“You going to be okay?” Josh asked.
Emily shook her head. “No.”
Josh nodded.
Ahead, they heard someone who sounded like Ben Ackerman scream in agony.
Walking through the sea of hungry, living corpses wasn’t the smartest idea Ben had ever come up with. He knew that. Even as he dodged some of their lame attacks with ease, he knew there had to be a better way. But instead of planning an alternative route in his head, he thought of Jake. He thought of his boy and how his face would illuminate once he saw his father again. He wondered what he was doing right now. Was he huddled next to his mother? Safe? Protected from the evils which now ruled the streets? Ben hoped.
The dream. This is my dream.
The street he had dreamed was this street. Crown Avenue. It looked exactly as it had within the dreamworld. As he jogged through the gathered, he surveyed the faces of the dead. He didn’t recognize a single one of them. There was a man dressed in a shirt and tie. A policeman with bloody slaver dangling from his mouth. A girl clinging onto her stuffed bunny-rabbit. An middle-aged woman in her underwear, splattered with bright-red speckles. They moaned, aching for nourishment. Ben dodged them easily. He looked on, half-expecting to see Jake stumble from the flock, bloody and dirty, eager to rip his father apart.
He glanced at the house on his right. 724. Only a few more houses to go. He did some quick math and found the house Melissa had purchased with his money. It was painted sage-green, wore brown shutters with a wooden stockade fence stained walnut surrounding it. Quite possibly the ugliest exterior decorating he had ever seen. Ben smirked. Oh, Mel. You never were good at this. He found himself able to produce a chuckle, despite his current predicament. Then, realizing how close he was to seeing his son again, Ben picked—
Pain suddenly occupied his right arm. It quickly ran down his arm, into his hand. He whipped around and looked down, finding the little girl with the stuffed bunny-rabbit tasting his flesh. Her mouth was peeling back a sliver of his skin.
Ben screamed. He wrenched his arm free, the little girl temporarily content with chewing the bloody scrap of skin. Once she swallowed, she jumped at him, snarling furiously. Ben kicked her in the chest and sent her tumbling to the street. Behind her, zombies flocked in his direction. Ben looked to his right and left, the herd closing in.
How could I be so stupid? Ben asked himself. What was I thinking? He knew the answer to that—he wasn’t thinking. Not at all.
The horde grew closer, encircling him like a school of sharks. There was no way out. The wall of corpses was ten zombies deep. He could break through the first layer, maybe without getting himself killed, but after that they’d converge on him. He’d seen it before. If he had just kept moving, never slowed down, he might have had a shot.
“Ben!” he heard Josh shout from somewhere close. “Ben, over here!”
Ben peered through the dead bodies. He saw Josh and Emily standing on the front lawn of the nearest property. He shook his head. Closed his eyes. Waited for death.
“What is he doing?” Emily asked.
“He’s giving up,” Josh replied. Feeling ill, Josh walked toward the crowd of corpses.
“Where are you going?” Emily asked.
Josh ignored her. Instead, he ran full speed at the famished throng. Josh jumped when he was close enough, landing on top of the crowd like a rowdy fan at a rock concert. The living dead weren’t strong enough to support his weight, and four of them fell to the ground. They tumbled into their mates, knocking them over like weightless bowling pins.
Josh’s arm throbbed. He rolled over, crying out in pain. One of the fallen zombies attempted to take advantage of Josh’s current situation, latching onto his leg. It tried to bite down on his ankle, but Josh kicked himself away. As the pain radiated up and down his arm, Josh scrambled to his feet. He looked at Ben.
Ben reached for him. Josh met him halfway, yanking him to his feet. A few zombies darted forward with an unexpected surge of quickness, but the two men were able to sidestep their attempt. They helped each other further down the road, leaving the horde behind them. Emily followed them, running across the lawns of Melissa Ackerman’s neighbors.
Once they were a safe distance from the horde, Ben turned to Josh.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked. “Is it the arm?”
Josh shook his head. Grimacing, he sat in the middle of the road. Emily rushed over to them.
“I think…” Josh started to say, rolling up his pant leg. A hunk of his calf was missing. The edge of the wound had purpled, the infection already spreading. “Fuck me,” he muttered.
“Oh shit, man,” Ben said out loud. “Jesus Christ.” The wound was already beginning to stink.
“I’m a fucking goner.”
Emily started bawling again.
Ben knelt down. He put his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
Laughing, Josh replied, “Don’t worry about it. We’re all going to die sooner or later, right?” A series of hacking coughs interrupted him. He spat blood onto the pavement. “I can feel it working through me. Won’t be long until I’m one of them, I guess.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Motherfuckers.”
“You don’t know that. I met a man in a house back there. He was bitten. A few times, from the looks of it. Days ago. And you know what?” Ben asked.
Josh shook his head.
“He’s still alive.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true.” Ben held up his arm, displaying his injury. “I was too.”
“Holy fuck,” Josh coughed. Blood sputtered down his chin.
“Were you sick a week before the shit hit the fan? Before things went really bad?”
Josh shook his head. “Haven’t been sick in years, man.”
Concerned, Ben narrowed his eyes. “Hm.”
“Guess I don’t quite fit the bill then? Guess I’m not one of the lucky ones.”
“There must be something…”
Josh coughed again, filling his palm with sticky red fluid. “Go find your son, Ben.” He nodded toward the ugly green house. “He’s waiting for you in there.”
Droplets fell from Ben’s eyes. He lowered his head. “Thanks for coming with me. I know things didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted it, but I’m glad you came.”
Josh smirked. “Me too.” He hacked again, sickness ejaculating from between his lips. “Now go. Both of you. I don’t want you to see me as one of them.”
Ben nodded. He grabbed Emily’s hand. She waved to Josh, her face lustered in tears. Josh waved back weakly.
Together, they jogged up the walkway leading to 732 Crown Avenue. Ben hopped up the porch steps, letting go of Emily’s hand. “Step back,” he warned her. Nothing happened when he pushed the doorbell. He began banging on the front door, screaming Melissa’s name over and over again. Without waiting for a reply, he backed up, then kicked the door. It took him three tries, but Ben was able to force the door off of the hinges.
Shaking with fear, Ben stepped inside. Emily followed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The living room decor almost brought Ben to his knees.
Pictures of Jake littered the walls and tabletops. There were pictures of Melissa too, arms shackled with another man, but Ben looked past those and concentrated on Jake. He was smiling in every picture. Happy. Tears sprinkled Ben’s face. Knees weak, Ben barely found the strength to shuffle forward.
Emily closed the front door as Ben wandered around the living room lackadaisically. She ran over to the window, peering outside. If Ben had been paying attention, he would have told her not to look. But he was too busy scanning the walls to notice. Emily spotted Josh. He lay in the street, twitching. Several zombies walked past him, as if they knew he was already a member of their clan.