Free POW! (Book 1): The Zombie Days by Peter Wonder Page A

light of the situation so I don't have to  feel-"
    "I know exactly what you're doing, trust me, I’ve done the same thing most of my life. But I have to keep focused, and I have to keep all of you focused, too. Our lives are on the line at this moment." I'm sorry, I thought. I know my words were a little harsh. I don't want you to be scared or sad, or anything other than happy. But, more than anything else right now, I don't want you to be dead or physically injured in any way.
    I looked down at Kyle’s place behind the rocks. He was looking up at me, just waiting for me to get the party started. The zombies were in place for me to take the first shot and begin our miniature war. I gave a nod to Kyle and he sighted in. I did the same thing and slowly squeezed my trigger after I had my aim dialed in.
    ***POW***
    Body parts. Blood. Bones. There was gore flying in every direction. Entire (or as complete as most of them are) zombies went flying to the ground in the back of the group. The stupid creatures looked oblivious as to what exactly had happened. I wondered exactly how a zombie would process such information as this. Kyle and I started picking them off one by one with headshots. It looked like we had successfully taken them all out. Kyle was looking up at me once more. I signaled for him to keep a lookout while Evelyn and I climbed down out of the tree to meet at their position behind the large rock cluster.
    Evelyn tucked her pistol back into her waistband and was the first to climb down while I kept an eye out. I made sure my rifle was on safe before passing it down to her to speed up my painful descent. I didn’t feel like getting shot by her again today. Carefully finding each branch, I made my way down and immediately recovered my weapon when I got to Evelyn. Together, we hurried over to the others while I continued to scan the area for any threats.
    "See any movement out there?" I asked Kyle.
    "Everything looks clear from here. Do you see anything, Carolina?"
    "I don't think so," she answered.
    A mystery voice in the distance shouted, "Are there any livers out there?"
    I hesitated to answer. How the hell was I supposed to respond to a question like that? Are there any livers ?
    "Livers, hearts, lungs, stomachs . . . you name it. Are you some sort of sick fucking cannibal or something?" I shouted back.
    The steps were getting much closer now.
    "Now, there's only one man I know that would ever respond with that kind of bullshit. Where the hell you at, POW?"
    "BLACK!" I shouted.
    "MORGAN!" shouted Kyle.
    "OH SHIT! Both you motherfuckers are down here? To what do I owe the pleasure? And what the actual FUCK was that explosion
    all about?!"
    Morgan was another of our Marines from back in the day. He was a 6'7" black dude. I called him "Black" because one day, when we were in Estonia doing some training, there was a dude that had skin that was far darker than either of us had ever imagined who walked passed us. Morgan turned to me and said, "Damn, that nigga BLACK!" to which I replied, with my filter-free mouth, "Nigga, you black!" Being that we were best friends and he knew I wasn't some sort of racist asshole, he took one glance at me and just began laughing. Since then, it kind of became a greeting between us—despite the odd looks we’d get from others.
    "Well, we’re down here searching for someone from our neck of the woods. Evelyn, what did you say your dad's name was?" I asked her.
    "Dr. Korpiklaani," she replied.
    "Fuck that dude, who is this lovely lady?"
    "This is—uh—this is Evelyn." Awesome introduction.
    "Well, Evelyn, that makes the explosion the second most amazing thing I've seen tonight. My name is Mac Morgan, and it is VERY nice to meet you," he said, grabbing her hand and giving it a kiss.
    "It's good to meet you, too, Mac. Are all of Peter's friends as animated as you and Kyle?"
    "Pete, over here, happens to attract a rare breed to his
    side. And I would absolutely say that you fit that