Deadlocked 2 by A. R. Wise Page A

away."
    "What? Why?"
    "I'm going to go kill your friend. Then I'll be back, and we'll talk about you being a part of this terrorism shit. Do you think I should shoot you again? Or are you going to stay put like a good little boy?"
    "Go fuck yourself."
    "Another shot then?" I aimed the gun at his bloody leg.
    "No. No, stop. I'll stay here."
    The bell above the front door chimed. We had company.

CHAPTER NINE - CLOSE YOUR EYES
     
    The zombie sniffed the air as it came through the door. It was a tall, lanky man in a business suit with a receding hairline and beady eyes that darted around until he saw us. It roared and rushed forward.
    I aimed and tried to shoot the creature in the head, but the bullet missed and blew through the window instead. I shot again, but missed, and then it leapt over the counter and on top of me. Its left arm caught my shirt and he pulled me down with him into the mess of blood and bottles at my feet. The creature landed beside Dave and reached out to grab him with its right arm while keeping a grip on me with its left.
    "Shoot it," said Dave as he tried to crawl away.
    I placed the barrel of the gun against the zombie's head and pulled the trigger. Rancid brain matter splattered across David's face and the creature fell silent. I took several deep breaths as my heart thundered in my chest.
    There was a clamor of feet outside, not far from us. It sounded like a crowd of people running our way.
    "They're coming for us," said David.
    I pulled a painkiller out of my pocket and chewed it as I pushed myself off the floor. I couldn't afford to let any of the pain that should've incapacitated me take hold. My arms wobbled beneath me, they were sapped of strength, but I had to push on. I had to win this.
    "Stay down," said David as the sound of the approaching horde got louder. "You can't outrun them. Let's just hope they pass." He gave his whisper as much intensity as possible. "You can't beat them."
    There was a car parked on the street outside of the pharmacy that I could see through the shop window. It was a Toyota Corolla, similar to the one I had at home, and a plan took shape in my drug-ravaged head. I grabbed a pen off the counter and put it in my pocket along with the rest of the needles I'd stolen. Then I staggered through the store to the front door. My left foot dragged behind me and the swelling over the left side of my face from David's punch started to force my eye shut. Every one of my senses was stunted by the overdose of painkillers and the extreme loss of blood. The possibility of saving my children was miserable at best, but I was far too deep into this misery to care about odds.
    "You're going to get yourself killed," said David.
    "Yep."
    The door chime rang over my head as I walked out onto the sidewalk. The horde of zombies had massed up the hill and turned their attention to me as I staggered out of the building, but they ignored me. I was indistinguishable from a zombie to them as I limped to the car.
    I thought about walking back down to the dock, but no amount of determination could help me live long enough to make it. If I didn't lose consciousness from blood loss, the painkillers would certainly claim me soon.
    "Please God, let the door be unlocked." I tried the handle of the passenger side. It was locked. I looked through the window and saw that the driver's side was locked as well.
    A few members of the horde stared at me with renewed interest. They were less than ten yards away, and I knew they would be upon me in seconds as soon as they realized I wasn't already dead. I pressed the left side of my body against the car and put my hand on the glass. Then I raised the gun and set the tip against the window beside my left hand.
    "I'm coming, girls."
    I shot the window and the glass burst into a flower of cracks. It didn't shatter, but instead just left a hole surrounded by splintering shards. I forced my left arm through the hole and searched for the lock below.
    The horde bellowed