Zombies! (Episode 10): State of Emergency Read Free Page A

heading south down Broadway, had just reached the edge. Behind her was clear. She could run away from them, but worried over what she would find. Not too far down, Broadway ended and so did Manhattan Island. From there it was a left or a right and up West Street or South Street. Either way, if the army of zombies spread out, she'd get caught as she headed back uptown. Of course, dragging Sam along, she'd be exhausted before she even reached Wall Street. Her only recourse was to find shelter and fast.
     
    "Mommy, those are bad men," Sam said.
     
    She almost burst out laughing, holding him close as she ran and kissing him on the head over and over again. She had almost forgotten about him in her own panic. Some instinct had forced her to hold onto him and now she was relieved to find that he was with her. He gave her purpose. The zombies would not have her child.
     
    At the southern end of the park, east of Broadway, there was a line of stores. Some people had gone inside, but most had just run off. Traffic on the street had literally disappeared. Broadway was always crowded with cabs and buses during the weekdays. What had happened to them? Then she remembered coming out the train and seeing an empty Broadway. No cars. No buses. Somewhere further uptown, the zombie armada had stopped traffic and no one had even noticed.
     
    As Abby rushed down the row of stores, a sales lady came out of a boutique to see what was going on. When she saw the zombies swarming the park, her entire face morphed into a thing of terror. She was about to bolt, her whole body tense, when Abby grabbed her up and swept her into the store.
     
    "Do you have shutters?" Abby asked.
     
    "What?"
     
    "A gate? Does your store have a gate?"
     
    Dumbly, the lady nodded.
     
    Abby practically tossed Sam into the store and dragged the lady outside to help her. The lady was beginning to shut down from shock. Her instinct for flight had been interrupted but she still couldn't focus.
     
    " The gate! " Abby screamed into her face.
     
    The lady seemed to clear a bit and headed for the door. "I'll get the padlocks."
     
    But Abby grabbed her and hauled her back. "We don't need the locks."
     
    The zombies were reaching the southern edge of the park now. The first of the line was moving into the gutter directly across from where they stood. The smell had already reached them. The two women looked across. As always, the zombies came in a variety of styles. Tall and short. Old and young. Black and white. Chinese, Mexican, Italian. And even the ones that weren't chewed up or decayed were so frighteningly disgusting that it was all they could do not to look away.
     
    "Inside," the lady said. "We have to go inside."
     
    "We need to put down that gate."
     
    Sam was banging on the glass door, shouting out Mommy !
     
    "We have to do it from inside."
     
    A man came running out of the train station at their end of the park. He was wearing a business suit and no coat. His hair and his eyes were wild as he looked around. Those zombies that were near him changed direction and reached out for him. He screamed. He had this high pitched voice that went shrill with his fear. He fought against them and managed to break through the ranks. Like a trapped animal, his eyes searched for an exit. When he spied Abby and the sales lady, he charged toward them.
     
    "Help, help!" he shouted as he ran.
     
    The lady pulled open the door and ran into the boutique, nearly tripping over Sam as she did so. Abby went in after her, waving for the man to hurry. When all of them were inside, the woman opened the door a crack and reached up. She yanked on a chain and the gate came free whacking the door along the top. Slowly, too slowly, she let it close inch by inch until there was barely enough room for her to reach her arm through. With one hand pulling, the gate came down slowly. The zombies reached the front of the store. Abby, Sam, and the man could see them through the front window. Some