As the pain in my foot subsided, I looked back to where we’d come and the concrete blocks still in place. The metal panel lay to the side, its once straight lines all buckled and bent. I thought for a moment about lifting it up and leaning it back in place to give us the slimmest of chances of pretending we hadn’t just done what we had. But even if I could carry such a weight, I had no chance with only one of my hands unhurt.
I turned, rushing as fast as I could past the car, Tommy already at the tree line. I caught him up and we ran, the feeling so great to be outside of the fence with only the trees on either side.
Despite the pain the forest floor caused to my foot, the dirt clogged my slipper as I walked, matting with my blood to form a kind of protective sole.
We slowed after a few minutes, both of us turning the way we’d come. Relief rushed over me when I couldn’t see the village, or the fence, or the rising smoke, for the canopy.
We’d made it. We’d stayed alive. I’d rescued Tommy and now we could hear the main road just up ahead, even if we couldn’t see it yet.
I looked down to Tommy, not able to drop my smile. He looked up, seeming so pale in the forest light.
“It’ll be okay,” I said. I spotted his hand hovering where his mother had bitten him, for the first time seeing the dried blood between his fingers.
As he pulled his hand away I saw the tear in the fabric and what looked like a wound underneath.
“I don’t feel very well,” he said in a soft voice.
“It’s okay. A few minutes more and we’ll get you some help. It will all be fine,” I said.
But little did I know.
If you enjoyed Beginning of the End, find out what happened next in the three full-length novel series, starting with In The End.
When humanity faces an undead nightmare, one man’s party turns into a race to survive.
Logan has always taken things a little too seriously. So when his New Year's Eve attempt to unwind descends into chaos, he's the first to realize it's no joke. After Logan and his friends miss the evacuation transport, he's given a choice: lead the group to safety or watch all of his friends come back from the dead…
When Logan discovers the military and government have no interest in saving them, making it to sanctuary alive may be their only hope. And after he learns his party of survivors might hold the key to a cure, the fate of humanity rests on his shoulders. But saving his species could mean sacrificing himself…
Can Logan stave off the end of the world or will one wrong decision doom humankind?
In The End is a fast-paced post-apocalyptic zombie thriller. If you like nightmarish settings, reluctant heroes, and action-packed adventures, then you’ll love GJ Stevens’ spine-chilling novel.
Other books by GJ Stevens
Agent Carrie Harris Series
Capital Action (Novella)
Operation Dawn Wolf
Lesson Learned
From The Dead
Check out Capital Action for free by signing up to my mailing list at www.gjstevens.com
