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releasing a torrent of blood which rapidly soaked through the fabric of Curtis’s white t-shirt.
    Realizing he had been dealt a fatal blow, Curtis ceased his struggle.  He slowly slid down the wall coming to rest on his knees, his hands gripping the handle of the knife extending out of his chest.  Lacking the strength to withdraw the protruding instrument of death, he slowly panted, his eyes locked onto Connor’s. 
    “Do you know what I’m going to miss the most?” Curtis asked, wheezing as he spoke.  “I’m going to miss the opportunity to get to know your wife.”  Curtis broke into a grin and coughed, spewing blood on Connor.
    In his peripheral vision, Connor saw his pistol on the ground at his feet.  He bent to pick it up and stumbled to his knees.  The gun still lay at his side.  Willing his hand to do his bidding in spite of exhaustion, Connor picked the pistol up.  Racking the slide, he freed the empty casing that was blocking the action.  He aligned the sites with Curtis’s smiling face and pulled the trigger, sending him on a one way journey into the fiery blazes of the hottest furnaces of Hades.
    The pistol slipped from Connor’s hands and clattered to the ground.  He leaned back against the wall and stared in complete exhaustion at his defeated nemesis.

Chapte r 5
    Connor must have passed out because he had no recollection of anything until he heard voices and felt hands shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Matt hovering over him.  From the looks he was getting from Matt, Frank and Zack, Connor realized the beating he received must have left him looking pretty pathetic.
    Zack, pushing Matt aside, began examining Connor.  “What hurts?” he asked as he unbuttoned Connor’s blood-soaked shirt.
    “Mmm,” Connor moaned.  The brain fog had returned with a vengeance.  “A better question is what doesn’t hurt,” he muttered past his split and swollen lips, trying without success to focus on the individual aches and pains.   All he was getting from his brain was pain, pain everywhere.  He couldn’t isolate any individual sensations.
    Zack poked and prodded without speaking.  He started with Connor’s head, shining a light in his eyes after prying open the swollen upper and lower eyelids on his left eye. He felt Connor’s neck and then felt his way down his torso, feeling from side to side across his ribs.  “Nice cut you got there.” Zack said, as he ran a finger along its length.  “I assume you’re not going to want any anesthetic before I sew it up?”
    “I’m not falling for that one again,” Connor stammered nearly incoherently. 
    “I hope you got those magazines all loaded up before you got beat to a pulp,” Zack said, pushing on Connor’s stomach with both hands.  “We passed a whole passel of infected on the way over here,” he continued.
    “We don’t have time for this,” Connor said, trying to push Zack away.  “Curtis’s guys have Katie, Eve, and the boys.  Even Curtis was worried about what was going to happen before he caught up with them.”  As Connor paused to cough, pain shot through his chest.  His head felt like it would burst.  “We have to go. Now!” he said, trying to impress the urgency he felt on the others. 
    “We’re secure here,” Zack said, turning to Frank.  “Go out to the truck and bring the package inside.”
    Frank, who had been kneeling beside Connor, stood up and walked nonchalantly down the hall. 
    Anger welled up within Connor.  Nobody had the sense of urgency the situation demanded.  Everybody was calm and relaxed.  Zack had an infuriating smirk on his face when he turned back to Connor and continued his examination.  He worked his way down Connor’s legs, pushing and pulling as he went. 
    “Matt, tell him we don’t have time for this!” Connor asserted as he pushed himself upright, growing more agitated at the lack of urgency everybody was exhibiting.
    Zack put his hand on Connor’s chest, bringing