Free Thrillers (Sex & Violence Book 2) by Amanda Close

DEATHRIDE
     
    The engine of the 1950's convertible rumbled as the heavy vehicle came speeding around the corner, the light of the setting sun glinting off the polish chrome to give the red paint job an ethereal glow.
     
    Ronnie depressed the brakes as he cut the corner and saw a handful of zombies shambling through the abandoned suburban street. The noise of the engine and the punk tunes blaring on full volume from the car stereo had already drawn a small crowd of the creatures ahead of the vehicle, some already in the street and others making their way out of shattered house doors and open backyards. Ronnie gave the signal and his two passengers, Gretchen and Fitz, leapt out of their seats and onto the pavement, not bothering to open or close their doors as the car slowed to only a few miles per hour.
     
    "I love my job," shouted Gretchen as she twirled a baseball bat in her hands, deftly turning the spin into a powerful swing that connected with the temple of a nearby zombie, sending blood, brains, and bone fragments flying as the creature fell to the ground, "First blood baby! You owe me smokes Fitz!"
     
    Fitz grunted and sank the hooked end of his crowbar into the skull of the zombie closest to him, then twisted the padded handle to wretch the weapon free just in time to knock aside the grasping hands of another. Fitz took several rapid steps backwards to put more room between himself and the zombie, who continued to lurch forward despite now having one of its arms broken and hanging at an unnatural angle. They sometimes called them walkers, other times zombies, though in that moment of furious combat walker seemed to fit, as they moved so slow compared to the expert thrill killers. Fitz waited for the right opening and leapt to the side, faking out the charging zombie and landing a solid blow to the back of its head, sending it to the ground in a heap.
     
    Gretchen sprinted ahead of the still-moving car and ducked under the awkward grasping attempt by a large zombie. The young woman spun on her heels and brought the bat around in a wide arc that swept the legs out from under the zombie. As the creature hit the pavement Gretchen stood up straight and brought her bat down in an overhead strike that pulped the zombie's dome. Ronnie shouted and Gretchen could see that three more creatures had emerged from the backyard of a house, and as she observed the scene she could see that the house had once been barricaded, though now the door was off the hinges and the wooden planks bloody and discarded on the porch. The young woman said a silent prayer for the former occupants and then stepped forward to engage the zombies.
     
    The first one went down easily as Gretchen slammed her bat into the top of its head, and then she knocked the second aside with a strong blow to its shoulder, sending the creature spinning away and stumbling. The third moved faster than Gretchen had anticipated, and as it reached her the young woman barely had time to get her bat between its hands and her throat. She and the zombie wrestled for a moment as the zombie tried to claw its way past her bat, and though Gretchen still had her weapon between them the creature managed to pull her to the ground and land on top of her. Gretchen could hear Ronnie screaming for Fitz to help and knew that even if he could reach her it would be too late. She had been thrill killing zombies for nearly two years, and in that time she'd had a few close calls, which was to be expected, it was a high risk lifestyle that only the most violent and deranged typically gravitated towards. Gretchen figured she was a little of both, and knew how to handle herself. She kept her cool and let go of the bat with one hand, betting that she could get her hands onto her knuckle dusters before the vile hands of the creature could tear into her. The gamble paid off, Gretchen filled her fist with the duster, and was able to pound the zombie with several right hooks. The creature's body went