Free The Crossing: A Zombie Novella by Joe McKinney

Millwood, he hadn’t seen any destruction up close and in person. He remembered grainy, frenzied footage on the news channels, garbled radio broadcasts full of panicked voices. He’d heard a few stories from those who’d escaped more populated areas and made their way to Millwood, but nothing had prepared him for what he saw on Front Street as they entered Rundberg. Maybe a show about Beirut he’d watched years before, but that was only an approximation.
    Most of the homes along the right hand side of the road were now little more than blackened shells or skeletons. Almost all of the trees had died, though a few showed a splash of green leaves amid the branches that were mostly charcoal. Across the street stood a collection of houses that looked a few hundred years older than their actual age. Window frames had lost their glass and roofs had caved in. Just past Catalpa Street, somebody had driven a Ford Bronco through the front of a one-story. The driver’s door hung open, but the window had shattered, and Blake made out the reddish-brown streaks of dried blood on what remained of the glass. More cars had been abandoned up and down the road. A broken skeleton, the skull shattered and the flesh long picked clean, lay splayed across the front of a Toyota that had wrapped around a tree. Blake thought the victim had probably flown face-first through the windshield and into the thick trunk. Probably lucky in the long run.
    “ Where the fuck are they?” Chris asked.
    “ Quiet.”
    Chris turned around and raised his voice. “They can hear the fucking truck, Blake. My voice isn’t gonna make things worse. Shit, who knows if they’re even going to show?”
    He gave Chris the finger, received one in return. He turned away and scanned the area again. As much as he hated to admit it, the guy did have a point. Where had all the dead gone? He didn’t guess they would have moved on in search of food. Some of them might have done just that, but they’d never be lucky enough for the rest to follow suit. Besides, the stink of rot and death was stronger here. It clung to the town like a fog.
    He wondered why Morris was taking it so slow instead of gunning it for the grocery store. Looking past the cab, he found the answer. A snarl of twisted, black metal lay in the middle of the street. Another wreck. Morris piloted around it. Blake looked down into the wreckage and found no bodies. They’d either been dragged free or crawled out on their own after the fact.
    “ Jesus.”
    A wheezing cry split the air. Blake jumped before moving to comfort Jeremy, sure the kid had lost what little of his nerve remained. When he reached out, however, he found Jeremy’s mouth shut. The boy looked scared, his eyes darting in all directions, but he remained silent.
    Oh, shit, he thought. Here they come.
     
    ————————————
     
    “ Got one,” Eric said, excitement sparking his voice like electricity through ancient wiring.
    “ I see it,” Morris answered. He didn’t need to follow Eric’s pointing finger. He’d seen the thing the second it left the half-collapsed home and darted for the street, arms swinging like overcooked pasta. Its gray, sagging flesh soaked up the sunlight and made it something sickly. It charged onto the pavement and came right at them. He met its pale, hungry eyes and zeroed in, taking aim. He caught a hint of movement somewhere behind the thing, but he shut it out.
    This is it. No turning back now.
    The street was clear between the truck and the zombie, the distance closing fast. Morris took a deep breath and held it. Hate rose in him like fire. This monstrosity was everything he despised, and he would destroy it.
    He stomped on the gas, and the truck roared.
    “ What are you doing?” Eric asked.
    He didn’t answer. He felt his jaw tighten, but he wasn’t aware of clenching it. His fingers choked the wheel, and his lips pulled back from his teeth. Somewhere far away, he heard Stevenson yell,