Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde by Devan Sagliani Read Free Book Online Page A

around Sam while he stared down at the concrete not blinking.
It had to be setting in, what the bite meant. His life was over now. Nothing
could bring it back. Ten minutes ago he had a future. Now all that existed were
his last few moments. Benji leaned down and hugged him and Tom sat by his other
side. Joel gave me a glance that told me to meet him a little ways over toward
the deer. We both quietly walked away and stood looking at the dead animal, not
making eye contact.
    “What do you think we should do?” Joel fidgeted.
    “What can we do?” I asked. “He's a goner for sure.”
    “Yeah,” Joel agreed. “That thing got a good chunk of him.”
    “The virus is definitely in there. No doubt about it.” I
turned and spit over the side of the bridge.
    “How long do you think it's gonna take him to turn?”
    “Hard to say.” I looked back at Sam to see if he was
watching us. He hadn't lifted his head. Benji was cooing words of encouragement
in his ear. “From what I've seen, when someone gets bit good and deep like that
it doesn't take long for them to go full zom. Especially someone that small.”
    “Yeah.” Joel absentmindedly tapped the deer carcass with his
boot. “I've noticed that too. So what do you think we should do with him?”
    “I hate to say this,” I started, “but there is no way we can
take him with us now.”
    “No argument there,” Joel said sternly.
    “I hate to leave him out here,” I said. “I'm not sure we
have a choice now.”
    “He's gonna become one of those things soon,” Joel said in a
gentle tone. “When he does, he will be a danger to all of us. Plain and
simple.”
    “What are you suggesting?”
    “Isn't it obvious?” Joel looked up into my eyes. “The only
humane thing to do is to kill him.”
    He's right , a little voice in my head told me, even
as I shook my head no.
    “But he's just a kid,” I feebly protested, “a small,
helpless kid.” Joel looked sympathetic as I struggled with it.
    “He won't be for long,” he calmly said. “Think about it.”
    “No,” I said in total shock and yet it made sense what Joel
was saying. Soon Sam would not only be a tiny, out-of-control monster but also
a threat to each of us. “He's terrified. Look at him! We can't do that to him.”
    “We have no way of knowing what happens after someone
turns,” Joel argued. “We don't know if they die right away or if they are, you
know, trapped in there, seeing everything they are doing but unable to control
it. By not killing him we could be condemning him to a living hell beyond
anything you or I ever imagined.”
    “So we just shoot him in the face and move on?” My voice
cracked. “Would you do that to me if I was bitten? Or Benji?”
    “If that's what it came down to, I would,” Joel said.
    I'll bet, I thought. He's probably wishing it was
you that got bit in the first place so he could get you out of the way.
    “What if it was Tom?” I asked. Joel hesitated. I'd hit a
nerve. “Would you be willing to casually blow your twin brother's head off
because he was going to turn into a zombie?”
    Good, I thought. He does have some kind of moral
center after all.
    “If it came down to that,” Joel said, but it was clear the
wind had gone out of his sails. He couldn't even look me in the eye anymore.
    “Let's hope it never does,” I said, turning and walking back
over to Sam.
    “We about ready to get going?” Sam asked, trying to sound
calm. “I think I can walk on it as long as I don't put any pressure on it.
Maybe I can get a tree branch and make some crutches out of it.”
    “You can't come with us anymore, Sam,” I said. The others
looked away as I spoke. Sam looked crestfallen.
    “I'll be okay,” he said, trying to change my mind. “It's not
that bad.”
    “I'm so sorry buddy,” I offered, leaning down and looking him
in the eyes. Tears burst out and drooled down his face. “We can't take that
risk. I wish there was another way, but there just