Page 34 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
Dane ducks, losing some of the resistance he had against the zombie, but my strike is accurate and the first hit of my bat caves in half of the zombie’s face. It doesn’t go down, but it does stumble back before letting out a weak, wet roar. I hit it again. Dane wrestles his hatchet back from the zombie’s now-frail grip and goes for its knees, leaving me to work on the head.
I hardly hear the crack of bone and wet tear of flesh over the sounds of my own panting breaths and frantic heart. My arms ache when the zombie finally topples to one side, and I take a tremulous step back.
It isn’t dead. Another fragile sound escapes its throat, and me and Dane both raise our weapons, but Mason is faster.
He has something with him, something like the old batons the police once used, and he brings it down in a graceful, sweeping arc, metal connecting with the still-intact pieces of the zombie’s skull. It gargles and goes still. Blood splatter paints Mason’s pale skin and my throat goes dry.
“Nice of you to eventually step in,” Dane says, but the venom he wants to inject into his voice is missing. There’s a tremor in it instead. He’s scared.
“You both seemed to have it well in hand,” Mason replies smoothly. In contrast, there’s no fear in him at all. His eyes move over me like mine move over him, and heat sparks in their depths, making my throat dry even as relief rushes through me.
Whatever angered him before, it’s gone. Or at least forgotten in the face of this.
“We should find the others,” Dane says. “See if they—”
Someone screams. Dane is off like a shot, and I’m quick on his heels, Mason keeping in step with me. Why are they here now? The sky might be darker today, still heavy with clouds, but it’s not night, so I don’t know why the zombies have decided to emerge again.
Are they hungry? I huff. Zombies are always hungry.
“Fuck,” Dane curses as we round the corner.
Blake is fighting off a zombie on his own and seems to almost have the better of it. Otto has two, trying to help Emma, who has her back to him, beating back one of her own.
And those four… There are more still, spilling up from the centre of town. I think of Rae and Autumn. I should go and find them, see if they need help—
As though they hear me, they arrive just behind us, Sal breathing hard. There’s a smear of blood on his cheek. He looks at Mason and scowls. “Three of the fuckers.”
“Dealt with?” Mason asks.
Sal nods.
I don’t speak. I exchange a nod with Rae. Dane is already fighting alongside Blake, and she heads towards Otto, Autumn close behind her. I look at the horde shambling up the slope. It isn’t too steep, but it’s enough to slow them down.
“Want some help with that?” Mason’s shoulder brushes mine.
I hear Sal enter the fray behind us.
“We’re going to be overrun.”
“Hm.”
“You should probably go back up to the church.”
Mason lets out a faint, delighted sigh. “I meant what I said. I like it when you worry about me.”
With those parting words, he runs. He meets the first zombie with a blow that shatters its kneecaps, sending it sprawling across the cobblestones. Fuck. I push aside the heat that rushes through me. Here and now, there’s no place for it.
And I can’t leave him to fight alone. I follow, matching each of his forceful, accurate blows with one of my own. The zombies groan and snarl, dull fingers trying to catch my clothes and bring me down with them, but I’m quick on my feet and careful to blink back the sweat that rolls down my forehead and stings my eyes.
Some escape around us, determined to get to the others further up the street, but when I risk a glance back, they seem to have it under control.
At first anyway.
The numbers are beginning to slow. Blood is slick underfoot, and I’ll throw up from the smell of everything later, but for now the desire to survive is stronger than all else.
Except I hear Otto shout. I spin on one foot, arm thrown out to keep my balance, and all the blood drains from my face when I see the zombie sink its teeth into his shoulder.
Rae is faster than anyone else, and Autumn’s training is impeccable. Rae drags the zombie back and Autumn swings her machete, hacking through the zombie’s neck with two sharp movements.
