Free The Zombie Saga (Book 3): Burn The Dead: Riot by Steven Jenkins Page B

around the kitchen. I manage to wrench his heavy body back inside. He slumps down onto the cold tiles, completely unconscious.
    Oh, fuck me!
    Is he dead?
    Please God no!
    Not Ginge!
    But then I see his chest rising up and down, and a wave of relief washes over me. There’s a small patch of blood coming from his left shoulder. A bullet wound? Rolling the sleeve of his jersey up, I see a small bloodied piercing in his skin.
    It’s got to be a tranquiliser.
    I shake his shoulders. “Wake up, Ginge.” No response. Got to get him back to the others now . I go around to his head, drop to one knee, and slip my arms under his armpits. Pulling him up into a sitting position, I start to drag him backwards towards the door. With his weight, each inch is a struggle as his legs and ass slide against the floor. Nervous beads of hot sweat run off my head, into my eyes, burning. I can’t wipe them away.
    I’ve got to keep moving.
    Reaching the door, I open it and start to drag him out onto the corridor. I don’t see any Necs, so I continue towards the VIP suite. The strength in my arms is fading fast as I pass the other rooms. Nearly there, just a few more metres.
    The sound of footsteps fills the corridor.
    I freeze for moment, eyes wide, but then start moving again, only much faster. I look behind me; no Necs.
    Suddenly a low, guttural growl resounds along the corridor.
    Then another.
    “Oh fuck!”
    Moving as fast as possible, I inch closer and closer to the room.
    The footsteps have increased. So have the moans.
    They’re coming!
    Choking with horror I see a horde of Necs tearing towards me, screaming like wild apes.
    The door is just five metres away.
    “Wake up!” I yell to Ginge. “You’ve got to wake up!”
    No response.
    The dead are closing in. There’s so many of them; ten, maybe twenty.
    We’re fucked.
    “Wake up, Ginge!”
    They’re getting closer. What the fuck do I do?
    “Someone help me!” I shout. “Please!”
    But it’s too late.
    The first Nec pounces onto Ginge’s motionless body, the rotter’s weight pulling him from my hold. I drive my foot into its chest, propelling it backwards into an oncoming Nec. “Get the fuck away from him!” Another slithers over Ginge. Just as I’m about to shunt him off, two more dive on. Like a horrible dream, I find myself drifting backwards, away from my best friend as a flood of Necs bite down, ripping chunks of flesh and muscle away like chicken off a bone. The walls somehow feel narrower as I float towards the VIP suite.
    I don’t want to look, but I can’t help it.
    No one follows as I reach the room. I don’t even hear the sound as I beat my fist on the door. All I can hear is the sound of chewing as the Necs tear open Ginge’s bulging stomach and pull out his intestines like thick, blood-soaked cable.
    Most of the Necs can’t get a purchase on Ginge; there are just too many of them. I bang hard on the door again, and this time I hear the sound just fine.
    The dead have heard it too.
    Should I run, find somewhere else to hide?
    But that decision is made for me when the door opens, and I’m heaved inside by Jonny.
    I fall, face down on the floor in a heap when Jonny lets go of my arm. I don’t have the strength to get back up. I’m drained, too broken to help him with the sofa as he pushes it against the door. The Necs have gathered outside, beating their rotting fists against the wood; their cries of rage travelling around the room. They’ll get through, eventually. It’s just a matter of time. The louder they get, the more they’ll draw others from the rest of the stadium. And before we know it, we’ll all be torn open and eaten like Ginge. Like Nathan.
    It’s just a matter of when.
    Jonny is standing on the sofa; his shoulder pressed against the door. I should help, but I can’t move. All I can do is relive the disgust, the agony of seeing my best friend being devoured alive.
    I should never have left him.
    But what choice did I have? There were