Crowded Yet Desolate: A Zombie Novel by Lee Dunter Page B

were tied with duck tape around the nub of Kyle’s arm, and his bloody shirt had been replaced with one of Tavaris’s. It was too wide and too short. Kyle muttered he was fine and finished his way towards the group on his own.
    Ryan marveled at the diverse nature of this group of survivors, none of whom would have met if not for the zombie outbreak. He appreciated this vain blessing, but it could not bring a smile. Kyle sat on the couch, and they waited five minutes for him to gain strength and for the painkillers to begin working. When ready, Kyle staggered to his feet, a skyscraper wobbling in strong gusts, and managed to make it to the front door. Tavaris hugged Kayla, kissed his child’s forehead, and opened the door. Once outside, the heat ran over Ryan, and he began to miss the coolness of the house. Roe led them northwest towards the interstate. Joe stayed in the rear to keep a close eye on Kyle for signs of zombification. The group was now too large–and the baby too noisy–for the group to be surreptitious, so as they approached the interstate and the frequency of zombie attacks increased, the quiet of the machetes were replaced with the power of the guns.
    Just as Ryan felt the need for a break, they reached Peachtree and were forced to halt. The street and sidewalks were filled with zombies, even more so than at the gun store. Now the protection of the building was gone, and there was no time to formulate an escape plan. A horrid smell reached Ryan. He wrinkled his nose and dry-heaved as he forced himself to see what was ahead. Lost limbs and blood were everywhere. Intestines and organs spilled from zombies as they mindlessly wandered. Blood stains splattered the sides of buildings, streaking all the way to the ground, where people had failed to escape their pursuers. Cars became denser leading up to the interstate ramp, some of them wrecked and overturned, limbs hanging out closed doors and opened windows. Windows of upper floors in the surrounding buildings were broken where people had opted for cleaner deaths.
    Ryan’s heart sunk, and he began to seriously contemplate suicide. Hell, they might as well just turn to each other right now and end it on their own terms. This would ensure a swift, pain free death, and it would guarantee none of them would walk the street as a lifeless monster. Ryan wondered if he were the only one harboring such thoughts. Was he the only one who realized that they weren’t going to survive? Apparently so. The others began reloading their firearms and preparing for battle. Kyle struggled to place his second clip into his handgun with just one hand. Albert nervously fumbled bullets into his clip, then threw the gun to the side, readying his rifle instead. Roe armed Tavaris with his own handgun, and then Tavaris picked up Albert’s handgun to duel-wield the pistols. Roe swept his carbine from his shoulder with a smile that Ryan found to be creepy. But at the same time, it gave him hope. Ryan pulled his Marlin from his shoulder. I guess it’s worth a try.

 
    Chapter 9
     
    From Ryan’s crouched position, the Midtown city buildings in the distance seemed to shoot towards the sky, and Ryan imagined that the buildings themselves were racing to flee from the horror they were about to enter. He lowered his gaze and slid around the group’s cover to look down the street, earning himself some concerned comments from behind. He ignored the comments and looked down this street he had seen a thousand times before, this street now made unrecognizable with human carnage and the streets running red with blood, the zombies feet and hands splashing in it as they scavenged for scraps of left over humans. The sun reflected off the building towards his right, and Ryan again observed the shattered glass, large windows broken open with office chairs and computer monitors. His imagination did not have to stretch far to conjure what horrors those who jumped must have faced in order to choose