Read The Zombie Saga (Book 2): Burn The Dead (Purge) for Free Online Page A

speak.”
    I nod, my smile completely
fake. “So should I get suited up for this part?”
    Darren looks at Roger, and
they both laugh. “I should think so,” Darren replies, smugly.
    Assholes.
     
    * * *
     
    Once I’m kitted up—gloves,
boots, and helmet, Darren hands me a gun and escorts me over to the white line,
this time facing the three metal containers, shaped like telephone boxes.
    “Wait by the line,” he
instructs me, and then walks over to the first container and starts to unlock
the thick, padlocked door.
    Frowning in confusion, I
turn back to see what Roger and Andrew are doing. Roger is stood between the
rubber dummies, gun in hand, aimed directly at the three containers. To my
right, I see Andrew, on one knee, his gun aimed in the same direction. Turning
back to Darren, I see that the padlock is off the first and second box, and now
he’s unlocking the third and final padlock. Once he’s done, he jogs behind me
to a small wooden desk. He crouches down next to it, his gun also aimed. He
puts up a thumb to both Roger and Andrew (but not me); both men return the
gesture and lock their focus back on their targets. Darren pulls out a small
piece of plastic, which, from here, looks like a TV remote. He points it at the
first container and then a large red light comes on at the top of it. I hear a
loud click as the door opens on its own. Hand trembling as I point my gun
towards it, I struggle to hold my aim as the sweat runs down my face; my heavy
breathing amplified inside my helmet.
    I know damn well what’s
about to come out of that box!
    I wince when I see the
male Nec bursting out, a black muzzle around his mouth, muting his vicious
snarls; his skin a greenish shade of brown, his dead eyes grey, drained of
life, bled of colour. My grip around the handle of the gun is tight and my
heart is thrashing hard against my chest. I want to run but my legs are frozen
solid. I can hear one of the guys yelling at me to shoot—to shoot the fucker in
the head, but all I can do is stare as he stumbles towards me, dragging his
withered ankle behind him.
    I want to go home.
    Back to Mum and Dad.
    They were right—this
was a terrible idea.
    I should never have
signed up.
    I’m such an idiot.
    Such an—
    The Nec drops to the floor
the instant I let go of the trigger.
    Everything seems
dreamlike. All the loud words of praise from the others are muffled by my own
blurry thoughts. I don’t even remember squeezing the trigger. I’m just about to
take my visor off, run to the toilet and puke, when something catches my eye.
The red light on top of the second container is glowing. So is the third one. What
the fuck? Two more Necs, both male, both just as mouldy as the first, come
storming out of their boxes, towards me. I can smell the decay as the first one
gets just a few metres from me. I squeeze the trigger. I hit his chest! Shit! The Nec is close. I shoot again, this time missing him completely. Can’t aim ,
my hands are shaking too much. He’s too near.
    I’m fucked!
    He’s gonna get me.
    Oh shit!
    Then all of a sudden the
Nec drops, struck from the side of his head. Definitely wasn’t me. Just as I
line up the sight towards the third Nec, he’s struck between the eyes, dropping
to the floor, motionless.
    I watch, in a daze as
Roger grabs the feet of a sedated Nec and drags him back into the box. Andrew
and Darren do the same for the other two. They slam the doors and click each
padlock back on.
    I yank off my helmet and
drop it onto the floor, taking in the fresh air as if I’ve just been saved from
drowning.
    “Are you okay, Cath?”
Andrew says as he walks over to me, his eyes wide with worry. “Can you hear
me?”
    “ Yeah ,” I reply,
the haze fading. “I think so.”
    “You had me worried there
for a second. Do you need to sit down?”
    I nod. “Yeah. Okay.
Thanks.” He takes me over to the bench and sits me down. Exhaling, I run my
hands through my sweat-soaked hair. Darren hands me some water in