But now the zombie cop reached them, raking at Jacob with its filthy fingers. Meg slipped from the butch-deader’s grasp, the skin of her wrist rubbed raw. She lunged at the zombie cop’s knees, knocking it sideways before it could latch onto Jacob. It recovered and reached for her, both mouths sneering.
The Glock lay between its feet. She dove for it. The zombie cop swiped at her, fingers raking through her hair. She hung suspended for an agonizing second, and then the zombie cop began lifting her up into biting range. She fumbled along its uniform, hoping to delay its meal. Her hand bumped the nightstick’s handle.
Meg slid it free of its ring and plunged the butt up into the zombie cop’s face. The tip penetrated the facial wound and struck bone beneath the thing’s nose. She worked the wood deeper, crunching cartilage, and then pulled back. She delivered a sweeping blow against its temple, causing the zombie cop to judder on its feet.
The second desperate blow knocked a shard of bone deep into the thing’s cranial cavity. The deader gave one final quiver and collapsed, plucking a few more hairs from Meg on the way down.
Jacob was still astride the butch-deader, riding it like a miniature bronco buster. The zombie flailed and clawed at the burdensome prey, but Jacob ducked low and avoided the snatching hands. Meg scooped up her Glock and yelled, “Let go!”
Just as Jacob hit the ground, Meg delivered a single shot just above the brow. The deader gave a confused and almost-human look before it dropped.
Jacob gave it a final kick of triumph as it lay still. “Should’ve rested in peace, you bitch.”
Meg was too relieved to scold him for the curse word. She gave him a hug. “Don’t run off from me again, you hear?”
Racking another round into the Glock’s chamber, she led Jacob into the forest. She was reassured by the gunfire around her. That was tempered by the realization that the forest was thick with zombies and Jacob was vulnerable to stray bullets.
“This way,” called an unseen voice and Meg recognized it as Bill’s.
The churning wash of the creek faded as they slipped deeper into the woods. The gunfire from the farmhouse was barely audible now. Meg sent a silent telegraph of gratitude their way. She would honor their sacrifice by keeping her son alive and someday defeating the virus.
But it was clear the walking dead had won this day, despite the vast numbers that had fallen. Each human casualty came with the anguish of sorrow and loss, but a vanquished zombie simply stopped. And the virus was still spreading among the survivors, so zombies were winning on that front, too.
And deaders had a powerful ally: Rev. Ingram and his sinister Eye and Three.
Bill stepped from behind a tree and she almost shot him. He frowned at her and shook his head. “I’m not dying today. Come this way. It’s clear.”
Jacob gave a soft shout of joy when he saw Kit lurking behind Bill. He high-fived her and then embraced her in an awkward hug.
“I almost got bit!” he said with pride.
“Cool,” Kit said, giving him a nod of approval. “We heard the shot.”
“Mom put two of them down.” He’d never praised her to another kid back when she baked cookies or drove him to soccer practice or helped him with his homework.
“Let’s go before I have to do any more of them,” Meg said. “You might start bragging about me.”
The four of them picked their way through the forest, moving away from the gunfire that was now scattered across the woods. Meg studied the chafed skin on her wrist, the weal revealing little dots of blood. She had proven immunity to the virus, but what if it had mutated since her initial exposure?
Nothing I can do about it now but wait and see.
“Rocky didn’t tell us what to do once we got through the line,” Bill said.
“Just keep moving,” Meg said. “The zombies are thinning out.”
“What about the others?” Kit asked.
“Let’s hope they’re teaming up, too.”
“I can’t even tell which direction we’re going,” Bill said.
“As long as we head away from the farm and the driveway, we should be okay.”
“Until night falls,” Kit said. “I don’t want to be out here in the dark.”
Realizing she’d frightened Jacob, she hastily added, “We’ll find a house before then, no problem.”
A burst of semi-automatic fire erupted to their left. They headed toward it, Meg with her Glock at the ready.
A figure lurched out of the shadows, a splotchy, infected face snarling at her. Meg raised her pistol and froze.
The thing wore a red N.C. State windbreaker, just like the one Ian was wearing when she’d last seen him.
It couldn’t be.
Possibly. But the mathematical odds were—
KERR-RRACK.
The deader’s head exploded in a geyser of gore and Bill lowered his rifle.
Meg looked at Jacob, who’d shared her horrible initial impression. “It’s not him,” the boy said.
Meg took a closer look at the body and realized he was right. Ian had worn khaki trousers and Nike sneakers. This corpse was in black sweat pants and sandals.
Ian’s still alive.
She didn’t care if it was likely false and the mathematical odds were poor. The belief gave her hope.
They burst into a clearing and found Rocky standing over the corpses of three deaders. Louise stood listlessly to the side, trembling and pale from shock. Marty supported her, tears streaming from his eyes.
“Let’s go,” Rocky said.
“You tuh-told us not to stop and help anybody, but you duh-duh-did anyway,” Marty wailed, fighting back a sob.
“I tried to help. That’s all.”
Now Meg saw the blood on the woman’s thigh and the rip in her pants. She was infected.
“He’s right,” Meg said. “We can’t stay here.”
“Yes, we can,” Louise said, perfectly calm. “You can’t, but we can.”
Rocky glared at Marty. “You sure?”
He sniffled. “For buh-better or for worse.”
Rocky handed Marty his Sig Sauer. “You got two rounds left.”
“Thanks. Nuh-now get out of here before you ruh-ruh-really see me cry.”
Rocky led the group away from the clearing. Marty’s and Louise’s voices faded, and the last thing Meg heard was an off-key duet of the old Sonny and Cher classic, “I Got You, Babe.”
Ten minutes later, they came upon a blue plastic barrel in the woods. The leaves around it were slick with blood and white lengths of bone were scattered on the ground around it.
“This is what I saw the helicopters drop yesterday!” Meg said.
“It wasn’t zombie-cide or antivirals,” Rocky said. “It was fucking bait. Look at all this.”
“They were dumping chum like they were drawing sharks,” Bill said. “The sons of bitches were leading them to us.”
They found more bones and blood deeper into the forest, along with a rotted, half-eaten chunk of what looked like an animal’s furry leg. “That’s from a dog,” Kit said with a sneer of disgust.
“Ingram,” Rocky said.
Meg didn’t respond. She had no more theories left.
Occam’s razor said the simplest answer was the correct one:
Pure evil.
The distant gunshots became intermittent and soon stopped altogether. Half an hour later, they emerged from the forest onto the main road. They rested for a moment, waiting for any of the others to arrive. But they soon realized they might be the only survivors.
“Guess we walk until we find a car,” Rocky said.
“Which direction is Raleigh from here?” Meg asked.
“North,” Rocky said. “Why do you want to go there?”
“To kill the Antichrist.”
THE END
Look for Arize #3: TRIBULATION
With the mysterious and charismatic Rev. Cameron Ingram rising as a world leader in the wake of a zombie outbreak, a group of outcast survivor
s vow to bring him down.
Ingram has formed an oppressive new government and demands loyalty from all refugees who seek protection. Those who refuse to wear his mark are considered enemies and left to fend for themselves. Ingram uses the military to expand his influence while he gathers a corrupt inner circle at Promiseland, the megachurch complex that offers sanctuary in a ruined city. After proclaiming himself a messenger of God, Ingram drops all pretense and embraces his role as the Antichrist.
Dr. Meg Perriman and her allies plan to infiltrate Promiseland and expose him, but first they must traverse a hostile wasteland and evade Ingram’s deadly army. And they soon discover it’s not so easy to kill a king, especially one that’s no longer human.
Get Arize #3 at Amazon US or Amazon UK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Nicholson is the international bestselling author of more than 30 thrillers, including The Home, The Red Church, Speed Dating with the Dead, and the After and Next post-apocalyptic series. His books have appeared in the Kindle Top 100 more than a dozen times in five different countries. Visit his website at www.AuthorScottNicholson.com or his Amazon Author Central page
Sign up for his Tao of Boo newsletter for giveaways and release news.
Thanks to editor Gari Strawn, beta readers Frank Pero, Miranda Owen, Lexie Danner, and Terry Moore, and technical advisor Steve Lowe, SSRG (R).
VIEW OTHER KINDLE BOOKS BY SCOTT NICHOLSON:
Novels
Arize #1: Resurrection
Arize #2: Revelation
Arize #3: Tribulation
FREE: After #0: First Light
FREE: After #1: The Shock
After #2: The Echo
After #3: Milepost 291
After#4: Whiteout
After #5: Red Scare
After #6: Dying Light
FREE: Next #1: Afterburn
Next #2: Earth Zero
Next #3: Radiophobia
Next #4: Directive 17
Next #5: Crucible
Next #6: Half Life
Zapheads #1: Bone and Cinder
Zapheads #2: Scars and Ashes
Zapheads #3: Blood and Frost
The Scarecrow (Solom #1)
The Narrow Gate (Solom #2)
The Preacher (Solom #3)
The Gorge
The Home
McFall
Creative Spirit
Disintegration
The Red Church
Speed Dating with the Dead
The Skull Ring
Drummer Boy
The Harvest
Soft Robots
Kiss Me or Die
Liquid Fear
Chronic Fear
Cursed (with J.R. Rain)
Bad Blood (with J.R. Rain & H.T. Night)
Spider Web (with J.R. Rain)
Spider Bite (with J.R. Rain)
Ghost College (with J.R. Rain)
The Vampire Club (with J.R. Rain)
Meat Camp (with Chris DiLeo)
Playin’ Possum (with Milton Bagby)
October Girls
Crime Beat
The Dead Love Longer
Fangs In Vain
Burial to Follow
Story Collections
Curtains
Flowers
Ashes
The First
Zombie Bits
Head Cases
Gateway Drug
Missing Pieces
These Things Happened
American Horror
Children’s Books
If I Were Your Monster (with Lee Davis)
Too Many Witches (with Lee Davis)
Ida Claire (with Lee Davis)
Duncan the Punkin (with Sergio Castro)
Bad Day for Balloons (with Sergio Castro)
VIEW U.K. KINDLE BOOKS BY SCOTT NICHOLSON:
Arize #1: Resurrection
Arize #2: Revelation
Arize #3: Tribulation
FREE: Next #1: Afterburn
Next #2: Earth Zero
Next #3: Radiophobia
Next #4: Directive 17
Next #5: Crucible
Next #6: Half Life
FREE: After: First Light
FREE: After #1: The Shock
After #2: The Echo
After: #3: Milepost 291
After #4: Whiteout
After #5: Red Scare
After #6: Dying Light
The Scarecrow (Solom #1)
The Narrow Gate (Solom #2)
The Preacher (Solom #3)
FREE: Zapheads #1: Bone and Cinder
Zapheads #2: Scars and Ashes
Zapheads #3: Blood and Frost
McFall
Liquid Fear
Chronic Fear
Creative Spirit
The Home
Disintegration
The Red Church
Speed Dating with the Dead
The Skull Ring
Drummer Boy
Soft Robots
The Harvest
The Gorge
Kiss Me or Die
Cursed (with J.R. Rain)
Ghost College (with J.R. Rain)
The Vampire Club (with J.R. Rain)
Bad Blood (with J.R. Rain & H.T. Night)
Spider Web (with J.R. Rain)
Spider Bite (with J.R. Rain)
Meat Camp (with J.T. Warren)
Playin’ Possum (with Milton Bagby)
October Girls
Crime Beat
The Dead Love Longer
Burial to Follow
Fangs In Vain
Collections
Curtains
Flowers
Ashes
The First
Zombie Bits
Head Cases
Gateway Drug
Missing Pieces
These Things Happened
Children’s Books
Bad Day for Balloons (with Sergio Castro)
If I Were Your Monster (with Lee Davis)
Duncan the Punkin (with Sergio Castro)
Too Many Witches (with Lee Davis)
Ida Claire (with Lee Davis)
Revelation: A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller (Arize Book 2) Page 24
