"Come in, Princess!" the radio called in Sergeant Morris' desperate voice.
Reaching across her belly, she took the radio in her free hand and raised it to her mouth, replying, "Yes?"
"We heard a shot," he informed. "Are you okay down there?"
"Yeah," she confirmed, still staring at the vanquished zombie.
"Did you shoot?" he asked.
"Yep," she replied.
"Is there a zombie down there with you?" he pressed.
Raising her chin as she stared down at the still form before her, she replied, "Not anymore."
Though her ears were ringing a little, she did not put her weapon away. She liked the feel of it in her hand, the sense of security it gave her. As she continued her search, she looked down at the weapon, its pink grips, cylinder and trigger. It was power. It was vengeance against the creatures that had killed her family. Still, that power was a little frightening, though in the moment she did not care.
The odor of decay grew strong as she approached another store, some kind of discount store that had many small items from sewing kits to toothbrushes and much more. That store was also torn apart on the inside and the smell of rotting flesh was strong within. It was an offensive, rancid smell, and she knew what it meant.
Squaring up on the store front, she looked inside and finally shouted, "Come out of there!"
Something within responded to her voice and she could hear movement. Something was knocked over and crashed to the floor and she held her weapon in front of her, right about belly button level. With narrow eyes and her brow low over her eyes, Zoe watched for movement, and finally saw it at the back of the store.
"Come on!" she shouted, pulling the hammer back on her gun. "I have something for you!"
Two of them were in there and seemed to be responding to her voice, and they both staggered toward her.
"Yeah," she snarled. "Come on out where I can see you."
When they were only twenty or so feet away, she raised the gun, took careful aim, and fired, hitting the closest of them right above the eye. As he fell, she aimed at the other one and fired as well, striking it right at the bridge of the nose.
"Come in, Princess," Morris called over the radio.
Staring down at the zombies, she took her radio from her belt and raised it to her mouth. "Yes, Sir?"
Amusement was clear in his tone as he asked, "You going to save any for us?"
She smiled and replied, "Nope."
Arriving at the lower level exit, which opened to a parking lot on the other side of the building, she paused to look out into the desolation there. Those doors were not broken and stood closed as she found herself walking slowly toward them.
As she pushed one open and strode slowly outside, she looked around at the empty and quiet parking lot. She had never seen it empty before. It was eerie and gave her a chill as her eyes panned from left to right, then right to left. But for the wind blowing about some of the small trees that were scattered about the medians, there was no movement, no sound but for the wind. The city seemed dead from here and for a moment she felt absolutely alone.
Zoe walked to the edge of the driveway that circled the mall, stopping at the curb to see what she could see. To her right she saw a motor home parked right at the curb about fifty feet down the road from where she was. It was facing away from her and she was largely looking at the back of it, and she noticed that the windows had plywood over them, and each small sheet had a small slit cut into it. She blinked and leaned her head.
Sergeant Morris summoned over her radio, "Hey, Princess."
She absently raised the radio to her mouth, her gaze fixed on the motor home as she answered, "Yes, Sir?"
"Where you be?" he asked.
"I'm outside on the other side of the mall," she replied. "It's weird quiet out here."
"Did you finish your sweep of the inside?" he asked."
"No sir," she answered. "There's one of those R.V.'s out here with the windows boarded up and it's parked right at the curb. That's a fire zone."
"Sure is," he confirmed. "Stay put and keep an eye on it. I'm going to come down and we can have a look."
"Okay," she complied. As she waited and watched the motor home, it rocked ever so slightly as if someone had walked from one side of it to the other. The slit in the plywood that covered the back window had a shadow fall over it and she felt that creeping in her stomach. Someone was looking at her from in there and she found her grip on the gun tightening. Swallowing hard, she walked toward it a few steps, stopping when she was about twenty feet away.
Something growled near the building and she looked that way. The landscaping was a little neglected and the shrubs and bushes were starting to grow out of their manicured forms. Her eyes panned back and forth, then her spine went rigid as something in there growled again. Turning fully toward the landscaping, which was only a few feet from the brick veneered wall of the mall, she approached a couple of steps, holding her revolver ready as she scanned the bushes for whatever was in there. With the gun in her hand, she felt like she had an advantage over anything that would try to get her, but a little fear still crept into her, and that nervous crawl began in her stomach again.
When the breeze shifted, she got a whiff of that familiar carrion odor, then a breath shrieked into her as one of the shrubs moved.
Something shuffled in the dead leaves and twigs behind the shrubs.
Zoe backed away, her wide eyes searching for the terror that she felt was stalking her.
It exploded from the bushes with an animalistic roar and sprang at her with speed that she did not expect and a ferocity that was worthy of her nightmares. Dressed in a tattered red tee shirt and black running shorts, its black hair was a ratty mess, its hands dirty and its skin a lighter gray than the others. Its eyes were black pools surrounded by a little white and its teeth were stained black and brown and yellow. Something dark stained its shirt, something that could only be blood and it moved too fast for Zoe to react.
She backpedaled and raised her weapon, only managing two shots before it was upon her. Both bullets hit it in the chest and did not even slow it.
It knocked her hand aside and the gun from her grip as its other hand found the nape of her neck and clamped on with the grip of a hawk.
Zoe screamed as they fell, pushing back against its chest as it bore down on her, its teeth snapping at her face and throat. Its breath stank of death and growls and snarls erupted from it as it pressed her to the concrete, pressed its attack on her. One of her legs was pinned beneath one of the zombie's and she kicked at it with the other. It tried to lift her toward it with the grip it had around her neck, but she had it at bay, though barely. Its other hand clawed at her, catching her shirt at the neckline and it tore her new shirt away from her neck and shoulder.
Another scream exploded from her as she fought back as best she could, trying in vain to push it off of her. She knew she was no match for it and found herself starting to cry, and finally she screamed, "Help! Please help me!"
It got its hand and arm around her back, the other around her neck, and slowly she began to lose the battle to push it away.
"Hey!" an unfamiliar man's voice shouted from the motor home.
The zombie stopped its attack and looked that way, its lips sliding away from its teeth as it found a new target.