Love in the Time of Zombies by Cassandra Gannon Read Free Book Online Page A

of the store, he led
her parallel to the back wall.
    Looking
down the length of the aisles, Scotlyn could see zombies gathering at the
registers, grabbing at fleeing shoppers.  One woman plowed her shopping cart
into a creature dressed in torn jeans, knocking it off its feet as she raced
for the door.  Scotlyn didn’t see how that would do her much good.  The zombies
had to be in the parking lot, too.
    Two
guys in sporting goods had broken open a glass gun case and were fighting over
the last rifle.  The taller of the two wrestled it away from the other man and
sprinted off.  The smaller guy cursed a blue streak and started after him, only
to pause when he spotted Scotlyn’s revolver.  His eyes glowed with something
like gold fever; a lustful, insane need to possess.
    He
lunged at her and she saw he was carrying a hunting knife.  “Give me that
gun!”
    Scotlyn
stumbled back in fear and surprise.  The swinging blade missed her by about two
inches.  She instinctively raised the gun and yanked back on the trigger.  A
bullet went ricocheting off the back wall, missing the guy by a mile.
    He
ducked to the side, looking shocked.  “You tried to kill me!”
    “ Son-of-a-bitch. ” 
Zeke backtracked to level the sawed off at the guy.  “Back the fuck up ,
before I shoot you right here in aisle ten.”
    “That
bitch just tried to kill me!”
    “You
tried to attack me!”  Scotlyn shouted back.
    “I
need that fucking gun!”  The guy raged.
    “And
I need her .”
    Scotlyn
blinked at him, amazed that Zeke would say something like that.  He didn’t need
her, at all.  Obviously, he would be doing much better on his own.  She was
only alive thus far because Zeke hadn’t abandoned her back at TGW.  It was so… gallant
of him.  So different than she’d ever expected from her careless employer.
    “Move
at her again and I won’t miss.”  Zeke kept the shotgun aimed at the man,
even as he turned his attention to Scotlyn.  “Trixie, start walking away from
him.”
    Scotlyn
backed up, swallowing hard.  “I shot, but my aim sucks.”  She looked over at
Zeke.  “Sorry.”
    “We’ll
work on it.”
    A
frantic voice crackled over the intercom: “Attention shoppers, we are experiencing
a mild disturbance and we’d like to ask all of you to exit the store in a calm
and orderly… Oh my God!   Oh my God, NOOOOO!!!   Run, Betty!  RUN,
RU…!!! ”
    The
announcement cut off on another scream and the cheery boy band music
automatically started back up.  All around them, hysterical people began racing
for the exit.
    The
gun guy took off towards the front of the store, randomly waving around his
knife like invisible enemies were encircling him and he needed to fend them off
from all directions.  Two zombies tackled him as he passed a display of back
massagers, dragging him to the ground.  The guy clawed at the floor as they
pulled him towards the pharmacy.
    Scotlyn
cringed.  “We have to help him!”
    Zeke
lowered the shotgun and looked at her like she was crazy.  “You don’t help people
at the end of the world.”
    “What better time to help them?”
    “The
zombies just ripped out the guy’s goddamn throat.  He’s already gone.  Even if
he wasn’t, you think I would risk our safety for that dickhead?  He just
held a knife on you, Scotlyn!”
    “I
know, but…”
    “Forget
it.  We’re leaving.”
    The
store was huge, with a hundred things all happening at once.  Zombies were
staggering through the furniture department, picking off the shoppers and
employees who were trying to climb up the shelves of computer desks.  In
electronics, three men continued to loot TVs, piling them into shopping carts. 
A crying woman in crafts was trying to hide beneath a pile of fabrics.  Displays
were knocked down and merchandise scattered as people fled through housewares
in terror.
    Zeke
propelled Scotlyn passed all of it, dragging her towards groceries.  As they
went speeding by the pet section,