Zomb-Pocalypse 2 Read Free Page B

bottom to hold the ladder, and with the zombies jostling, it’s bad.
    Acid rises up in my throat, and my heart hammers like crazy. “It’s too dangerous!” I shout to be heard over the rain and the zombies. As though to prove me right, the ladder jerks violently to one side. All three of the guys at the top have to use everything they have to keep it from falling.
    When the ladder is finally steadied, Silas is six feet up, less than half way, and each step forward makes the ladder even more unstable. I look down at the determined look on Silas’ face and know that he’s feeling reckless.
    “Get some rope!” one of the guys leaning over the edge yells out. He sounds winded as he struggles to hold the ladder in such an uncomfortable position. I look over my shoulder and see two people run and start digging through a pile of supplies that they’d brought with them. The rope is covered, so I turn my attention back to Ryan and our other two saviors.
    All three of them have bright red faces from exertion. Even though it’s raining, I can tell they’re sweating. Not only is this a dangerous situation, but now I’m terrified these guys won’t be able to hold on for much longer.
    A much smaller man, who’d been huddled in with the women under the umbrella, runs forward and hands the big guy the rope. The small guy takes his place holding the swaying ladder, and I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him…which might actually be a little ways, considering how small he actually is. I run over and push in beside Ryan to help take up the slack.
    I’m stunned by the weight of the ladder, even with three other people holding it. I instantly feel strain on my lower back, and I have to struggle to fight off the dangerous pull towards the edge. Ryan gives me a grateful smile of encouragement that helps to strengthen my resolve, and then all of our attention is back on Silas. Silas climbs another rung, and I actually grunt at the pressure. The big guy quickly knots the rope and then presses it into my arms. At the same time, he pushes me and Shrimpy out of the way and takes his place back.
    “Throw it down to him,” the big guy instructs me, and I carefully lower the rope down to Silas, who catches it and loops it around his head and shoulders until it’s tied securely under his arm pits. “Tie the other end of the rope to some of that piping over there,” the guy shouts again when he’s satisfied that Silas has secured his end. I spring into a run, with the rope in hand, my eyes on the cold metal pipe sticking up out of the roof like it’s a lifeline—because, for Silas, it literally is.
    I’m so close that my fingers actually brush the pipe when a burning pain blossoms across my palm. The burn is so intense that it’s a full second before I realize the rope has been yanked out of my hand.
    “No!” The scream is ripped from me as I lunge for it, landing hard against the cement on my belly, but it’s too late. I watch as the end of the rope whips towards the group gathered at the edge of the roof and disappears between their legs.
    I get up and stand rooted to the spot, shaking. I’ve killed him. The rope wouldn’t have pulled like that unless Silas fell. I burst into tears and sink back down to my knees. I cover my face with my hands and sob. I’ve lost a lot of people since this whole asshole mess started, but Silas is the first one that I’ve actually killed . I think about all the zombies at the bottom and pray that he somehow died on impact and didn’t have to feel all those tearing bites rip him apart.
    I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder and shrug it off. I don’t deserve Ryan’s pity, or his kind words. I deserve to follow Silas over the edge of this building.
    “Jane.” He has to call out several times before I’m able to absorb what I’m actually hearing. I look up through eyes that blur from tears and see Silas standing over me. “I didn’t know you cared so much,” he says with a small,