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.He needed to stop the flow.He emptied a glass jar of gauze and packed the wound, unsure of its extent.He felt around the back of his shoulder blade.The shot was not through-and-through which meant the bullet was in there.The hemorrhaging came quickly under control.He fashioned a sling out of a length of bed sheet and went for his pistol.Shit.He had pockets of ammunition and no gun.At least he still had the knife.57.Foster’s radio silenced, the conversation between Nixon and Reid ending with an instruction for no more violence—a request that contradicted Reid’s disposition.Intercepting the call was the first bit of unexpected fortune in an otherwise luckless night.Zach sighed, relieved to be off the hook.If Nixon answered him with the way out, he no longer needed to explain how he knew.“We’re going to be all right,” he said.Foster put down his radio.“At least now we know how to get out of here.”Penny sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.“What can I do to help?” she asked.Zach handed her a bottle of oil and the last few lamps.“Unscrew the top, soak this, tuck this in here and tighten.”She nodded and set to work.Zach helped Foster dismantle the blockade at the door.“Listen,” he whispered, “Penny’s functioning now but we both know if there’s trouble, she’ll crumble.I’ll clear a path if you’ll get her through it.Head for Receiving or for the van if possible.I’ll grab Miranda.” Getting her away from Scott when they all had to go out the same door wouldn’t be easy.Foster swung the last pew out of the way and sighed.“Are you ready for this?”“I’m ready.” Zach checked his clip, his pulse racing not out of fear of the horde, but because if he lost Miranda, Allison was as good as dead.It had been a joint decision them coming to the center, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty for the suffering she was enduring in her final days.He tucked his pistol in the back of his pants and took three lamps from Penny, careful not to spill the oil on his clothes.“Here,” Foster handed him a lighter from the supply cabinet.Zach nodded and turned the knob.“Follow me,” he whispered and pulled the door open.Sweat slicked his palms making it hard to hold the lamps.He stepped out into the hall and drew shallow breaths.The stagnant air forced the acrid taste of decay down his throat and he stifled the urge to cough as he moved along the wall.Penny whimpered.“I can’t do this.”Foster shushed her.The shambling, moaning, and banging echoed down the dark corridor.A wide fork of lightning crossed the sky and beamed through the lobby windows.There were more infected than he thought.His hand itched to draw his weapon, but there was no way he could shoot them all.The noise would cause a frenzy and he’d end up becoming one of them, locked in the center and waiting to starve.Allison would be as good as dead.He stopped, within throwing range of the pack sooner than he expected.“Foster,” he whispered, “we can reach them from here.”Foster ushered Penny inside an inpatient stay room.“I’m going to leave the door cracked.We’ll be right in, but if anything happens, you close it.Lock it if you have to.We’ll find another way out.You understand?”Penny sniffled and nodded.Foster followed Zach into the hall.Zach readied his thumb on the lighter’s wheel, and after a long, deep breath, lit the first wick.The cotton went up with a whoosh, the light and sound catching several of the infected’s attention.Please let this work.He launched the lantern and the glass shattered against the tile floor sending a sea of flames rippling through the right side of the horde.The infected flailed and shrieked.Those that were not on fire ran from those that were.They were afraid of it.Smoke spread quickly from a lack of ventilation or circulation and Zach pulled his shirt collar up over his nose.Miranda, I hope you know to stay down.It dawned on him, too late, that they should have warned her what they planned to do.Foster lit and launched the second lamp, landing it perfectly ahead of a divide that was forming.An elderly female was the first to charge.Her cheek was peeled away, her left ear dangling from a flap of torn flesh.“Take these.” Zach handed Foster his remaining two lamps, pulled his pistol, and put the woman down with a single shot to the head.The horde swarmed.Those that weren’t drawn to their voices were attracted to the gunfire.Careful to keep away from the bathroom, Foster and Zach hurled all but one of the remaining lamps onto the pyre.Flames licked the walls and ceilings, the lamp oil turning the infected into a gathering of wicks, melting away soft tissue and muscle until they could no longer move.Thinning the herd considerably.The smell of burning hair and incinerating flesh eclipsed the tang of the smoke [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]