her shoulder. The other women ran past, gasping and crying out in fear. Glenda fired half-a-dozen rounds, and three of the undead fell to the ground. One of them didn’t get up.
She fired again, taking careful aim at a woman who was moving faster than the others, her face twisted into a terrifying demented howl of outrage. The left side of her face had been torn away and fl aps of livid flesh hung from her cheek bone. One of her eyes was dangling from its socket, swinging like a pendulum as she lurched forward. When the bullets smashed into her, the ghoul stayed on its feet, staggering in a circle and thrashing at the air with its bloody hands. The bullets slapped loudly into lifeless flesh, so that she jerked and juddered. Then Glenda fired another round that caught the woman in the forehead. She went over backwards – her head snapped back by the vicious impact of the bullet – and lay dead on the warm blacktop.
Cutter ran past Glenda towards the Durango. The girl with the mousy brown hair was tugging desperately at the rear passenger door handle. She turned to Cutter and her eyes were huge and filled with terror. “There ’s a body in the back!” she screamed.
Cutter slammed into the back of the vehicle and saw the reflection of an undead shamble fill the vehicle’s rear window. He turned and fired instinctively, a cry of shock loud in his throat.
The zombie was close. It was a man in a business suit, its face streaked with blood. Its mouth was open, roaring and gnashing. It was close enough for Cutter to see the broken bloody stumps of its teeth and smell the rank fetid stench of its breath.
H e felt the gun kick in his hand as the sound of the shot echoed loud in his ears. The zombie was just a few feet away. Cutter’s shot tore the back of the ghoul’s head off.
He turned back to the woman at the car door. “What?”
“There’s a man, hunched over in the back seat!” she cried, on the edge of hysteria. She flung the door open – and at the same instant the body on the back seat began to move, rising and turning towards her. The ghoul had once been a young man. Now he was a hideously disfigured nightmare, risen from the dead. He was wearing a t-shirt that had been ripped to shreds. It hung from his frame in tatters, exposing dreadful gaping holes in his chest. His face was awash with fresh blood, and black tufts of fur clung to its chin. The zombie’s eyes flashed red with evil rage. It clawed at the woman, its hooked fingers snagging in the front of her blouse, ripping buttons and tugging her into the vehicle. On the seat beside the zombie was the mutilated carcass of a rat. The rodent’s throat had been ripped open and its blood spilled across the soft padded seat.
The woman shrieked. The ghoul pulled her off balance and she was heaved head-first into the SUV. Cutter saw her legs kick wildly and he reached out for her. One of her shoes fell off and then suddenly the interior of the Durango was filled with a bright red eruption of arterial blood. It sprayed across the windows and coated the interior with the sticky cloying stench of sudden death. Cutter saw the woman’s body gripped in a sudden seizure, and then the life went out of her.
He reeled away. Jillian and the other woman were running towards the next SUV. Cutter went back behind the Durango and grabbed Glenda’s shoulder with a grip that was fierce with his own terror.
“Come on!” he shouted. Glenda was still firing. Two more of the ghouls lay dead on the ground, but the rest were shambling closer like a relentless tide of hideous death. Over her shoulder, driven into moaning madness by the loud percussive sound of the AR-15, more of the undead were appearing on the sidewalk, closing in from both sides of the street.
Cutter raised the Glock at one of the ghouls behind them. It was a young girl, maybe just into her teens. She had long blonde hair that was stringy with dirt and gore. She was wearing a long dress, so that it looked
She fired again, taking careful aim at a woman who was moving faster than the others, her face twisted into a terrifying demented howl of outrage. The left side of her face had been torn away and fl aps of livid flesh hung from her cheek bone. One of her eyes was dangling from its socket, swinging like a pendulum as she lurched forward. When the bullets smashed into her, the ghoul stayed on its feet, staggering in a circle and thrashing at the air with its bloody hands. The bullets slapped loudly into lifeless flesh, so that she jerked and juddered. Then Glenda fired another round that caught the woman in the forehead. She went over backwards – her head snapped back by the vicious impact of the bullet – and lay dead on the warm blacktop.
Cutter ran past Glenda towards the Durango. The girl with the mousy brown hair was tugging desperately at the rear passenger door handle. She turned to Cutter and her eyes were huge and filled with terror. “There ’s a body in the back!” she screamed.
Cutter slammed into the back of the vehicle and saw the reflection of an undead shamble fill the vehicle’s rear window. He turned and fired instinctively, a cry of shock loud in his throat.
The zombie was close. It was a man in a business suit, its face streaked with blood. Its mouth was open, roaring and gnashing. It was close enough for Cutter to see the broken bloody stumps of its teeth and smell the rank fetid stench of its breath.
H e felt the gun kick in his hand as the sound of the shot echoed loud in his ears. The zombie was just a few feet away. Cutter’s shot tore the back of the ghoul’s head off.
He turned back to the woman at the car door. “What?”
“There’s a man, hunched over in the back seat!” she cried, on the edge of hysteria. She flung the door open – and at the same instant the body on the back seat began to move, rising and turning towards her. The ghoul had once been a young man. Now he was a hideously disfigured nightmare, risen from the dead. He was wearing a t-shirt that had been ripped to shreds. It hung from his frame in tatters, exposing dreadful gaping holes in his chest. His face was awash with fresh blood, and black tufts of fur clung to its chin. The zombie’s eyes flashed red with evil rage. It clawed at the woman, its hooked fingers snagging in the front of her blouse, ripping buttons and tugging her into the vehicle. On the seat beside the zombie was the mutilated carcass of a rat. The rodent’s throat had been ripped open and its blood spilled across the soft padded seat.
The woman shrieked. The ghoul pulled her off balance and she was heaved head-first into the SUV. Cutter saw her legs kick wildly and he reached out for her. One of her shoes fell off and then suddenly the interior of the Durango was filled with a bright red eruption of arterial blood. It sprayed across the windows and coated the interior with the sticky cloying stench of sudden death. Cutter saw the woman’s body gripped in a sudden seizure, and then the life went out of her.
He reeled away. Jillian and the other woman were running towards the next SUV. Cutter went back behind the Durango and grabbed Glenda’s shoulder with a grip that was fierce with his own terror.
“Come on!” he shouted. Glenda was still firing. Two more of the ghouls lay dead on the ground, but the rest were shambling closer like a relentless tide of hideous death. Over her shoulder, driven into moaning madness by the loud percussive sound of the AR-15, more of the undead were appearing on the sidewalk, closing in from both sides of the street.
Cutter raised the Glock at one of the ghouls behind them. It was a young girl, maybe just into her teens. She had long blonde hair that was stringy with dirt and gore. She was wearing a long dress, so that it looked
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