Free The Long Way To Reno by Michelle Mix

and watched as he tucked his flashlight in a pocket on
his backpack, and swung the axe with one hand. The blade embedded within a
Rabid’s temple, and he jerked it back just in time to swing again with both
hands at another that leapt at him.
     
    I
pranced restlessly, breathing heavily and unsure of whether or not to help
Harley or just keep running. I still didn’t know how to contribute to zombie
slaughtering. The open air to the parking lot was beckoning me, but due to the
wreckage of the building, it would take a lot of climbing just to get there. It
had looked like an easy feat from above, but now it looked freaking impossible
to scale.
     
    Harley
jerked his axe out of the scalp of a lady he just felled, then looked at me.
“Edith, go to the docks, and go out that exit near the trash can,” he said,
lifting his voice to be heard over the snarling, yelling.
     
    I
was confused, overwhelmed with everything happening – I thought he was
gesturing towards the other end of the warehouse, 1 st section. So I turned and began running in that direction. I was mindless,
really. I didn’t know how to function. With everything that had happened,
taking direction was impossible for me. I just ran wherever I thought he’d pointed without a second glance.
     
    He
looked confused before he swung the axe, knocking a snarling guy in a gas
station uniform aside before crushing his skull with the axe. He didn’t even
get to say anything else because the Rabid just kept attacking him, and I was
just running without thinking.
     
    I
knew where I was – I turned right and booked it between rows of books. I
made a sharp right, aiming for a wider aisle between rows. My flashlight
bouncing all over the place, I ran for a conveyer, hearing the sounds of the
Rabid behind me growing closer. In a flash of inspiration, I picked up speed
towards the conveyer and threw myself in an awkward slide underneath it,
sending a couple of empty totes flying away from me. I made it back to my feet
and continued to run, willing myself to be fast.
     
    I
chanced a look over my shoulder and couldn’t see Harley anymore. Movement to
the right of me told me that one of the guys that had confronted us was running
after me, alongside a conveyer belt. I wanted to scream, but that meant loss of
precious air, and I needed it to run faster. I ran towards the open doorway
that led into the 1 st section, knowing that I was in the clear from
here.
     
    I
panicked because I didn’t know where I was going. How I was going to get there
without direction. I forgot about the locked doors. I couldn’t remember where
I’d parked my car. At this time, I’d totally forgotten that I hadn’t even found
my car keys. All I could think of was getting to my car parked outside.
     
    I
sprinted through the open doorway, overwhelmed by the lights above. I shoved my
flashlight into the waistband of my jeans, pumping my arms furiously. Looking
behind me once more, only one Rabid was after me. That guy in the white shirt
was being ripped apart by the others. He was screaming hoarsely, arms flailing,
but he wasn’t going to make it. I didn’t know what to do with this Rabid coming
at me.
     
    I
was out of breath and my legs weren’t going any faster. I was even slowing down
by the time I reached the set of offices clear on the other side of the
warehouse. I was dying. I was going to die anyway. But I’d rather die of
sprinting than under the teeth of the thing behind me. I looked at it again,
heart pumping hard, seemingly pulsing underneath my throat – it was
wearing a police uniform, it was fat, and half of its face was missing. But I
noticed it had a gun in its waist holster.
     
    Hey.
I could use that.
     
    Struggling
to breathe, I returned my attention forward and heard these weird sounds
– women’s shouts and screams. One of the doors of the offices was being
pound upon, and it was slightly open, allowing me to see them. I could see that
the guys had locked it with a