Death's Awakening

Chapter Fifty-Three: Noah

Noah watched as Parrish fell to the ground, struggling to pull her sword from her backpack.

He'd been fighting with one of the stretched-out super zombies, but in his rage, he grabbed its neck and threw it across the room.

He ran toward Parrish, pumping his legs as hard as he could. He lifted his bat and swung, the wood making contact with the thing's jaw just before it clamped down on her shoulder.

The dog-like zombie screeched as it flew across the room. Blood the color of fire splattered against the wall, then turned a sick black and began to drip. The zombie's eyes closed, then its body began to rapidly decompose, practically melting into the floor.

"Thanks," Parrish said, her eyes meeting his. He helped her up, then lifted his bat again, ready for the next blow.

"Where's Karmen?" He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere. "Karmen!"

"She's over there," Parrish said, pointing toward the center of the office.

Noah saw her standing on a desk in the middle of the room. The two tall zombies were standing there beside her, staring into space as if they'd been hypnotized. He watched in awe. Karmen was within grabbing distance of the two zombies, but she wasn't trying to run away or scream. Her eyes were closed, her face serene and peaceful, as if she was meditating.

Noah didn't have time to wrap his head around it, though. Another female zombie, this time an older looking woman, was making her way toward the back of the office. Behind him, the big brute in the trench coat pounded on the barricaded door. It was only a matter of time before he pushed through.

They'd somehow managed to kill one, but there were still four more to go.

Noah turned back to the older zombie. She lifted her hands out in front of her and he gasped. Her fingernails were long, thick daggers. Another mutation?

Where had all these things come from? Would all of the undead eventually turn into something like this?

Beside her, Noah lifted his dad's .45 and aimed at the dagger woman. His bullet hit her in the neck, but she didn't even seem to notice. Glowing red liquid poured from her like lava, but she kept moving toward them. She wasn't as fast as the other zombie, but she was coming straight for them with dedicated focus.

"Shoot it again," Parrish yelled. She lifted her shotgun to her shoulder and aimed.

He pulled the trigger again, this time hitting her dead center in the chest. She didn't flinch.

"Aim for the head," she told him.

Noah cursed. He knew that, but these things had him all turned around. He pushed off another shot, this time hitting the edge of the woman's head. A piece of its skull cracked off, but she only stopped for a moment and kept coming. She was only a few feet away now.

"Hit it with the shotgun," he said. "This thing's too weak."

"I'm trying," she said. "My damn hands are shaking too bad."

Noah put the pistol in the back of his jeans and grabbed the shotgun away from Parrish. His hands weren't shaking at all. He had some kind of enhanced focus, just like when he used to shoot hoops. Only this time he was shooting something entirely different.

He pulled the trigger on the shotgun and it bucked against his shoulder. The blast rang in his ears, but hit its mark dead-on.

Scissor-hands fell to the ground, red lava flowing from the hole in her head for a moment before the light inside seemed to dim and then shut off.

Two down.

Just then, the trench coat zombie broke through the wall behind them. He must have given up on the barricaded door and decided to simply tear down part of the wall. He let out a loud roar.

Noah grabbed Parrish's arm and ran, barely getting out of the way before a filing cabinet came crushing down right where they had stood.

Parrish laughed an almost mad kind of laughter. "This is insane," she said.

Noah slid across the top of a desk, then turned around, taking quick aim and firing the last of the shotgun shells at the hulking beast. Small dots of red poured from the thing's forehead and Noah's jaw opened. He'd hit it in the head, but the blast had barely broken that thing's skin.

He let the gun fall to the floor. It was useless without ammo.

He pulled his bat out of his bag, his heart racing wildly as the giant zombie in the trench coat headed straight for them.

Do you think they're going to survive this? Hope you are enjoying the story so far! Seven chapters to go!