As They Rise (The Eva Series #1)

Sixteen

I pulled my hunting knife out of my jeans pocket and leapt through the broken window, running as fast as I could towards the motorhome. 
My screams alerted Wyatt to the danger and he spun around, ducking just in time as the hollow creature pounced towards him.
Rushing around the RV, I pushed Wyatt out of the way as I began slashing furiously at the zombie, hacking it’s head clean off. 
Wyatt fell to the ground, his knife sliding under the motorhome and out of reach.
The other two growled menacingly as they edged closer, their glazed eyes hungry for our warm, juicy flesh.
I tried not to panic, but I knew with only one knife between the two of us, we needed to act fast.

I looked down at the dicapitated head still spinning at my feet, its jaw mindlessly biting at the air. 
I picked it up by the hair and forcefully threw it at the second zombie, its neck snapping back as it hit it in the face, causing it to fall backwards. 
I braced myself, my heart pounding as the third zombie ran towards me, drool dripping from its blood stained lips. 
In the corner of my eye, I saw the glint of something sharp sitting on the dashboard of the motorhome. 
The axe!

“Wyatt! Here!” I said as I handed him my knife.
I jumped onto the step of the RV and swung the passenger door open, reaching for the axe. 
I screamed as I felt something grab hold of my leg, and turned to see the mangled face of a zombie. Half of its jaw had been ripped off, leaving it hanging only by a few exposed muscles. It clutched to my ankle as it crawled out from under the RV, using my leg to pull itself up.
“Eva!” Wyatt called as he kicked the other zombie down to the ground and thrust the knife into its skull in a loud crunch.
I snatched the axe from the dashboard just as the disfigured zombie pulled me through the door and slammed me onto the concrete. I groaned in pain as my head hit the ground hard. Before I could move out of the way, the hideous creature let out a loud screech and jumped on top of me, pinning me down by my arms.
“No!” I yelled as I felt its top teeth pressing against the bare skin of my shoulder.

Luckily, its semi-attached jaw meant it couldn’t bite down or pierce my skin. 
Wyatt ran over and jumped on its back, gouging its eyes out as it tried furiously to latch onto my skin. 
He wrapped his arms around the zombie, allowing me to wriggle free. 
Nodding at me to use my axe, Wyatt pulled the creatures’ head back by the eyes, exposing its decaying neck.
I held the axe over my head and swung it sideways, slicing through the dry, rotting skin. I could see the head was still hanging by some muscle, flopping around but still attached. 
I swung the axe again, this time sending the head flying into the air and cracking multiple times as it bounced along the road. 
Wyatt held out his hand to help me up, but the zombie I hit with the decapitated head before had returned.

It launched itself onto Wyatt, causing them both to fall to the ground next to me. 
I jumped to my feet and grabbed the zombie by the neck just before it bit into Wyatt’s back. 
“Hold it still!” I yelled, as I held its hair with one hand and readied my axe with the other. 
Wyatt rolled onto his back, grabbed the monsters’ arms and kept it still while I slammed the sharp axe into its skull. 
Once I pulled the axe out of its slit open head, I kicked the creature off of Wyatt.
Looking around, I breathed a sigh of relief to see we had killed them all. I fell to the ground next to Wyatt as we both caught our breath.
Without saying a word, he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into him, hugging me tight. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, grateful to be alive and in his arms.
The thought of almost losing him spiralled through my mind. As he held me close, I realised I couldn’t wait any longer. Our time together could be cut violently short at any second.
This is my moment, I thought as I stood up.
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him onto his feet. 
No more waiting. I’m making this my moment.

Still holding on to his shirt, I drew him in close so that our lips were only centimetres apart.
Looking up at him, I saw passion and fire in his green eyes.
He looked into my eyes and smiled before he closed the gap between us, kissing me fervently. 
A sense of desperation sparked in the way he kissed me, as though he knew, just as I did, that this first kiss could also be our last.

My heart pounded in my chest, but for the first time today, it wasn’t out of fear. As Wyatt ran his fingers through my hair, it seemed as though everything around us just disappeared. In this electric moment – the moment I had been waiting for – we were untouchable.
After what seemed like a beautiful eternity, our lips parted and I fell back down to reality.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my fingers down his cheek as my eyes searched his face and neck for injuries.
Wyatt patted himself down, making sure all his limbs were still intact. 
“Yep!” He grinned, taking me by the hand.

“Are you guys okay?” I heard Jo yell as she and Ben emerged from the store with their bags full of supplies.
“Oh no.” Ben gasped, looking behind us, and I spun around to see what he was gaping at.

My heart leapt into my throat as I saw hundreds of zombies, stumbling out of houses and stores. They must have heard our violent battle with a few of their undead companions.

I scanned the hoard, feeling sick at the sight. From the elderly to little children, the entire town had been infected. Any who hadn’t lay eaten on the side of the road.

Now they were hungry for more.

And they were headed straight for us.