female zombie turned. She was a dozen or so yards from him, giving Kell plenty of time to find a good grip on the pricey tool in his hand. The blade might not be prime for what he needed, but this particular model had a perfectly smooth handle that faded flawlessly into a hollow-sided aluminum point. Mentally Kell thanked modern engineers for combining a place to attach a line or carabiner with a point strong and sharp enough to crack glacial ice.
He waited, hefting the axe in both hands. The woman lurching toward him wore a sun dress, a strange choice for early March, and she had large, soulful eyes that made her look sad. Kell braced himself as she covered the last few feet between them, ignoring her reaching arms as they tried to find purchase on his thick coat. His arms pistoned forward, driving the spiked hilt of the axe into the woman's face just below her left eye.
The point skipped over the bone and went upward slightly, losing a little of the force as it changed direction, and plunged through her eye socket. She dropped immediately as eight inches of metal suddenly occupied the same space as her dominated brain.
Kell pulled the weapon from his victim and noted even the handle end stuck a bit after use. He'd have to work on that. After checking to make sure no other visitors were sneaking close, Kell examined the corpse. Human anatomy classes popped into his head, and he made more mental notes about the kill as he wiped off the axe.
Weakest area is the thin bone at the back of the eye socket. Small target. Need to immobilize before killing blow?
Kell stood and stretched, sure he knew the roads well enough to travel at least a few miles if the way was clear. Tired but determined, he got in the truck and moved on.
Chapter Ten
Kell perched in a tree overlooking his parents' neighborhood. His truck was half a mile behind him, parked at an angle that would let him drive away at full speed seconds after he jumped in. It was just turning to dusk, the sun on its journey to the western horizon.
It had taken hours of meticulous driving to find a way around to the county road behind the neighborhood. The first bridge he came to had been damaged, the second piled with cars. The third was clear, but farthest from his intended route. It was impossible to predict where the blockages and wrecks would be, and a dozen times he had to backtrack to find another way only to be frustrated again a few hundred yards later.
Three times he had parked and moved on foot to clear away knots of undead. Twice he had simply led them away by moving at a fast walk and letting them follow, only to circle back to the truck in a dead sprint. Once he was forced to fight, and that had only been possible because the zombies were spread out over a wide area on the road. The spear, he discovered, worked very well. He had been able to simply walk up and jab in a single motion, hitting the soft spot under the jaw easily and moving on to the next.
Kell worried about being so far from his vehicle, but there was no other way to get close enough to the neighborhood without driving through hundreds of the undead. The whole place swarmed, though many of the yards were untouched. Like his own childhood home, about half the houses were surrounded by privacy fences. Not enough to stop a determined ghoul, but as Kell watched the undead wander aimlessly around he began to see patterns in their behavior.
Like water they followed the path of least resistance. Several fences had broken places smeared with blood, and bodies in the yards that were mostly eaten. It took incentive for the undead to attempt to breach a barrier; otherwise they moved wherever was easiest. Their hearing and vision seemed less acute than that of a living person, but Kell knew his limited data was subjective at best. Safer to assume the worst.
Studying the homes before him laid out a path to his destination. There were two streets between the nearest edge of the subdivision and his goal,
He waited, hefting the axe in both hands. The woman lurching toward him wore a sun dress, a strange choice for early March, and she had large, soulful eyes that made her look sad. Kell braced himself as she covered the last few feet between them, ignoring her reaching arms as they tried to find purchase on his thick coat. His arms pistoned forward, driving the spiked hilt of the axe into the woman's face just below her left eye.
The point skipped over the bone and went upward slightly, losing a little of the force as it changed direction, and plunged through her eye socket. She dropped immediately as eight inches of metal suddenly occupied the same space as her dominated brain.
Kell pulled the weapon from his victim and noted even the handle end stuck a bit after use. He'd have to work on that. After checking to make sure no other visitors were sneaking close, Kell examined the corpse. Human anatomy classes popped into his head, and he made more mental notes about the kill as he wiped off the axe.
Weakest area is the thin bone at the back of the eye socket. Small target. Need to immobilize before killing blow?
Kell stood and stretched, sure he knew the roads well enough to travel at least a few miles if the way was clear. Tired but determined, he got in the truck and moved on.
Chapter Ten
Kell perched in a tree overlooking his parents' neighborhood. His truck was half a mile behind him, parked at an angle that would let him drive away at full speed seconds after he jumped in. It was just turning to dusk, the sun on its journey to the western horizon.
It had taken hours of meticulous driving to find a way around to the county road behind the neighborhood. The first bridge he came to had been damaged, the second piled with cars. The third was clear, but farthest from his intended route. It was impossible to predict where the blockages and wrecks would be, and a dozen times he had to backtrack to find another way only to be frustrated again a few hundred yards later.
Three times he had parked and moved on foot to clear away knots of undead. Twice he had simply led them away by moving at a fast walk and letting them follow, only to circle back to the truck in a dead sprint. Once he was forced to fight, and that had only been possible because the zombies were spread out over a wide area on the road. The spear, he discovered, worked very well. He had been able to simply walk up and jab in a single motion, hitting the soft spot under the jaw easily and moving on to the next.
Kell worried about being so far from his vehicle, but there was no other way to get close enough to the neighborhood without driving through hundreds of the undead. The whole place swarmed, though many of the yards were untouched. Like his own childhood home, about half the houses were surrounded by privacy fences. Not enough to stop a determined ghoul, but as Kell watched the undead wander aimlessly around he began to see patterns in their behavior.
Like water they followed the path of least resistance. Several fences had broken places smeared with blood, and bodies in the yards that were mostly eaten. It took incentive for the undead to attempt to breach a barrier; otherwise they moved wherever was easiest. Their hearing and vision seemed less acute than that of a living person, but Kell knew his limited data was subjective at best. Safer to assume the worst.
Studying the homes before him laid out a path to his destination. There were two streets between the nearest edge of the subdivision and his goal,
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