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

wriggled and writhed and got free from beneath the zombie. For a brief moment they lay side by side, ready to make out. Then she heaved herself up until she knelt above it. It reached for her, mouth opening again.  
    With all the strength she possessed she raised her stolen arm and drove it straight down into the creature’s mouth. The rough bone thrusting out the end went straight through the back of its mouth, tearing out its throat and severing its tongue.  
    It thrashed. One hand smacked her in the side of the face and sent her flying. She landed on the ground beside the pile of dead and glanced about her.  
    The zombie she’d stabbed was still in the corner of the room, helplessly fumbling with the sword stuck through its face. Luke was on his back, his attacker clawing and grabbing at his face as its teeth drew nearer and nearer. She looked again at the pile of dead and spotted a tool belt on one dressed. Most of it was buried, but she grabbed the belt and heaved. The body came out far enough for her to explore the pouches strapped to it.  
    A long screwdriver hung down and she grabbed it with a silent ‘yes!’ She took three steps to where Luke was defending himself and rammed the screwdriver straight into the back of the zombie’s skull. It twitched and went still. Luke heaved it off with a roar and lay on his back, staring up at her. She gave him a nod.  
    She’d saved him. She’d just saved an angel. She grinned and went flying as the zombie, still gagging on the arm bone protruding from its mouth, barrelled into her. She hit the floor and kept rolling, praying it kept her out of the creature’s reach. It wasn’t coming for her, though. Luke was back in the same position, the zombie astride him clawing and snapping.  
    It was the best thing that could have happened. The screw driver went in nice and easy and it joined its friend on the floor. This time Luke jumped to his feet and they faced the remaining zombie together.  
    It was almost comical, the way its hands flapped at the sword handle. The one time she saw it get hold, it pushed the wrong way and the sword went deeper through its face. Luke picked his sword off the floor and stepped closer. The zombie clearly wasn’t paying any attention and paid even less when he chopped the back third of its head off.  
    The skull cracked and came off in bits, and the brain poured out like thick rice pudding. It was the last straw. She could handle rolling in dead zombies, but the brains were just too much. Krystal stumbled to the corpse corner and vomited. Her sick rained down onto the corpses and the smell got even worse. She couldn’t stop, sweaty hands clutching her jeans as she bent double.  
    Luke took her shoulders and led her out of the room. The air felt like coming home, like cold water on a hot day, and she collapsed against the wall, sliding down to sit. Luke sat beside her and she was gratified to see his own face covered in sweat.  
    ‘You saved my life.’ He sounded surprised.  
    ‘Uh, yeah, whatever.’
    ‘Thank you. It’s the first time.’
    Krystal laughed. ‘Hopefully the last. Doesn’t happen all that often, you know.’
    He shrugged. ‘Maybe more so now. Thanks.’
    ‘It’s fine. Least I could do. You wanna explain what happened in there?’
    ‘Drugs. Whatever it was on the table set them off.’
    ‘It’s scary. I mean, they can change that much.’
    Luke rose to his feet. ‘It is. I’d assumed they move the way they do because their bodies were no longer strong enough to do anything else but that isn’t true. If something gets hold of them like that stuff did, they can move… well, you saw them.’
    ‘Oh yeah I did. That’s some scary shit.’
    He offered her a hand and pulled her up. Leaving her brushing herself down and spitting to clear her mouth of vomit, he went back into the room. She would be happy to never go in there again but the thought of her sword had her stepping reluctantly closer. Luke emerged