He began shooting them. He knew the sound of the shots would bring more zombies. He wiped at the tears on his face and he got up and picked up Hunter and laid him beside his mother. Going to the Jeep, he ejected the nearly empty magazine and shoved in a fresh one. He then put another full mag in his back pocket. He went to the house with a deep sense of dread. He’d not seen Jeb and he prayed that his sweet little boy was alive and not one of those things. Maybe his son was hiding? The door to the house was wide open and he stepped cautiously in. He saw Dillon, one of his friends, but Dillon had milky white eyes and his face looked as though it was sagging off the bones. Reggie caught the scent of decay.
Dillon snarled and moved toward him, his body jerking and uncoordinated. Zombie Dillon moved quickly for all that and Reggie fired, dropping his once friend. He wiped at the tears streaming down his face.
“Jeb? Son, where are you?” he called, his heart beating painfully in his chest. His mouth trembled and sobs tore through him. He went to his son’s room which was closed, he saw blood smeared on the doorknob and the door jamb. He opened the door and a scream burst from his chest. His sweet little baby was chewed up. His little legs had numerous bite marks, his cheek, his arms. The boy had been savaged and it appeared that he’d run and hidden in his room. Under the bed was a large puddle of dried blood. Mewing growls came from his son and with a shaking hand, Reggie put his child to rest. His ears rang with a high pitch tone from the gunshot and the screams that wouldn’t seem to stop and he slid down the doorframe, he couldn’t move for a long time. Sorrow threatened to take his sanity.
It was nearly dark when he picked his baby up and held the small hand in his. The fingers were stiff and he brought the hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. He rubbed it down his unshaven cheek, the last feel of his baby. He carried Jeb out and laid him beside his mother and older brother. There were more of the zombie creatures and he shot them. He reloaded the Beretta and shot more. Soon the night was quiet and Reggie sat on the steps of his home and stared at the pile of bodies. He was numb, his eyes wide and unblinking. He’d not been home to keep his family safe. He’d been stopped at every turn and it had been a race to get home. And to what? His family was gone and he’d had to finish it. He swallowed hard.
A shuddered breath went through him, causing his slender frame to quiver. He ran his fingers through his deep auburn hair and pulled, as though he could rip the last hour’s events from his mind. Zombies. It was like nothing he could ever imagine yet he’d had to pull the trigger over and over to drop the people he knew and loved. Children, men, women, old, it didn’t matter. There were bodies all over the yard. There were too many to bury and deep down he knew he couldn’t stay here, couldn’t live in the house where he’d killed his children. He would have to burn this place to the ground and he would have to burn them all. His gorge rose in his throat at the thought. He wiped at his mouth and spit. Across the road were more of those filthy creatures, walking in the dark shadows of night.
His body shook with grief. Marney, Jeb and Hunter, gone and it had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. He thought he knew what life was about, fighting the good fight and taking care of his family. But this virus, this thing had come out of nowhere and had taken over his home, his town and his life. Who had set it free? The Arabs? Chinks? Who? He got up and went into the house to the couch and turned on the TV but it was the same on every channel. The news was repeating itself, just as it had on the radio. His eyes grew heavy and soon he was gone.
Ž
Xander shifted and felt the heat of Zahara beside him. Sometime during the night, she had crawled into his bed. She felt good next to him. He turned and drew her sleeping form into his arms. He’d not make a move, he didn’t want his face bitten off, but it was nice to hold her. He’d gotten used to it over the past week while she’d stayed at his cabin. His cabin. He knew what he needed to do and that was to head back there and hunker down. He was no hero and this was not his job or his fight. He knew there was the Redstone Army facility nearby. They could deal with this shit, if there was anyone left alive.
Even now he detected the low moans of the zombies outside. They would have to find another car dealership and hopefully the dealership would have
