The Undead World (Book 2): The Apocalypse Survivors by Peter Meredith

attention to her. He was such a good dad that he could parent with half his brain tied behind his back. Most of his mind was on the “Game”. Football. It was an unfathomable activity to a four-year-old.
    He laughed in joy and hugged her around the middle. “You see that? Mareno just juked that linebacker out of his shoes.”
    Someone losing their shoes could be funny and so she turned to the game, only everyone had their shoes on that she could see. A man did catch her attention long enough to affiliate the word juke with this memory. He was cheetah fast and when confronted by a hulking man he dodged to the side making the bigger man stumble and fall.
    Juke: The process of changing direction in midstride to avoid a collision with another.
    The marble left her hand, gently as ordered, and as it did she sucked in a huge breath and juked to the right. The marble went clack, clack. The huge beast went stomp, stomp. And Jillybean trembled in fear with her lungs burning and her stomach beginning to pain her once more. The monster brushed by, its slow mind focusing on the only noise left to it. Second after second slipped away until ten had passed and the giant thing was well away.
    Slowly, Jillybean let out her breath and , with a feeling akin to triumph, she sucked in air covering her mouth to muffle the noise. She had done it. The monster was at the far end of the gym scrambling around after a silly marble; and if she was to knock into something else, she had more marbles to confuse him.
    Going slow and careful—in her mind like a blind three-toed sloth —she walked directly away from the creature until she came to the wall of the gym and then she hurried despite the danger. The wall, if followed far enough, would lead to an exit. There would be two if not three in a gym of this size.
    And there it was! Jillybean’s face lit up as her hands felt the smooth, cool metal of the door; and there were the handles…and something else. Hard as steel, with consecutive roundish loops. Jilly’s heart sunk. It was a chain, and next her hand felt what could only be a padlock. There was no getting through this door. And if this one was chained that meant they all were.
    There was only one way out, the way she came in. Almost at that second, the little kid monsters, who had been for all this time struggling to open the gym door with their near useless brains had stumbled on the concept of pull instead of push and the gym door swung open. The school hall had seemed dark before, but compared to the pitch of the gym it was practically aglow and enough light fell inwards to show Jillybean standing there looking tiny and vulnerable.
    It also showed the giant monster at the far end of the gym. It was huge, over six and half feet tall, and wide as one those football players her daddy had liked to watch. Yes it was big and scary, but it was the strange fact that the monster was completely naked that sickened Jillybean. It was a subconscious revulsion that manifested itself with another sharp pain deep in her intestines, which brought a groan from her lips.
    You got ta suck it up, Jillybean , Ipes told her.
    Tears welled and threatened, but Jilly didn’t seem to notice, her fear was too great. “I can’t,” she whispered in the single second left before the monsters charged and she fell to her knees in surrender.

Chapter 9
    Jillybean
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    The pain in her tummy sent a shiver running along her limbs and a moan that was somewhat zombie-like escaped her lips.
    Please Jillybean , Ipes begged her. Get up. They’re coming! They’re coming!
    Across the gym from her the kid zombies stormed through the double doors, while the giant monster at the other end of the rectangular room let a low bellow of a moan, and charged, shaking the floor as he came.
    “I can’t,” she whispered. Her muscles had gone limp and sweat beaded under the brown wisps of hair at her forehead. She felt like crying and she did . The monsters were