ZOMB-POCALYPSE BOOK 2

Chapter Two

Somehow sensing more warm, fleshly bodies in the area, the moans of the dead grow even louder as they surge up against the dumpster, making it rock like crazy.

Above us, the people on the roof are struggling to lower a long aluminum ladder. Silas reaches up when the ladder gets close enough to grab, and he guides it down so that the legs rest on the dumpster lid. The ladder isn't quite tall enough to reach the top.

"Jane, you go first!" Ryan yells to be heard over the moans and growls. My stomach clenches; I am not a fan of heights. It isn't that I'm necessarily afraid of them, but this ladder doesn't seem the least bit safe and I'm terrified of nosediving fifteen feet down into a crowd of hungry zombies.

"Not so fast," Silas says, putting his hand up to block my shaky steps towards the ladder.

"What are you doing?" Ryan demands with an angry look on his face.

"Have you even thought about this?" Silas challenges. "We don't know who these people are. We can't just send Jane up the ladder first. How do we know they won't throw the ladder off the roof and keep her for God knows what?"

Ryan's face falls. "I didn't think of that," he says quietly, so quietly I can't even hear him, but I know what he said from reading his lips.

"I'll go first," Ryan volunteers, his face firming with his resolve. Silas stares at him for a moment and then finally nods.

The people on the roof are waving like crazy for us to hurry, and Ryan's first step up the ladder makes my heart dip in fear. Silas grasps the bottom of the ladder to keep it steady. Up on the roof, people lean dangerously over the edge to keep hold of the top of the ladder.

The zombies, oblivious to it all, or perhaps on purpose, press against the dumpster and howl harder, making the ladder jostle from side to side.

"Holy shit," I murmur, stuffing my fist against my mouth to keep from screaming as I watch Ryan get half way up the ladder before it shifts suddenly. Ryan's footing slips, but he manages to clutch a rung for dear life.

"Go faster!" Silas shouts up at him, and even through the rain I see Ryan nod. He's heard him.

Ryan picks up his pace and quickly reaches the top of the ladder. I hold my breath. This is the most dangerous part. Two bigger men reach over the edge, grasp Ryan by his wrists, and begin to pull him up.

The dumpster rocks wildly, and I'm forced to kneel down to keep from getting pitched off. I don't know how Silas stays upright. The metal creaks, protesting the force of so many bodies pressing in, and I accidentally gulp down rain water as my mouth gapes open.

Silas and I wait, holding our collective breath until we see Ryan poke his head over the top and he gives us the thumbs up. He joins the two men in leaning dangerously over the edge to hold the ladder in place.

"You're up," Silas says to me, and with fear shaking me to my very core, I grip the cold ladder in my hands and start to climb. It's crazy how much a couple weeks can change you. Before the zombies, I would have laughed in anyone's face who even suggested I do such a dangerous thing. No one is laughing now though. It's climb this ladder or die.

I try to ignore everything, like the fact that there's a hungry hoard of zombies below me like a rolling sea of restless, rotting flesh. I ignore the fact that I'm climbing a good twenty feet up into the air. The rain beats me in the face as I go, also making the ladder slippery. The ladder itself sways and creaks every time the dumpster gets rocked, but I try to block it all out and focus on putting each foot and hand in front of the other.