Free Rise by Gareth Wood Page B

make it back to the garage. We went down a back alley until we found a house in decent shape, and approached it. Just as we got to the back door a zombie appeared around the corner and lurched at us. Not wanting to fire our guns, I turned the carbine around and clubbed the creature in the skull as it was reaching for me. Three blows and it went down, and I kept on clubbing it until it stopped moving.
    By then Jess had the door open and we went in. We checked the house carefully and found the front door open and a corpse rotting in the hallway, blood everywhere, and bits of tissue scattered around. No undead though, so we closed the front door, grabbed a sheet and dragged the corpse out back. We shut ourselves in just as it started to rain again, and spent the next hour searching for anything useful and barricading the various entry points. We had warned Sarah and Darren that we might have to spend the day in the city, so not to worry about us unless we didn’t return by midnight the next day.
    We spent the rest of that day trading stories with Dave, and trying to find something to carry the various treasures we had found in the house. Toiletries, mostly, but also some clothes, a few canned soups and a pocket multi-tool. We eventually got a blue pack from the upstairs bedroom, and I tossed in a few of the paperback books I found on a bookshelf. Jess was rummaging in the basement when she found a camping stove that backpackers use, and a full container of fuel. There was also a set of camping pots, and we took that as well. The prospect of hot food made us all drool. We resisted the urge while we were in the house, though, since we had no idea if the undead would be able to detect the cooking food.
    At nightfall, after a careful scan of the streets and alleys, we moved out. Dave was feeling a lot better due to some real rest, and we had taken turns sleeping during the day. Amazing what a few hours in a real bed can do for you. We left out the back, and soon we were making good time away from the house and towards the garage. We had to avoid a small group of zombies who were aimlessly wandering about, and that took some time. The rain kept coming, and all three of us were wet and chilled by the time we reached the garage. We got to the side of the garage, and I peeked inside. There was Sarah, sitting in a chair, fast asleep, and Darren was walking around holding his gun. I knocked quietly, and Sarah jumped up and ran to the door. She opened it and we all piled in. There were introductions and hugs all around, and then we had a look at the little extra loot we had secured. Darren told me that there had been no trouble at all. A few undead had walked past earlier in the day, but showed no interest in the garage. We all celebrated by heating up some instant coffee, the first we had had in a long time. Jess went to see Michael, and I went to check on her to see if she wanted some coffee, and found the two of them asleep on the cot we had found in the front office. I left them alone and went back to the quiet party. That was last night. Now we have left the city outskirts again and are driving along a utility road that goes northwest of the city. We plan to head for the coast now. We’ll find a place up ahead to stop.
     

July 19: The Swarm
     
     
    Just northwest of Prince George there is, or rather was a brand new mall complex with theaters, a Revy, a large grocery store, and a few restaurants. And two thousand zombies. We saw the roof of the complex over the treetops, and in typical stupid fashion, the road led right to it. We had seen almost none of the undead since we got onto this road, just three in a field, and one staring at us from a bucket truck that we passed. We were actually wondering where all the Prince George undead had gone when we turned the corner and found out. About a hundred yards ahead the road dipped down towards the mall complex. A torn down sign showed the picture of the place as it was supposed to