Z-Risen (Book 3): Poisoned Earth Read Free

of children. The piece of art was complete with heads smashed in and brains leaking onto the ground.
    “Worst graffiti I’ve seen in my life,” I muttered.
    A shape flashed across an alley and faded into shadow. Joel followed it with his gun but didn’t start blasting, so I didn’t either. I’d learned a great rule from Marine Sergeant Joel “Cruze” Kelly, and that was not to start firing until after he started firing.
    When he finally unlocked his gaze from the alley, I took a step and accidentally kicked over a can. It clattered across the ground and landed next to the sidewalk. Joel froze and swept his gun up. Luckily, a dozen Zs didn’t descend on us.
    “Fuck is wrong with you?”
    “What? I didn’t see it,” I said.
    “How could you miss a big empty can of Campbell's soup sitting right in the middle of the walkway, man?”
    “Because I’m taller than you and that gun put together.”
    Something moved in the alley again so I took a step toward it. I crunched over someone’s cheap bead jewelry and a pile of soggy trash. I couldn’t tell who was moving around back there, and curiosity was getting the better of me. The shape faded into shadow after I caught a glimpse of someone dressed in black complete with a ski mask to up the creep factor.
    I got the chills just seeing the guy. If someone was stalking us I’d prefer that me and Joel do our talking with guns or fists.
    “Bad hombres. Let’s move out,” Joel said.
    I agreed with him and followed.
    It was 0900 hours and I hadn’t seen a Z since the day before.
    It felt fucking eerie.
     
     

#22 – Gold Mine
     
    09:40 hours approximate
    Location: Vista
     
    The Z hit me like a ton of bricks.
    My partner in crime yelled for me to move out of the way, but I was slow on my feet. We’d come across a group of feisty assholes about fifteen minutes ago and ducked into the remains of an ampm. He and I huddled for a few minutes, but the sounds of something moving in the back of the convenience store finally got under my skin.
    The Z had been hovering near a shelf, and no more than a few feet away. In the gloom I didn't even see him until his shuffling steps betrayed him. He moved fast, arms up, milky white gaze locked on my face like it was prime rib. I spun, and panic made me lose my cool. That’s when the Z almost got a piece of my dumb ass.
    I hit the wall hard enough to see stars. Breath whooshed out but I got my hands up, purely by instinct, and fought off the Z. He had about fifty pounds on me and slammed me right back into the wall. I pushed the Z away. Something clamped my wrist and I squealed like a six year old.
    It wasn't teeth, it was his hand. Most of his fingers had been gnawed to the bone, and he had a hell of a death grip. I got my foot up and kicked the zombie in the chest. He fell away but his hand was still fastened to me. That's when I noticed he'd fallen away, all except his arm. I bounced around like I was in a one-man idiot dance-off as I tried to shake it loose.
    Joel was fast on his feet, just like I’d expected. If a Marine wasn't shooting stuff, punching stuff, or just snarling at stuff, he was probably asleep while standing up, expecting an attack at any second.
    He grabbed the zombie by the collar and knocked him to the ground. Joel lifted his boot and brought it down on the Z's head once, twice, and then a third time that left pulp leaking from the man’s cracked skull. The Z didn't move again.
    I leaned over and tried to catch my breath. Hands on knees, chest spasming as I sucked in air.
    “Need a hand?” Joel nodded at the Z's appendage that was still stuck to my arm.
    “Oh that’s real funny,” I said.
    Fuck! It really was stuck on there. I flailed around, trying to shake it off.
    “Looks like he had a strong grip," Joel deadpanned.
    “Okay, that’s enough,” I said, and mostly meant it. I was worried that if I actually caught my breath I'd break into laughter.
    The arm refused to let go and as I shook it, bits