Free They Walk by Amy Lunderman Page B

growling and snapping at me, and pushes himself down at my throat. With a scream I turn my head away and push the ax up at him and trap it just under his jaw. This keeps his snapping teeth from me, but his hands are clawing at me, but they are no use against dislodging the ax between us. I hardly feel it as his hands slash at my arms. I thrash my legs trying to keep him off me, and I struggle to lift the ax further.
    Oh so slowly, do I raise him up.
    I manage to wedge my legs up between us and try to push him off that way. My attempts don’t even budge him. I can feel the blood from his mouth dripping onto my cheek, and I wonder if I’ll be like him after he kills me.
    With the last of my strength I raise him up further with me shaking arms. Getting my barring’s I kick at him, on the second kick he falls backwards off me and crashes into the shelves. Panting, I shuffle backwards and pull myself up. Gripping the ax, I run backwards around the front of the truck and try to make my way to the door. Matt’s already pulled himself up and is rushing at me again. Abruptly, I stop. I pull in a deep breath and raise the ax in both my hands.
    Right before he reaches me, I swing at him.
    This time, I hit the side of his face, and I feel the ax’s hilt shudder as I hit his skull. I gage as he stops a moment and I struggle to pull the ax free. Just as I have it out, he’s moving again, his arms almost reaching me. I step back and swing again, more in attempt to knock him down than to damage. I hit his head for a second time with the flat of the ax, and he falls to the ground. He’s making a wheezing moan, as he tries to get to his feet reaching for me still.
    Looking down at him, I raise the ax up.
    With a gut retching scream, I slam the ax’s blade into his neck. I can hear his neck snap as I hit bone and the handle shudders in my hands from the hit, but he’s still moving. Screaming still, I bring the ax down again and this time his head comes clean off.
    He’s not moving anymore.
    I stop screaming when his head rolls towards my feet, and I can’t help but stare down at it. I feel bile rise in my throat, as I see his blonde curls covered in blood. The ax feels heavy now in my hands, but I don’t loosen my grip. I feel myself shaking, but I’m not cold. In fact I’m not anything, I don’t feel upset or scared anymore, but deep down I know I should.
    I wonder if this is what shock feels like.
    In the quiet I hear someone shouting and footsteps coming closer. At first my whole body tenses, and I grip the ax to the point of pain and raise it high. But then I realize it’s the others from upstairs, but that can’t be right, I think. Surely someone would have come sooner, but I quickly understand that my killing Matt happened faster than I thought. I feel as if the whole things lasted hours and not minutes. Just as I’m lowering the ax someone’s running over the pieces of the door and into the garage, to me.
    It’s Daniel.
     
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
    Dan slowly makes his way over the rubble of the door with a bat in his hands. Raising it high, his eyes take in the darkened room, and then finally fall on me. I’m not sure what I look like, but his eyes widen. They drift down to the ax still gripped in my hands, then to my feet where Matt’s body lays. Lowering the bat, he rushes over to me, and I can’t help but flinch and take a step back. He stops just inches from me, and looks behind him as Gabe makes his way into the room. He takes the room in the same as Dan, with his fire poker raised high.
    He sees Matt first, then the ax in my hands, then he raises his eyes to mine. I feel my eye’s watering as I see my pain reflected on him. He lowers the fire poker, and stops just inside the door. His eyes never leave mine. Dan reaches out his hand and places it on my shoulder, but I cringe back and hit into the side of the truck. I interrupt him before he can say anything.
    “ I found a truck for us.” My voice sounds so