Free Contamination: Dead Instinct (Contamination Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Series) by T.W. Piperbrook Page A

adjacent street. A stream of infected was headed the other way. Isaac watched as they appeared from various corners and doorways, converging on a building halfway down the next block.  
    It took him a second to see what they were heading toward.
    The girl was standing on the roof of a covered entranceway, about fifteen feet off the ground. By the looks of it, she'd scrambled up a set of railings, and she was fending off a herd of creatures with a metal pipe. She fought to keep from slipping. One by one, the creatures on the street flocked to her location.
    There were about twenty of the things so far.  
    "God dammit..." Jimmy muttered.
    Isaac increased speed, overtaking his companions. The girl was about to fall, and if he didn't get to her quick, it might be too late. Before he could make headway, Jimmy tugged on his shirt, holding him back.  
    "Wait," he said tersely.
    The three of them halted in the street. They watched as more creatures joined the first group. The horde was a hundred yards away.  
    "If we start firing on them," Jimmy said, "we're going to alert every damn thing in the city."
    "If that girl hasn't already," Spencer mumbled.
    Isaac felt a surge of anger. "We can't just leave her!"
    The groans increased in volume. When he looked back, he saw that they'd drawn the attention of both the girl and the creatures.  
    "Help!" the girl shrieked at them, almost losing her balance.  
    She swiped her long, dark hair from her eyes, revealing a dirt-stained face. Distracted, she lost her grip on the pole, and one of the creatures yanked it from her hands.  
    The object clattered to the ground.
    Isaac bolted forward. He covered half the distance, then he drew a bead on the creatures. He wasn't sure how much damage he could do—he'd never fired a weapon in his life, but he had to do something .
    He squeezed the trigger on his automatic rifle, filling the air with gunfire.
    Several of the creatures broke away from the pack. Before they could advance, they were hit with bullets. A creature with a shaved head plummeted to the ground, its knee disabled. Another tripped over its freshly wounded foot. Although Isaac's aim wasn't the greatest, it looked like some of his bullets were connecting.
    "You fucking moron!" Jimmy yelled. "What are you doing?"  
    The bulk of the creatures had broken formation, and they were now sprinting toward Isaac, Jimmy, and Spencer. Isaac continued to fire. His companions joined the effort, yelling and swearing. Several more creatures dropped onto the road, incapacitated by the gunshots. Several more were still emerging.
    The girl had backed up on the roof, steadying herself against the building. She covered her head with her hands, as if hoping to erase the situation before her.
    After a few more seconds of shooting, Isaac heard a break in the noise. He stopped firing and looked back at Jimmy. Jimmy had lowered his automatic rifle. He took a few steps back. Spencer was retreating, as well.
    "Where are you going?" Isaac yelled.  
    They didn't answer. Before Isaac could press the issue, a group of four creatures darted at him. Distracted, he fired the rifle, and the creatures ahead of him flailed and shook.
    A few seconds later, the street went artificially quiet. He'd managed to rid the streets of the majority of the creatures, but he could still hear the groans of things approaching from blocks away. When he looked behind him, Jimmy and Spencer were fleeing in the other direction.
    "Wait!" he screamed, but neither appeared to be listening.
    The girl had uncovered her face, and she stared at the fleeing men with a look of terror.  
    "It's OK!" Isaac shouted. "I'm coming!"
    Isaac darted forward, skirting the dead bodies of the infected, barreling for the girl on the roof. When he reached the foot of the railing, he lowered his weapon.  
    "Can you get down?" he called.  
    The girl inched to the edge of the balcony.
    "I'm not sure!" she yelled, holding out her arms for balance.
    "Hold on!