Page 7 of Uprising

“Oh fuck,” Noah nearly whimpers.

I don’t give them a chance before I throw the mini pickaxe, nailing one of them in the forehead. The other two race towards us; pulling back, I swing the bat at the one that reaches us first. I knock him in the head, causing him to tumble backwards. Unfortunately, the third one grabs ahold of me, his teeth snapping at my face. I hear Noah in the back saying something, but I can’t pay him any mind. Not when this fucker is trying to take a bite out of me.

Sweat beads at my forehead as I try to stop him from biting me. Dropping my bat, I shove the zombie into the wall just as Noah curses behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, Noah swings the mallet at the zombie, knocking him in the shoulder. I have about two seconds before Noah becomes lunch for the second zombie, and something in my chest refuses to let anything happen to him.

Twisting my arm around the zombie I’m holding, I flip him over my shoulder and slam my foot into his head. His rotted skull smashes with ease. Just to make sure, I slam my foot down until it’s nothing but mush. Picking the bat up, I rush over to Noah and swing. The bat connects with the zombie's head, causing him to fall sideways. I fling the bat down repeatedly on his head; blood spurts up and hits me in the face.

“Oh hell,” Noah mumbles beside me.

Breathing heavily, I stand up, my shoulders falling and rising as I try to catch my breath.

“Let’s go.”

CHAPTER5

Noah

Something must be wrong with me if I think Reed is hot with blood and brain matter all over him. I know it’s been a month since the last man I’ve messed with, but something about him killing those zombies and stopping them from killing me does something to me.

The muzzle also doesn’t help my cock from rising either. I’m just hoping he doesn’t notice. The chances of him being gay or even bisexual are as close as it is to the CDC finding a damn cure for these stupid lurkers.

Reed stays in front of me, leading the way around the building and keeping an eye out for any other lurkers—I really hate that name.My heart grows heavy as I think of Jamie. I might not have liked the guy much, but he was still a part of the group that I had found myself in. Even if I didn’t like them much, it was better than being alone. And now with Jamie being dead, how was I supposed to explain this to them? They know I’m not a fighter; I carry rocks around for fuck’s sake.

“So where are you headed?” I ask as we step outside of the abandoned building.

I didn’t expect him to answer, but to admit it still hurt my feelings. Though I’m not too sure why it hurts.

“Are you going to ignore me the entire time?”

I swear I hear him grunt, but I could just be hearing things. Not that I would be surprised if he did ignore me; most people do. When you talk too much, people tend to think that you’re crazy.

“Did you know octopuses have three hearts?” I blurt out. I smile when Reed's steps falter for a moment. He might not want to talk to me, but at least I know he’s listening. “Two of the hearts pump blood to their gills while the third one pumps to the rest of their body.”

“Do you plan to talk the entire time?” He finally asks.

“I talk when I’m nervous.”

Reed peers over at me from the corner of his eye. I smile, knowing that I’m annoying him. Not that I get pleasure from bothering people when I talk too much, but something about irritating him makes me a little too happy.

“Well, try not to be nervous.”

“You do realize my friend just died back there, right?” I use the word friend loosely. Jamie and I didn’t know each other well, or long for that matter. He was already at the camp when I arrived, and for some reason he decided to talk to me. From there he was a friend, even if he annoyed me.

“Uh huh,” his monotone voice hits me; he couldn’t give two rat's asses about Jamie dying.

“You’re an asshole.”

He stops in his tracks. Slowly turning his head, he watches me over his shoulder. He’s staring straight into my soul, and I’m not sure if I like his attention now. I wanted him to listen to me, but he’s either going to beat me with his fist or with his bat.

“I… I didn’t mean you’re an asshole. I don’t even know you; I mean, who am I to judge you? But my friend—I'm not sure I could even really call him that. Well, he died, and now I have to go back to the camp and tell them. They’re all going to think it’s my fault…” The realization that the camp is going to blame me sits heavy on my chest. I was the one who mentioned we were running low on some canned goods. Sure, Jamie didn’t have to come with me, but they don’t like only one person leaving the camp. Something about being stronger in numbers.

“Are you done?” He interrupts my thoughts.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, I'd rather you not talk,” he mutters before turning back around and continuing on walking.

Blowing out a breath, I glance around. I don’t have many options; I’m the weak link, and trying to find my way back to the camp is impossible. It’s either try my chance being stuck out here or follow Reed like a lost puppy.

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