Free The Zombie Chronicles - Book 3 - Deadly City (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) by Chrissy Peebles

maybe all start shooting at us from the stands. At least it will be quick that way, I reasoned. Then again, maybe they’ve got something far worse in mind. I cringed at the thought. I nudged Nick. “A firing squad? They’re really going to massacre us, aren’t they?”
    “ I have no idea what these freaks are up to.”
    “ You people are sick!” Lucas shouted, as if it would help.
    An intercom crackled to life and echoed over the field. I covered my ears to muffle the sound, until it was replaced with a loud voice. “Welcome, my people! I hope you’re all ready for a show. Today, these three degenerates will pay the ultimate price for the heartless butchering of our beloved hero, our Jason, defender of our great new civilization.”
    The crowd cheered in some sections and continued their bloodthirsty cries in others.
    I just stood my ground on shaky legs and swallowed back the rising bile.
    Lucas threw me a worried glance. “Crap!” he muttered.
    I gazed down at my shaking legs and noticed that the turf below me was covered in dried blood. My heart lurched. We weren’t going to be the first, and I was sure we wouldn’t be the last to face a horrible fate.
    “ By the authority vested in me as the mayor of this great new city, let the execution begin!” the voice howled over the loudspeaker.
    Those words made me shudder all over. We’d definitely been taken there to die, and I hurriedly, instinctively scanned my surroundings, desperately looking for a way to escape. We could have made a run for it and tried to hop the towering fence covered with spiked barbs, if it weren’t for the guards standing there with their big guns locked, loaded, and at the ready. I had no doubt they’d shoot us before we’d ever get the chance to jump over. Running back the way we came was also not an option; the bullets would outrun us, whichever direction we tried to retreat.
    Suddenly, a familiar stench wafted into the air, immediately followed by loud, angry grunts coming from behind us. Operating on instinct, I grabbed Nick’s arm and spun around to find three figures stumbling toward us. They were distastefully familiar in the way that we’d all come to know and fear. The living dead were coming for us, three against three, one on one!
     

Chapter 11
     
    “ Nick!” I uttered in amazement. “They’re not gonna shoot us. This is some kind of zombie fight club.”
    “ Now we know why they’ve been bringing zombies into the city,” Nick said sullenly. “They’re gladiators!”
    “ Yeah, your theory on experimental testing of strangers was way off,” Lucas said.
    Nick nodded. “They aren’t trying to save the human race. This is just the next evolution of the Coliseum!”
    “ And the missing people…” Lucas muttered in shock. “The outsiders… They must’ve been…”
    “ Yeah,” Nick said through gritted teeth. “They were just the nightly entertainment.”
    “ No!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “You can’t do this! This is so…inhumane! You’re all being affected by the contaminated drinking water! Don’t you see? Please don’t do this!”
    “ What kind of sick game is this?” Lucas muttered. His hands clenched to fists as he yelled up, “We have no weapons! We don’t have a fighting chance against you or those things! Let us go!”
    “ It’s not a game,” Nick spoke softly. “There will be no winner—only losers. We’re here for some sick, twisted fantasy execution, like the Christians being fed to the lions back in ancient Greece.”
    Lucas made a fist, as if mentally preparing himself for battle. “This is what happens when humans lose sight of their humanity. We need weapons!”
    “ You really think they’re gonna hand us a chainsaw?” I asked.
    “ No, but we need to find something…and quick.”
    “ Like what, Lucas?” I asked sarcastically.
    “ Anything that will pierce, hack, cut, or explode will do nicely,” Lucas said, ignoring my cynicism. His eyes remained