The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(38)

The hail slammed into the car with terrifying speed, denting the metal and cracking the windows, but it was also striking the zombies with enough force to knock them around.

“The windows are going to shatter and then...” Corina shuddered.

“The zombies will reach in to get us,” Josh finished just before he victoriously pulled a socket wrench out from under the seat. “And we’ll fight them.”





Chapter 23


“Fight them?” Troy squeaked.

“Aim for their eyes,” Josh ordered. “Blind them! Then hit their heads. Gotta kill the brain.”

Troy leaned over the top of the front seat. “Are you crazy? We’re kids with sticks and tools and...”

“I killed a zombie with my backpack, Troy. And with a flashlight.” Josh stared into his friend’s terrified gaze. “And we’re not kids. We’re Zombie Hunters. We fight.”

Nodding, Troy tightened his grip on the tire iron. “Right.”

A massive hailstone punched through the front windshield, provoking yelps out of the kids. It bounced off the dashboard and struck Corina on the arm.

“Ow!”

Immediately, a zombie tried to climb onto the hood to reach through the hole. Dulce shifted onto her knees and set the end of her spear against the bottom of the opening. The second the zombie’s face came into view, Dulce rammed the tip into its eye. Corina gripped the spear to help Dulce drive it deep into the zombie’s head. Again, with no concept of self–preservation, the zombie actually leaned into the assault in an attempt to get to the girls, making it easier for them to kill him. When the zombie finally sagged against the hood, Dulce jerked the spear back into the car, the end of it dripping with blood.

“That was awesome!” Danny shouted with glee. “We got one!”

The onslaught of hail was unexpectedly helpful. Stunned by the hard blows to their heads, the zombies crumpled to the ground, writhing as if in pain or disoriented. The small child Josh had spotted was struck with a massive stone that bounced off her head and struck the car with a loud thump. She staggered away from the car and tripped over a tire.

“I think the hail knocked another one out, or killed it,” Corina said. “It just slid off the car.”

“Do zombies get knocked out?” Troy asked. “Is that even possible?”

“We don’t know the rules for these zombies yet, so maybe,” Josh replied.

The hail bombardment intensified. It was as if all the pitchers for the Rangers were throwing ice baseballs one after another at the car and zombies.

“Sick!” Danny exclaimed. “One just busted a zombie’s head wide open.”

“It’s killer hail,” Corina gasped. “I read about this! Killer hail killed over two hundred people in India. It’ll kill the zombies!”

“That’s good!” Troy fist pumped. “Awesome!”

“It can also hurt us really bad,” Corina added, watching the hail striking the windshield and leaving deep craters in it. “Get away from the windows!”

“How? We’re in a car?” Troy asked in frustration.

Josh could see now that the onslaught was intensifying. Dulce crawled over into the backseat. The windshield was the biggest window in the car and the most vulnerable. Josh and Corina followed, crowding in with the rest of the kids. The bombardment increased, battering the zombies and the surrounding cars.

“It’s getting worse!” Troy exclaimed. “This is bad!”

The front windshield was demolished in seconds.

The kids huddled together against the back of the front seat with their arms over their heads listening to the huge hailstones striking and shaking the car. Several ricocheted through the broken window and onto the front seat. A few sailed over the seat to strike the kids. The loss in velocity reduced the force of the impact, but a few hits were hard enough to make Josh and the others yelp.

Unable to resist the temptation, Josh lifted his head to peer through the spider web of cracks in the side window to watch Mother Nature bludgeon the zombies to death. One by one, the zombies tumbled to the ground. The onslaught shattered all the windows and cool air rushed through the openings to dispel the stuffy, hot air. The coppery smell of blood replaced the pungent smell of mold.

As suddenly as the hail had struck, it was gone. The blanket of hailstones ended right before the barn, and didn’t even touch the house. Rain fell steadily in its place, and only a few small pellets of ice pinged off the heavily-dented hood.

Slowly, Josh lowered his arms from around his head. “It’s over.”

Dulce swept the hailstones off the seat and sat on it with a weary sigh. She pushed her heavy dark hair out of her face and pieces of ice and glass fell onto her lap.

“I’ve got bruises on bruises,” Troy grumbled.

Danny dabbed at a cut on his forearm with the bottom of his t-shirt. “Better to be bruised than zombie mash.”

“Very true.” Troy kneeled on the backseat and peered out at the zombies. “And they are very, very mashed.”

“We need to make sure the zombies are really dead,” Josh said.

“You first.” Danny swept his arm toward the door on the driver’s side.

“We have to...” Corina lifted her hand with the screwdriver in it. “We have to take care of Sam and the other zombie.”