Life Among The Dead Read Online Free Page A

by red poofy hair and face paint. A zombie stands, staring at Dan, dressed as a clown. It wears wide pants with mismatching suspenders. The jester tries to grab the soldier through a glass sliding door that is between them. It ends up bouncing its head off the invisible barrier with a reverberating thunk. Behind him the windows have given way. A look back and Dan can see the dead pouring into the house like a waterfall of limp bodies. I have no choice, he figures.
    He throws open the sliding glass door. Bozo tries to lunge at him but receives a foot to his chest instead. The sole of Dan’s combat boot lands square in the middle of the clown’s obscenely wide yellow tie. The amusingly clad zombie falls on its back to a concrete slab that serves as this domicile’s patio. Before it can get up its head is stomped into the hard surface by the hurried man.
    The sun shines down into the enclosed yard, the air feels much warmer. All sides of the property are bordered by brown wooden fencing that Dan judges to be at least 8 feet high. Within the yard a dozen pint sized corpses shamble towards the soldier from the right hand side, all wearing festively pointed hats. Despite the horror of seeing children like this Dan knows he has to keep moving. He can hear the dead in the house making their way to join the party.
    The first of the young zombies in his way stands out from the others. He has a blue ribbon pinned to his shirt that reads: Birthday Boy. It’s the guest of honor himself.
    “ Happy birthday, Jimbo!” Dan says, swinging his rifle like a bat. The butt connects with Jimmy’s jaw, shattering it as the boy becomes airborne.
    The undead missile lands on a barbeque grill that is belching black smoke from under its lid. His weight causes the grill to topple over; its gas tank flops hard against the ground. Dan passes Jimmy who now flails to get to his feet. The boy’s right arm is on fire. The zombie child looks at the flames with dumb fascination at first, then tries to swat them out with his other hand. The greasy flames spread and soon he is engulfed up to his elbows.
    A hissing sound is escaping from the over turned BBQ. That’s not good, Dan says to himself. He increases his speed as he heads to the fence. He has to bat away the tiny zombies in his path. The soldier vaults up the wooden wall and doesn’t hesitate to look before falling over the other side, deeper down the street and even further from home.
    From the neighboring lawn Dan locates a crack between the boards of the fence. Jimmy’s place is lousy with walking corpses. They pour onto the patio from the sliding door. The birthday boy is now a walking ball of fire that the other dead see, and seem to avoid. They are still coming after Dan, taking a wider approach around the flames.
    “ They’re afraid of fire.” Dan deduces. A flash blinds him and his ears are suddenly filled with a loud, painful boom as the propane grill explodes. Although the wooden divider takes the brunt of the force Dan still finds himself on his back.
    The cerulean blue sky slowly comes into focus. He stares up at it, allowing himself time to recover. The lawn is thick and soft beneath him. He would love to lay here for a few hours but he knows he can’t. He has to get home to his wife. One thing troubles him at the moment above all the implausible and awful things he has seen today.
    “ Isn’t it a little early in the day for a fucking barbecue?” He screams at the fence while kicking the smoldering wood. His futile outburst makes him laugh. He slowly stands up smiling as he brushes himself off. He freezes in place and his smile disappears when he hears a low growl coming from somewhere in the yard.
     

 
    6
     
     
    “ Oh, my God. Did you hear that?” Becka asks in the dark.
    “ Yeah.” Derek responds.
    “ What was that?”
    “ Sounded like an explosion.”
    They cannot see one another. Derek had pulled up the hatch eliminating their main source of light in the