Dead Cold Read Free

tackling him to the ground her teeth snapping as she reached for his neck.

Chapter 3: What the…
     
     
    Holding her at bay with the shotgun Roland was thankful she had mittens covering her hands as she tried to claw and grab for him all the while continuing to bite at him like a hungry dog. Red bile dripped from her mouth making Roland move his head to the side to keep it from getting on him. Regaining his composure Roland pushed his right arm up, hard while simultaneously bringing his left arm down knocking the feral woman off of him and into the snow.
     
     
    Pushing himself backwards in an attempt to get away from the psychotic homeless woman he wondered what the hell was wrong with her. He only made it a few feet before she recovered and began crawling after him on her hands and knees looking for all the world like a rabid dog. Bringing up the shotgun he pointed it at the woman.
     
    “ Lady get back, I don’t want to kill you!” He shouted as she launched herself at him her mouth open wide.
     
    Roland pulled the trigger and listened as the gun clicked. “Shit!” The woman was almost on top him and in desperation Roland swung the shotgun, the butt of the weapon making a loud crack as it connected with her face; knocking her away.
     
    Standing up as quick as he could Roland tried cocking the shotgun as the homeless woman stood up apparently unfazed by the large cut in her face. “This is your last warning, I will shoot!” She lunged and Roland squeezed the trigger. The effect was incredible, the big gun roared and bucked hard against his shoulder. Most shocking of all was the homeless woman’s head disintegrating in a red mist before her body collapsed into the snow. “Holy shit.” Roland panted as he cocked the shotgun, the empty shell falling into the snow.
     
    The moan of the wind was getting louder and Roland looked towards the mall. What he saw sent adrenaline coursing through his veins. Coming towards him through the snow was a large crowd of people and he suddenly realized the moan wasn’t the wind but instead the group of people shambling towards him.
     
    Almost without thinking Roland turned and started running towards Superstore, slipping on the ice and stumbling but never falling as he ran the five hundred feet towards the store. Upon reaching the front entrance he tried everything to open the automatic sliding door and found it to be locked. He could hear the moans and see the crowd through the snow as they made their way across the parking lot towards him. With no other alternative Roland shut his eyes and slammed the butt of the shotgun into the large pane of glass next to the door shattering it.
     
    Once inside it was easy to pull apart the inner doors and enter the store proper. Peering through the glass into the storm he could see that the mob was only twenty feet from the doors and quickly pulled the inner doors closed, hoping it would slow them down. The store was completely black and Roland clicked on his flashlight shining it around the store, making sure nothing moved.
     
    Remembering his rumbling stomach he ran over to the food section and grabbed a carton of juice and a box of Poptarts. He shined his flashlight on the door as he made his way to the stairwell entrance, there were at least thirty people, he wasn’t sure if he could call them people anymore, crammed into the entry way pushing against the doors and scratching at the glass.
     
    Pausing Roland shone the flashlight across the entryway and examined the faces of the creatures on the other side of the glass. He could now see that they were definitely not people, their eyes were yellowish and their lips pulled back to the point of being almost nonexistent. Ignoring the obvious wounds they all sported and the red stains around their mouths, Roland couldn’t look away from their yellow eyes; their dead, lifeless eyes. The sound of cracking glass ended his reverie and Roland ran for the stairwell as the panes started to