3.2 As the World Dies Untold Tales Vol. 2 by Rhiannon Frater Page A

had an inkling she may have been knocked unconscious for a few moments. The disorientation she felt after the crash was fading now. The world seemed to be coming out of the haze. Instead of feeling like she was moving in slow motion through a horror movie, she felt painfully-aware of the world in action around her.
    Ken screamed beside her and she turned to see a hand reaching through the shattered window. He thrashed around in his seat trying to evade the zombie.
    Lenore leaned over, still feeling rather sluggish, and saw the zombie try to grab Ken. “Help me! Help me!” Ken struggled with the seatbelt.
    Lenore pulled the shotgun off his lap.
    “ I fired two shots! It doesn’t have any more!”
    She took aim at the horrible shredded face and pulled the trigger. The shotgun thundered and the zombie fell. The other zombies paid no attention as they continued to pull apart the girl in the car.
    “ It’s dead. Calm down.” Lenore’s fingers found the button on his buckle and pressed it.
    Ken nearly crawled onto her lap trying to get away from the shattered driver side window.
    Lenore fumbled for the bag she had pulled the shotgun out of. More zombies were struggling to get into the car that had crashed into them. The feeding frenzy had the attention of the undead. For now they weren’t paying mind to the truck or its occupants. Lenore snagged the bag and yanked it onto her lap. Checking inside, she was relieved to see several boxes of shotgun shells.
    “ Lenore, Lenore, I killed that girl they’re eating. I killed her,” Ken whispered in a trembling voice.
    “ Can’t worry about that now,” Lenore answered and shoved the passenger door open. She dropped out of the truck and surveyed the surroundings. She heaved the bag over one shoulder and held the shotgun in one hand.
    “ Zombies, everywhere, Lenore,” Ken hissed.
    “ Window broken. Broken truck. Get out.” Lenore’s head was throbbing and her vision was a little off, but she knew they had to go and now.
    Ken slid out of the truck and dragged his bag with him. He snagged Cher’s carrier. He looked too pale and his eyes were huge in his pinched face.
    From behind the battered cars came the terrible sounds of the feeding frenzy. The crunching and slurping was enough to make anyone want throw up, but Lenore’s tummy was empty now. She swallowed firmly and pulled Ken along behind her.
    She could see her home just three houses down the block to the right. It was so close. If they could just avoid any of the really fast zombies, they could probably make it to safety.
    Ken breathed heavily beside her as they jogged toward the house. Though she didn’t want to, she reluctantly took a quick peek behind them. A badly-mauled zombie trailed behind them. Its leg was chewed to the bone and it was missing an arm. It was Mr. Thames, her elderly neighbor, who had been tending his yard when she had left for work not too long ago.
    Whipping about, she aimed the shotgun at his head and pulled the trigger. The shotgun merely clicked. It was empty.
    “ Crap!”
    “ Reload it!”
    “ Do you know how?”
    “ No,” Ken whispered.
    Lenore flipped the shotgun around and held it by its warm barrel as Mr. Thames drew closer.
    “ Let’s run!”
    “ It will follow us!”
    Ken sobbed while he clutched the cat carrier even tighter in his arms.
    “ I’m gonna hit its head,” Lenore said. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on the task. “I’ll hit him until he doesn’t move, then we run to the house.”
    She saw Ken nod wildly beside her. Lenore fought back fear and concentrated her attention on the zombie. Beyond the walking remains of Mr. Thames, she could see more zombies gathering around the accident, feasting on what was left of that poor girl in the car. It was only a matter of time before they saw Ken and Lenore.
    Ken unexpectedly let out a frantic, awful noise and rushed Mr. Thames. He shoved Cher’s cat carrier into the old man’s chest, toppling him over. The