Dead Surge by Joseph Talluto

time and maybe get out the way Charlie did.
    The front of the building was better lit thanks to the abundance of windows, but that didn’t make the zombies look any better. Jumping the checkout counter I slammed into the door, only to realize the damn thing had been secured on the outside by Charlie and he never made a mistake when it came to locking up Z’s.
    “Damn, damn, damn,” I said to myself as the groans from the formerly living inhabitants worked their way through the displays towards the front.
    All right. Plan B. I stepped to the right and when the zombies worked over that way, I shifted my aim and killed four on the left side. Running through the small opening that gave me I ran to the middle of the store, shot another small zombie that was missing an ear. His companion, an old woman that bared gums at me, went down with a shot in the eye.
    I reloaded and ran back to the rear, staying to the far right again. I crouched and took aim at the padlock on the door, and shot the hell out of it, but of course, the stupid thing stayed on. I fired again and this time the thing broke, but the zombies had reached me so I shot four more on the left side. Darting through the opening, I ran back to the front, and waited for the zombies to pick up the chase again.
    They didn’t disappoint, and I used the same technique again, thinning the herd a little more. Running as fast as I could to the back, I ripped the padlock out of the latch and threw it aside.
    “Coming out!” I yelled and shoved the door open, ducking as three rifles covered me. I slammed the door closed and hollered at Tommy. “I need a wedge!” The door thumped loudly and I could feel many dead hands pounding on the other side. It was only a matter of time before the press of bodies activated the push bar and opened the door.
    “Got it!” Tommy ran up with a hammer and small metal shim. He pounded the shim into the space between the door and the frame, sealing the exit.
    I fell on the ground, and breathed heavily. Sarah knelt down next to me and put her hand on my back. I winked at her and stood up, pulling her close for a grateful kiss.
    “Thanks very much,” I said over the noise of the pounding corpses.
    “What happened?” Charlie asked. “You were supposed to be out right after me.”
    “Padlock on the rear door,” I said. “Didn’t see it when I first checked the exit. My bad.”
    “Your bad nearly took you out, pal,” Duncan said, crossing his arms.
    “Ease up,” I said. “I had enough room to make runs back and forth. Thanks for securing the front door so well,” I said to Charlie.
    Charlie scowled but Rebecca spoke up. “It’s done, you’re all right, let’s get it lit.”
    “Go for it,” I said. I walked back to the truck and pulled out a box of ammo. I replaced the rounds I had used and checked the rest of my mags. Sarah came over and out a hand on my arm.
    “You okay? You seem like you have something to prove, and are willing to risk your friendship with Charlie to do it.” Sarah’s green eyes looked into mine and I slumped slightly.
    I shook my head. “Just tired of screwing up this trip, you know? I never saw the padlock because I never checked the door. I just assumed it would open.”
    Sarah nodded. “Well, it had to happen sometime.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The great John Talon made a mistake.” Sarah’s eyes twinkled.
    “That’s not funny,” I said.
    “No, it’s human. Welcome to the club. Try not to get yourself killed or you will piss me off.” Sarah pulled me down to kiss my cheek and walked over to the building where Duncan was prepping a can of gas to use on the building.
    I watched her walk off and finally laughed. I put the box of ammo back and saw Sarah lean over and whisper something to Rebecca. I could only imagine what it was.
    Duncan disappeared for a minute, and then came running back, jumping in the van.
    “Let’s go! I’ve never rigged one like that before so I don’t know for sure