Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)(100)

Jeff sighed and handed it over. He reached down and pulled out another machete, this one smaller than the first.

“Mine,” Sergio said from the front seat.

“Oh, give me a freaking break,” Jeff exclaimed.

Sergio grinned over his shoulder at him. “Just joshing you,” he said. “I got the truck.”

And before Jeff could ask what he meant, Sergio gunned the huge 4x4

vehicle and it roared into the field.

***

Samantha held onto the back of the driver's seat for dear life as Sergio maneuvered the big truck. The fence had long ago collapsed and the truck easily roared into the field. The four people inside were jostled around as the truck bounced and growled through the overgrown grass. A few times they hit something big and were thrown about, but the truck kept going straight for the old farmhouse.



The four dead minions turned slowly as Sergio found an old ruined drive and drove up over the rough terrain. It was severely potholed from numerous storms and Samantha fell into Jeff a few times. They hit one so hard, she hit her head on the roof. Jeff quickly pulled her close and checked to see if she was okay. She shoved him off and said she was okay, but her head ached now.

She wasn't even sure what Sergio planned to do until they hit the first dead minion of The Summoner. It was a blond woman whose head was listing horribly to one side. She looked like something out of a zombie movie. The truck barreled into her body and flung it aside.

Samantha whipped around to see the woman's body hit a tree and fall to the ground. To her surprise, it struggled to get back up.

Sergio swore in Spanish as he whipped the truck around and aimed for two men rushing toward them. They were both more alive in appearance than the blond woman, but Samantha saw their dead eyes just before the truck hit them. The two bodies were flung backward and landed hard on the ground. A woman with a pink dress and high heels rushed toward the truck, a tree branch gripped in one hand. She struck the back passenger window and Samantha screamed as broken glass rained in on them. Sergio slammed on the brakes and they were all thrown forward.

Innocente muttered something in Spanish, wrenched her door open, and leaped out.

“No,” Sergio exclaimed and grabbed for her, but missed.

Samantha shoved her door open and jumped out, wielding the bat.

Immediately, she was confronted by the dead women clutching a branch in one hand. Sam swung the bat hard at the dead female. The impact reverberated through her arms and into her body and the woman in pink spun away from her.

Innocente came around the front of the truck and struck the woman with the machete. In eerie silence, the dead creature raised the tree branch she had clutched in one hand to strike Innocente. Samantha clenched her jaw and raised the bat over shoulder and slammed it down on the dead woman's head. There was a sickening crack and the woman's head split open. Turning slowly, the dead woman looked at Samantha with a blank expression. Her face was split and her neck was slashed open from the machete. Utterly calm and silent, the dead woman raised her branch again. It was then Jeff appeared and slammed his machete hard into the woman's throat. It knocked her back onto the ground and Jeff braced himself, feet apart, and commenced to hack the woman's head off.

Gagging, Samantha whirled around in time to see the first woman staggering toward her. Her head was falling over on her shoulder and her body was struggling to move.

“They're still moving!” she screamed

Sergio dove back into the truck and shifted into reverse. Gunning the engine, he drove backward at a fast clip and slammed into the advancing woman. Her body fell back and the big wheels of the truck rolled over her.

Innocente backed away from Jeff as he finished off the woman in the high heels and turned to see the two battered forms of the male corpses crawling toward her.



“Why won't they die!” she cried.

Sergio left the truck parked on the struggling blond woman and jumped out. He ran full force into the first man, tackling him to the ground. His big fist began to beat the man's face into a bloody pulp.

Samantha shook herself out of her daze and lifted the bat over her head. Running toward the second man, she let out a scream that would make Xena proud. The first strike missed his head and bounced off his shoulder. He reached for her and she rammed the end of the bat into his mouth, shattering his teeth and nose. Not even noticing, he kept reaching for her throat, but only managed to grab her shoulder. Beside her she could hear Sergio slamming his fist over and over again into the other dead creature.

Trying to break free from the man's terrible grip, Samantha kept ramming the end of the bat into his face. Innocente began to hack at the man's arm. Samantha tried to keep distance between her and the swinging blade as she tried to break free.

“Destroy them so he can't use them,” Jeff ordered. He came up behind the dead man that was trying to get a better grip on Samantha and began to hack at the back of his neck like he was a giant tree.

Managing to finally squirm free, Samantha staggered away. Jeff and Innocente continued to hack away at the dead man, who was still trying to grab them.

Sergio climbed off the man who's head he had pulverized and looked toward the house. He looked at Samantha and she nodded.

Together, they entered.

The barren house was falling apart and as they walked over the rotting floor, Samantha feared falling through. She was grateful she had worn her cowboy boots and jeans and nothing silly and frilly. Holding the baseball bat at the ready, she followed Sergio through the apparently empty house. She didn't immediately realize he had his gun out, but when she did, she wondered if it would stop The Summoner's minions.