As the World Dies by Rhiannon Frater

escape ladder. He unlatched the window and shoved it open as Stacey yanked the slide out of its box and hooked it over the windowsill. The slide was barely in place when she ripped the cord and it inflated.
        
        Without hesitation, Stacey heaved herself out the window and slipped down the slide to the ground below. She immediately sprang to her feet and dashed to the waiting four wheel ATV. Eric snatched Pepe up into his arms and followed her. He gasped as he slid down far more quickly than he anticipated and almost didn't catch himself as his feet hit the ground.
        
        Ahead of him, Stacey reached the ATV and straddled the seat. He ran with Pepe in his arms and was relieved to see her twist the key he always kept in the ignition.
        
        "I'll drive," he said and thrust Pepe into her arms.
        
        She hastily slid back on the seat to make room for Eric. Holding down the brake, he quickly turned the killswitch on and hit the starter. The engine grumbled to life and he gripped the handlebars tightly.
        
        "You can't wait to let it warm up!" Stacey looked back toward the house as tears streamed down her face. "Just go."
        
        Eric nodded and pulled on the accelerator and the ATV lurched forward. He aimed it toward the route he had already planned just in case this sort of thing ever went down. Of course, he hadn't anticipated anyone being with him. Sweat was pouring into his eyes and his heart was thudding so hard, it felt like it was about to explode, he drove the vehicle away from the house alongside the fenced in pasture.
        
        "Wait!"
        
        It was a desperately barked out word.
        
        Stacey looked back as Eric hit the brake.
        
        Sean was at the window.
        
        "He's still alive!" Stacey almost dropped Pepe in her surprise. "Hurry, Sean!"
        
        Eric grabbed Pepe from Stacey's grasp and shoved him into his light jacket and zipped it up.
        
        In a panic, the young man flung himself out of it as greedy dead hands grabbed for him. He landed on the slide too far to one side and he fell off it onto the ground. The zombies scrambled out the window after him. A few slid down the slide to land hard on the ground, while a few others fell near Sean.
        
        "Get up! Get up!" Stacey's voice was shrill.
        
        Sean managed to get to his feet and deftly avoided the grasp of the zombies lunging toward him. Hobbled by his fall, he rushed toward the ATV, dragging his one leg behind him. The zombies continued to fall out of the window and land hard on the ground. A few busted open their heads or broke their necks. The zombies sliding down to the ground piled up in a heap of twisting arms and legs. Luckily, they didn't seem to know how to untangle themselves and get up.
        
        Sean was almost to the ATV when some faster, fiercer zombies rounded the corner of the house.
        
        "We gotta go," Eric exclaimed and the ATV lurched forward.
        
        There was no time to wait for Sean and they both knew it.
        
        With an unbelievable amount of willpower, Sean pushed his body to the limit despite his pain and managed to throw himself onto the trailer behind the ATV. The hands of the pursuing zombies grabbed for him and one or two managed to snag his clothes. Sean twisted his body in an attempt to get free from the grasping creatures and shouted for Eric to go faster. He kicked his legs to dislodge the zombies while trying to hold onto the edge of the trailer.
        
        "Sean! Sean!" Stacey's arms were painfully tight around Eric's waist and she screamed as one of the zombies tried to pull itself onto the trailer as the ATV gained speed.
        
        The scarily fast, still fresh zombie tried to use its handhold on Sean's shirt to pull itself onto the trailer. Sean managed to get one foot on the