Page 80 of Hollow Child

It was the largest fucking zombie I had ever seen. It was a gorilla, and he was way over two meters tall and probably half a ton of raging muscle. His fur was balding and missing in thick chunks, leaving leathery skin covered in open wounds. His bottom lip had been ripped off, revealing monstrously large and horrific teeth.

There was only a split second – a very fraction of amoment – to appreciate the enormity of the danger that had flattened all of the fences like a child crumpling up paper. And then the zombie horde flooded around the gorilla, overtaking the city like crashing waves.

It was too late for yelling and planning now. There was only moving and survival.

I turned around and started pushing Max towards the mayor’s office at the edge of downtown. I stayed behind him, shielding him from the zombies that were charging at our heels, and Boden was at his side. I grabbed a hefty sledgehammer from where it had been left leaning after being used to hammer up festival posts and décor, because I needed a weapon.

It was already chaos around us. Everyone was running and screaming in a panic. The zombies were howling, and they attacked anyone they could sink their teeth into. There were so many children, so many people, and there was nothing to be done for them.

My vision had shrunk to a pinhole, but it was narrow and clear so I knew where to go. I could only focus on what mattered.

Whenever a zombie came anywhere near us, I swung my hammer, and it either knocked them back or sometimes even took off their heads..

Somewhere, there was a fire, and the acrid smoke filled the air. The bulbs on the lights strung across the plaza exploded and rained down shards of glass as everything became darker. Blood splashed hot on my face, and I don’t even know where it came from.

People were running into their nearby homes or shops, but the zombies crashed in after them, through the windows and knocking down doors.

“Nowhere is safe anymore!” Nova yelled from behind me, but I didn’t know what that meant for us. We couldn’t just stay here and die.

“The garage just west of the the mayor’s office!” Lazlo shouted.

“Come on!” Boden ran ahead of me and Max, clearing the path for us. His blade was in his hand, and he used it on any zombie that crossed him.

People saw us running and some followed us, but that didn’t stop zombies from tackling them to the ground and devouring them while they were still alive. There was no time for help, not even time for mercy, and I kept pushing Max forward.

Jovie emerged from the crowd. Her clothes were torn, and her head was bleeding. Serg was running right on her heels. He was still wearing an apron from cooking, but he didn’t look like he’d been injured at all.

“Have you seen Stella?” Max asked as we all ran together.

“Isn’t that her there?” Jovie pointed ahead, and I saw a very dazed Stella staggering out of the mayor’s office.

She wasn’t running or moving quickly, not like she should be, even when Max screamed at her to run. Boden was in front of us, and he sprinted over to her and grabbed her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a ragdoll.

The garage was just to the left of the office, and I used my sledgehammer to take out three more zombies before we finally reached it. The door was locked with a bolt, and it took two strikes with my sledgehammer before it popped open.

Boden put Stella down, and Max had a moment to hug her quickly. Then I grabbed Serg’s hand, and I shoved them all inside.

I finally looked back to see who was still with us. Lazlo, Nova, Sage, Harlow and Kimber were all together. Jovie was there, too, and Samara and Castor were huddled next to one another. Along with themwere a dozen or so strangers I’ve never seen before.

“Was there a giant monkey with them?” Castor asked in shock as I ushered them in and shut the door behind them.

“All of the great apes can get the virus,” Jovie said, leaning against the wall as she caught her breath.

“I think it was a lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graureri),” Stella replied.

“How could you possibly know that?” Samara asked.

“My only education was an encyclopedia set and nature books,” she replied with a shrug.

“His name is the King, and he’s been waiting an awfully long time to kill me,” Harlow added flatly.

Meanwhile, Boden, Lazlo, Serg, and I were rushing all around to check what vehicles we had at our disposal. I was really doubting that this building or anywhere in town would survive the night.

I’d been rummaging through the cupboards and drawers along one wall, looking for keys to start the few ATVs and electric pickup truck. But I paused long enough to glance over at Harlow, and she didn’t seem to be fully present in the moment. She stared vacantly into space as her girlfriend tried to snap her out of it.

“I found a set of keys for an ATV, I think!” Serg announced.

“Who gives a shit?” Samara asked. “Nobody will survive on the back of a slow ass electric four-wheeler with a horde of zombies biting their ass. We need the truck.”

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