Dead America - Ground Zero

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

6:00AM

The trio of survivors startled awake at the sound of a massive rumble outside. The building shook with the force of it, and they all sat up, instantly wide-eyed and awake.

"Shelton! What was-" Matt began, but Brandon put up a hand to silence him.

Another loud boom cracked in the distance, followed by the windows rattling in their frames. A metallic scream echoed and zoomed by them, and Candace darted over to the window.

"Look! Over there!" She pressed her hands against the glass, staring at the fighter jet in the morning sun that looped around to head back towards the city. "Shelton you were right! The military is coming to get us!"

She jumped up and down and turned to Matt, who pulled her into a tight hug. Brandon's lips were set in a thin line as he approached the window to stand next to him, scanning the skyline. There was a west side high rise that had been on fire the night before, that was completely gone. There was no way that it had burned up that fast.

He closed his eyes at the stark realization of what the military was doing.

When he opened them again, Matt stared at him over Candace's shoulder, his expression questioning. Brandon simply nodded, confirming the young man's fears.

They stood and watched helplessly as the jet did another pass of downtown, followed by another hellish explosion that sent flames a hundred feet into the air.

"Shelton?" Candace recoiled from the sight, pushing away from Matt as her face drained of color. "What... what are they doing?"

Brandon took a deep breath. "They're doing the only thing they can do."

Her hands rose to her mouth and she stifled a sob. Matt reached out and enveloped her in another tight hug, stroking her blonde hair gently.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get y'all out," Brandon whispered hoarsely.

Matt shook his head. "You tried, man, that's all we could ask."

The two youngsters opened up their hug and extended their arms to the SWAT Officer that had risked life and limb to rescue them. He stepped forward and allowed the embrace, taking what little comfort he could that at least the three of them weren't alone.

More jets joined the first and the explosions were closer this time, the windows shaking more, nearly toppling the trio over onto the floor. Things were bright, too bright, and they squeezed their eyes shut tightening their embrace with each blast.

Three survivors. Survivors no more.

END

Thank you for checking out Dead America: Ground Zero! If you enjoyed it and want more zombie action, I've got a few series' worth of books set in the same zombie universe available on Kindle as well as Paperback, Hardback, and in some cases, Audiobook. It is an ongoing series with new releases coming out monthly. Check out the next chapter for details.