It was a lost cause. His joints ached from the lack of movement, and his muscles had gone numb. He’d lost all feeling in his feet and lower legs while pinpricks stung his fingers. Suddenly, one of the undead stumbled over its own feet and fell to its knees. Its hands hit the road skinning its palms. Bits of skin and flesh clung to the gravel.
Alex held his breath, hoping the infected didn’t fall. If it did, they were doomed. After a couple of seconds, the zombie got back to its feet and shuffled onward. Alex heaved a silent sigh of relief. While he prided himself on being brave, he wasn’t an idiot, and he didn’t want to die. I want to see Amy again. I want to travel. I want to live.
The constant fear was wearing him out. Every time a fight broke out, or a zombie stumbled, his body released a fresh spurt of adrenalin. That prompted a fight-or-flight response, which he was forced to ignore. The hormonal spikes were exhausting, and he found himself praying for an end to the ordeal. Please, make it stop. Please, stop.
Next to him, Tony suffered the same tortures of hell. Another couple of hours rolled past, and still they lay: Silent, unmoving, and terrified of discovery. Their thirst grew worse, especially in the muggy heat caused by so many bodies around them. Muscles cramped, and limbs ached. Without being able to stop themselves, they fidgeted non-stop, unable to lie still for more than a few seconds at a time.
The undead kept coming, streaming past in a never-ending river of death and decay. Alex had long since realized that they were in the middle of a swarm of zombies thousands strong. It had to be the Fort Knox group. It couldn’t possibly be an ordinary crowd.
The next moment, Tony twitched. His legs jerked, banging against Alex, again and again. A curious groan left his lips, low but audible. Then he spoke. “No more. No more.”
Horrified, Alex looked at him in the gloom. Tony’s eyes were wide and staring, unseeing. His mouth twitched, the lips flapping open and shut like a fish out of water. “No more. No more.”
Shit, he’s gone off his rocker, Alex thought with alarm.
He reached out with his free hand and shook Tony by the shoulder. The other man’s eyes swiveled about in their sockets before settling on Alex. A semblance of sanity returned to his gaze, but the twitching didn’t stop.
Desperate to calm Tony down, Alex leaned closer and whispered. “For God’s sake, hold still. Stop moving.”
It didn’t work, and the shuddering grew worse. Tony’s eyes glazed over again, and he kept swinging his head from side to side. “Stop. It has to stop.”
His voice was rising in pitch, and very soon, the infected would be able to hear him even above the racket they caused. Alex had to do something and fast. He shook Tony again and again before risking a slap across the cheek. “Tony, please. You’ll kill us both. What about my sister?”
Tony paused. “Sister?”
“Yes, Amy. She needs me, Tony,” Alex said. “I can’t die here like this.”
“Amy,” Tony mumbled, his body relaxing in slow increments.
Relief flooded Alex’s veins. “Yes, that’s it. Think of Amy. She’s waiting for me back home. For us.”
“Waiting for us?”
“That’s right. She needs us to be strong. She’s only sixteen.”
“Sixteen. Sweet sixteen,” Tony said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I had a daughter once. She was also sixteen.”
“Yeah, what was her name?” Alex asked, determined to keep the man’s attention away from the zombies.
“Alice. Her name was Alice.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” Alex replied.
“She was beautiful. Just like her mom.”
“What happened to them,” Alex asked.
“She died. They all died,” Tony said.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alex replied, saddened by the grief he saw in Tony’s expression. The hurt that lay in the back of his eyes.
“You can’t let that happen to Amy,” Tony said the next moment. “She’s innocent. One of the genuinely nice people left in this world. She’s like Alice.”
Alex was taken aback by the sentiment. He’d always figured Tony for a man of no emotion and zero attachments. He had no friends except Officer Brown, no hobbies except killing zombies. I was wrong. He had a family once — a life.
“I won’t let anything happen to Amy. I promise,” Alex said, looking at the passing legs of the undead. Did he imagine it, or were they thinning out?
“Good. I’ll hold you to that,” Tony replied, his posture more relaxed now that the panic attack had passed.
After a while, Alex grew confident that the crowd was growing less. Gaps appeared between them, allowing a breath of fresh air to sweep beneath the vehicle. The gloom lifted, and his vision grew sharper. As the front and mid-runners passed by, the stragglers became evident. Those slower than the rest either because of the natural frailty of the host or an injury.
As the horde thinned, so did the noise, and Alex knew they had to be careful. In the lowest whisper he could manage, he said, “They’re almost gone. Just a few more minutes, but we have to keep quiet, okay?”
Tony nodded, his lips pressed together.
Together, they waited.
And waited.
After another long hour, the last zombies made their way up the street and around the bend. Once they were gone, Alex took a careful look around. The area looked deserted. “See anything?”
“Nothing on my side,” Tony answered as he leopard-crawled out from underneath the truck.
A child zombie emerged from behind the other vehicle and spotted Tony the moment he moved. Somehow, they’d missed the young boy. Somehow, they hadn’t seen the skinny legs hidden behind the thick tires of the other vehicle.
The infected kid snarled and pounced on Tony, landing on his back. Tony reached back with one hand to hold the little demon at bay. “Get it off, get it off.”
Alex rolled to the side, hampered by the small space. His rifle was
