As the World Dies by Rhiannon Frater Page B

Pepe on the ground and slid the loop at the end of the leash onto his wrist.
        
        Pepe immediately began sniffing the tires, the ground, his shoes, Stacey's shoes, etc…
        
        Stacey leaned over her brother and he awoke with a start. He had passed out from the pain. For a second he didn't recognize her and drew back sharply, and then he realized where they were and relaxed.
        
        "We made it?"
        
        "Yeah, Sean. We made it. But you're pretty banged up," Stacey answered, relief slowly filling her voice. "We need to stop the bleeding…" Her hand hovered over his bloodied arm.
        
        "What happened?” Eric untied some of the rope holding the blue tarp in place and fumbled for the First Aide kit.
        
        " To get out of the community center, we had to bust out one of those damn extra thick Plexiglas windows," Sean explained wincing as his sister studied his still bleeding wounds. “Who makes windows five inches thick? That was freaking crazy.”
        
        "I only saw dead things through the windows. Where were you guys?"
        
        Eric pulled open the big tin box and Stacey grabbed up some cotton and alcohol.
        
        "There is an office block in the back. It's where the Chamber of Commerce folks are. There are these huge old metal doors between that area and the Community Center. We've been on the Chamber of Commerce side," Sean explained. He winced as his sister began to clean up his arm so she could see where he was bleeding from.
        
        "So you couldn't get out?" Eric asked.
        
        "Nope. They chained all the doors shut," Sean answered then gasped as his sister found what she was looking for and began to apply hard pressure to staunch the bleeding.
        
        "To keep us safe," Stacey said sourly.
        
        Eric handed Stacey some gauze and she took it gratefully. Her fingers were red with her brother's blood and Eric felt a little lightheaded by the sight. It made him think of all the blood in the car where Brandy had died.
        
        "So we couldn't get out once it went bad. The Sheriff had the keys and he was the first one down when those…those…"
        
        "Zombies," Eric offered helpfully.
        
        Sean looked at him and Eric could see the disbelief in his eyes at the sound of the word despite all he had seen. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah, zombies. The soldiers from the crash and some of the rescue guys were mauled by one of the…we thought he was just crazed from his injuries…one of the survivors of the crash. They were being treated in the main room of the community center and the Sheriff was questioning the pilot when suddenly one of the soldiers just got up off his bunk and bit into the Sheriff’s face."
        
        Stacey grimaced at the memory and checked the wound. It was still bleeding. "It went bad fast."
        
        "Real fast," Sean agreed. "About half those wounded guys started getting up and attacking people and those people started attacking people."
        
        "And we were trying to get out but the doors were chained."
        
        "So my Dad and another guy started herding everyone toward the doors to the office area. It was a mad crush and…" Stacey faltered. She shrugged and continued to press down hard on her flinching brother's arm.
        
        "How many got into the office area?"
        
        "Twenty-three," Sean answered softly. His dark eyes glittered with tears. "Two died of wounds and…"
        
        "Got up. Coop bashed their brains in with a fire extinguisher."
        
        "Your dad?" Eric swallowed hard thinking of the strong older man who had sacrificed himself at the house.
        
        "Yeah. Everyone, even us, called him Coop. He's the town football hero and the coach of the Blazing Riders high school football team," Stacey answered. "Or…he