Free Thirteen Roses Book Four: Alone: A Paranormal Zombie Saga by Michael Cairns Page A

registered the door opening and Alex shuffling in. He joined them by the window, hands shoved deep in his pockets. She glanced over at him and he gave her a sheepish smile.  
    ‘You going with her, then?’
    ‘Of course not. She’s a bit of a bitch, if I’m honest.’
    She smiled and went back to staring. When it came, the scream was unbelievably loud and such a shock she only just stopped short from wetting herself. She raced from the room, Alex thudding along behind her. She’d outdistanced him when the scream came again.  
    The room was right on the edge of the safety field and the door swung open as she pushed it. She got a flash of what lay beyond, of blood on white sheets and someone’s face with the eyes gouged out, before the door swung back.  

Krystal

    It was like watching a movie in fast forward. One moment the zombies were gathered around the coke, the next they were hurtling towards them. The first was on Luke before she had a chance to think. The other two were only marginally slower and she raised her sword enough for one of them to run itself through. She felt the blade burst out its back as it arms closed around her and its mouth lunged for her face.  
    She snapped her head back and the teeth clashed together just short. Then she bashed her forehead into the creature’s nose. It growled and she did it again. Its arms left her shoulders and she butted it for a third time, putting everything she had into it. She bashed its cheekbone as it turned its head and the world spun as she felt it crack.  
    The creature thrashed around on her sword and she jumped away, yanking it as hard as she could. It came out like a fiver from a rich man’s wallet, so she had to take more steps and keep pulling. The zombie fell back and finally it tore free.  
    The third had been dithering, making strange chucking noises, but it decided now was its time and rushed her. She dashed to one side and it grabbed her sleeve. She hacked its wrist and its hand was left hanging from her jacket. She smacked the hand with the sword hilt, trying to ignore the urge to scream and flap her arms. She broke it off, but by then the creature was back, shoving its bleeding stump in her face.  
    She opened her mouth to scream, and shut it just as it bashed her in the jaw. She kept her lips pressed together, protection against the blood smeared on her cheeks and chin. The zombie finally got its arm out of the way and dived in, teeth snapping. Her sword was trapped between them, pointing at the ceiling. Just before the thing bit her face off, she thrust straight up. It went in through the soft underside of its mouth and broke out the front of its forehead.  
    It sounded like someone throwing an apple at the ground really hard. She waited for it to go stiff but it didn’t. Her sword was yanked from her hands as it staggered away across the room. The first zombie, bleeding profusely from its broken face and gut wound, came charging back. She was defenceless.  
    Krystal grabbed its hands and the two of them danced across the room. Somehow she kept her feet and kept the zombie at bay. Then her back hit the wall and it charged, mouth wider than should have been possible. She had a moment before the jaws closed around her neck, and in that moment she saw the pile of dead.  
    She twisted, escaping the jaws, and the weight of her attacker pushed her down the wall until her foot caught the first corpse. It was now or never. She let go of its hands and dropped into a crouch. The zombie came crashing onto her but in the split second she had, she grabbed an arm and hauled it from the pile.  
    It came free and she shook with relief. Then the full weight of the zombie landed on her and she tumbled over. She lay among the bodies, smothered in the stench of rotting flesh, feeling them shift and give way beneath her. She wanted more than anything to scream and wail, but she could feel the blood dried around her mouth. She didn’t dare open it.  
    She