Free Thirteen Roses Book Two: After: A Paranormal Zombie Saga by Michael Cairns

the zombie's face and into its brain. The body stiffened and, when he yanked the axe free, crumpled to the floor of the bus.
    He put his back to the driver's door and pushed with both feet until the body slid out of the bus and thumped to the ground. Then he slipped into the driver's seat and pushed the button to close the front door. It hissed shut and he sat for a moment, taking deep breaths.  
    The crazy running man was past the zombies and heading for Big Ben. Jackson turned the keys and the bus roared into life. He fiddled with the gear stick for a moment, trying to get a feel for it, then put it in first and raised the clutch. It wasn't a million miles away from the van and he lurched forwards without stalling it. The bus bumped down from the pavement onto the road, swaying side to side, and he put his foot down.  
    It roared and began, very slowly, to accelerate. He fixed his eyes on the shop, now pouring thick black smoke from the upper floors, and changed gear. His only thought was to empty the shop front of zombies. Once he'd done that he could pick up whoever was in there and crazy running man, and they could get out of there.  
    Where would they go? London was his life, it was where he belonged. He couldn't imagine heading off into the country. The bus struck the kerb and dragged his thoughts back to the moment. The bus swayed as he hauled it round and narrowly avoided a lamp post. He caught the corner of a parked car and sent it skidding across the street.  
    A grin tightened the edges of his mouth. This thing was a beast. He put his foot to the floor until the revs picked up, then went up a gear. He was running parallel to the buildings now, hands gripping the wheel like it was the bitch's hips. He blinked, a sudden vision of dark, naked skin filling his mind.  
    Tears sprung up but he wasn't sure whether they were for her or himself. He was a sinner, black-hearted and lost. He could kill as many zombies as he wanted. He could never atone for what he'd done to her. And now she was dead. He could never apologise, never try and make it all right.  
    As he gripped the steering wheel and saw his girlfriend's face, he realised there was one thing he could do. He could kill her and stop her from being a zombie. She shouldn't have to live as an undead creature, constantly thirsting for blood and flesh. He could find her and kill her. He would. The first chance he got, he would go home and do the one thing that would make a difference.  
    That was what God wanted him to do. God wanted him to atone and he would do so, again and again, but it had to start with the person to whom he'd done the most wrong. He nodded and gritted his teeth. The bus swung from side to side and he wrestled with the wheel on the uneven pavement.  
    The mass of zombies outside the shop had seen him now, though they were too dumb to run. Instead they watched as he ploughed into them. The first few that struck the bus just vanished, burst apart like piñatas. Their blood spattered in all directions and his grin reappeared to stretch his cheeks.  
    The rest of them went beneath the wheels or broke apart. For a few moments he had one stuck to the front windshield, inches from him as its brains spread out across the glass. He found the windscreen wiper and flicked it on full, squeezing washer fluid at the same time. The window scuz dissolved and the mass of watery blood and brain matter grew steadily thinner as water gushed from the nozzles.  
    He stamped on the brake and ground his teeth as the bus tried to spin. A screaming sound made him jump as the side of the bus struck the edge of the building and scraped along it. Sparks rained down the side of the window and the doors rattled and popped. Then the bus stopped and he sat, staring through the mess on the windshield and panting deep breaths.    

Krystal

    Driving wasn't that difficult. The car kept lurching and stopping but she figured that would ease off as she got the hang of it.