Undead L.A. 2 by Devan Sagliani Page B

of rotters wasn't bearing down on them from the direction of the cluster of medical buildings. All the power had been off for weeks and the unfortunate ones that hadn't left before the generator burned out were now trapped permanently in there. Adam had sworn that one day he would find a way to release them from their undead sentence, but had never found the courage to try to scavenge past the now gutted on-site pharmacy. Everything about hospitals scared him, going back long before the end of the world. He'd always sworn he was not going to die at one, even in the parking lot. It was a promise he'd made to himself, and he didn't intend on breaking that promise anytime soon.
    “Which way are we going?” the little girl asked with concern, tugging on his hand and looking back over her shoulder at the dozens of living corpses now locked onto them.
    “Remember what I told you,” Adam recapped, pulling her back towards the fast food restaurant parking lot; the only thing separating them from the swarm was a flimsy brick wall. “I've got a secure place just across the street over there. We've just got to make one quick stop, and then we'll lock ourselves in for the night. Stay with me. Don't get bit and don't let go.”
    If she doubted him she didn't let it show. They ran through the parking lot, their path unimpeded, the roar of a small mob of corpses echoing alongside them in the hollow underpass of the drive-thru lane. They didn't encounter any resistance whatsoever until they reached La Cienega, where they had to dart back and forth in a zigzag to cross, doing their best all the while to avoid being eaten by stragglers and crawlers strewn throughout the mess of tangled cars abandoned in the street. When they reached the sidewalk, Adam put both hands on Sarah's shoulders and stared into her eyes.
    “Stay right here,” he spoke calmly. “Do not move. Got it?”
    She nodded in reply and he bolted down the street towards the hulking remains of the burned down gas station and the thoroughly looted AM/PM. Sarah heard the sound of a car horn going off in a steady scream, like a tea kettle's whistle somewhere off in the distance. She turned to see the Mercedes sitting at the far end of the block, the front end slammed into a bent traffic pole. Tendrils of black smoke swam up from the hood and into the darkness at the cusp of dusk's last rays to become part of the crushing velvet night sky. The car doors were open now and zombies were gathered around it in a thick crush of bodies, some twisted at unnatural angles, others simply shoving themselves in as far as they could, all trying to get at the remains of Scott, who was presumably still trapped behind the wheel. Sarah turned back to look for Adam who had vanished around a corner. A few harrowing seconds went by before Adam reappeared, holding the wine and ham. He jogged back to her and when she turned around to look for the Mercedes again, she was relieved to see it hadn't moved.
    “Can't leave this stuff behind,” Adam said with a smile. “Not if we plan on eating tonight. All I've got left are protein bars.”
    He'd expected her to be more excited. When she wasn't, his mood seemed to drop.
    “What is it?” he questioned. “What's wrong?”
    Sarah didn't reply. She just turned and pointed up the street to where Scott was sitting in his Mercedes in the distance.
    “Looks like the sorry prick got exactly what he deserved after all,” Adam said with a dry laugh. “Pardon my French.”
    “Fuck him,” Sarah fired back, stopping afterwards to spit on the ground in disgust.
    “Out of the mouths of babes,” Adam laughed. “Let's get inside and lock up quick before we end up joining him.”
    There was a metal door on the side of the furniture shop, which was shuttered. Adam reached into his shirt and removed a key that was hanging from a thin piece of silver around his neck. He fitted it into the lock. The ruse of circling the fast food building and cutting through the