The Rot: Book 2

Chapter 1

"We have to hurry up and get off the road," I told Angela.

"But the apartment's right there," Ang responded.

"Doesn't matter. The minute we get on that fence, they'll bite into our legs. You want that to happen?"

Angela shook her head.

For an instant, I thought about trying to get inside one of the abandoned vehicles that sat in the road, but there was no way for me to tell which ones were locked or unlocked, and I didn't necessarily have the time to go up and check either.

Of course, I had my trusty axe, and the scoped hunting rifle slung around my back, but I wasn't about to turn around and face the group of stenches on my own. I'm not the manliest guy around.

Before Angela set out, she had taken Cyn's survival knife while Cynthia was sleeping. A fact that Cyn was none too pleased with when she discovered her kid sister and her blade were now missing. Janice and I got an earful when that happened.

As the snowfall started to get a little heavier, and the group of dead things were still right behind us, I resolved to get off the street as soon as possible and get indoors somewhere. It wasn't like Angela and I didn't have options to choose from either as both sides of the main road were lined with homes and businesses. What was waiting inside them for us, well, that was an entirely different story. But the two of us had no choice but to risk it. 

I felt one of the corpse's hands graze my backpack. The eater almost grabbed me and pulled me back towards the mob.

"Ang, they're gaining on us," I said.

"We're not gonna make it!" Angela shouted. She was right by my left ear, too when she yelled. That was not necessary. I was right beside her, she didn't need to scream. 

"Not with that attitude we won't."

"Now I see why my sister hates you."

"Okay, we're about to do something stupid, Angela."

"Like what?"

I practically lifted Angela off of her feet and darted into the main road and ran to the sidewalk on the other side of the street. I didn't notice any stenches on that side of the road, but it was difficult to tell through the snowfall.

As I quickly scanned the buildings that lined the sidewalk, looking for a shelter, my eyes fell on a small shop with a broken out front window.

"Here," I told Angela as I helped her into the store. And by 'helped' I mean I damn near lifted her up and tossed her inside the building. My bad. 

"What if there's- ah! You dick!" Angela yelled back at me. She wasn't too happy with being thrown in there, but we were running out of time. If we lived through this, I'd apologize to her later.

A stench at the front of the group made it across the road, and tried to grab me with his chewed up hands. I pulled out my axe and swung it at the dead guy's arms, severing both of them around the elbow. Then, I kicked him in the chest, sending him back into the road.

I climbed into the shop. Both Angela and I heard the dead things charging across the street towards the building.

"I bought us some time," I told Ang as I tried to catch my breath.

"Yeah, and you fucked up my ankle," Ang replied, wincing in pain when she tried to stand on her right foot.

"How about a 'Thank you, Reid. You handsome devil you.' How about that, Ang?"

"Thank you, Reid."

"You forgot the 'handsome devil' part."

"No I didn't."