Read The Zombie Chronicles - Book 2 (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) for Free Online

found the main staircase, but our dream of escape was promptly dashed as a dozen or so mutilated zombies filled the stairwell, blocking our path. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d expected a few, but this was far worse than even my most pessimistic fear. My stomach clenched and churned beneath my sweat-soaked shirt. Crowds of them were piling up behind one another. As they met our gaze, they hissed and lurched in our direction.
    Seizing the opportunity, I swung the axe down with immense force into the skull of a zombie who stood directly in front of me. Clutching the axe handle for dear life, I kicked him with everything I had, prying loose the axe from the split skull, sending the monster tumbling backward, down the stairs. It was something of a domino effect, for his lifeless body collided with others behind him and then into other infected further down the stairs. Soon, most were writhing in a grotesque, squirming pile at the foot of the stairwell.
    Claire tried to open the closest doors. “They’re all locked!”
    “ Run!” Lucas shouted.
    I could hear the zombies clawing their way back up the stairs and the shuffling of their feet stumbling along the hallway corridor. My brain screamed for me to go faster, but I was at the tail end of the group and could only go as fast as the person in front of me. The awful moans and growls got closer by the second.
    After what seemed like an eternity, we finally turned the corner, and I slammed the door on the hissing zombies. I was the last to hurl myself back into the unfinished room and fumbled with the lock. With a trembling breath, I leaned against the shuddering doorframe and tried to produce enough resistance from that side to keep them from pushing in if they somehow managed, with their klutzy, skinless hands, to break the flimsy lock.
    Jackie pushed against the door, panting hard as she tried to catch her breath. “Wh-what…what’re we…gonna do? We need to think of something else.”
    Claire grabbed a board off the floor. “For starters, fetch some hammers and nails and let’s start barricading this door!”
    “ I like the way you think, girl,” Lucas said, picking up a hammer.
    The pounding of nails echoed throughout the room as we all worked together and boarded up the door with plywood. We knew it wouldn’t keep them out for long, but at least it would give us some time to think of a Plan B.
    As the door shook, I gripped my axe tightly, watching the knob wobble and turn. Crap ! I knew what loomed behind that door, and it wasn’t doing my nerves any favors. “We gotta get out of here!”
    “ No kidding,” Nick said.
    I shot him a glare, then shook it off. I went to the window and gazed out, staring at the open window on the second floor in the barn next door. “Guys, I have an idea!”
    “ What?” Claire asked.
    I darted over to a long, wide board, about two by twenty, and struggled to pick up one dusty end. It seemed sturdy enough to hold our weight.
    Lucas rushed over. “What’re we thinking here?”
    I pointed out the window. “We could use this to make a sort of bridge and climb over to the barn. There might be a vehicle inside—an ATV, a motorcycle, or even a freaking lawnmower. Plus, I bet there’re tools too—pitchforks and axes and all kinds of other stuff.”
    Nick grasped the board and turned it over as if he were testing it. “You’re right, if we can actually get over there.”
    “ That thing’ll never hold all of our weight,” Jackie said. “It’s too thin!”
    Lucas’s lips pressed into grim lines. “Looks like we just became tight-rope walkers. What other options do we have?”
    “ But i t’s gonna break,” Jackie repeated.
    Lucas shook his head. “Not if we go one at a time.”
    Claire grabbed his arm. “I barely made it across the balance beam in gym class, and that didn’t come with an army of bloodthirsty cannibals.”
    “ We have no other choice,” I explained.
    She bit her lip as she stared down at the