Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel) Read Online Free Page A

into her eyes when they talked and she liked that.
    Several times, Jeff noticed Jet staring at him as they played. Occasionally, he glanced up, but she would quickly turn her eyes another direction or down toward her cards. As they quietly played, there was a hard knock at the door and everyone jumped. They all looked around at each other, afraid to move. A few seconds later, there was another hard knock.
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    Lisa and Mark quietly watched through the car windows as the zombies came up the street, only slowing as they walked around a car sitting out in the middle of the street. These didn’t look like they had been zombies too long and walked at a pretty good pace. From the opposite direction, they heard the roar of an engine and screeching tires as an old green pickup came flying around the corner.
    Lisa motioned for Mark to stay down and be quiet. They watched as four men with guns jumped out from the back of the truck and two more got out of the cab. The men yelled and opened fire on the zombies in the street.
    Lisa tapped Mark and lipped the words “goon squad” as she pulled the pistol from the holster. They listened until the shooting stopped; then they heard one of the men yell, “Spread out and check the area. I’m sure the shot came from around here.”
    Mark set his rifle on single shot and motioned for Lisa to stay down and keep quiet. Before she could react, he jumped up and started firing rounds at the men as he ran down the sidewalk. Two of them immediately fell where they stood as his bullets found their target and sliced through the men’s bodies. The others aimed and started firing at him as he ran. Rounds hit the walls and ground in front of and behind him, sending chunks of concrete and stucco flying. He ran into the street and took cover behind a car.
    All of their fire focused on that car. The tires blew out and it shook as the bullets punched through the metal skin. The glass shattered and fell to the ground. Lisa watched as the car began to disintegrate before her eyes. Her horror became real when the car exploded. She could feel the heat from the flames as they lunged out and up. She screamed, “Noooooooooooo!”
    There was a brief silence, as the men looked her way. One yelled out, “Get her!” She knelt down and moved to the front of the car, hoping the engine block would provide better cover. She held the pistol up over the hood and blindly shot toward them. Returning fire, they cautiously advanced on her position.
    When she emptied the first magazine, she quickly swapped it out with another and started firing again. One of the men was hit and thrown to the ground as the bullet ripped through his chest, but the other three continued to advance. Hot brass fell all around her like rain, making hollow pings as they hit the sidewalk. The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
    When she dropped the second magazine to insert the third, one of the men came around the front of the car and pointed a large-caliber revolver in her face. She heard the double click as he pulled the hammer back and said, “You move and I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.”
    She slowly raised her hands and stared into the large bore at end of the barrel. Another man came up from behind her and took the pistol from her hand. Given a choice, a bullet tearing through her head was far better than being cut open and eaten alive by zombies, but she wasn’t ready to give up and die.
    She felt someone from behind grab her hair and pull her flat onto her back. The man kept his gun pointed at her face as he straddled her and squatted down. “I see we have a pretty one here. I think we should have a little fun with her before we feed the zombies.”
    She was disgusted by his dirty, sweaty face. His smell was foul and she almost gagged. His eyes were cold and she swore he had no soul. Thoughts raced through her mind and she wondered how she was going to get out of this mess. Mark was dead and everyone else was too far away