Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies #2)(9)

“Hold me,” Jenni ordered Bill, then stepped up to the top step.

Bill's big hands grabbed her hips and held her tightly. Jenni was now face to face with the zombie. Its hand waved in front of her eyes, straining desperately to reach her. The kid's face was stained with his tears and blood. She felt sorry for him. He didn't look that much older than Jason. But, regardless of his youth, his time was done on this earth. She was ready to send him on.

She swung her ax as hard as she could into the face of the zombie. He grabbed her wrist just as the ax head buried itself into his skull. Almost as soon as his fingers gripped her, they went slack. Jenni wrenched the ax out of his dead features. Bill tightened his grip on her hips.

“One more whack to be sure,” she said.

She swung the ax again and felt it cleave the zombie head in half. Now she was sure it was over. Black goo slid out over the edge of the shelf.

“It's done!”

Her voice echoed.

A low moan from the back of the store answered.

“Sounds like we got another one,” Ed called out.

“I figured that. This one climbed up on a shelf to escape something,” Bill answered back.

A more desperate moan answered.

Jenni dropped off the stepladder and held her dripping ax tightly in her hands. She felt a little sick about the death of the kid. The first death, not the one she had given him. The world was just f*cked and awful.

The next area was full of hanging clothes and bedding supplies. Jenni and Bill made sure to study any shelving above eye level. The moans they kept hearing were from the back of the store, but they were very cautious as they moved on. They had to be. It was far too dangerous to let their guard down.

“Found her,” Felix called out. “She's on your side. And you won't believe this.”

Bill and Jenni finally reached the back of the store and turned the corner.

A female zombie was reaching toward Felix and Ed who were approaching her from the opposite side of the store.

“You have to be f*cking kidding me,” Jenni said and almost laughed.

The ground was covered in overturned trash bins of all sizes, plastic clothesbaskets, and plastic storage containers. They were splashed with blood and it was obvious a struggle had happened here. At some point, the female zombie had stepped into a bucket and caught her foot in it. As she had tried to pass between the metal shelves and a support column, her foot in the bucket had become wedged. Unable to move her foot, she was simply standing there moaning. Jenni couldn't see her face, but her body looked slim and young. She wondered if this was the one who had bitten the boy.

“Kinda dumb, ain't they?” Ed smirked.

Jenni heaved the ax over her head and brought it down hard onto the zombie's head. It wedged halfway into the thing's skull. The zombie slowly collapsed down to the floor and Jenni yanked the blade out of the dead girl.

Bill leaned down and looked at the zombie thoughtfully. “There is a bite on her hand. Only mark other than her head being split apart.”

“So, she gets bit, dies, attacks the boy here, he gets bit up, she gets caught, he goes and climbs onto a shelf.” Felix nodded his head. “And he dies. Makes sense.”

Jenni frowned down at the body. “But who bit her?”

“They're both wearing vests and name tags. Boxes are open in the aisles. They were early morning stockers. Do you think she came in bit?” Bill looked thoughtful.

Slowly, they all looked toward the door to the storeroom.

“Great,” Felix moaned.

“We do this right and careful,” Ed said firmly.

The four of them slowly moved toward the swinging metal doors.

The battered metal doors swung open into a long narrow room filled with boxes piled along one wall almost to the ceiling. At the far end was the open door to a narrow bathroom.

“Hello?” Jenni called out cautiously.

They all jumped when the metal doors that opened to the loading dock outside began to shake as something on the other side beat on them. Snarls and growls that set their hair on end emanated from beyond the closed doors.

“Okay. We got one outside. Those doors are locked and holding. Check the storage room,” Ed ordered.

It took ten long minutes to scour the narrow room. They moved slowly and purposefully. They checked the shelves, the boxes, the small bathroom, and the small manager's office. Nothing appeared. Nothing was hidden. They made as much noise as possible to try to get something to come out. Nothing.

“One more sweep through the store,” Ed ordered.

In twenty minutes they stood outside in the street.

“Got the empty stores now,” Ed said.

Jenni nodded and hoisted her ax up. “Let's do it.”





Chapter 3





1. Army of One





Nerit climbed down the ladder slowly. Juan looked down at her with concern as she lowered herself into the blocked off street.

“Be careful, Nerit.”

“ I'm not that old.” Though her voice was stern, she winked at him. She ignored Bill's attempt to help her off the ladder, but he still took hold of her arm as she lowered her booted feet to the redbrick road.

“Stores are all clear, but we got one or two dead guys trying to bust in a back door. Making an awful fuss now that they know we're here,” Ed said.