Free The Swiss Family RobinZOM (Book 3) by Perrin Briar

baseball bat. Ernest raised his golf club. Liz gripped her garden fork.
    “What say we send a few more of these demons back to hell?” Bill said.
    They all donned facemasks and stepped toward the pit.

 
     
    Twenty-Three
     
    Jack held Nip in his arms like a new-born babe and ran. He leapt over tree roots jutting from the ground, ducked under low hanging boughs and tore through the foliage. He stepped onto the courtyard in front of Falcon’s Nest. He realised his mistake a moment too late. He felt something tighten around his ankle, his head hit the ground, and suddenly he was upside down, swinging gently left to right. His eyes fluttered closed and he lost consciousness.

 
     
    Twenty-Four
     
    A mouth opened wide in a snarl. Liz stabbed the prongs of her garden fork through it, and into the Lurcher’s brain. Then she tossed the body aside like a soiled bale of hay. The family were drenched with sweat, their movements slow and laggard. Before them, the pit was a mass of undead bodies, writhing from the Lurchers still alive beneath.
    A hand shot out from the heap of bodies and seized Fritz by the leg. Fritz pulled back, but the grip was tight, and stayed firm. The movement pulled the Lurcher out of the pit. Its emaciated body was so light Fritz could hardly feel it. The Lurcher had a torn lip, bent into a harsh smile. Fritz hit it on the head with his bat. The end snapped off, flew up and struck Fritz in the face. He hit the dirt. The Lurcher gripped his other foot and pulled himself up onto his elbows. Drool dribbled out of his mouth as he opened wide.
    “Fritz?” Bill said. “Fritz! No!”
    There was a screech and a flap of wings as a bird flew at the Lurcher, clawing at his face. The hand released and Fritz scrabbled back. The Lurcher reached up with its hands and gripped the bird. He snapped its wings with ease and bit the bird on the chest, tearing out the brightly coloured feathers. Blood oozed down the Lurcher’s face. The bird screeched in agony.
    “Beauty!” Fritz said. “No!”
    The Lurcher bit into the flesh of the hapless bird, whose head flopped to the side and became still. Fritz went into a mad rage and flew at the Lurcher with his broken bat, stabbing it in the face. It was dead after the third strike, but he kept at it. Soon there was nothing left but a bloody mess. Out of breath, Fritz fell to his knees before the bird.
    “Beauty…” he said. “No…”
    He daren’t touch Beauty after the Lurcher had bitten her.
    “Fritz,” Liz said. “Get up. We have to go.”
    “We can’t go,” Bill said. “There are still a lot of them left.”
    “Bill,” Liz said. “We can’t keep going like this.”
    “There are snares around the house,” Ernest said. “We could use those.”
    “There won’t be enough to kill all these Lurchers,” Bill said. “Besides, I want to keep them away from the house.”
    “So what do you want to do?” Ernest said.
    “I say we lead the Lurchers away from Falcon’s Nest,” Bill said, “and make our way to the Bat Cave and get the boat. We’ll bring it around to Falcon’s Nest and get Jack and Francis.”
    “‘The Bat Cave’,” Ernest said, shaking his head. “Why did we let Francis name it?”
    Fritz was still on his knees. Ernest pulled on his arm, but he wouldn’t get up.
    “She was a good bird,” Ernest said. “She gave her life to save yours. Don’t throw it away now.”
    Fritz was silent for a moment, and then got to his feet. The family made their way through the thick jungle foliage. They stopped every hundred yards beating their weapons on the trees and shouting at the top of their voices, stopping when they heard groans and snapping twigs. The incline increased and they began the ascent. The jungle died away, leaving open space on all sides. The sky was dark, not a star in sight. There was only the briefest of flashes of light when the moon looked out from behind its cloudy veil. A flash of lightning revealed the climb before them,