The Survivor Chronicles: The Risen by Erica Stevens Page A

think."
    "I'm sure it helps," Carl agreed.
    A small thud at the side of the building
drew Mary Ellen's eyes to the wall behind her again as her
heartbeat escalated to laborious levels. Jim grabbed his shotgun
and stepped away from the counter. Claire pushed Freddie behind
her; she lifted the rifle off the counter and held it against her
chest. Another thud sounded but this one was a few feet away from
the original.
    "What is that?" Peter asked in a low
hiss.
    "It's them," Jim said. "I told you that they
come sometimes. Something has them riled up; they're not normally
as loud as they have been tonight."
    "Is it our friends?" Riley asked
nervously.
    Jim shook his head. "No, I think your
friends would be dead if it were."
    Riley blanched but she must have taken some
comfort in his words as she stepped away from the wall by the
window. She glanced at Mary Ellen before moving closer to her.
    "I'm pretty sure they don't know we're here,
I think they'd come in if they did. Sometimes I swear they're just
playing with us, toying with us until they decide it's their dinner
time," Jim continued in a low murmur that made Mary Ellen think of
tales told round the campfire.
    Riley stayed by her side, they turned to
follow the thumps moving across the side of the building. The
banging echoed throughout the store as the sick people moved along
the wood frame. Mary Ellen held her breath while she tried to
ascertain how many of them there were out there. It was impossible
to tell as one thump after another sounded from different
locations. Stretching behind her, she took hold of Rochelle's hand.
The thumping became a metallic clatter as someone banged against
the back door and that eerie laugh drifted through the building.
Rochelle shuddered behind her, she pressed closer when the knob
began to rattle.
    Carl nodded to Al before hurrying to stand
beside the backdoor. Riley's jaw was set as she stalked forward.
Mary Ellen pulled Rochelle away from the large plate glass window.
If those things were going to get in, it would be through that
window. She really hoped that Jim was right and that the odor of
the dead flowers masked the aroma of fear and sweat she knew they
were all emitting.
    The grunts sounding outside made her think
that the sick people were turning on each other. As she listened to
them, Mary Ellen became more convinced that Riley's trapped ancient
virus theory was true. Those people certainly sounded almost
prehistoric as they moved around the building.
    "They sound as if they have no reasoning
left but they're smart and cunning," Al murmured.
    "They know we're here," Nancy breathed.
    Mary Ellen feared a pending meltdown as
Nancy's gaze flew around the room and she rang her hands before
her. The skin on Nancy's hands became so red that for a second Mary
Ellen thought she'd already ripped her flesh off. Riley stepped
closer to Nancy, took hold of her hands and gently pulled them
apart. She bent closer to Nancy and spoke words that Mary Ellen
couldn't hear. Nancy's eyes stopped rolling in her head and the
flaring of her nostrils eased. Nancy's lower lip continued to
tremble, tears slid down her cheeks, but she calmed further as
Riley kept speaking with her.
    Mary Ellen jumped and spun toward the wooden
front door behind her as a loud knock sounded against it. Josh
stepped away from the group gathered by the backdoor and moved
closer to her as the front door rattled. His black eyes briefly met
hers before the both of them focused on the front door again.
    Mary Ellen's hands were beginning to sweat
on the grip of her gun; she didn't dare adjust her hold to wipe her
hands on her shirt in case someone broke in. Rochelle moved out
from behind her and stepped closer to Al. Rochelle made a gesture
with her hand toward Carl who studied her before pulling out
another gun from his waistband.
    Mary Ellen almost stepped forward and shook
her head no. She didn't want her daughter handling the weapon, but
she also didn't want Rochelle to become