A New Death: CJ's Story by Josh Vasquez Read Free Book Online

he was going to receive once he was done with the carts.
    And that's when he heard the screaming. Screams came from inside the building. Blood-curdling screams. The kind you don't run to and investigate. Jeremy left the buggies in the middle of the road and sprinted for the store. He ran in past the door and stopped dead in front of the registers. It was there he saw something he thought he would never see.
     
    A human eating another human.
     
    There really is no way to prepare yourself for that kind of thing. A small, Asian woman was hunched over the register, clawing and biting the face of one of the cashiers. There was blood everywhere. So much bright-red, fresh blood. His hand went to his mouth, as if to hold back the impending vomit, but nothing came. The scene had shocked him so badly that it took him a moment to realize who was being attacked.
     
    It was Ashley.
     
    Jeremy's mouthed opened to scream, "No!" but no sound came out. He was frozen in place as the woman began to maul the girl he'd been dying to take out to a movie. The store was in full panic now. Customers were running, knocking things over and bumping into each other. Some even tried to make off with their groceries. Brian ran up to the woman attacking Ashley. On top of being a huge douche, Brian was also not very bright. He was holding a mop.
    Yeah, good choice Brian , Jeremy thought.
    He swung. Missed. Swung again, missed and lost his balance. He tumbled forwards, arms flailing, into the woman. She lurched forward and began ripping and tearing into her new snack. It all was happening so fast it almost looked choreographed. Things this bad couldn't run so smoothly. Jeremy barely had any time to react. He quickly snapped out of it and grabbed the mop from the floor.
    "Ma'am!" he yelled. "I'm going to need you to stop eating Brian!"
    Perhaps yelling at the person who just started eating people's faces off wasn't such a good idea. She lost interest in eating Brian and was now completely focused on Jeremy. She moaned and began to shamble over towards him. He swung the mop back and forth, trying to keep a good safe distance between the two of them.
    "Lady! Back off!" he shouted.
    She didn't listen. She didn’t even seem to comprehend. She just continued to claw at him; her jaw clamping up and down. Jeremy realized there was no reasoning with her. She was insane. The car was running but there was nobody behind the wheel-kinda thing. He swung the mop again but this time she caught the mop head, breaking it off from the handle.
    "Great, now all I have is this pointy stick..." he muttered to himself.
    Instinct kicked in and he jabbed her in the right arm. The splintered wood sank into her flesh like a hot knife into a tub of butter. He expected screaming and pain, but it didn't faze her one bit. No grimace, no shrieks. She just continued to try and eat Jeremy. He was not going to let her do that.
    A rage sunk over Jeremy, a kind of anger he never felt before. Something primal, something buried deep within him. He yanked back on his makeshift spear, pulling free from her arm. The jolt sent her back a few steps. She regained her footing and came at him again. He hit her again, this time square in the right lung. Nothing. Again no screaming or any signs of pain.
    What in the world is going on?
    He yanked back on the mop again, freeing the handle. She lost her balance again, but quickly was right back on top of Jeremy. This couldn't be happening.
    She should be dead right now...
    The anger rose up in him. He set his feet, let out a yell and lurched forward, sinking the stick directly into the girl's eye socket. It sunk in deep and she fell to her knees, then to the floor. She was dead. For good this time.
    Sweet Jesus, what did I just do? He thought to himself. I had to. I had no choice. It was self-defense. I just had to. She wouldn't stop...
    As Jeremy reasoned with himself, trying to find some reason to make what just happened okay or believable for that