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

zombie tried to grab onto Ken, but her friend skirted away, clutching the carrier tight as Cher caterwauled angrily.
    “ Hit him, Lenore! Hurry!”
    Lenore danced around Mr. Thames’s grasping hands and smashed the butt of the shotgun down onto his head. It made a horrible noise as his skull shattered and dented in. Yet, he continued to grab at her. Lenore slammed it down a second time and busted in the front of Mr. Thames’s face. It was shocking to see his features vanish beneath her blow in a gout of blood. She hit him one more time and finally he stopped thrashing.
    “ Run! Run! Run!” Ken screamed. He turned and ran.
    A swift look down the street told the horrible story. The zombies had seen them and were coming. Some struggled just to walk, while others easily leapt up and started to sprint toward Lenore.
    Lenore dashed after Ken. Her head swam a bit as she struggled to keep running in a straight line toward her grandmother’s house. Cussing under her breath, she clutched the empty shotgun tightly in her hands. She would not die today without a fight.
    “ The blue house, Ken!” she shouted. “Run to the blue house!”
    Ken darted across the lawn to the house and started banging on the front door.
    Lenore forced breath into her painfully-constricting lungs, but it was getting harder to run. Her body felt so heavy and her head felt like it was about to fall off her shoulders.
    “ Please, please, please,” she prayed.
    She was almost to the front yard of the house when she heard the first gunshot. She let out a wheezing gasp and spun around to see that the zombies were still in pursuit. A few broke off the main pack toward Tito Hernandez, Olympia’s son. Her grandmother’s best friend was nowhere to be seen, but her son was on the lawn of her home firing at the zombies. He was snarling out cusswords in Spanish as he deftly fired at the running crowd. His short form was rippling with muscles and sweat beaded on his tan skin. His short black hair glistened wetly from the oil he always used to slick it back and his sunglasses hid his dark eyes.
    “ Run, Lenore, run!” He continued to fire and reload calmly.
    The zombies fell beneath his bullets, but there were at least five still heading straight for him.
    Ken continued to bang on the door. “Let us in! Let us in!”
    Lenore reached the walk up to the house and huffed and puffed her way up to the steps. Checking over her shoulder, she saw the zombies struggling to maneuver over the white picket fence bordering the Hernandez house. The zombies had forgotten about Lenore and were focused on the Hispanic man. Tito continued to pick them off one by one. He was coolly efficient and brutal with his accuracy.
    “ Do you have your key?” Ken was gasping loudly.
    “ Yeah, hold on,” she answered, and handed him the bloodied shotgun. She fumbled around in her jean pockets while Cher, the very upset kitty, meowed loudly.
    “ Where is my Mama?” Tito’s voice was surprisingly close. He was already running up the walk. Behind him the street was littered with dead zombies.
    Lenore managed to grab the key out of her pocket and shoved into the lock. “I don’t know.”
    “ Is she with your grandma?” Tito reloaded his pistol and looked around uneasily.
    “ I don’t know,” Lenore said and unlocked the front door.
    “ Be careful, Lenore,” Tito said to her. “Open it slowly.”
    Lenore swallowed and nodded. She gently pressed the door open. Her grandmother came into view. She was lying on the floor; face down, the phone still clutched in one hand. Without thinking, Lenore rushed to her side and fell to her knees. “Grandma!”
    Ken stumbled in, clutching the cat carrier, and looking around. “Lenore, be careful! She might be a zombie!”
    Tito stepped just inside the front door. “Lenore, be careful, chica . Seriously. This shit is whacked out. Back up.”
    “ What he said,” Ken agreed.
    Lenore blinked back tears and shook her head. “No, not my grandma.