Free Flesh-Eater (Book 1): Fear the Fever by Stacey Broadbent Page A

realised, she recognised his face.  He was one of the farmhands they had hired, only there was something seriously wrong with him.
    He grunted and a few others looked up from their meal.  Other familiar faces… she didn’t want to believe it.  This isn’t happening!  Not Ma!  It can’t be Ma!  
    “Oh God!” Harper cried out.  She staggered backwards as they began to descend on her.  She managed to get to her feet and ran as fast as she could, forgetting about the broom she had left lying in the field behind her.
    “Mack!  Run, boy!” she yelled as she crashed through the field.  She didn’t care if she destroyed their entire crop right now, she just wanted to get as far away from these ‘people’ as she could.  Their bloody faces and vacant eyes as they ripped at Buddy flashed in her mind, driving her forward.
    She could see the edge of the field, she was nearly home.  She forced her legs to move faster.  Mack was still where she had left him, teeth bared and growling.
    “Mack, run!” she yelled again as she came hurtling through.  “Run!”  She grabbed his collar and yanked, dragging him with her.
    A wave of courage must have taken over, because he broke free from her grip and charged her pursuers.
    “Mack no!” she screamed, but it was too late.  They had hold of him and were already tearing into his flesh, silencing him.
    Harper ran for the house.  She found her father’s gun in the office and ran back outside.
    “No!” she screamed, raising the gun and taking aim.  She fired and hit one in the head.  He fell to the ground, but the others continued feeding.  She fired again, hitting another, and another, until she was out of bullets.
    More of them came after her as she backed up, frantically searching for another weapon.  Her eyes landed on a garden stake.  Wrenching it from the earth, she held it out in front of her.
    “Back off!” she spat, swinging it back and forth, but it didn’t faze them as they continued to come after her.  She changed her grip, holding it above her head.  “Aaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhh!” she screamed, as she ran at them.  She plunged the stake into the eye of the closest one, a high pitched cry erupting as the girl fell to the ground.  Harper kicked out, dropping the next one advancing on her.  She yanked on the stake, trying to pull it out but it was wedged in there tightly.  She dodged the hands reaching for her as she ran for the watering can.  As soon as her hands were on it, she spun her body around, throwing all of her weight into it.  It connected with the two running at her, knocking them both to the ground.  She swung again, hitting the last one square in the jaw.  Grabbing another stake from the garden, she went around stabbing each one in the head.  She stood over them, making sure they were dead.
    Panting, she surveyed the area around her, where multiple bodies lay crumpled.  She stumbled, dropping the stake, and falling to her knees.  She stared at Mack’s lifeless body in disbelief.  This didn’t just happen.  It had to be a dream.
    She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare, but when she opened them again, she was bitterly disappointed.
    Burying her head in her hands, she began to cry.
     

Chad
    A fter what seemed like an eternity, Chad and Zuckerman finally made it to the outskirts of town.  Never had they thought the sight of the Worthington welcome sign, would bring tears to their eyes.  They had made it.
    The closer they had gotten though, the more they knew that things were not looking good.  Their once peaceful town, was filled with the sound of panic.  More than once they had watched silently as people ran screaming, in the direction they themselves, had just come from.  They knew they should have warned them, but neither one was willing to step out of the safety of the corn fields.
    They continued on their way to Worthington General, doing their best to remain hidden.  Desperate