Jim jumped to his feet, kicked Don in the jaw, and grabbed Danny's hand, dragging the terrified boy along with him.
'Mr. De Santos,' Danny screamed. 'Daddy, Mr. De Santos is a monster-person!'
Jim swept his son into his arms and rocketed down the tunnel. Frankie pounded along behind him.
Enraged, the zombies pursued them. One of them worked the bolt on its rifle, aimed, and fired. Jim cried out, and sprawled across the tunnel floor. Danny fell with him.
Pigpen, Frankie, and God rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. The tunnel ended at the fallout shelter, the exterior steel wall of which blocked their way. Pigpen flung himself at the hatch and grasped the wheel-like door handle. He grunted, straining to turn it. Frankie latched on and helped him. Slowly, the wheel began to turn, squeaking in protest.
There was an explosion behind them, and a bullet ricocheted off the shelter's outer wall.
'Danny,' Don called, 'want to come back to Bloomington with me? We can play with Rocky.'
'Leave us alone,' Danny shrieked. 'You're not Mr. De Santos! You're not!'
'Come on, Danny. I'll take you back to your home. Don't you want to see your mommy? We'll find your comic books.'
Tears coursed down Danny's cheeks. 'Daddy, make him go away!'
The zombie tittered, 'You can join us, Danny. You can be just like your mother and your stepfather and Mrs. De Santos. It only takes a second ...'
Jim clenched his leg, trying to stop the flow of blood. It ran between his fingers, staining them red.
'Danny,' he grunted, 'Listen to me. Go with Frankie.'
'What about you, Daddy?'
Don rounded the corner and Jim leapt to his feet, yelling in pain and rage. Blood streamed from the wound in his leg. He gripped the side of Don's head, and slammed it against the wall. Blood and teeth exploded from the zombie's mouth. The gun slipped from the creature's fingers. Jim smashed its head against the wall again.
Screaming, he released the zombie and dug his fingers into the neck wound, pulling the flesh apart. The gash widened, and he thrust his hands inside the hole.
'Leave my son alone, you bastard!'
Pigpen flung the hatch open and God darted inside. More zombies appeared. Jim and Don struggled between them and the others.
Frankie grabbed Danny's arm. 'Come on, Danny! Get inside!'
'Daddy!'
'Danny,' Frankie shouted. 'Get inside the shelter! Now!'
'I'm not leaving you!'
One of the zombies raised its rifle, peered through the scope, and squeezed the trigger. Pigpen cried out, and slumped against the wall, holding a hand to his chest. He stumbled through the open doorway, leaving a bright trail of blood behind him.
'Danny,' Frankie urged, 'come on!'
'Daddy!' the boy screamed again, turning back to his father.
Don's head lolled to the side, dangling over his shoulder. Jim had ripped it halfway off. He flung the corpse aside, pointed the flamethrower at the zombies, and backed away. Another bullet slammed into his leg. Jim bit his lip to keep from screaming. His head swam.
'Don't shoot him again,' one of the zombies warned. 'Hit those tanks and we all go up.'
'So? What does it matter? We can get new bodies. This one is falling apart anyway.'
'Lord Ob said to wait. He wants to deal with these humans himself.'
'Where is he then?'
'Here,' said a new voice, deeper and more powerful than the others.
Jim wobbled to a halt. 'Frankie, get Danny inside and shut the door.'
'What? Jim, you-'
'Do it. Please?'
'Daddy?'
The group of zombies parted, and one of them stepped forward. Jim didn't recognize the corpse, but he instinctively knew who resided inside it.
'Ob.'
'Nice to meet you.' Ob grinned. 'We were never formally introduced, but Baker's memories told me so much about you. I see that you found your boy. That's touching. Now you can die together.'
Jim's eyes didn't leave Ob. 'Danny, I love you.'
'Daddy!'
Jim's vision blurred as shock set in. He felt weak from blood loss, and the pain traveling up his leg was excruciating. He turned toward Danny.
