RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 38 .

Lily

"Run!" Hunter yelled.

Darren's mom scooped up Marcos and started to run back to our bikes, but when groans sounded in that direction, Maria grabbed her arm and pulled her further through the trees to our left. Molly barked and growled. She bared her teeth. Her hackles stood on end.

Victory's arrow flew into Richard's dad's eye and he fell hard to the ground.

"Run, Richard," Hunter called out as he let loose his own arrow into a charging zombie woman. Richard stood there unmoving. His face was pale as he stared down at his dad's body.

Darren and Monica grabbed Richard's arms from either side and pulled him after Darren's mom. Arthur, Juan and Mackenzie ran closely after them. Molly ran with them. She stayed protectively by Arthur's side. It had been about a week since the zombie apocalypse began and I hadn't used my gun yet. I did now.

As Hunter, Victory and I followed the rest of our group, we fired on the chasing zombies. Hunter and Victory used their bows. I used my gun. The loud shot echoed through the trees. It didn't matter if I was loud now. The zombies already knew we were there.

Monica let go of Richard's arm as he finally had his faculties back enough to run on his own. Monica readied her own gun and fired into the rushing zombies. Darren readied an arrow, but he was having difficulty aiming it while running. He let the arrow fly, but it landed harmlessly at an on rushing zombie's feet. I shot that zombie and then quickly fired at another one that was rushing us from behind.

Maria shot an arrow into the zombie that was charging Darren's mom and Marcos from the side. The zombie stumbled as the arrow hit it's shoulder. It quickly regained its balance and continued its charge. Darren's mom stopped just long enough to aim her gun and fire it at the charging zombie while Marcos clung tightly to her neck with tears dripping from his cheeks. The zombie fell to the ground.

Monica, Richard, Darren's mom and I fired our guns freely. Hunter and Victory killed more zombies with their arrows. Darren and Maria tried shooting the zombies with their bows and arrows, but they rarely hit the head. Those of us with guns ended up killing the zombies they were trying to kill. It wasn't their fault. They couldn't really be proficient with a weapon they had only learned to use a few days ago. And we were running. The zombies were running. The entire situation was difficult.

The groans of zombies were all around us except up ahead. Goosebumps formed all along my arms as I ran, as I reloaded my gun. The zombies' pupils glowed green as the sky grew even darker. Their mouths opened. Spit dripped from their mouths and down their chins. They ran at a speed equal to us and sometimes slightly faster than us. And there were so many. For everyone one we killed, two more took its place. Hunter met my gaze. We weren't going to make it. There wasn't a house we could run into to fortify ourselves or a place to hide.

He looked away from me and shot another arrow in a charging zombie. Dark clouds formed overhead at a rapid pace. A cold wind kicked up. Great. Just what we needed, a storm to hinder our movements. Except the wind actually helped Darren's and Maria's arrows find their marks into zombie heads instead of the shoulder or torso.

"Keep running," Mackenzie encouraged. I didn't realize until then that all three of the children were crying. I knew Marcos was, but didn't realize Arthur and Juan were too. Molly barked and growled as she ran by Arthur's side. Mackenzie had a hand on Juan's and Arthur's backs encouraging them forward. I couldn't let her die. Even if it meant I died, her sweet self had to live on. I fired at the nearest zombie. A red hole formed in its forehead. Its momentum took it another step forward before it fell.