–“Shit,” Erik said as Kali began to scream. Erik quickly freed his arm and covered her mouth but one of the winged creatures had heard her shorten cry and began to approach the Prius. Luckily, a zombie breached the perimeter and distracted him. “We have to get out of here,” Eric said quietly.–
Beginning of Chapter 2 —
Erik watched as the winged creature fought with the zombie. The zombie, a large pale man, (likely a steel worker of someone of a simular occupation) actually seemed to have the upper-hand. With all the over-powering strength the winged creatures seemed to have over the zombies this zombie seemed to have it matched. The zombie managed to perry a swing from the winged creature and grab ahold of the thin membrane that allowed it to fly. The steel worker zombie tore the thin membrane and then grabbed hold of the winged creatures hand when it was slow to fight back. The steel worker zombie bit hard on the forearm and the winged creature screamed in pain. The other winged creatures, seeing that one of them had been attacked, left the zombie victims wriggling on the concrete and collected around the large steel worker zombie. Collectively, their combined strength overwhelmed the zombie and he fell away from the Prius.
“Let’s go now!” Erik said as he pushed Kali to the door. Kali fumbled with the door handle and Erik reached over her and opened the door for her. He pushed the door outward and both crawled slowly out of the Prius. The commotion out in front of the car seemed to keep the creatures distracted. A few zombies stumbled past Erik and Kali but they seemed too focused on the commotion to notice. Ahead of them was a patch of green grass, a fence and then a house.
Erik and Kali ran from the Prius, leaving the commotion and death behind. The fence in front of them was up but to the right it had been knocked over. They headed that way. A zombie, frail and old stood in their way. Erik planted his foot on the zombie’s chest and pushed knocking it down a small incline into a drainage ditch. He and Kali began over the fence when he looked back.
“My beer, I frigg’n left my beer in the Mustang,” the thought of going back that way was fleeting though and he climbed over the fallen fence after Kali. On the other side of the fence they both stopped and took a breath. A few zombies roamed around oblivious to the new meal staring at them. They seemed to be blind for the most part using the other senses to find food. Erik took Kali by the hand and they walked quietly toward the two story house across the street.
The house was a small duplex. It had dirty, white shingles and an over-grown lawn but the first-floor windows and doors were boarded up. It was a sure sign that someone had at least lived there recently. Maybe they still lived there. Erik and Kali approached the house cautiously, aware that a zombie could appear from behind any corner. Erik tugged at the large piece of plywood covering the front doors and windows but they didn’t budge. “Whoever put these up put them up well,” he said to himself. Erik took Kali by the hand and lead her toward the back of the house looking for a way to enter. Every window was covered but the windows on the second floor and the basement windows. The second floor windows were too high and the basement windows were too small. “You think you could fit in those windows?” Erik asked quietly. Kali quietly shrugged and Erik dropped the subject. A garage, with an open side door stood beside the house. “Maybe we can find a ladder,” Erik said. Erik kept Kali behind him ready for any zombie to met them at the door but nothing happened. The garage was dark and the lights did not work. A zombie or two could still be hiding somewhere inside but in order to get into the house they needed a ladder. A ladder tall enough to reach the roof of the front porch stood against a dark wall. Erik warned Kali to stay against the large metal garage door and tell him if she saw anything. She did as she was told and Erik approached the ladder. An ax stood in front of the ladder and Erik moved it quietly, taking note so he would remember to come back for it. The ladder seemed to be attached to the wall by bungie so Erik unhooked one then the other. The ladder jerked forward and fell hard to the ground. Erik jumped back and cringed when the aluminum crashed onto the concrete floor of the garage.
“Son of a bitch,” Erik swore as he picked it up and set it back against the wall. Once he placed it on the wall Kali screamed and Erik’s knees fell out from under him. “Damnit,” Erik looked and a zombie shuffled from the opposite side of the garage. It headed right for Kali. Erik grabbed the ax and stood in front of Kali ready to strike. Through the dim light of the garage door windows Erik could see that this zombie was dressed as a nurse. It’s blue blouse tore around the breast. “An attractive sight if it were alive,” thought Erik but of course it wasn’t and Erik had to kill it to protect himself and his new kid. Erik heaved the ax and brought it down right across the right shoulder and into the spine severing several important arteries to the brain. The zombie fell dead in the center of the garage and Erik quickly heard shuffling from outside the garage.