Life After The Undead (Book 1) Read Free

the stairs and back into the bedroom. I locked the door behind them, watching as Dad tossed Mom onto the bed.
    Mom’s face was red and her jaw clenched. “I swear to god, Charlie.”
    A scream from outside interrupted her threat.
    The three of us went to the window and looked out. A neighbor, who lived three houses away, ran down the street in her robe. She had on one slipper and half her hair was curled. Blood dripped from her arm and the back of her leg. Three others behind her walked in the same slow, jerky manner the seventh graders had. She screamed again.
    Dad grabbed the pistol from his waistband. “We ’v e got to help her.” He turned and walked to the door.
    “There’s no reason to, Dad. They surrounded her,” I said.
    He came back to the window just in time to see the group converge on the woman, who’d tripped on her remaining slipper. One of the people grabbed the neighbo r’ s bottom lip between his teeth and ripped it clean off her face. Another took a sizable chunk out of her arm, and the third tore off an ear. I shuddered and turned from the window. Dad sank heavily onto the floor.
    I turned to Mom. She swayed back and forth. Her face was white. I grabbed her before she fell and eased her to the floor. In the bathroom, I wet a washcloth before I returned and gently dabbed Mom ’s forehead while Dad held her up.
    “What’s going on?” Mom whispered. “Why did they attack that woman? Please tell me she ’ s part of the prank. Please.”
    Dad shook his head. “This is not a prank. I don ’t know why they killed her , but we can’t let them get in here.”
    The sound of shattering glass echoed up the stairs. I ran to the window and peered out, but couldn’t see anything. Dad ran to the door and opened it a crack before slamming it shut a second later.
    “They ’r e in the house,” he whispered loudly.
    Mom’s eyes grew wide and she scrambled to her feet. “They ’r e in the house? They ’r e in the house ?”
    Dad clamped a hand over her mouth and moved her toward the closet. I followed them in, and he pulled the string for the attic stairs. I climbed as fast as I could, then turned to help Mom up. Dad followed behind and pulled the stairs up after him. We crouched in the dark and waited.
    More glass broke and footsteps thudded up the stairs. Mom grabbed me and backed into the corner farthest from the door. The muffled sounds of things breaking drifted into the room. I placed my arms around Mom ’s waist and buried my head on her shoulder. Mom wrapped her arms around my head, and I felt her cheek on the top my hair. It reminded me of when I was little girl, waking in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I used to have dreams about being chased by dinosaurs. They always caught me and ate me. I ’d wake up screaming, and Mom would come into my room with a glass of water. She’d hold me and hum until I fell back asleep.
    Every crash and thud made my entire body jerk, and Mom shook beneath me. This was almost like my dreams . The creatures would eat us if they caught us, but unlike my dreams, there was no waking from this nightmare.
    After a while, it was quiet. I assumed Dad remained by the door, his gun in his hand ready to fire. Mom and I slowly uncurled from the corner and went to him. We moved carefully so we wouldn ’t make a sound. When we were close, Dad gathered us into his arms and we sat hugging by the door.
    “It’s all right. I think they ’r e gone.” Dad’s voice was almost inaudible.
    “What are we going to do?”  Mom whispered. “We can ’t stay up here forever. We’re going to need food, water.”
    Dad pulled away and the attic light clicked on. I squinted at the brightness and held up my hands to block the light. Mom fumbled for the cord.
    “What are you doing? They ’r e going to find us,” she said.
    Dad grabbed her hands and calmed her down. “It’s all right. They won ’ t be able to see the light. Even if they got the closet door opened, they