Read Thirteen Roses Book Five: Home: A Paranormal Zombie Saga for Free Online Page A

 
    The zombies tore him apart. Some were on their hands and knees, lapping at the blood and guts spread around the floor by their machine-gunned comrades.  
    Bayleigh started the truck and slipped it into first. Stalling would be a bad idea at this stage. She rolled it forwards and to the side until she almost touched the other truck. There was a two truck wall between the zombies and Krystal’s bike. The girl gave her the thumbs up and slipped from the cab, pushing the door shut behind her.  
    Bayleigh held her breath, watching Krystal tiptoe towards her bike. She should be fine, there should be no problems.  
    She groaned and rubbed her face. No problems except the three zombie-shaped ones that had just appeared round the back of the soldier’s van. Krystal reached her bike and it roared into life.  
    Bayleigh knew what she was thinking as Krystal rode directly away from the van. The gap left was the perfect size so Bayleigh put her foot down and drive straight through. The zombies had a moment to stare before they were crushed beneath the truck. With a whoop, she hauled the truck around and headed down Fleet Street.
    Her heart hammered in her chest and she thumped the wheel. They’d done it.  
    Where was Krystal?  
    She stopped just short of slamming the brakes on, peering in both wing mirrors while keeping one eye on the road. The cars were thick here so she headed for the pavement. As she did Krystal came into view, racing along as close to the buildings as she could get. She had her sword in her hand and her bob flew about in the wind.  
    Bayleigh grinned and let her come through the gap, then pulled in behind her. The pavement wasn’t that wide but she could keep the speed up. The first time a car was too close, she dragged the van over and bounced it into the side of the shop. The glass window shattered and she dragged concrete and bricks in her wake, but the truck barely slowed.
    She glanced in the rear view and a lump filled her throat. Down the side of the cathedral was another gang of zombies. They were gathered beneath what looked like a huge wooden cross, hanging from one side of the cathedral and a street lamp. Tied to the cross was someone in a white robe.  
    She couldn’t see it clearly and for that she was thankful, but she could see the way his arms swung and the emptiness where his hands should be. She could see the same stumps where his legs ended. She swallowed and looked forwards, blinking away the tears and the nausea.  
    Krystal led the way, taking them off The Strand and north towards the hospital. They’d left the main road when the sky exploded and the first drops of rain became a downpour. Krystal slowed straight away, halving her speed, and Bayleigh stamped on the brakes. The back of the truck slewed and Bayleigh shoved the brake even harder.  
    It was completely the wrong thing to do and she knew that even before she went into the spin. Through the front window she saw Krystal heading away and screamed at her. Then the side of the van came around and for a moment she watched the shops rush past. She heard something hit the side of the van, a distant thud through the rain she was pretty certain was a zombie.  
    The van turned completely and she stared back the way she had come. The wheel was spinning through her hands and she had to let it go as it burnt the skin from her palms. The truck kept spinning and she was back sideways again, seeing the other side of the street. When she came back forwards for the second time, she grabbed for the wheel.  
    The first attempt got her fingers bashed by the spokes. On the second try she got hold of it and held on. She vaguely remembered how to get out of a skid but the knowledge was buried deep beneath a mixture of panic and nausea, so she clung onto the wheel as she went round for a second time.  
    The truck turned through most of another complete spin, slowing all the time. Soon she could see straight up the street through the left