Dying To Live & Fighting To Live-Book One and Book Two (Zombie Overload Series) by C. M. Wright Page A

happening. We are going and that's that. Don't you dare think for one second that we
are going to desert you. You will come back alive and so will
we. So what's the damn plan?"
    He runs his hand
over his face and sighs. He tells us the only plan he has right now
is to get there, get in, find his brother, or at least what is left
of his brother, and get out. You can hear that the small hope he had
in finding his brother alive is nearly gone. I want to tell him not
to lose hope but I can't. I reach over and pat his arm. He shrugs my
hand off and walks away with his head down, his body stiff. I watch
him walk away and sigh. What he finds at that hospital could very
well break him. I'm terrified of what he may do. I turn away and walk
toward Will.

Chapter 11
    Will and I talk
about a few different options on how best to keep the kids safe and,
once we agree on one, discuss it with Mom and Dad. We have decided
they will drive out of Springfield and wait for us on the Interstate
outside of the city, if they can get there and if it
seems to be clear of zombies. If not, they will either find a safer
place or continue to Missouri, where we will catch up. No one makes
any reference to the fact that one or all of us might not make it.
That just isn't an option.
    We strap both babies
in and help the boys load some of their stuff. After holding on to
each of our boys, hugging, and kissing and not wanting to let go, we
finally help them in the Hummer. Mom and Dad hug us tight and tell us
to hurry up and get back to them and stay safe. We say we will. But
we don't promise. I walk away and get inside our Hummer, where I bawl
like a baby for a few minutes. The pain of leaving my boys behind is
almost too much. But I know my parents will take care of them. Or die
trying.
    Will gets inside and
tells me he had just talked to Jake. I didn't notice as I was lost in
my own misery. Jake told Will that we'll follow him to the hospital
and stay in touch through the cellphones in case we should happen to
get separated. Once Jake scopes the hospital and decides the best way
in, he will call us. The others will follow us out of here and then
go their own way. I just nod to let him know I heard him.
    Jake starts his
vehicle and moves toward the big door. I hear the others start their
own engines and Will starts ours, and then we all line up behind
Jake. I watch as he gets out, listens at the door, then shoves the
door open wide. Jumping back in, he drives out into the bright
sunlight. We head toward the front gate where Jake slows but then
continues on. Hundreds of zombies outside that gate. As we drive
past, they seem to get a little agitated but it's not to the point of
a feeding frenzy. It's odd to me to see them in the daylight. I guess
I always attributed zombies to nighttime. Not sure why. They aren't
vampires, after all. Being able to see them better in all their dead
glory, is worse, for me, than at night when you can't see what they
look like very well.
    Jake drives us
around to the right side of the armory and we see another gate. Not
as big as the main gate, but big enough for our vehicles to get
through. We only see a few zombies wandering around on the other
side, but none pressed against the fence. Jake stops, opens the gate,
and gets back in. We follow him through and he makes a left turn,
away from the mass of zombies in the front. We drive through several
intersections before I see the Hummers behind us start turning onto
side streets. Dad finally turns off on the road that will lead to the
Interstate. I'm overwhelmed with terror. But I breath through it and
try to put it out of my mind. No way am I going to stay alive if I'm
worried about what-ifs.
    We can see the huge
hospital up ahead. As we get closer, my stomach dips in fear. I've
been to this hospital several times and so I know it's big, but now
it looks much, much bigger. This is not going to be easy. This isn't
even going to be hard. More like impossible! We follow Jake all