White Ash on Bone: A Zombie Novel Read Free Page A

stopped my car to see what was going on. When I was halfway out of the car, I noticed they were biting huge chunks out of the guy.  They were like animals.  It was a feeding frenzy. I looked across the intersection and saw the same scene being played out everywhere for blocks."
    "What did you do?" Donna said.
    Jack sighed.  "I did the only thing that made sense.  I got back into the car and locked the doors.  I hung a right and sped off to the West end of town trying to get home.  That’s where I came across you.  There was a traffic accident near Doughboy Park.  It looked like a number of cars were in a big pile up at the intersection.  I got blocked in the traffic, so I pulled up on the sidewalk and decided to ditch my vehicle.  I hopped out of the car and noticed you crumpled up in a ball.  You were covered in glass from one of the vehicles.  So I dragged you into the bar.  Welcome to the Manhattan by the way."
    Donna picked herself off the floor and scanned the room.  The wooden bar was roughly in the shape of a triangular island; it was located the middle of the establishment.  Round stools outlined the bar.  They reminded her of piers at a dock.  A random mix of circular and square shaped tables sat scattered around the perimeter of the Manhattan.  The air carried the scent of cigarette ash and stale beer.
    "I would have the bartender get you drink,” Jack said.  “Believe me; I think we could both use it. But at the moment, he's being eaten by a couple of neighborhood kids across the street." 
    Jack searched behind the bar and pulled out a rag. He walked over to a sink and turned on the faucet.  He soaked the rag under a stream of hot water and offered the rag to her.
    "Here, you can use this to clean up with."
    Donna took the cloth and felt the warmth in her hands.  She brought it up and buried her face in its relieving heat.
    "The way I see it," Jack said, "you have two options."  "You can come with me, or you can lock this place up and stay here."
    "You're going back out there?" Donna said.
    "Yeah, I have to," he said.  "My house is just a few blocks away, and my cat is there.  Don’t worry though, she doesn't bite."
    The statement made Donna think back to Jack's earlier question. "Why did you ask if I’d been bitten?" Donna said. 
    "Well, when you were out of it, more of those crazies showed up.  I’ve been watching them through the peephole in the door.  They don’t seem to attack each other from what I can tell.  But like the bartender over there, after people are chewed on, they seem to get up after awhile and join the crazies.” 
    "I saw the same thing at the courthouse," Donna replied.  "I don’t get it; no one should be able to get up after that."  
    "Donna, there is a lot I don’t get about today. I’m not going to hang out here defenseless and try and figure it out. I could be doing that at home with my guns.  So what is it going be, you coming with, or staying?"
    She thought about it a minute.  “I don’t want to be alone, but I don’t see how we’re going to make it out of here with all those things out there.  The cops couldn’t stop them.”
    Jack gestured her to the peephole.  "Before you woke up, a big Mac truck came though and pushed some of those cars out of the way. It seems to have freed my car on the sidewalk.  It’s all a matter of getting to my car while hauling ass as fast as possible." 
    Donna leaned up to the peephole. She could see the car fifteen feet from the door.  The thought of going back outside made her stomach churn and her hands shake.  She caught a look at herself in the bar’s mirror; she was a sad sight.  She had a swollen bloody lip and a black eye.  Usually, her long dark hair was shiny and beautiful; now, it was caked with blood and bits of glass.  Her once-fashionable black business suit was torn and tattered.  She looked down and noticed that she had no shoes or memory of when she lost them.  Pain, yes then