The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(29)

“You don’t say wetback, dude,” Troy said sharply.

“Sorry.” Sam rubbed his arm.

“Her mom has a green card. She’s a scientist, and got invited to work at a laboratory in Austin.” Danny gave Sam a disapproving glare.

“Sorry,” Sam muttered, lowering his eyes.

As the others talked, Josh looked behind him. The bus was a tiny speck in the distance. Chad was in the field far behind them and leading the zombies like a macabre parade right toward Josh and his group.

“We need to get to the fence. It might hold that herd for a little bit, but it will come down,” Josh instructed. “We have to get more ground between us and them.”

The Latina girl muttered something in Spanish.

“Huh?” Josh asked her.

Dulce pointed toward the smoldering store.

A massive wave of burning zombies was stumbling along behind it and into the field.

“This is bad,” Troy decided. “Really, really bad.”





Chapter 18


Scorched zombies, some still on fire, waded into the field. Flames appeared on the tips of the tall grass and with terrifying speed, the fire started to spread outward from the zombies.

Josh didn’t have to say a word. The group abandoned their caution and ran toward the barbed-wire fence fifty feet in front of them. Chad’s frantic screams spurred them to run faster. Troy reached the fence first. He carefully stepped over the bottom line of barb wire before crouching and scooting under the one above. He was small enough that he cleared it easily.

“It’s not hard! Hurry!” Troy urged.

Corina was next. She tossed the heavy bag through the wires before following Troy’s example. Being taller made the task a little harder for her, and her braid caught the top wire. Troy quickly untangled it and she was through. Danny and Dulce split up, climbing through the fence at different spots with little difficulty. Josh slipped between the barbed wires easily, straightened, and turned to check on the progress of the zombies and fire.

On the other side of the fence was a burning field, a teenage boy racing ahead of the flaming zombies, and one terrified overweight kid with a bright red face staring at Josh in terror.

“I won’t fit, I won’t fit.” Sam breathed heavily. “Ohmygawd, Josh. They’re going to eat me!”

“Lie on the ground and scoot under,” Josh urged. “I’ll pull up the wire.”

“Josh, I’m too fat! I’m gonna die! I don’t wanna die, Josh!” Sam exclaimed.

“Lay down on the ground, Sam. Hurry,” Corina urged.

“I’m too fat,” Sam whined. Fear had a stranglehold on him. It was evident from his too round eyes and heavy panting.

“Sam, do what I say,” Corina ordered in her best babysitter voice.

Troy pointed at the ground. “Get down there and scoot! Or else you’re going to die. Don’t be stupid!”

“I’m not stupid!” Sam wailed, tears falling down his cheeks.

Much to Josh’s dismay, Corina scooted through the wires again to the other side. She grabbed Sam’s shoulders and shook him. “Get down on the ground right now!”

“I’m gonna die,” Sam wailed.

“Sam, you’re doing the freeze thing! Stop doing it! Do the flight thing!” Troy urged.

“We’ll go under together,” Corina said. “Lay down.”

Sam nodded mutely. He followed Corina’s actions of getting down on the ground and lying on his back in the thick grass. The fake sheriff hat he’d taken from the truck stop rolled off his head, but Sam didn’t seem to notice.

Josh, and the other kids, avoiding the barbs, grabbed the wire.

“Pull!” Josh ordered.

There was very little slack, but they managed to pull it up a few inches. Corina pushed on Sam’s thick arm. “Scoot!”

Too scared to think rationally, Sam squirmed, but didn’t move actually move his body.

“You’re doing it wrong!” Troy exclaimed.

“I don’t know how to do it!” Sam shouted back.

Josh checked the progress of the zombies, and didn’t like their chances of getting Sam through the fence in time. “Sam, move!”

Dulce fell to her knees and grabbed Sam’s leg. She pulled it under the wire, then reached for the other.

Inspired by her actions, Josh formulated a quick plan. “Corina, get back over here and hold the wire.”

“We need to hurry,” Troy exclaimed. “The zombies are getting closer! And the fire!”

Josh glanced up and noted Chad was still alive and heading their way. The zombies moved through the flames, but were significantly slower. Josh hoped by the time they hit the fence they’d be too cooked to be a threat. The fire in the field was burning itself out as it hit bare patches of ground, and the wind had changed direction. Josh noticed a bank of dark clouds approaching from the south. If they could get Sam through the fence, their luck might change for the better if rain fell and killed the fire.

Corina slipped back through the fence and took hold of the rusty wire. “I got it.”

Josh let go and helped Dulce pull on Sam’s legs. He was heavy, but they dug in their heels and used their weight to drag him under the wire inch by inch. Sam rocked his shoulders against the ground, but wasn’t much help. His stomach was thicker than Josh realized and it bumped the wire.