Mad Swine (Book 2): Dead Winter by Steven Pajak Page A

Open fire!” I yelled. This situation definitely warranted the use of our precious ammunition.
    Just seconds later I heard Kat open up with the Mosin. The immense sound of the rifle made me jump and I could see Lara was also surprised by it. I pulled my 1911 from its holster, aimed at the closest threat, and shot it through the head. I shot two more that were on my left and closing in.
    I turned and bound through the thick snow, closing the distance between us and our escape. I could see our wall about an eighth of a mile away. Kat had already reached the wall and I could see her trying to unhinge one of the ladders to flip it around for our escape. Justin was covering her with his pistol. He was firing from the hip, engaging targets but none of his shots were kill shots.
    “Shoot them in the damn head!” I heard Kat shout at Justin. “You’re wasting ammo!”
    Moving backward through the snow was awkward but I was motivated by fear. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I could feel myself beginning to sweat. We are going to make this , I thought, when suddenly a set of arms broke through the snow near my left foot and tripped me up, sending me sprawling onto my backside.
    For a moment I panicked. Everything around me seemed to shut down as my heart jumped in my chest. I felt my eyes bulging and my breathing sounded like gusts of wind to my own ears. I kicked frantically, trying to dig my heels in and gain purchase, to create some distance between myself and the creature, but the snow seemed to have hold of me and the thing’s grip on my ankle was strong. The nails on its gnarled hands made a zipper-like sound as they raked across the material of my jeans and leather boots.
    I tried to swing the axe at my assailant’s head, but the deep snow stifled my movement and the result was a shallow wound. Before I swung again, I took a second to carefully aim and smash my booted foot into the ugly bastard’s face. Its grip loosened for a moment and I used that time to my advantage and shoved myself backward. I landed about a foot away, hoping the extra distance would allow me time to gain my feet.
    Instead, the thing lurched and caught me again, this time both hands taking firm purchase on my boots. My feet were effectively pinned. I’d have to risk a shot, I had no other choice. I could live with a gunshot wound to the foot. At least I’d be alive. I lifted the .45 with my shaking right hand and lined up my front sight. I stopped struggling so that my aim would be steady, but the thing took advantage of my stillness and moved in closer for the kill. My hand was shaking horribly, whether from cold or fear or both. My finger applied pressure to the trigger as I prayed my aim would be true.
    Just as I was about to fire, I saw movement from my peripheral. Something quick and silver flew past me and I heard the pong sound of metal against flesh. Incredibly, the infected man’s face exploded into a bloody mess on my shins. I looked stupidly at my pistol for a moment, wondering what the hell had happened. Then Lara was pulling at my shirt, yelling for me to stand up and get my ass moving. I realized she’d just smashed the thing to oblivion with her aluminum bat.
    Using my axe as a crutch, I pushed myself up out of the sucking snow and almost lost my balance again, backpedalling to try to keep up with Lara as she dragged me. Finally catching my stride, I turned to face forward. I saw Kat and Justin on the wall firing over us; I didn’t turn around, I could only imagine how many of them were right at our heels.
    As we lurched through the deep snow I saw bodies littering the ground on both sides, their blood melting through the cold layers of snow. Some were shot through the head while others suffered wounds from blunt objects or edged weapons, but they were all dead. I spotted only one live one. It moved toward us on limber legs, reaching out toward Lara. Its pale face contrasted against the dark blood that stained its lips.