Mechanical Failure, Chap. 7a (zombie apocalypse novel in progress)

~continued~

I rang the doorbell, and I could tell at once that there was activity inside. It looked like I was going to have to deal with a zombie or two, but I had to be sure. The last thing I wanted to do was barge into the home of an armed survivor who didn’t want company. I stepped back far enough to make sure I was visible from the upstairs windows. My knife was out of sight, so anybody looking outside would just see a small blonde woman with a fireplace poker.

Nobody came outside or peeked through any of the windows, so the occupants were probably of the undead persuasion. I could hear one of them pounding on the other side of the door, and he didn’t seem too happy. For a moment I considered moving on, but I wanted a zombie-free neighborhood so he had to go. The door was unlocked, and I pulled it open and stepped back like I always did. It was like a floodgate had opened. Seven of them poured out in rapid succession with one crawler following behind; a whole undead family. Making a quick retreat, I managed to trip over the edging along the flowerbed and landed on my back. I rolled instinctively, and it was a good thing because one of my new neighbors tackled the spot where I had just been. I got him in the eye with my knife before scrambling to my feet. I’m still not quite sure how it happened, but two of the smaller kids got behind me, and I was surrounded. The little boy lunged at me and bit my leg hard. I finished him off with the knife, wincing at the pain and praying that his teeth hadn’t made it through my jeans. I dropped him to the ground and went for the other fast one, holding the little dead girl at arm’s length as I ended her life as a zombie. By then, one of the others had reached me and grabbed the back of my coat. I swore, wishing I’d had something better than the bulky jacket I was wearing. I twisted and stabbed at her hand, realizing it was the mother. She paid no attention to my knife but tried to pull me closer, mouth opening wide. By now, the largest teen was on my right, and he grabbed for me as well. I was not going to be able to take out all five of the remaining family members with my knife. I stuck it back in my pocket and drew the gun, which I hadn’t planned to use. Covering my face with my hood to keep any infectious goop away, I shot the mother in the head. She fell, but others were there to take her place. I turned and ran, pulling away from the teen who still had a grip on my coat. Once I was far enough to feel safe, I took careful aim and put them down, one by one, saving the crawler for last. I was shaking by the time it was all over. I also realized I’d gained some attention since there were now a few zombies trying to crawl over the car I’d used as a gate.

~to be continued~