Free Surviving the Day by Matt Hart Page B

bait.”
     
    He looked at me funny, then walked away from the house and started turning circles again. He caught me looking and started acting like a monkey, pointing at his head and saying, “Brains! Come and get 'em!”
     
    “Yeah!” I called to him. “Half price, since they’re past their expiration date!” He stuck his tongue out and continued acting like a nut. I went to the side of the house toward a big fence.
     
    It was why I picked this place. I opened the gate and stepped back in case there was a backyard zombie-que going on, but it seemed empty. I walked in and the gate closed behind me.
     
    That's no good, I thought. I continued into the backyard. It was fully fenced in. Perfect. And it even had a pool. How nice for the zombies I intended to lure here. I heard the sound of glass breaking, and a zombie came out of the house. Maybe the one that had been at the front door. I raised the shotgun and waited for it to get a little closer, then fired, blowing its face in half. I released a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.
     
    Why did they have to look so normal? Why couldn't they be all dark-eyed and ghoulish? They just looked normal unless they'd been chewed on.
     
    Or had their hands cut off.
     
    Another one came out of the house. It was a little girl. She had curly red hair and was wearing a bright green sundress. She moaned and clacked her perfect little teeth, reaching for me. I aimed at her through eyes filled with tears and fired again.
     
    “Erin! You alright?” Joe called.
     
    “Yeah!” I yelled, choking back a sob. I stared at the crumpled figure on the ground and counted to myself.
     
    “The zombie parade has reached this intersection and they're coming my way!” Joe’s shout broke into my thoughts. I ran over to the gate, opened it and walked through. I turned to shoot off its hinges, but had a better idea.
     
    “Get over here Monkey Joe and tear open this gate!” I called to him. “We want to lure them all back here,” I added as he jogged over. Joe looked at the gate, motioned me to step back, then put up a foot and planted a boot right below the top hinge. It cracked. He did it again and the hinge broke off the door. He kicked the door next to the center hinge and broke it with one blow. Next, he opened the teetering gate, grabbed the top and wrenched it off the last hinge. He threw it to the ground and grinned at me.
     
    “Ook ook,” he said. We both looked back at the zombies. They were thirty yards or so away.
     
    “Let's roll,” I told him, leading the way around the pool and up to the back of the fence. “Lift me up,” I said. Joe reached for me, hesitated, then picked me up by the waist and lifted me to the top of the wooden picket fence. I didn't cringe at his touch.
     
    Not even a little bit.
     
    “How's it look?” he asked.
     
    “Looks clear,” I answered. He lifted me the rest of the way and I put a hand on the fence. “Let go!” I said. He dropped me and I pushed lightly off the fence with my feet, then dropped to the ground.
     
    “Head's up!” I looked up to see the bag of ammo flying over the fence. Just when I thought I'd be crushed by bullets instead of shot by them, the bag's strap caught on the top of the fence and it banged against the side.
     
    “You jackass!” I yelled. “You scared the crap outta me!”
     
    “Well,” said Joe, peeking over the top and dropping his backpack on the ground, “I guess you won't need that powder break after all, then.” He handed his rifle to me.
     
    I had half a mind to see if it would penetrate his thick skull.
     
    He heaved himself up on the fence, and it creaked alarmingly. Joe struggled and hefted a leg over, then his cargo pocket snagged on the top. I laughed out loud. He worked it loose and managed to get the other leg over. Then his vest got caught. I heard a “splash” from the other side of the fence—a zombie falling into the pool. Joe cursed and pulled at his vest, trying to lift