by C. A. Hoaks
The infected man with a blood-splattered, white shirt ignored the report that made all three freeze in place. The bullet shattered a windshield six feet away from the target. The second infected, a blood-splattered woman in a brown skirt, and missing a shoe caught up with the man. They both focused on Jacky and Norma immobilized by the walking horrors.
“Move, damn it!” Lynette screamed, and the pair headed for the car.
She fired the .38 again. This time, the left side of the woman’s head exploded. The man continued his steady march toward them without a sideward glance. Lynette turned and ran between cars. Jacky veered off to head for the passenger side of the Fiesta.
Norma rounded a large green panel van and bloodied torn arms reach for her. The clawed fingers grabbed at her fleshy arm, and she spun clear, but fell to her knees losing her grip on the cane. The wood skittered across the asphalt out of reach.
Lynette rushed to Norma’s side, grabbed her arm, and pulled up trying to get the woman to her feet. A skinny infected youth appeared from behind the van.
“Get up!” Lynette yelled as she kicked out at the knee of the infected reaching for Norma.
The teenaged monster fell to the asphalt in a heap while the infected man in the blood stained white shirt continued his pursuit. The kid rolled and tried to pull his shattered knee under his body, but he fell back to the ground each time he tried to stand.
Lynette pulled at Norma’s arm but it was impossible to move her bulk. “Damn it, Norma. Get off your ass and move it!”
“I can’t,” Norma whimpered.
“Jacky! Get in the red car!” Lynette threw a look toward her then turned back to Norma. “You can crawl your sorry ass that far!”
More infected approached while Lynette pulled at Norma’s arm and screamed. “You’ve got to move now!”
The teen monster clamped his clawed fingers around Norma’s ankle and pulled his body toward the bare flesh of her leg.
Lynette felt the panic rising as three more infected stumbled toward them.
“Hurry!” Jacky yelled. “They’re coming!”
Lynette called over her shoulder at Jacky. “Get in the car!”
Norma screamed. It was a sound of agony and terror. Lynette looked down and saw the monster kid leaning over Norma’s leg. Lynette raised the gun and fired twice. The first shot hit the kid in the shoulder while the second smashed into his forehead and ripped through his skull in a spray of blood and grey matter. .
Lynette fired at the business man, and he collapsed in a bloodied heap. With the reprieve, she rolled the body off Norma to see a patch of flesh hanging from his mouth. When she looked at Norma’s leg she saw blood spurt from the mouth-sized wound.
Sobbing, Norma crawled from under the infected kid. She tried to get to her feet, but when she put weight on her injured leg, she fell back to her knees. Blood spilled from the ghastly wound to pool around her as she sat there sniveling. More and more infected stumbled closer.
“We have to go now. Move!”
“I can’t!” Norma wailed.
“You have to!” Lynette screamed as she reached out.
Norma shook her hand off and Lynette stumbled back just as three infected fell on her. Lynette righted herself and backed away from the attackers as they fell on Norma. She looked to Lynette with pleading eyes as a thin man leaned into Norma’s neck with his mouth wide open.
Lynette stepped back, raised the gun, and fired one last time.
THE END
About the Author
Charlotte Hoaks spent the last twenty years working as a Technical Writer for some of the largest companies in Houston, Texas. Now retired, she is devoting her time and energy to a new kind of writing.
A life-long love of the written word has provided a solid foundation for her fiction writing. She’s been involved in local writer’s groups for over 30 years and published a number of on-line articles, editorials and special interest newsletter. As a founding member of the Houston Writer’s League, she organized and coordinated their first national writer’s conference.
Thank you for reading “Hard Choice”. If you’ve enjoyed this short story please leave a review. Authors thrive on those reviews and other readers are guided to books you enjoyed by your words.
Book 1 in the Torn Apart Series “Terror in Texas” is now available: https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Texas-Torn-Apart-Book-ebook/dp/B01FBI0JVA
Charlotte is now working on the second full length novel in the “Torn Apart” series. If you are an avid reader and like to get in on the front end of a developing novel check out book 2, “Dead Texas Road” online: http://charlottehoaks.com.
Table of Contents
Hard Choice
Midpoint
