Taking It Back by Joseph Talluto Read Free Book Online Page B

full of boxes. “Jackpot! We found some—”A blood-curdling, gurgling shriek came from the back room. Carl turned towards the door just as a horde of zombies poured out of the back room, overwhelming him and scattering his boxes. We didn’t even have time to pull up our weapons before he was torn apart, his blood spraying out and covering the zombie that tore at his throat with its teeth. Bryce stumbled out of the back and fell down, his arm had been nearly severed, his blood pouring out. He looked up to us, his jaw torn off on one side and his bloody tongue flopped around. Two more zombies fell on him and tore at his face, ripping off chunks and stuffing them in their rotting mouths.
    “Back, back!” I yelled, unslinging my carbine and firing a shot between Bryce’s eyes, ending his pain. I couldn’t do the same for Carl, who was buried under zombies. I could hear him scream, though, and that echoed through the building.
    My shot brought heads around to our position and I looked at a dozen pairs of dead eyes as they hungrily stared at us. I moved back as the zombies regained their feet and started towards us. I could see what was left of Carl and it wasn’t pretty. His face and neck had been ripped apart and an eye had been torn out. His clothes had been shredded by jagged nails and his abdomen had been ripped open, entrails spilled over the tile floor. I nearly turned away when I saw his head flop over and his one good eye looked right at me. “Sorry, Carl,” I said as I fired again, sending a round through his empty eye socket and killing him permanently.
    I spun around and caught up to the group at the front of the store. They were bunched in an aisle, and I wondered what the hold up was when Charlie said, “They’re coming in the front too.”
    Shit. I looked back and the end of the aisle was filled with a pack of zombies working their way towards us. Blood dripped off their hands and mouths, and eyes gleamed in anticipation of the slaughter.
    We needed breathing room. I slapped Charlie on the shoulder and said, “Up.” He leaped to the shelving unit, climbing nimbly to the top, scattering rice side dishes. I climbed quickly to the top of the opposite unit then swung my crowbar down to haul up the rest. Sarah grabbed the steel and I pulled her up quickly. I waited a second for her to gain her balance, then pulled up Kyle. Jim and Steve were pulled up by Charlie just in time as decayed hands grasped and clawed at the top shelves. We moved to the middle of the units and looked down at our attackers. They filled the aisle and hungry arms reached upwards. Thank God they couldn’t climb.
    Charlie looked at me from across the aisle. “Hey Moses! Wanna part the Dead Sea?”
    “What’s the plan?” asked Steve, nervously looking down at gaping maws.
    “How’s the front look?” I asked, stepping back as a hand groped for my foot. Sarah was keeping her rifle trained on the horde, and thankfully, the rest of the guys were keeping their cool.
    Charlie moved down the aisle, ducking under a light and sign that advertised organic foods. “Clearing. Looks like we have most of them in here with us.” He had to shout to be heard over the cacophony of the dead.
    “Good enough.” I motioned to Steve and Jim. “We can’t get out of here without a fight. Do not shoot unless Charlie tells you to.” I placed a hand on Sarah’s shoulder and spoke in her ear. “Go to work, babe.”
    Sarah opened up with her .22. The red dot sight was perfect for this close work and the GSG-5 sang with clarity. She dropped fifteen of them in about twenty seconds, a small round hole being the passage to the next life for the zombies. Others moved up as Sarah fired and we had to be careful as the second group stood on the bodies of the first and were thus closer to us. I could hear the heavier caliber guns bark as Charlie and his group opened up on his side and we cleaned out the grasping mass quickly.
    We walked on the shelves until we