Resurgence: Green Fields book 5 by Adrienne Lecter Read Free Book Online Page B

stopped panting from discomfort before I eased myself down the next few steps, holding onto the rails to try to take as much weight off my wounded leg as possible. About the pain in my abdomen and chest I could do nothing. Before long I was sweating like a pig, my teeth clenched so hard that I was surprised that their grinding noise didn’t alert every single zombie in the state. But I forced myself to keep moving, even if it was at a snail’s pace.
    Even without looking, I could tell what Nate was doing—trying to dispose of as many zombies in the lot as quietly as possible. Already there were several heaps on the ground, unmoving. So far he hadn’t drawn any attention to himself, but it was only a matter of time until he’d slip up, or one of the shamblers would put up just enough of a fight to alert the others. The buzzing at the back of my mind had turned to a constant annoyance, but at least it let me gauge that we still had about five minutes, maybe ten, until the two sources would converge on us. Splendid.
    I was ready to just drop to the ground by the time I made it down the very last step, my body shaking so much from exhaustion that it was hard to keep holding on to the rail. Right next to the stairs I saw the slumped bodies of two permanently dead zombies, but already three more were coming in my direction, either drawn by the promise of food or because they’d seen me. Swallowing thickly, I stepped away from the stairs and into the shadows cast by the walkway above, pressing myself against the wall. Two of the shamblers halted while the third went straight for one of the heaps on the ground, the wet, crunching sounds that followed making it plain what was happening. One of the others soon joined it, but the third remained poised above them, its head slowly turning from left to right. Then it took a shuffling step forward, and another, dragging itself right by the others. Holding my breath, I tried to melt into the wall, but to no avail. It had seen me, and if not downright hostile, it was definitely curious.  
    Exhaling slowly, I tried to decide what to do. There was a chance that it would just sniff me, decide that I wasn’t on the menu, and join the others. Considering that they had no scruples whatsoever eating their own, I doubted that it would regard me as inedible. I was suddenly very conscious of the fact that I wasn’t wearing anything that could be considered protective clothing except for my boots, and I doubted that in my current condition I could deliver a good roundhouse kick—that option was a no-go, too. I could still punch, but the very idea of touching that thing without gloves made me want to retch. There was a chance that I couldn’t get infected anymore, but even that thought didn’t help. Running away wasn’t a good idea, either, as it would likely just lead to all three zombies coming for me.
    That left one option—trying to intimidate it first. It had worked before—why not try that again?
    I waited until the zombie was about three feet from me before I pushed myself away from the wall, hissing at it. It came to a halt, sniffing, but rather than shy away, it leaned closer—and hissed right back in my face. Foul air hit my nostrils, making me gag, and that was apparently enough to brand me the weaker of the two of us. The zombie let out a howl as it lunged for me, teeth snapping and hands clawing. I stepped back, trying to avoid it, but at the same time curled my right hand into a fist. The moment it took another step, I brought my fist up and slammed it straight into the zombie’s temple. I was rewarded with a satisfactory crunch, but unlike its living counterpart would have, the zombie didn’t even stagger back. Its hands came up, dirty, torn nails raking my arm as I pulled it back, trying to sidestep around it. Pain shot up my arm from the scratches, but it dulled compared to the rest. Exhaling sharply, I continued my retreat, but the zombie followed step by step, snapping