Dead Tropics by Sue Edge Read Free Book Online

Above me, Ken paused on the windowsill; I guess he was worried that the rope wouldn't bear the weight of more than three people at a time.
    Thump! My eyes met Ken's aghast eyes as the doors finally burst open under the pressure of the horde. From within the room, Biggs cursed loudly and start firing wildly. Pulling out his gun, Ken began shooting shakily into the crowd.
    "Get the hell out, boy!" Biggs yelled.
    Ken hesitated, then swung his other leg over the ledge and started clambering down the rope. I shook myself out of my momentary paralysis and kept moving downwards as the sounds of battle flowed over me like boiling oil. Biggs' furious yells and curses floated over the moans of the zombies as he fired shot after futile shot.
    Then the shooting stopped and the screaming started.
     
    9
    A whimper escaped my lips as I tried to block the horrific images that accompanied the screams. Four feet from the ground, I let go of the rope and stumbled a bit before regaining my balance.
    Jessie rushed forward and clutched my skirt anxiously. Wrapping an arm around her thin shoulders, I looked around at the others. Silent tears poured down Emma's face as Ken moved up beside her and gripped her hand tightly. B1 watched the road, flinching at each scream. Even normally impassive Mike looked grim. None of us said anything as we listened to the screams fade and finally cease.
    B1 murmured "and then there were five" - he paused as he glanced at Jessie "and a half..."
    A line formed between Mike's dark brows as he came close to frowning. "Shut up, Roy."
    B1 shuffled his feet. "Just saying..."
    I couldn't speak, tears choking my throat. Biggs had been loud, short tempered and bossy but he'd also been brave and honorable, and ultimately, had sacrificed himself for us.
    "I don't know how much more of this I can take." Emma's voice trembled. How much more could any of us take, I wondered. How much fear, pain, and death can any person bear before they break?
    It felt like I had been drowning in a sea of terror for an eternity. Even greater than my desperate desire to live was the unbearable fear for my children. It wrapped, like heavy chains, ever tighter around my heart with each passing minute. Were they safe, were they afraid, were they crying for me somewhere?
    Ken started to speak, stopped and cleared his throat. "So what do we do now? We can't hide out in this lane forever."
    Mike nodded. "We need to work on getting a vehicle and finding a safe location."
    He looked around at us. "Any chance one of you has a car nearby?"
    "I was late this morning so I'm parked just across the road." I offered dryly, "but I don't think it will help us, seeing the car keys are in the ER staff room."
    Mike sighed. "Okay, let's see what the situation is out front."
    Cautiously, we moved down the alley, keeping as close to the wall as possible. Every excruciating step of the way, I kept expecting to see the monsters appear in the lane. As we neared the front, Mike waved at us to stop. He inched forward carefully and peered around the edge of the hospital wall for a few seconds.
    Pulling back, Mike looked at us impassively. "Well, there's good news and there's bad news."
    B1 ( Roy, I corrected myself) snorted quietly. "This whole day has been bad news!"
    Mike ignored him and continued. "There are at least fifty corpses milling in front of the ER."
    "I really hope that wasn't the good news." Ken responded drily as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
    Mike allowed himself a little smile in response. "There are four ambulances pulled up at the front. I'm guessing, with all the chaos this morning, that at least one of them ..."
    "still has the keys in them!" Emma finished excitedly.
    I pushed past Mike to look for myself. Just as Mike had said, the front of the hospital was full of dull-eyed zombies shambling aimlessly. Two ambulances were stopped randomly in the driveway while another two were parked further away. Trolleys lay overturned and,