one of the bridges. Before they could move it was joined by another from the southern wall.  
    “Come on, guys. We’ll take the south, the bridge is closest to the castle, they can deal with that one!” shouted Nick as he lifted his motorcycle from the ground.
    The rest of the group did the same and they headed off to fix yet another potential crisis.

    * * *

    The battle for the southern wall was less desperate than the previous fight. There was no breach, but the real problem came from the storm. It started just as the reserve reached the wall but by the time they were able to reach the battlements and help drive off the attacks, the rain and wind had lashed the defences making it hard to see, let alone fight. As well as this, the rain made the muskets and hook guns far less reliable. Nick and the rest had sallied out and cut down the creatures near the walls, keeping them clear of the walls and the town. That wasn’t the worst problem though. It was the fire that had been the reason for the flare, and for the unfolding disaster in this area. That was six hours ago and Nick, Artur and the rest of the group were still trying to control the blaze. What had started as a misfiring hook gun had ended in a fire on the damaged tower. Burning powder had blown in the wind and caught more of the stores and the stacks of debris behind the hastily repaired fortifications. Now the fires had spread through more than ten houses.  
    Nick stood a short distance from the blaze, co-ordinating the effort. Carter arrived on his motorcycle, looking flustered. His face was cut and bleeding quite badly.
    “What’s going on?   We can see the fire from the castle!”
    “We’re holding, it looks worse than you might think,” said Nick, though he didn’t sound very convincing.
    “Ok, well, we’ve got bigger problems.”
    “The bridges?” asked Nick.
    “No, they’re holding, the problem is Davies. He managed to get out and get inside the castle. I tried to stop him and ended up getting this in the face,” he said as he pointed to his cuts.  
    “He’s stripped out the reserves and taken them somewhere, probably trying to save his skin like he usually does.”
    “Fuck!” swore Nick as he paced around.
    “What is he doing? He can only leave by road or boat.”
    “I doubt it will be by road, the vehicles are still in the compound and guarded near the short bridge. I bet the boats are where he’s headed.”
    A series of bright flashes came from the direction of the castle indicated major trouble and to retreat to the castle.
    “What the hell?” shouted Carter. “It was ok when I Ieft .”
    “Come on, people, fall back!” shouted Nick as he leapt onto his motorcycle.
    Those