Siege (As the World Dies #3)(46)

“Felix, no!”

He looked back just long enough to run straight into the last curtain. And beyond that curtain was something that reached out for him. He went down in a tumble of grunts and moans, the curtain falling over him and a dark figure.

Roger ran to help, his heavy body sweating profusely. “Felix, no, no!”



Behind Jenni, the door was struck by something large. Then the pounding began. Bill immediately pushed her aside and shoved a large metal wardrobe over in front of the door. Felix shouted as Roger grabbed the curtain and yanked it back.



Tumbling out, Felix gasped in large breaths of air as he struggled to his feet. Behind him, a terribly mutilated and decaying soldier was chewing on a bit of Felix’s ear. “Shit,” Roger screamed.



“What? What?” Felix exclaimed, leaping away from the zombie. “Kill it!” Jenni shot the soldier as it lunged forward. It jerked backwards as the bullet tore through its chest. The second bullet sheared off the side of his head and it tumbled to the ground. Its brain slid out through the shattered skull, falling wetly to the floor. A bit of ear, with a gold earring still attached, fell out of its mouth.



“Oh, shit, no,” Felix said as his hand came up to his ear. “No, no. He ripped it off with his hand. He didn’t bite me!”

Roger raised his gun. “Sorry, Felix.” “No, the f*cker ripped it off! It didn’t bite me!”

Pushing a desk in front of the door to brace the metal wardrobe, Bill swore under his breath. It continued to buckle and push into the room. “We don’t have much time!”

Jenni threw the contents of the bin onto a bed and rolled it up in a sheet, then tied the ends to make a backpack. With a sigh of regret, she yanked her ax from her back and tossed it onto a bed. Pulling on the makeshift backpack with the surgical tools in it, she hurried toward the men fiercely arguing back and forth.



Felix screamed at Roger, holding his torn ear, as Roger obviously tried to get up his nerve to fire. “You can’t do this to me. It tore it off. I swear it did. It didn’t bite me! I promise. Dear God, I promise!” Felix shouted. Tears streaming down his face, he raised his gun, pointing at Roger. “Put the gun down, Roger. I mean it! It didn’t bi-”



Jenni raised her gun and fired. Felix fell, silent and dead, over the soldier who had already effectively ended his life. “You make it fast,” Jenni said to Roger in a low voice.

“God, Jenni. He’s my friend.”

“It doesn’t matter. You make it fast!”



The pounding on the door was increasing. “Roger, some help,” Bill said from where he was still stacking things against the door. “Jenni, get us an escape route!”

Roger ran over to help barricade the door. More and more decayed hands were reaching into the room through the slowly opening door.

Jenni looked out the window and saw a fifteen foot drop onto the roof of the first floor wing. The red truck sat silent on the grass just within view.

Sliding the window open, she punched out the screen.

“We gotta jump.”

Pulling the mattress off the nearest cot, Jenni pushed it out the window and watched it fall. Satisfied, she grabbed another one off another cot, and also pushed it out.

“Let’s go, guys!”



Bill and Roger turned and ran as the door gave way. The first of the zombies shoved itself into the room. Jenni pulled herself up onto the window sill, her trembling hands gripping the frame tightly. With a deep breath, she lowered herself as far as she could, then let go. She dropped hard onto the mattresses and felt the wind get knocked out of her. Rolling onto her side, she managed to get to her feet and struggled for her next breath.

Seconds later, Bill fell beside her. Despite his beer belly, he managed a better landing. Climbing to his feet, he scanned the top of the roof they were on, then looked up at the window.

“Roger! Hurry!”

Roger appeared above them, looking terrified. Wordlessly, he began to climb out of the window. The howling of the zombies seemed quite near now. Jenni saw a gray chewed hand reach out from behind Roger and make a grab for him.

“Jump!” Bill and Jenni shouted at the same time.

Roger screamed when he saw the hand about to close on his neck and jerked to one side. He fell wildly. Instead of striking the mattresses, he hit the hard gravel surface of the roof feet first. Jenni not only saw, but heard his legs break as the angry, white splinters of bone erupted from his shins.

“No!” She rushed to his side as he screamed in pain and collapsed.



“Fuck, shit! I shouldn’t have worn the red shirt,” he cried out. Tears streaked his face and she saw his red turtleneck peeking out from his leather jacket. “I wore red, too. But we’re not going to die!” Jenni turned to Bill, her expression desperate. “Bill, help me!”



Bill was looking up toward the window. “We need to go,” he said in a desolate tone.

“Help me!” Jenni repeated, trying to drag Roger.

The injured man howled in agony. “Now, Jenni,” Bill ordered. “We need to go now.”



She looked up in time to see the first zombie plunge out of the window. Luckily, it landed head first, splitting its skull open. But the second landed on the first zombie and immediately crawled toward them. Roger looked at her, terror in his eyes. “Make it fast,” he said, his voice cracking. “I can’t jump down to the ground. It’s over, Jenni. Make it fast.”