The Undead World (Book 6): The Apocalypse Exile (War of The Undead) by Peter Meredith Read Free Book Online Page A

goods store where Neil had stopped at two days before in Arkansas. To convert them to infant size took only the removal of a heavy spring that clamped the earpieces down too hard. They were big, but they would protect Eve’s hearing. In the same bag were her own muffs. She fitted them on her head and then took out her Glock and checked the load.
    Joslyn watched her as if guns were altogether foreign to her. Only when Sadie slapped the clip back into place did Joslyn dig in her pack for her own gun. She had the .25 caliber pistol that Neil had taken from Jillybean. She also checked her clip. “Eight bullets. All I’ve got is eight bullets!”
    “That’s more than I got,” Lindsey said, her voice was harsh and close to hysterics. “I don’t have anything.”
    “It’ll be ok. Trust Neil,” Sadie said again. They were driving slowly toward the end of a large open lot. There was nothing beyond it but more fencing and trees and zombies. She almost lost faith in Neil when the lead truck turned slowly as if Grey was uncertain what he was doing. He then aimed back the way they came, moving at a deliberate pace. Michael kept right on his tail and Ricky, driving the third truck was right on theirs; they were as close as railroad cars.
    Then they were among the zombies and gaps appeared between the three trucks. The lead truck, smashing into the face of the horde, bounced up and down. It bucked and jerked and shuddered, its rear sometimes swinging out or in. Its speed was erratic causing Michael to slow down to a dangerous degree. The five-ton was a tall vehicle and had to be climbed to be accessed—the zombies were doing just that.
    Lindsey began screaming and pointing out the window. She kicked back from the door, forcing Joslyn into Sadie and Sadie into Michael. “Get off!” Michael yelled. “I can’t drive.” Ahead of them, the lead truck suddenly began slewing to the right and was within a second of becoming bogged down in the mass of squirming, flailing creatures.
    Michael was forced to stop.
    The view out the front window was appalling. Uncountable numbers of zombies surged up to them like a slow-motion grey wave that crested higher and higher as the beasts shoved their kindred beneath them to get at the humans trapped in the truck. Their piled bodies were as high as the hood and up to the doors when Grey finally got his truck moving again.
    Michael was already stomping the gas as Joslyn reached across Sadie to hammer on his forearm, screaming: “Go! Go! Go!” at the top of her lungs.
    The five-ton bellowed and snorted like a beast as its six wheels dug in and drove up the piled zombies in front of them. The nose of the truck went up as they mounted the writhing mound and then, like a ship in a storm, they pitched downward only to have their momentum stall completely. It felt as though they were high-centered, however it was simply the weight of the truck crushing and collapsing the mound.
    The engine roared as Michael kept the gas pedal pegged. At first, the wheels spun uselessly, then the mound of bodies seemed to shift and undulate. The right side of the truck suddenly pitched down and to the side. The angle was so severe that Lindsey slid to the door and Joslyn slid into her. Sadie stuck her black sneakered foot out and held her and Eve back. The baby was clinging like a monkey with both her arms and legs wrapped tight against Sadie’s slim body. She was surprisingly strong for a nine-month old and she needed all that strength when the passenger side door suddenly opened.
    With the truck canted, the zombies were at door level and an unfortunate, scabbed-over grey hand had gotten to the handle by accident. Since they were without locks, army truck doors were a simple matter to open; a yank was all it took.
    Lindsey’s screaming reached a glass-shattering pitch as the zombies fought each other to get at her. She kicked backwards and flailed in a panic similar to that of a person drowning. Joslyn was affected