Plague Town by Dana Fredsti

like I’d thought we’d end up married or anything. If asked whether or not I loved him, I’d probably have said no. But he’d been a decent boyfriend, and had done a lot to help me heal my trashed self-esteem.
    He didn’t deserve this.
    “I’m sorry, Matt,” I said softly.
    The zombie cocked its head as if it understood me, and that freaked me out. It shoved one hand through the bars, ignoring or unaware of the skin sloughing off as it reached for me. I knew better than to react.
    General Brasshole, however, did not. He reached past me and smacked the hand with his gloved fist.
    “Looks like your boyfriend wants to hold hands, Miss Parker.”
    I’d had enough. I rounded on him, grabbing him by the front of his hazmat suit.
    “What exactly are you trying to accomplish by being a total prick?” I demanded. “Piss me off?” He tried to push me away, but I was too strong. “Well, good job!” I continued, my voice rising. “But with an asshole like you in charge, why the hell would I want to join your team? ”
    Gabriel grabbed my arms while the General helplessly—and furiously—thrashed in my grasp. He did his best to pull me off Heald without hurting me. Several techs tried to pry my hands away.
    “Ashley, let go!”
    I registered Simone’s voice even through the curtain of red that had descended on me. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason I listened to her and dropped Heald as swiftly as I’d grabbed him. The techs caught the jerk before he fell against the cage.
    Gabriel pulled me backward, holding me in case I decided to go for it again. He needn’t have bothered; all of my rage-fueled energy evaporated and I sagged against him, sick at heart and exhausted in mind, body, and spirit.
    His grip changed from restraining to supporting almost immediately.
    “Are you all right?” Simone put a hand on my forehead. “You’re running a fever again. You need to be in bed.”
    “Bed?” Even through the distortion of the helmet I could hear the icy rage in Heald’s voice. “The little bitch needs to be put in one of these cages!” He shook off the techs and straightened up, either ignoring or unaware of several pairs of zombie hands pawing at him through the bars. Fingers grazed his hazmat suit without finding purchase.
    “While I don’t condone it, her attack on you was provoked,” Simone said with forced calm. “This girl has been through hell, and cannot be expected to adjust to the situation instantly. She needs time.”
    “Time is a luxury we don’t have, Professor Fraser.” Heald glared at me. “Get it through your little Barbie head, Miss Parker. These things are a threat to the human race.” He seized the capture pole from its resting place against the wall, thrusting the business end into the cage and into the nearest zombie.
    The wood and metal clasp penetrated Matt’s chest by about an inch before Heald pulled it back out. There was a squelching sound that I could’ve gone the rest of my life without hearing.
    “Do you see that?” He shook the pole at me. “It didn’t feel a thing. It is not human any more, it is the enemy .” He gave a flourish with the pole, like a poor man’s Darth Maul, flipping it so the butt end now faced the cage. “And the sooner you get this through your empty head, the more chance you’ll have of surviving!” He punctuated his last sentence with another vicious thrust of the pole into the cage.
    I don’t know if what happened next was an accident or some dim recollection of motor skills past. As the pole stabbed towards its chest, what was left of Matt seized it clumsily with both hands and shoved back. The business end hit Heald’s faceplate, shattering it as the bloodied hook and clasp went through to slice the General’s forehead.
    The General yelped in surprise and pain, staggering back at the sudden impact. Bits of plexiglas fell to the floor along with the pole as he reached through the broken faceplate and clasped one hand to the