Karen growled.
With all her might, she took the extinguisher into both hands and threw it at the advancing corpses . Hitting a number of her targets heads cracked and teeth sprinkled to the floor. Those that continued to walk stumbled over the bodies as they fell in their path. Several more explosions shook the building. The schools structure had been blasted beyond repair, demolished rooms and bodies merged into one.
Gunfire rattled outside as the soldiers exterminated those dead that had unwittingly managed to escape from the school.
Sam, Jayne and Karen ran frantically down the corridor towards the stairs. Sam looked back. To his morbid amusement, some of the dead had caught fire but despite the flames coming off them they continued to walk or crawl until they could no longer move; finally dead.
They were covered in black mortar dust as debris fell all around them as another explosion ripped through the building sending glass flying out of their frames, more walls crumbled away. Everything seemed to shake as if the very foundations had given way. Karen fell through a gaping hole in the floor. Her top catching on a floorboard preventing her from falling to the raging fire that burned below her.
Jayne slammed onto the floor, landing on broken glass which cut open her hands and knees. She lay motionless in her own blood, the broken glass crunching under her weight. She looked over to see Sam uneasily get to his feet. He stood larger than life, debris and fire all around him. Behind him she could see the blue decaying corpses then everything turned black as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Karen hung there, frantically trying to grab hold of the floorboard that had snagged her clothes, the flames burning higher and higher beneath her. Sam dived along the wooden floor reaching down and gripping Karen’s hands just as her top ripped. With all his might he began to pull her up, getting Karen to safety.
Some of the dead shuffled forward closing in once more on the living. Sam pointed the gun at one of the dead men’s heads.
“Eat this,” Sam spat, pulling the trigger he realised the gun was empty. Both the corpse and Sam paused briefly staring into the others eyes. Sam yelled as the dead man lurched forward, wrestling him to the floor while Karen grabbed the second zombie. Without hesitation Karen threw it down the hole into the fire below, she watched as its loose flesh was eaten by the flames.
A third zombie made its way over to where Jayne still lay, unconscious on the floor. A fourth appeared in the doorway and grabbed Sam from behind. Not knowing who to help first, Karen moved towards Sam.
“I got it covered. Help Jayne,” he bawled, throwing his attacker to the floor, his foot connecting with its head, sending it spinning through the air.
Karen picked up a thick piece of timber and smashed it into the skull of dead who hovered about Jayne. Whilst it lay on the floor, Karen could see that it was still moving . Unsure whether the movement was deliberate or involuntary she swung the piece of wood hitting the zombie repeatedly until it moved no more.
More and more zombies descended into the room as they made to escape from the flames that now raged through the building. Another devastating explosion filled the once silent corridors. Karen could see Sam fighting off the dead, throwing them up against the walls and into other corpses. For the moment, he was free of them and Karen turned her attention back to rousing Jayne. Sam turned, unharmed and walked towards Karen. Winking at her, as he bent forward to help with Jayne, Karen smiled in relief, the smile turning to a gasp as from the corner of her eye she noticed the ceiling creaking and groaning before it gave way, tearing the corridor into two with dust swirling before their eyes. The falling rubble had separated Sam from the two women. Caked with the falling dust Karen pulled away some of the rubble. She found a small opening and put her hand through the gap
Susan Isaacs
Charlotte Grimshaw
Elle Casey
Julie Hyzy
Elizabeth Richards
Jim Butcher
Demelza Hart
Julia Williams
Allie Ritch
Alexander Campion