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

She'd get the hang of it any moment now. Ed had one hand on the dashboard, gripping the black with whitened fingers. She yanked the wheel and edged around another car parked right in the centre of the road. She cut it close, and a sound like tearing coke cans made her screw her face up and duck as the wheel jerked about in her hands.  
    'Sorry, my bad.'
    Ed tried to smile but his face still had that plastic, dead look that gave her the creeps. Maybe if she drove faster she could scare him out of this horrible state. And if they crashed, he still wouldn't be dying alone.  
    The road was lethal. This would be so much easier if it wasn't covered in crashes and stalled cars. She was surprised there weren't more on fire. She remembered movies where cars burst into flames when they tapped a lamppost. They were driving past buildings with cars embedded half in them yet were still resolutely fire-free.  
    They left Shoreditch behind and reached Tower Bridge. She loved the bridge and the castle as well. They were from a time when half the people in London were homeless, or as good as. There weren't people in suits, driving flash cars to make you feel even worse than you already did. Everyone smelled and everyone ate crap, and it was just the way life was.  
    She wasn't sure that was true. There were bound to be rich people even then, but surely there were more like her. Didn't matter if it was true, she was sticking by it. And besides, there was no one around to tell her otherwise.  
    Tower Bridge was heaving with zombies, as though something had called them there. She slowed as they drove past the end of it, ignoring the thumps on the car boot as a zombie realised there was something edible inside.  
    The zombies stood in rows on the bridge, staring down river. Not super neat or anything, but organised enough to creep her out more than they already did.  
    She tapped Ed on the shoulder. 'What are they looking at?'
    He craned round and peered out the back of the car, then shrugged. 'Don't know. Can't see anything.'
    She accelerated, more smoothly this time, and resumed weaving as they drove down the river. She was just thinking how much fun it was, when a zombie lurched off the pavement in front of her and she slammed her foot on the wrong pedal. The creature bounced off the front and landed on the road. The sound of it going under the wheels made her stomach turn over and she retched.  
    'That's it, get another one.' Ed wasn't quite snarling, but he wasn't far off it. She glanced sideways and raised an eyebrow at the fierce look on his face. She looked in the rear-view mirror, which was an amazing invention, and saw the crushed body. Ed grabbed the wheel and tugged it, and she screamed and thumped him.  
    He released the wheel but she'd already smashed into another zombie. This one went straight under the car, accompanied by a series of thuds and wet crunches.  
    'What the hell are you doing?'
    'We got one.'
    'I don't give a toss, we nearly drove into that car.'
    'We have to kill them, right? So we just killed one, end of story.'
    'No, not end of story. Listen, suicide boy, I don't intend to die doing something stupid. If they get me then they get me but I'm not throwing myself in the way, alright? Leave the bloody wheel alone.'
    He folded his arms and stuck his bottom lip out as he slouched back into his chair. She almost giggled but bit her lip instead. Laughing at him was unlikely to elicit the best response. She focused on the road ahead and not hitting anything. Seconds later, she swore and thumped the wheel.  
    They were past Holborn, and the road ahead narrowed and was choked with cars. There was no way they were getting down there. She tried to turn but the road was way too thin. So she tried reverse and went shooting back, slamming the rear of the car into another. It was horribly loud and she ducked, half expecting someone to come out and shout at her.  
    Instead, a zombie approached and banged on the door. She