Free The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation by Sean Kidd Page B

followed by more firing. I ran outside to
help. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. At first, I didn’t
see anything. I followed Luther’s gun barrel as it pointed to the
top of the hill. My worst fear had come true. We were trapped. A
horde of more than a hundred zombies was making its way down the
hill. Luther swung his Kalashnikov away from the pack of zombies and
toward the bottom of the hill.
    “What are you
shooting at, Luther?”
    “Runners!” he
screamed.
    “Runners?” As I
watched closer, I noticed about one in ten zombies moved like living
people. They were fast and agile. They ran like Olympic sprinters.
    “Holy shit! Kill
them, kill them all!” I screamed.

Chapter 14
    Daniels chased after
Cooper screaming for him to stop as he raced through the lobby. It
was too late. Daniels caught sight of something in the shadows as the
rookie took off. The sound of Cooper’s boots clomping on the tile
floor alerted the cloaked demon as he stalked the shadows. A mangled
hand appeared from the void behind the men’s watch kiosk and
latched onto the back of the rookie’s collar. His feet were still
moving at full speed when they came out from under him. Cooper saw a
flash of light when his head struck the floor. He remained conscious
but groggy.
    The weight of whatever
was connected to the arm knocked the wind out of Cooper as it pounced
on his chest.
    Panicked screams
reverberated through the room as the creature sunk his teeth into
Cooper's neck. Arterial spray splattered the walls.
    Daniels raised his M4
as his finger found the trigger. He paused, not having a shot. There
was no way to shoot without hitting Cooper.
    In a desperate attempt,
Daniels screamed at the zombie, “Bite me you son of a bitch!”
    It was no use, the
vicious attack continued as Daniels charged toward the attacker.
    Cooper’s screams
turned into gurgles and his arms collapsed at his sides. His eyes
rolled back, and his body let out an unconscious quiver.
    Daniels crossed the
room and kicked the creature’s head flipping him over onto his
back. Clear of Cooper, Daniels pulled the trigger on the M4 and
didn’t stop until Bunker grabbed his arm.
    The zombie’s head was
riddled with bullet holes.
    Daniels slung his rifle
and fell to his partner’s side, “Cooper, can you hear me? You’re
going to be okay. Just hold on.”
    Daniels squeezed
against the wound with his hands trying to stop the bleeding. The
last few beats of Cooper’s heart spurted out the rest of his blood
through Daniels’ fingers.
    Daniels couldn’t stop
the bleeding. Finally, it stopped on its own. He bent over clutching
his friend’s patrol shirt trying to give words of comfort to his
deceased friend. The only thing that came out was, “I’m sorry.”
    The realization of
Cooper’s death set in, causing Daniels to feel light headed as he
collapsed back onto his ass. He raised his arms looking at his
blood-covered hands. Dropping them to his thighs, he tried to wipe
the dead man’s blood off on his pants.
    Daniels didn’t
realize he was bawling until Cecilia touched his shoulder. He wiped
away his tears, leaving streaks of blood on his face, “I’m sorry,
Cooper. I couldn’t take the shot.”
    * * *
    “He’s alive!”
Kaden screamed.
    Daniels jumped to his
feet and moved away. Cooper lifted a bloody hand and touched the open
gash on his neck. A gurgled moan came from somewhere deep inside of
him.
    “Stay back. Look at
his eyes, they’re turning blue.” Bunker said pointing at the
reanimated corpse.
    The rookie’s eyes
transformed from brown to swirling blue as the group watched in
amazement.
    “How are you alive?”
Daniels asked.
    “He’s not,”
Bunker said, “you know it, Daniels. Snap out of it. It’s not your
fault. He’s one of those things now. We need to take him out before
he turns one of us into a zombie.”
    Daniels lifted his
rifle and centered the sight on Cooper’s head, “I’m sorry, my
friend.”
    Daniels tried to pull
the