Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies #2)(67)

“I would not put that past him. He is such a total shit,” Jenni said, and continued munching on her breakfast taco.

The sight of Jenni eating with that awful smell wafting up from below made Katie nauseous, but Jenni had a better defense mechanism built into her brain than most of them. It was probably because she was an abused wife. Katie knew from experience that abused women developed extraordinary coping skills to survive their abusive situations. Jenni was quite adept at disassociating herself. It was probably both a blessing and a curse at times like these.

Nerit joined their small group, her sniper rifle held lightly in the crook of her arm. She glanced over the wall and studied the scene. “I want a closer look at him.”

“Me, too,” Bill said.

“Why?” Katie arched an eyebrow at them. “He's obviously undead now.”

Nerit pointed to one of the legs. “I want to see that one. Something is wrong with it.”

“Well, it is chewed down like a chicken leg,” Jenni commented.

“The way the bone is shattered doesn't sit right with me either,” Bill said.

“Put him down and let's drag him up,” Nerit ordered.

Katie dragged the crossbow back into position. It felt strange to put Phil down one last time, but somehow right. She fired once and watched his torso flop backwards.

“He so deserved that,” Jenni said with satisfaction, and shoved the rest of the taco into her mouth.





4. Ghosts of the Past


Jenni landed feet first on the street below Katie's sentry post and raised her pistol quickly. Bill scrambled down the ladder behind her, his big belly giving him a little bit of trouble as he went.

The bodies of the dead zombies were scattered around them, the deadly bolts from the crossbow having done their job. Jenni knew they were finally, truly dead, but she couldn't but be afraid. Every time she was outside the walls, she was terribly aware of her vulnerability.

Bill set his booted feet down on the street and heaved his belly upwards as he tried to get his belt hoisted up on its girth. His keen eyes looked around the street from beneath his cowboy hat.

Felix easily climbed down the ladder. Nerit followed more slowly. Jenni and Felix took up positions to the left and the right, watching the road while Nerit and Bill moved over to the pieces of Phillip's body.

“That smell is enough to make me puke my tacos up,” Felix grumbled, and kicked a dead body in irritation.

Jenni looked down at the gray, decaying carcass at her feet. It could have been a woman at one point, but it was so badly eaten, it was hard to tell gender. There were no clothes on it and most of its hair had been pulled out. It wasn't the smell that got to her. It was seeing their empty eyes, like Mikey's as he snarled and clawed at the window of the white truck on the first day. She blinked hard and shoved that thought away.

“Mighty chewed up,” Bill said to Nerit. “Can't tell much about what happened before he got ate.”

Jenni rubbed her nose and narrowed her eyes as a few shambling figures appeared in the far distance.

“Look at his leg,” Nerit said from nearby.

Jenni glanced over to see the older woman squatting down by one of the torn off limbs. The skin was shredded and muscle and tendons were ripped from the bone.

“Shattered,” Bill said after a moment.

“Human teeth couldn't do that,” Nerit agreed.

“What does that mean?” Felix's voice was tight with his fear.

“I'm thinking bullet,” Bill answered. “I think someone shot him in the leg.”

“I betcha Shane did it,” Jenni offered, and watched as one of the far away shambling creatures tumbled to the ground. It struggled to get back up resulting in an almost comical series of pratfalls.

“Maybe,” was all Bill said. “We better go see if we can find Shane.”

Nerit continued to stare at the shattered bone thoughtfully. She prodded the limb with the edge of her gun, then began to look around on the ground around her.

Bill called in to the fort for a vehicle to be brought around while Felix began yanking the bolts out of the zombie heads to be cleaned up and recycled for use later. Jenni kept her eyes on the figures in the distance.

“What's going on?” Katie's voice sounded worried.

“Heading out to see if we can find out what happened to Shane!” Bill gave her a thumbs up.

Jenni could see the worry in Katie's expression and knew that her friend was probably feeling some sort of misplaced guilt. Jenni didn't mind Phillip being in pieces. She kind of wished Shane was out here, too. She returned her gaze to the figures wading through the shimmering heat. The one that had fallen was still not able to get back up on its feet. They were still some distance away. Jenni wasn't too worried.

Nerit continued to look around, shoving the decaying bodies out of her way, obviously intent on finding something. Bill pulled up on his belt again and stared down the road where the zombies were moving relentlessly toward them.

“Helluva day,” he said at last.

The school bus roared around the corner, Ed behind the wheel.

Felix said, “Thank God.”

Jenni understood his relief far too well. She was keeping a cautious eye on the walking dead slowly approaching their position. She liked them slow like this. It was easier to kill them and it was more like the old zombies movies. She hated it when they were fresh and fast.