Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel) by G.E. Swanson Page A

said she had to take care of something and would meet us here.”
    Mark checked by the elevators and down the main hallway. “I don’t see her anywhere; we need to get this thing on the road.”
    A minute later, they heard the elevator ding and the door slid open. When Sheryl stepped out and walked over, Dedee and Jet gasped. Mark did a double take and Lisa’s eyes got huge. The front of her scrub shirt, face, and left arm was covered with blood spatter.
    Stunned, Lisa asked, “Sheryl, what happened? Are you alright?”
    She looked over and said, “I’m fine.” Then she pulled out the notebook and found the entry code for the pharmacy.
    When the green light flashed, she opened the door. Everyone ran in, grabbed the bags, and started putting on their gear. Sheryl handed Jet an empty box and said, “Hold this and follow me.”
    Jet followed along as she took medical supplies from the shelves and put them into the box. When it was full, she waved Dedee over with another box and did the same thing. When the boxes were full, they stepped back out. Lisa, Mark, and Jeff were already geared up and standing by the exit door. Sheryl took the keys from her pocket.
    Holding up the ring with two keys separated, she said, “One of these is the shop key.”
    Mark turned and brought his rifle up as two nurses came from around the corner. “Stop right there,” he ordered. They both stopped and raised their hands.
    The man looked like he was in his late twenties and had short brown curly hair. He asked, “Are you guys leaving?”
    Mark kept his rifle pointed at them as he said, “That’s the plan.”
    The girl was in her early twenties and had shoulder-length, light brown hair. She asked, “Can we come with you? Please?”
    Mark looked them over before responding. “Yeah, I guess so.” Then he lowered his rifle. “I want you to know it’s pretty dangerous out there. It’s not just zombies—there are nut jobs too.”
    They nodded and ran over to the door. Mark looked across to the shop and guessed they had about fifty feet to cover, and then had to open the door once there. “I need one person to stay and hold this door just in case we have to run back in.”
    The male nurse said he would do it. Mark and Jeff were the first ones to step out and raised their rifles to provide cover if needed. Sheryl ran across the way to the shop doors with the keys. She was followed by Dedee and Jet, then Amy, Todd, and the girl. Lisa brought up the rear, and the young man stood by the door.
    The zombies smelled the blood on Sheryl’s clothes and started toward her as they hissed and moaned. In a panic, she dropped the key ring and had to search for the shop key again. She screamed as the zombies drew near, but managed to find it and opened the door. Everyone scrambled to get inside. Mark waved for the guy to run over. As he ran out the door, he yelled out that a guard was coming.
    A second later, the door flew open and the guard fired two shots. The young man who had just warned them was shot in the back and fell as he ran. He bounced when he hit the ground face-first and slid a couple of feet on the sidewalk. The zombies wasted no time in swarming his body like a pack of starving wolves on a steak. Not realizing his mistake until it was too late, the guard let the door close behind him.
    This was the same guard who Jeff and Jet had beaten and cuffed to the sink in the closet. The blood covering his face and shirt attracted the zombies. He leveled his pistol and took another shot, but missed. Before he could fire again, a zombie came up and began chewing on his wrist. Another came from behind him, and yet another from the side. Within a matter of seconds, they circled and swarmed him as he screamed. From the center of the circled zombies, his blood shot up into the air like a crimson fountain.
    Jeff and Mark jumped back inside the shop and closed the door just as the zombies arrived. Their bags and the boxes of medical supplies had