Free Dead Cold by Jr. Roddy R. Cross, Mr Roddy R Cross Jr Page B

Cory was resting against the wall his eyes closed.
     
    “I do, and I kept meaning to quit. Even did a few times; for a little while, but I think there are bigger problems right now.” Roland reached through the railing and flicked the ash off his smoke watching as it floated down seemingly forever.
     
    Cory just shook his head and stood up stretching his back. Following suit Roland got to his feet and looked up frowning before he dropped the cigarette down the stairwell.
     
    They reached the top floor and Roland sighed in relief as the entrance came into view. Looking at the Cory Roland raised a single finger to his lips and the motioned for the taller man to follow him. Roland pulled the door towards himself as quietly as possible, the squeak of the hinges seeming deafening in the dark stairwell. Ushering through the dog and the taller man Roland followed behind shutting the door with only a whisper of weather stripping.
     
    The two men and the dog moved quickly down the hallway towards a thin line of light peeking out from under one of the doors. Roland could hear voices coming from the other side of the door and he recognized the strong smell of marijuana. Lacking a better plan Roland brought up his right boot and slammed it against the door a thundering crack filled the hallway as the deadbolt smashed through the wall and the door flew inwards banging against the inner wall and rebounding.
     
    Screams came from the apartment as Roland pushed through the door and he followed the sounds and light to the living room his P90 held ready. Stepping into the living room Roland lowered the gun and looked around at four sets of scared, blood shot eyes. There were four people in the living room two guys and two girls; they were all dressed like punk rockers with band shirts, metal spikes, and piercings. The first guy was tall, skinny, and pale with black hair while the second guy was short, bigger and had tanned skin with blond hair.
     
    One of the girls had stark white skin with black hair and a curvy figure hidden under a Rob Zombie shirt. The last person in the room was a little bit bigger girl with neon orange hair.
     
    “Who the hell are you?” The tall guy was attempting to control his laughter.
     
    “I’m Roland, and this is Cory. The dog is Eve. Who are you people and why are you here?”
     
    “I’m DJ, he’s Caleb, Cassandra is my girlfriend, and I’m not sure what her name is.” He indicated the black haired girl.
     
    “My name is Valerie, and we’re here because DJ said evacuating would be a bad idea.” She was staring at Roland.
     
    “Well, you were right about that but I don’t think getting high in a high rise is the best idea.” Roland was a little uncomfortable by the way Valerie was looking at him.
     
    “Well I though it was a good plan.” Resentment oozed from DJ’s mouth as a he spoke.
     
    Without warning Eve rushed to the balcony and started growling her hackles raised. “Everyone shut up and put out those candles.” Roland’s voice was harsh and dangerous as he rushed to where the dog was standing.
     
    The candles were doused quickly; the room instantly dark and in the silence Roland heard what Eve had already heard; the moan of a lot of undead. Taking of his backpack Roland unhooked the sniper rifle and flipped open the scope covers. Opening the balcony door Roland stepped out into the cold night air the moon giving the cityscape and eerie glow. The moans were louder now and Roland looked down towards the street his eyes growing wide the horde was massive.
     
    It filled the street below looking for all the world like a mass of ants marching south through the city. Bringing the scope up to his eye Roland got a better look at the creatures surprised at how diverse they were, some were naked, some clothes and all ages from toddlers to the elderly. Roland could hear someone behind him at the doorway attempting not to laugh and he turned from the rifle to see Caleb, his hand over