Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel) Read Free Page B

other goes here, just like that. These are your sites. Just line them up and pull back on the trigger, never jerk your finger back. Make sure your hands are out of the way of the slide. Take slow breaths and exhale as you take your shot. This is the slide lock and this button here is the magazine release.” He stepped back and looked at her. “Okay, think you got it?”
    “Umm… I think so. You might need to show me one more time just to make sure.”
    “Okay, let’s do this one more time.”
    He stood behind her and went through it again. This time he noticed her palms started to sweat. After the lesson, Mark got into one of the bags and took out a gear belt, a magazine pouch, gloves, and a tactical holster.
    He handed her the gloves. “Put these on. I noticed your hands were sweating a little and these will help you keep a better grip.”
    She noticed it too and didn’t understand why it had happened. She put the gloves on and said, “Yeah, that usually doesn’t happen.”
    When he had everything all put together, he knelt down in front of her. He put the belt around her waist and started adjusting the size so it would be snug. While he was working on this, he heard someone behind him say, “Oh my gawd! Get a room!” He turned and saw a girl, about thirteen-years-old, with dark brown, shoulder-length hair standing in the kitchen doorway with her hand over her mouth.
    He stopped and turned. “No! It’s not what you think.”
    The girl turned away and ran back into the living room. Lisa chuckled. “That was Amy. She lived down the street from us. Her younger brother, Todd, is here too.”
    “Are there any more people here I haven’t met?”
    “No, that’s all of us.”
    “No parents or other family?”
    Lisa got quiet. With sadness in her eyes, she said, “Dedee is my sister, but our parents disappeared when all this started. Jet’s parents were bitten and infected, but before they turned, they dropped her off and asked if she could stay with us. One night Amy and Todd knocked on our door. They said their parents hadn’t come home yet and wanted to wait here with us until they did, but they never came home.”
    He lowered his eyes. “Oh.”
    He went back to work and adjusted the belt so it was snug, and secured the holster strap around her leg. He reached back into the bag and pulled out three magazines. He put two in her pouch and one in the pistol. Before they left, he showed her how to draw it from the holster.
    Lisa went back to the room, said she and Mark were going on a food run, and gave Dedee the shotgun. As they entered the streets, Lisa took the lead. She was more familiar with the area and knew the best routes to take. Lisa cautioned Mark, “Not only do we need to watch for rot-bags, but we have to watch out for the goon squad as well.”
    Mark was a little puzzled. “What is the goon squad?”
    “They’re a bunch of armed criminals that run the streets. They’ll patrol in groups of five or more, looking for survivors. If they catch you, they’ll rob you and use you as zombie bait.”
    Mark shook his head. “That sounds pretty sick.”
    “Follow me. I’ll show you one of their victims.”
    Mark followed her for five blocks. When they came upon the scene, Lisa pointed to a tree next to the street in a city park. When he saw the carnage, he froze in shock. There was a naked body hanging from one of the limbs. It had been slit open from the throat all the way down to the groin.
    The intestines had been pulled out and mangled. They looked like they had been partially eaten and the legs had been stripped to the bone. Below on the ground, were the bodies of eight zombies. She had to look away before speaking. “They’ll hang people up and slice them open while they are still alive. The zombies hear the screaming, smell the blood, then come for an easy meal. The squad will sit off somewhere in the distance and snip them as they show up and start eating.”
    Mark shook his head in disgust.