Love Prevails: A Zombie Nightmare Read Free

dropping his focus to the ground. Bronson’s angry scowl softened as his gaze roved across Jill’s creamy smooth skin, green eyes, and well-toned figure. He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "Maybe you should check with your wife first. If you lose, she’s mine."
    Bronson turned around and walked a few feet from the crowd. "Listen up! Listen up everyone! It’s time we prepare for tonight’s festivities. Jason, Jeremy, your assignment is—"          
    In the far distance a horn blew. Bronson stopped in the middle of his speech and listened.   
    He glared at Keith. "Now, you see? You did lead them here. Pete, give them their guns back. Everyone load up and ready to your positions."
    "What do you mean?" Keith said.      
    "The long range horn signals there are fifty or more of the undead approaching from the southeast," Bronson said. "We go out in groups of five. We’ll split you two up. Follow your group leader. Don’t worry about the women. There’ll be men guarding them."
    One of Bronson’s girls told Kara and Jill to follow her. Bronson commanded all the women to stay together. Keith looked at Kara and Steve, and nodded. With protest, Kara followed as Jill pulled her by the hand.    
    Six groups of five men loaded up and headed out. The attack was coming from the opposite direction of the valley. Each group kept ten yards apart and traveled in a wide line, with the intent of keeping the adjoining group in eyesight through the trees and brush.
    Keith struggled to keep up with his team as it sped forward. Ironically, a few minutes earlier he was in fear of his life by the hands of these same men. Now, he was elbow to elbow joining in battle. Something inside compelled him to go with the flow. Survival had become a minute-by-minute decision. 
    When the war party was about half a mile from the village, the first shots rang out. The group on the far left had made first contact. The remaining groups moved to flank the undead. More shots were fired. Keith caught a glimpse of a staggering corpse through the thick foliage.
    "Don’t shoot unless you get a clear headshot. Make every shell count!" Keith’s group leader demanded.      
    Repetitive gun blasts filled the air. Buckshot mowed down the undead left and right. Keith stopped, took aim, and brought his first down with a direct hit between the eyes. It brought a certain satisfaction, a new sense of belonging with this strange band of survivors. He wondered if he had judged these people too fast.  
    Grotesque corpses reanimated to life powered their way through brush and around trees, driven by an unquenchable lust for warm living flesh. They were oblivious to the shotguns discharging or their brethren falling alongside.
    Heads exploded, bodies fell to eternal rest under the cool shade of century old conifers. The smell of decaying meat mixed with the bittersweet smell of gunpowder.
    In less time than Keith thought possible, the zombie menace met its end. He stood back and watched as the men gathered the spent shotgun shells from the ground, and then realized that it was his responsibility too.            
    On the trip back, Keith caught up with Steve’s group and joined his friend. "Man, that was a rush!"
    "I’ll say!" Steve said, beaming. "At first, I was shaking so bad that I was afraid to even pull the trigger. But after the guys in the group dropped a few, I sucked it up and shot one right in the mouth. The buckshot must have severed the spine leading to the head, because its head popped off and rolled on the ground toward me. I was still so jumpy I pumped another round and blew it to bits."
    Keith laughed. "I got three. One of them reminded me of my boss. Well, ex-boss—Fontaine. I enjoyed taking that one down." He laughed again.
    "One of the guys got two with one shot. He said he planned it that way, but I think he just got lucky."
    "I don’t know. These guys operate like a well-oiled machine. It wouldn’t surprise me if