Free Time of Death Book 2: Asylum (A Zombie Novel) by Shana Festa Page B

again. I
saw his head at the back of the boat a moment before Jake began
screaming for us to jump. The sight of the rapidly approaching
yacht had me paralyzed with fear, and it took Meg, violently
shaking me by the shoulder, to bring me to action.
    Meg leapt off the side, splashing to the
water below, and I turned to follow suit. I was too late, and the
boat collided before I could jump, catapulting me over the railing
and through the air. My impact with the ocean felt like I hit a
cement wall, knocking the air from my lungs and pulling me
down.
    I kicked my way to what I hoped was the
surface. My lungs burned, and I choked on water as I broke through,
gulping in air and seawater. The raft propelled toward me, being
pushed by the mangled boats in motion behind it.
    "Give me your hand!" I heard Jake yelling as
they neared. One chance was all I would have. If he didn't reach
me, the raft would pass by and the wreckage behind it would kill
me.
    Everything slowed to a snail's pace in that
moment, and the scene unfolding before me blurred as I fought to
keep my head above water without the use of my arms. I saw Jake's
arms extending for mine before my head fell beneath the water one
last time. Holding my breath, I grasped blindly for Jake's hand and
was pulled back to the surface as his fingers clasped my wrist. He
pulled me into the raft, Vinny helping get my legs, and I rolled
onto my back, gasping.
    "Holy fuck," I rasped out, water continuing
to flow from my pained lungs. The fragile raft bounced, and water
cascaded over the sides. In seconds, I was sitting up, rigid, and
peering at the houseboat behind us.
    The minutes ticked by as the crafts began to
pick up speed again. Five Minutes? Ten? I had no idea, but it
seemed like forever. The lower deck was almost level with the raft
and I could make out movement through the windows to the
galley.
    "Pete!" I shouted, cut off by Vinny's hand
clamping over my mouth. I struggled and broke free. "What the
fuck?"
    "Shut up," he hissed at me. "The door to the
galley is open. We need to get free of this death trap."
    I didn't understand why he was so freaked
until Pete stepped out from the galley door and onto the deck a few
feet from us. The unknown time we'd been plummeting forward didn't
matter anymore. The only point of importance was that it had been
long enough for Pete to turn. His throat was torn out, skin flayed
from neck to belly button. Pete had joined the ranks of undead, and
had us in his sights. Jake and Vinny paddled furiously along the
side of the boat. If we could just make it to the front end, we'd
be free, and the writhing mass of fiberglass behind us would sail
away.
    My hands searched the bottom of the raft for
a weapon. I found nothing to ward off the newly risen Pete. Meg
shoved Spike in front of her in an attempt to hold him off, and he
fell forward, impaling himself onto the long weapon. As Meg was
pushed back, screaming, the shaft exploded through the back of
Pete's head, splattering us with warm blood and brain matter. His
arms twitched one final time before going limp at his sides.
    Meg made gagging sounds while I fought to
roll his dead weight off her and into the water. The moment she was
clear, she leaned over the side and vomited violently.
    "Oh, come on!" I screamed to the clouds as
zombies piled out of the door in search of fresh meat. They locked
onto us like laser beams and began to stumble across the deck.
    "Paddle!" yelled Jake, as we began to make
progress along the side of the boat. My slick hands slid off the
hull as I tried to move us along. Finally I gave up and leaned over
the raft to paddle furiously in the water. The first of the small
group stepped off the edge and landed with a splash behind us,
followed by the rest of the conga line of corpses.
    As we made our way free of the boats, we
slowed to a stop and watched in awe as they sped toward the Cape
Coral side of the water and collided with the seawall. The impact
devastated the houseboat and