Free Dead Soil: A Zombie Series by Alex Apostol Page B

sting. Over a gallon of fresh blood was slopped across the carpet, walls, and furniture like Jackson Pollock had just stopped by for an impromptu paint session.
    Zack charged in with a warrior cry, his collectible sword raised above his head. Debbie took a few sluggish steps towards him, her arms poised to grab. He jumped and brought the sword down with the weight of his entire body. It cracked the thing’s head open as easily as an egg and sank a few inches down. Zack pulled it free and panted with his sword at his side, thick murky blood dripped down the blade. His eyes were locked on the lifeless body crumpled on the floor, brain matter scattered around the opening of its cranium.
    Zack’s body felt electric. His hands shook as he white knuckled the hilt of his sword. The look on the two faces that stared at him didn’t match his own smile. He let out a howling laugh that turned into a whooping yell of victory.
    “Holy shit!” he roared. “Holy fucking shit!”
    Luke disappeared into the hallway again. Hunched over with his hands on the railing by the stairs, he dry-heaved until it felt like he’d done two hundred sit-ups. No one came to check on him.
    Zack continued to laugh in a frenzy as he tried to get a rise out of Liam. His laughter tapered off with several small coughs when Liam looked up from the blood-spattered ground with heavy eyes, the third floor left in silence. Zack wiped his sword off on a cloth from his bag and gave an accomplished nod, the excitement of the first kill already dying down.
    Liam tried to remember the last time he saw Debbie Hansen. At first he thought it was at Christine’s birthday party, but then he remembered he saw her walking to her car in her waitress uniform the morning he went to meet Dr. Hyde at the university…the day it all started.
    Although, he couldn’t know for sure that everything had started with his boss, it had for him. He was sure the flu was to blame and the first case of that had been in New York City a couple of weeks ago. It could have started somewhere else in the country, in the world even, and spread so quickly that he only heard about it after the incident with Dr. Hyde and Ronnie.
    That one quick thought of Ronald Conrad brought all his regrets rushing back. He should have stopped them. He should have laid his friend to rest.
    “Whose place do we have to check on the second floor?” Zack asked, all business and ready to get to it. “’Cause we know mine is clean and yours is clean.” He looked to Liam.
    “Uh,” Liam stammered, trying to remember anyone else besides his undead colleague and friend. “There’s the Ramirens and Ralph Sherman and his family.” His voice was slow and distant.
    “OK, then,” Zack said as he clapped his hands together once. “Let’s get on with it!”
     
     
    Luke walked with Liam and Zack to the edge of the stairs and then stopped. He didn’t want to go any further. All he had wanted was to know what happened to Carolyn, and now that she was missing all he wanted to do was curl up in his warm, cozy bed and try to forget what he’d just seen. But Zack wouldn’t allow it.
    He turned to where Luke was frozen and called out for him to follow. Luke walked a few paces behind the two blood-stained men as he contemplated running back home the second they busted open the next door. It wasn’t like he was helping them anyway.
     
     
    There was no surprise in the Ramirens’ apartment. Liam knew what their fate had been days ago. Mr. and Mrs. Ramiren shuffled around the house, parts of their faces torn away, complete chunks missing in a hallowed out, bloody mess. Little Ahmed hissed and growled as he snapped his teeth, untouched except for a single bite on his left arm.
    Liam felt a sting in his eyes and a dryness in his throat. They’d suffered horrific, slow, painful deaths. Three quick shots of his arrows and the family was on the ground and finally at peace. Liam took a deep breath through his nose as he gripped