The Infected (Book 2): Karen's First Day by Joseph Zuko Page B

apartment complex. It was two buildings
over from where they were crouched. Every minute that passed for Karen felt
like someone was punching her in the face.
    What if Valerie noticed she was gone and decided to
wander out to look for her Mama?
    The infected moved like they were three-toed sloths. They
were taking a leisurely walk in the park when they did not have a living target
to slaughter. It was driving Karen crazy how slow the infected were moving.
    Two or three minutes had clicked by and the three
infected were still only twenty feet away. Karen did not have twenty minutes to
hangout and wait for them to slowly leave the area.
    She mouthed the words, “Stay here.”
    Tina nodded at her. Karen inched her way around the
entrance of the fence. The infected didn’t hear her moving around the outside
of the fence. She crept in behind them. It was risky but she couldn’t wait any
longer. Her plan boiled down to this.
    Kill the two fast ones first.
    It was a simple and easy plan to remember. So she felt
like it should work. Karen could feel her bones shaking in her body as she
moved around the last corner of the fence.
    Their backs were to Karen and they stood ten yards
away.  At this distance she was not sure she could hit their skulls. She
took a few steps closer and moved as silently as a ninja. The closer she got to
them the worse the idea seemed.
    The sun was directly above her in the afternoon sky and
without sunglasses the glare off everything was painful on Karen’s retinas.
Sweat dripped off her forehead and stung her blue eyes. Karen’s gun trembled at
the end of her arm. Her nerves finally got the better of her and the gun went
off before she was ready. She didn’t mean to squeeze the trigger. Her muscles
were twitching all over her body. The round flew at her targets and ripped the
ear off the trim ex-jock. The monsters made a one-eighty and took off in a
sprint at her.
    Shit balls!
    In a panic she popped off four more shots. One in its
neck. Second in its shoulder. Third destroyed the infected man’s nipple. Fourth
got it right in the eye.
    Infected bullseye!
    His light switch was permanently flipped off and he
dropped to the ground. The Hipster was next. His “I’m proud to be a nerd”
glasses somehow still clung to his face and Karen wondered if the prescription
somehow helped the dead man see her better.
    It was moving too fast and Karen began to backpedal away
from him. The sudden movement made it even harder to aim. Her next two shots
sailed over its head.
    How many shots was that?
    Six or seven?
    How many were left in the magazine?
    Then she remembered to grip the gun with both hands. The
jagged steak knife poked out the bottom of her fist as she steadied her
shooting hand.
    BOOM!
    That one snapped its trendy glasses in half and its limp
body went down for the count.
    Only the lady with the broken ankle remained and she was
right on top of Karen. There was no time to think. Only react. The infected woman’s
hands were inches from Karen’s shoulders. Its teeth snapped together. The sound
sickened Karen. She re-angled the gun and pointed it up under the infected
woman’s jaw and BOOM. The top of the infected skull exploded into the air.
Bone, brains and blood rained down on Karen as the body fell to her feet. She
felt like every part of her was covered in bloody gunk. She needed to take a
shower and clean herself with an S.O.S. pad.
    “Damn, chica!”
    Karen turned slowly to see Tina’s shocked face. The child
in Tina’s arms pressed her own little face against the woman’s chest. She tried
to hide away like a shy baby.
    “That was some cold blooded Rambo shit,” Tina walked over
next to Karen. “You’re loco.” She said it as a complement.
    “I feel loco,” Karen spoke through her gritted teeth.
Blood dripped off her lips and she didn’t want to get it in her mouth. She used
the back of her hand and wiped some of the blood off her face.
    “The girl’s got a bracelet with her