Free Crowded Yet Desolate: A Zombie Novel by Lee Dunter Page B

stood his ground, emptying his gun into the undead horde. As Ryan reloaded, the gate unhinged and fell to the ground. Zombies piled into the room after him. At the last moment, Ryan jumped back, evading the outstretched arms of a zombie, and fired, blowing its leg off and forcing it to the ground. Not wanting it to slow him, he threw the gun down and sprinted towards the door. With sweat pouring down his face, he continued toward the door guided by the faint light of the piercing sun. As he passed into the doorway, Roe decapitated a trailing zombie with a swipe of a machete.
    Kyle slammed the door shut behind them. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
    They met Albert and Cam at the apartment entrance. They ran down the stairs, towards the door and found it closed. Albert and Cam had terrified looks. Ryan heard the sound of the gun store door snapping, and the zombies’ screams got louder. Ryan’s peace and bravery fell away.
    “It won’t fucking open,” Cam said, kicking the door.
    “Why didn’t we check this before?” Albert snapped, speaking rapidly and seeming more like a mouse than ever.
    “It’s just jammed, jackasses,” Roe said, and pushed Cam out of the way. Roe turned and climbed the stairs two at a time, spun, and let his momentum build as he ran back down. He jumped into the door, completely unhinging it, and fell to the ground on top of it. Outside, the ground was littered with arrows and dead bodies. But nothing else. No zombies were in sight.
    “Ryan, you’re a freaking genius!” Joe shouted ecstatically, as he helped his brother stand.
    It worked! Ryan thought. It really fucking worked! He filled with pride upon seeing the success of his plan. The noise of the shotgun had lured the zombies to the others side of the building, leaving a clear path out this door. Now the only problem was that the zombies were in the building and headed straight towards them.
    The first zombie abruptly arrived in the room. Ryan reached for his handgun, drew it, and prepared to shoot, but Joe ran forward, yelling “No! don’t! It will make too much noise.” Ryan lowered his weapon as Joe raised his machete, swung at the zombie. He was too late. Kyle threw up his hands in defense, and teeth sunk into the webbing between thumb and index finger. Blood gushing down his wrist, Kyle shrieked as Joe kicked the zombie away, bringing the machete down against the zombie’s neck. It made a clean slice and the head rolled away.

 
    Chapter 8
     
    Nervous eyes shifted, each person hoping the next would know what to do. Kyle gripped his bleeding stump, looked down at the hand which twitched as if still attached, then looked around at the others. His face revealed a mind that knew the facts but did not accept reality. Staring at Kyle, knowing the bite was a future bullet to the head, Ryan felt his mouth dry, his lungs tighten. Joe sighed deeply, his face turning blood red, and he raised his machete.
    Ryan could bear the sight of Kyle losing his head–not here, not now. “We need to go now,” Ryan commanded. “More zombies will be here any moment.”
    Joe looked like he might argue, but he reluctantly lowered the weapon. Kyle pulled off his shirt. After Kyle fumbled with the task, Albert approached him and used the shirt to create a crude tourniquet around the infected wrist.
    Joe stared into Ryan’s eyes, his bitter expression saying, “I know what you’re doing. You’re willing to kill us all to try and protect Kyle. But you can’t. He’s as good as dead.”
    Finished, they ran on, avoiding the main roads, avoiding a group they saw moving in the distance; zombies when possible, but slaying them with their machetes when necessary. Never using guns. The group was the perfect size, able to conceal themselves from the hoards, but also able to utilize manpower when needed. As he ran, Ryan wondered how long Kyle had left. The situation has to be dealt with , Ryan thought in a cool tone, mimicking how he thought Joe