Free Ghost Run by J. L. Bourne

nothing appeared different from when I turned in after putting it behind the shed. Reluctantly, I cracked the metal door slightly to get a peek outside. The backyard was clear, except for the bloated corpse in the pool. I hadn’t noticed last night, but it was still moving slightly. A blue rain barrel sat overflowing under the gutter outside the atrium. With my carbine in hand, I headed to the barrel with the half bar of soap and twisted rag I’d found in the shower. After washing up, I went back inside to check my maps.
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    I cracked the back door again and looked out. The bright Florida sun beamed down between the branches of a tall oak tree and through the damaged screen. To my right, I saw a rusted ladder leaning against the atrium frame. The screen above was covered with pine needles and I figured that Dudley was in the process of clearing them off when the shit hit the fan.
    I exited the open screen door, ignoring the creature in the half-full pool until it started making noise. Its watch or bracelet hit the ladder inside the pool, making a high-pitched ring. I shot it from a sideways perspective, penetrating the skull and the pool liner behind it. The corpse slumped and bobbed in the deep end.
    I rounded the atrium to get to the ladder. Slinging my carbine over my back, I moved it over to the edge of the roof and began to climb as three corpses rounded the corner from the carport onto the patio.
    The big one looked familiar.
    They didn’t notice me until I got to the roof and accidentally kneed the gutter. Their heads snapped in my direction at the sound, and they began to move in a straight line toward me. They acted as if the screens weren’t even there as they barreled through them, ripping them from their aluminum frames. I paid no attention to them and climbed farther up onto the roof. Some of the red architectural shingles were missing. I went over to the convex skylight and looked down into it, reminiscing about how nice it was to sleep in a bed behind reasonably secure doors.
    Before heading to the apex of the roof, I left a mark on the plexiglass skylight:
    Kilroy Was Here
    I could hear the creatures inside the atrium below, tripping over vacuum hoses, deck chairs, and whatever else Dudley had on his pool deck. At the top of the roof, I pressed Follow on the watch before verifying the motion video on the tablet.
    The GARMR was on the move.
    I saw it exiting the section of downed fence and entering the street. Turning on the audio feed, I could hear its synthetic paws clicking on the concrete as it trotted my direction. I sat on the roof, sweating from the growing hot sun, and watched the video.
    The GARMR’s movement protocol was swift. It somehow calculated how close to get to one of the undead before sidestepping slightly, avoiding its grip. The paw clicks on the tablet began to give way to the real thing, and I could finally see the GARMR coming my way up the street with a small following of undead far behind but closing. Now was the time.
    I slid slowly down the front side of the roof and reached over the edge for a pillar. After finding it, I carefully dropped my bag into a pile of leaves and slid down the pillar. On my way down, I saw a horribly decomposed and naked female waiting on the porch. It turned to face me, but my rifle was slung over my back. It was upon me before I could get to the railing. I pulled my automatic knife from the Kydex holster on my belt and pressed the button. The razor-sharp five-inch tantō blade rocketed out of the handle justbefore I rammed the cold steel into the creature’s temple. Even with all my force, it still only penetrated halfway into the skull.
    Apparently enough.
    The corpse’s lights went out and it fell, taking my knife with it.
    The GARMR stood like a sentinel in the front yard, facing me.
    It took some strength to extract the knife. I wiped it against the exterior of my pack before pulling the