Free Stone Soldiers 6: Armageddon Z by C. E. Martin

through the wall at eye level.
    Plaster and concrete parted before his stone knuckles, and the stone Colonel quickly pulled his hand free. He pressed his face against the fist-sized hole and looked insid e, then whistled.
    "It's wired!"
    Inside the small office were barrels of what he guessed were fuel, grenades and claymore mines duct taped to them. There was enough explosives to level a large part of the building.
    Phillips didn't get long to study the tra p through his improvised peephole, though. In the stillness of the hallway, there now came scraping noises. From all around them.
    Jacobson and Phillips turned and looked around them, and saw doors opening.
    Every single doorway, from maintenance closets, to the entrances to the large exhibitor halls were pushing open—moved by hands turned green and yellow.
    The undead came slowly shuffling out from these doorways—dozens and dozens. With maybe hundreds more behind them.
    Phillips knew the monsters were no threat to him and Jacobson. The stone men could not be infected. Nor did the slowly-moving, atrophied husks of humanity possess the strength to even scratch their stone bodies.
    But these undead had a little something extra. They were armed. And any mental qu estions of what they could be up to vanished when the first of the moldy beasts raised a machine gun and began firing.
    The National Guard had come to St. Louis early on in the outbreak. They'd raced into the city to fight what they thought were just strang ely large mobs of rioters. Instead, they'd suffered tremendous casualties. The surviving forces had quickly retreated—leaving behind fallen comrades with plenty of weapons and gear.
    As the first hail of bullets slashed harmlessly against Phillips, the conv ention center shook violently. Somewhere nearby, something big had just exploded.
     

CHAPTER TEN
     
     
     
    In the split second before it detonated, Mark Kenslir was able to register what kind of bomb the monsters had been concealing with their bodies. It was a hastily constructed device, made from three 55-Gallon drums, around which were taped a dozen Claymore antipersonnel mines. No doubt brought into the city by an overzealous National Guard that was no match for the undead.
    The explosives erupted with earth-sha king force, throwing out fire and small ball bearings in every direction. Kenslir and the fifty-odd zombies near it were blown off their feet.
    High in the stands, Victor Hornbeck was completely taken by surprise. He flinched reflexively as the stadium shoo k and shrapnel went into the stands. After a moment of stunned surprise, he leapt to his feet as a fire ball rose up into the air, churning and turning to black smoke.
    He was already running down the stands, toward the field when the smoke cleared. He saw the huge crater in the center of the field, and the black scorch marks from the blast radiating out around it. Burning pieces of the undead were scattered everywhere—some having been blown up into the stands.
    A lone figure lay on the field, hurled a doze n feet back. Colonel Kenslir, his body now charred all black, like his torn clothing.
    By the time Victor reached him, the Colonel was starting to sit up.
    "Sir?!" Victor said excitedly, not knowing what to do. Kenslir's face was torn and blackened, his teeth showing through on one side. His uniform had remained mostly intact, with the exception of great rips and holes here and there—evidence of projectiles from the blast tearing into him. His tactical goggles were gone—no doubt blown to pieces.
    Kenslir held up a finger, indicating Victor needed to wait a moment. He pointed to his ears. His ear drums had been blown out by the blast that should have torn him limb from limb.
    Kenslir put hand down on the ground and pushed off, rising slowly. Victor could see the gray stone of the Colonel's hand was turning flesh tone again as his many curses worked to repair the brutal damage of the explosion.
    "Got any water on you?" Kenslir