More zombies enter my vision.
How could they have gotten here so fast? I wonder.
Fifty feet to the car. Thirty feet between me and the first zombie.
Fifteen feet to the car.
Of course, just when I'm so close to safety, I screw everything up. My shoes slip on the pavement, and my knee slams into the pavement as I crash to the ground. The suitcase falls, clattering loudly beside me.
The mutant man is just a few feet away. I hear a loud crack split the air. Something imbeds itself into the zombie's forhead. He suddenly falls backward against the crowd of other zombies. I look behind me and see Mom tucking the pistol into her belt.
I scramble up to my feet and pick up the suitcase. My knee twinges, but I ignore it.
Run, run, run! I scream at myself inwardly. I sprint the rest of the way to the car, trying to keep up with Keira. Mom and Mrs. Doble are already in the car with their seatbelts on.
Keira gets in the car first. We struggle to shove the suitcase into the car, but it's stuck on something...
I steal a glance behind me. The next zombie is ten feet away.
I give a final shove, and the suitcase flies into the car. I jump in and slam the door shut.
The zombie bangs into my car door. Tiny cracks spiderweb across the window.
"Drive!" I yell.
Mom hands the gun to Mrs. Doble, telling her to shoot the zombies out the window. Mrs. Doble looks terrified. Mom pounds her foot on the gas pedal.
Mrs. Doble rolls the window down and aims the gun at a mutant man. She squeezes her eyes shut and pulls the trigger. The gun bucks in her hand, and Keira claps her hands over her ears as a loud bang rings in our ears.
The bullet misses the man. It hits a child behind him. The little girl collapses, and the other zombies trample over her body as if she is not there. Mrs. Doble screams. She rolls her window back up and shouts, "Drive faster, Beth!"
We speed out of the neighborhood.
I glance over at Keira. Her blue eyes look like they are going to pop out of her head. She is breathing somewhat heavily.
"Please tell me I'm not crazy!" Keira cries.
"You're not crazy," I reply, then mutter under my breath, "Although that would be better than those zombies being real."
YOU ARE READING
The Risen
Science FictionHolli Rado's father is a scientist who works for the government. When one of his experiments goes horribly wrong, Holli has to find a way to eliminate her father's deadly creation, while trying to stay alive and keep the experiment from killing the...
