RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 26 .

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"Stay away from the windows," Todd whispered. He grabbed Camila's forearm and pulled her away from the nearest window. Groaning came from just outside the window, outside the door and from upstairs. Zombie fists pounded on the door behind me and Grace. Footsteps came from the floor above us. A moment later and the loud footsteps and groaning were on the stairs.

Five zombies - three adults and two children - came rushing down the stairs, tripping over each other in their rush to get to us. The children were still in tattered Halloween costumes. Grace lifted her bow and arrow and shot the charging adult male zombie in the head. He tumbled to the ground. The two adult zombies behind him - a man and woman - tripped over him. The children zombies ran around them.

The little girl we had rescued from the car, cried and hid behind Camila. The zombies pounding on the door behind us grew louder. Pounding started on the windows. Dr. Higgins stabbed the zombie boy in the head. Dr. Patel stabbed the zombie girl. I looked away. It was too difficult seeing small children like that even if they were zombies.

Todd and I stepped up between the professors to take care of the two adult zombies that were groaning and shambling to their feet. Todd plunged his knife in the back of the zombie man's head. I swung my bat hard into the zombie woman's skull. She crumpled to the ground at my feet.

Glass shattered nearby and a zombie started to climb in through the nearby window. Grace quickly stepped up and stabbed it in the temple with her screwdriver. She left the zombie where it was halfway through the window and then quickly closed the curtains. The rest of us went through the room quickly closing all the curtains.

"She's not breathing," the little girl from the girl screamed. She was on her knees next to the couch and her sister. She shook her sister's shoulders and screamed, "She's not breathing!"

"Shhh," several of us shushed her and Camila covered the little girl's mouth with her hand for emphasis. The little girl had tears streaming down her face. She pointed at her sister urgently, but didn't talk anymore.

The zombie groans outside picked up again. There were a few loud knocks on the door, but not as many as before. Dr. Patel rushed to the older girl on the couch. He bent low with his ear over the girl's nose and mouth. He put a finger up to her nose, then he put two fingers on the girls neck to feel for a pulse. He felt around in different spots and then shook his head. "There isn't a heartbeat," he whispered.

The younger girl started wailing. Camila hugged her into her shoulder to muffle her sobs.

Dr. Patel waved Grace over by his side. She immediately complied. He started doing chest compressions. After he had done a few, he paused and indicated for Grace to breathe into the girl's mouth. Grace held the girl's nose, tilted the head slightly back, dropped the jaw and breathed into her mouth. They repeated this process for several long moments. Nothing happened. The girl didn't move. Her heartbeat didn't return miraculously. She didn't start breathing.

The zombies quieted outside during this process. I hoped that meant they were leaving, but didn't dare open a curtain to check.

Dr. Patel finally broke away from the older girl and shook his head. The younger girl clung to Camila and cried, but at least her cries were silent now. Camila stroked her hair and rocked the girl that was Mackenzie's age back and forth.

"But it was only a broken leg," Connor whispered. I put a hand on his shoulder. He was pale and wrung his hands together tightly. I hoped he didn't blame himself. He had done what he could to save her.