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

jumped as the sunken eyes glared through the glass. It wore a suit and was probably one of the snooty businessmen who sneered at her the few times she made the mistake of trying to beg in the Square Mile. Ed's words came back to her and she put the car into first gear.  
    Unable to contain her smile, she grabbed the door handle and opened it silently. With a fierce movement she slammed the door into the creature's legs. It staggered, one leg giving way until it ended up on its arse. She yanked the door closed and put her foot down, turning the car hard. They were almost round but she couldn't avoid the horror of further reversing. She managed it without running into anything else, and it left her pointing at the businessman.  
    She glanced at Ed. His teeth were gritted and he was nodding. She put her foot down and hit the creature fast enough for its legs to collapse completely beneath the impact. Its head struck the bumper and a splash of blood made it all the way up to the windscreen. She stamped on the brake and stared at it for a moment, frozen.  
    Then Ed whooped and raised a hand, so she high-fived him and put her foot down.  
    'My dad worked in the city. Every morning he'd go before I got up. Must have seen him like two days a week, tops.' Ed said.  
    'That sounds like heaven.'
    He barked a laugh. 'It would be if Mum wasn't a complete bitch. But Dad would be there at the weekends and wonder why I never spoke and why I never wanted to go with them when they went out.' His voice lowered. 'Never got close enough to find the marks.'
    'Didn't you tell someone?'
    'How did that go for you?'
    She hesitated, frowning. At least she'd tried. 'He might have listened, though. Surely you could have tried.'
    'You don't... you didn't know my parents. They were like so in love, just completely in love. I was an afterthought.'
    'You're too young to think that.'
    'I'm fourteen and that's plenty old enough to know when you're a fifth wheel. I was always a fifth wheel.'
    She patted him on the shoulder, quickly so she could get her hands back on the wheel. 'Not anymore.'
    He laughed. 'There's the silver lining. I'm never going to be their fifth wheel again. Or their fourth or third or anything else for that matter.'
    From the corner of her eye she saw him nodding and smiling, the most genuine expression she'd seen from him in the last day. Except for the greed when they'd run over the zombies. She let out a breath. She thought he was going to be lost forever, but maybe not.  
    'Hey, what's that?'
    She followed to where he pointed and saw a plume of black smoke emerging over the tops of the buildings.  
    'Dunno, it's where we're going, though, so we'll soon find out.'  
    She looked back at the road and slammed on the brakes, sending the car skidding sideways. A bus had slewed across the carriageway, blocking the entire road, and they came to a halt a few feet away. She put her hand on her chest and waited for her heart to stop dancing.  
    She grumbled as she turned it around and took a couple of lefts, bringing them back on track down Cannon Street. They'd gone only a few metres when she stamped on the brakes again.  
    'God, can you just learn how to drive already?'
    She ducked down beneath the steering wheel. 'Get down.'
    'What?'
    'Get down, now, get down.'
    He looked at her blankly so she grabbed his collar and hauled him towards her. He came willingly enough until his head touched hers.  
    'What's going on?'
    'Up ahead. Guys with guns.'
    'It's the army, they're here to save us, oh my god, oh thank god--'
    'Shut up. It's not the army. They've got these big crosses on their backs.'
    'Huh?'
    'Look.'
    She raised her head just enough to peer over the steering wheel. He joined her and together they looked at what she realised was the back of St Paul's Cathedral. Four men did were loitering, standing in a rough circle with guns slung carelessly over their shoulders. The one with his back to them displayed a huge symbol on his back, of