Zombies! (Episode 10): State of Emergency by Ivan Turner

But Janise was pointing in a completely different direction and she looked panic stricken. Back the way they had come were about ten zombies shuffling down the road.
     
    With his head down, Shawn rammed into the karate guy and sent him sprawling. Grabbing Nigel by his coat, he yanked his friend away from the tattooed man with the now mashed head. Orlando was toying with his two zombies, still bouncing one away and waiting for it to come back. He seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. And yet the steam coming from his nose and mouth was coming in shorter and shorter intervals. Orlando was tiring.
     
    "We've got to go," Shawn said to Nigel. "We need to find a safe place to hole up."
     
    "My sister," said Nigel.
     
    Shawn pointed down the street. The four new zombies were closing and two more had appeared behind them. It was what Shawn had feared. A large group had splintered and they were catching the remnants, probably drawn there by the noise of the fight.
     
    "But my sister…" Nigel repeated.
     
    "She's probably safe in the house," Shawn lied. "Scared, but safe. We’ve got to go."
     
    "Let’s go," Juliet echoed.
     
    Nigel looked at the approaching zombies. They could probably run past the zombies in their way, but if there was a larger group out of view they would get pinched. That would be the end of them. The only choice was to run the other way.
     
    "Lando, let's go."
     
    Orlando gave the scientist a good hard shove and walked away from the fight. The three surviving zombies started after him with little hope of catching up. As they raced down the street, one or another of them kept stopping and saying, How about here? The avenue was loaded with all different types of shops. All were closed, either because of the snow or the zombies or both. Sometimes they saw faces or just eyes through the windows and the locked doors. But they didn't stop and they didn't beg for entry. They would not have been granted it. Frightened people huddled in the dark were likely to remain so. There would be no risk taking for six stupid kids out in the zombie jungle.
     
    Coming to a crossroads, they saw zombies approaching from all three directions in front of them. The way behind seemed clear, but those zombies were just out of view. Shawn wasn't sure the monsters could track them after the distance they'd put between them but he sure as hell wasn't going back to check. They'd have to head straight for a zombie group and hope for the best. He chose the smallest group, three zombies, and started running. He warned the others to go around them rather than get involved in a fight. Nigel, still angry, managed to keep control of himself but it looked as if Orlando was heading straight for the group.
     
    "Lando!" Juliet admonished, seeing the same thing.
     
    Orlando caught himself and skidded around them at the last minute, but he lost his footing in the snow. As big as he was, Orlando was graceful enough to be able to fall properly. Instead of tumbling to the ground and possibly hurting himself, he slid and broke into a roll. Nigel was by his side in a moment, helping him to his feet. There were other problems, though.
     
    The group of three that Shawn had chosen was actually a group of ten. Hidden by the whirling storm were seven more zombies. They came into view, pathetic shambling forms covered in the falling snow. The fell upon the teens even before there was a second to react. Juliet was their unfortunate first victim.
     
    She ran headlong into two zombies, a construction worker and a sailor. Seriously. A sailor. He was wearing a blue uniform and traditional sailor's cap. He'd probably been dead since Halloween. The two took hold of Juliet together and pressed her in between them. She panicked and lost total control. They pinned her and began tearing at her jacket and clothing to get to the flesh beneath.
     
    Orlando screamed her name and charged forward. He fell in the snow again, this time going down on his knee.