Free Survival Instinct: A Zombie Novel by Kristal Stittle Page B

before now.  Somewhere far away shots were fired.  Then more were fired and those sounded much closer.  Jessica did some quick breathing exercises and stopped a certain awful thought from invading.  She focused on Jack instead.
    Jessica could understand Jack’s fear.  He lived in an apartment only a few blocks away.  “I’ll come with you.”
    “It’ll be dangerous.”  Jack didn’t seem to pay attention to his own protest as he hurried up the street.  He said the words automatically.
    “No more for me than it will be for you.”  Jessica had to trot to keep up in her heels.
    Jack then stopped and turned.  “I won’t want to leave you behind but those shoes will slow us both down.”
    “Here.”  Jessica reached down and took off her shoes.
    “Barefoot?  There could be broken glass everywhere.”
    Jessica looked around.  “There.”  She pointed across the street to a shop sign.  “That place sells shoes.  I can get new ones in a jiffy.”
    Jack sighed and glanced around nervously.  In the end, he caved.  “All right, but let’s do this real quick now.”
    Jessica put her heels back on and they hurried across the congested street, holding hands to keep from being separated.  When they reached the shop, they found its large window smashed in and all the lights off.
    “It’s closed,” Jack sighed.
    “So?”  Jessica reached through the broken window and grabbed a sneaker.  She compared it to her foot.
    “That’s stealing!”  Jack’s mouth hung open in shock.
    The first pair looked too small so Jessica grabbed the next and tried them.  They were the right size.  Not exactly Jessica’s first choice in colour or style, but they would do.  She started switching her shoes.
    “Jessica!” Jack frowned.
    “What?”  She reached into her bag and pulled out a business card.  “I’ll leave this so they know who I am and I’ll come back later to pay.  This is an emergency situation.”  She then placed the card in the space th e shoes had previously occupied.
    Jack sighed again but didn’t argue.  Clearly his level of worry was too high; in any other circumstance, he would have made Jessica put them back.  They started up the street again, Jessica’s high-heels held in one hand, Jack’s hand in the other.
    The farther they went, the more the crowd thinned out.  All around them, people headed in different directions or ducked into shops and buildings.  They passed by one big office building where a man was arguing with a security guard to be let in.  He argued about it not being safe outside but wouldn’t say why.  No one seemed to know what was going on any better than Jack or Jessica did.  They all looked lost and confused, walking alone or in small groups.  People barely spoke unless they were arguing about something.  A few people were even crying.  Jessica couldn’t believe it all.  Only the varying sounds of gunshots kept her rooted in reality.  She knew that sound all too well.  She feared that sound.
    A man ran up from behind, shoving Jessica hard in the shoulder as he passed.
    “Hey!” Jack yelled at him as he stopped Jessica from stumbling over.  The man didn’t respond.  He just kept running as fast as he could.
    Jessica looked behind them.  There was another man running towards them.  No, not towards, at .
    * * *
    “Jack.”  Jessica Clay drew her friend’s attention.
    Jack turned.  They both looked at the second running man, not sure what to do.  Part of his head had been scalped or something, because a huge chunk of skin hung down the side of his face.  Jessica could see damaged skull bone underneath.
    Another man stepped out of an alley between Jack and Jessica, and the charging man.  Jessica watched as the charging man’s eyes darted to the newcomer.  He abruptly changed course.  The other man saw him just in time to scream before he was bowled over.
    The ensuing violence made Jessica’s eyes go wide.  She stood stock still,