Zombie Rage (Walking Plague Trilogy #2) by J. R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque Page A

three remained completely silent. It took a few minutes, but they finally heard the group of crazies drag their feet away and down the hall. Mike still had his gun pointed at Cole.
    Joe had his ear pressed against the broken door. “They went that way,” he whispered, pointing to the right.
    “Good.” Mike sighed in relief. “Front door is the other way.”
    “ Lie down,” Joe ordered Cole. “Arms locked behind your head. And keep that hole in your face quiet while we figure out what to do.”
    Cole knew he had no choice. He was defenseless, and he understood the danger of causing a ruckus.
    The two LCDRs sat on the desk, both with a gun aimed at Cole beneath them. They talked quietly.
    “ We have to get the hell out of here,” Joe said, and then laughed a little. Understatement of the year.
    Mike smiled. “What, you don’t want to stay? We got all the food and drugs in the world, and our best friend here.” He kicked Cole in the leg.
    “Right, I forgot. What do you want to do about him? We can’t bring him to...you know.” He didn’t want Cole to know where they were going.
    “ Leave him here?” Mike asked.
    “ Please, God, no,” Cole said.
    “ Shut up,” they both hissed.
    “ We could drop him off somewhere,” Joe suggested, “but I don’t even trust him in the car with us.”
    “ We could cuff him,” Mike offered. “I never knew how handy handcuffs could be.”
    “ Yeah. But we need to move fast. Find a good vehicle, load it up with ammunition, and be on our way.”
    “ I could help you,” Cole tried again. “I’ve been reading all the reports and communications. I know a lot.”
    “ The thing is,” Mike said, “we can’t trust you. We tried that. We saved your life, we trusted you, and what did you do?”
    “ But you can’t just leave me stranded somewhere, unarmed.”
    “ Oh, but I think we can,” Mike smiled. He tossed the handcuffs to Joe.
    Joe caught them and turned to the Agent in Black. “Hands behind your back.”
     
     
    Chapter Thirty-one
     
     
    I knew the park’s side roads like the back of my hand.
    I tore up the winding pavement, hugged curves, leaving dust in my wake. Even if Anna and company were safe, I had to see with my own eyes.
    Finally, I pulled up to the observatory’s top parking lot. What I saw was worse than anything I could have imagined.
    Carla’s patrol car was parked just below the main steps to the great building. She was fumbling with the keys, it seemed, to unlock the front door. Anna and Jared stood to either side of her. The undead, at least a dozen, were slowly climbing the steps.
    I pulled my truck up beside Carla’s car. The trio saw me but dared not let their guard down. I honked my horn. Long and loud. The zombies paused and turned in my direction.
    “Daddy, no!” Anna screamed. They turned back to her.
    I honked again, this time longer. I got their attention back. I honked again and again. I opened my door and stood on the running board. “Hey, assholes!” I hollered. “Over here!” I reached a foot up to the steering wheel and started honking again.
    I got what I wanted. They were leaving Anna alone. And Jared and Carla.
    I got back into the truck and started loading. Good thing these guys were slow. I had time to load three of the guns. If my hands weren’t shaking so badly, I could have had all four. Three would have to do.
    The zombies came closer...and closer.
    Although the fog barely reached this level, it was still there and difficult to see. I had a weapon in each hand. When they got close enough, I started firing. Straight for their heads....and away from my daughter and others.
    The shots echoed loudly. If any normal person had been around, they would have called the cops. But nobody was crazy enough to come up here. Not now. The public had been warned. Nobody was here except us.
    I missed a couple of precious shots and cursed.
    Focus, Carter, focus.
    One of them was a woman with a gashed neck and blood oozing down. A