Page 73 of Grave Danger

“They’re closing us in,” Cody said, backing up and keeping a hand on Demetrius’s arm.

“We’ve got to get to Zellmer. He’s going to die.”

“We’re about to join him.”

“Let’s run farther out into the cemetery,” Demetrius said. “We could lead the zombies away from him, then circle back and drive him to the hospital.”

“Yeah, okay. We are faster than them. Don’t run from them, just walk fast. And keep an eye out in every fucking direction for any more.”

Cody grabbed Demetrius’s hand and they started power walking across the grass. Zellmer shouted and groaned from the passenger side of the truck, attracting the attention of two of the group.

“Hey!” Demetrius pulled his hand from Cody’s and stopped, waving his arms overhead. “Hey there! Dumbasses! Come on over here. We taste better.”

“Jesus Christ, Demmy,” Cody said. “What the fuck?”

“Zellmer’s shouting got their attention. I want them to follow us.”

Demetrius shouted some more, and Cody joined him. When the two zombies who had stayed behind turned toward them, Demetrius let out a whoop of joy. Then he and Cody continued walking farther into the cemetery, leading a parade of the undead across the grass. Demetrius just hoped some damn zombie hand didn’t thrust up from the ground and grab him by the ankle. He didn’t think his heart could handle something like that.

When they’d led the group a good distance from the vehicles, they circled a tree and ran like hell back to the road. Demetrius could hear Zellmer moaning, and he hoped it wasn’t an indication he’d bled out and turned. He pushed that thought out of his mind and glanced over his shoulder. They had plenty of space between them and the zombies. For now.

“Fuck me,” Cody said.

“Now what?” Demetrius looked ahead and saw a trio of zombies on the other side of the road, staggering toward the area where Zellmer lay behind Cody’s truck. “Oh, fuck. We’ve got to hurry.”

They put on a burst of speed and circled the front of the truck. Zellmer sat with his back against the rear tire. His eyes were closed and blood ran through the fingers of the hand he held tight against the wound in his neck. The gun was clutched to his chest, and his breathing was rapid and shallow.

“Fuck. He’s slipping away.” Cody knelt next to the deputy. “Ryan. It’s Cody. Open your eyes.”

Zellmer blinked rapidly and looked up. His eyes were wide with terror and pain. “The fuck?” he said, his words slurring together.

“We’re going to get you to the hospital,” Demetrius said.

“It’ll be faster to take the sheriff’s cruiser.” Cody got up and ran to the car, yanking open the driver’s door. “Keys are here. Grab his gun and take care of those three coming up on you.”

“What?” Demetrius looked to his left and his heart lurched at the sight of the zombies coming up faster than he’d anticipated. “Fuck.” He tried to take the gun from Zellmer, but the deputy made a moaning noise and shook his head, yanking it back to his chest. “Ryan, I need it. I have to protect us. I’m not going to hurt you. Come on, let me have it.”

Cody came back and knelt once more by Zellmer. He wrenched the gun from the deputy’s hand and turned, holding it in both hands and closing one eye. The three shots echoed across the open stretch of the cemetery and up to the beautiful blue sky above.

One of the zombies fell, but the other two kept advancing.

“Fucking sight is off,” Cody muttered.

“Uh huh, that’s gotta be it,” Demetrius said.

Another couple of shots, and the two remaining zombies toppled over. Cody stuck the gun in the back of his shorts and bent to hook one of Zellmer’s arms around his shoulders. Demetrius put the deputy’s other arm around his own shoulders, and together they got him to his feet. Blood ran from the bite in his neck, and Zellmer’s head lolled side to side.

“He’s dead weight,” Demetrius said with a grunt.

“Bad pun,” Cody said. “And we’re going to talk about your sassiness over my aim.”

They put Zellmer in the backseat of the cruiser and Demetrius got in on the other side. There was absolutely no leg room, and it smelled like stale puke, old fast food, and something sweet. It gave him an immediate headache, but he forced himself into action. Tearing off a piece of the deputy’s blood soaked shirt, he wadded it up and pressed it against the wound. Zellmer groaned and tried to squirm away, but Demetrius held him in place as Cody got behind the wheel and tossed the gun onto the passenger seat.

“You have any idea which switch is the siren?” Cody asked.

“Nope. Just get us out of here. They’re almost on us.”

Cody put the car into gear and hit the gas. The engine roared, and Demetrius was pressed back into the seat. Cody barely missed hitting the back of his own truck as the tires squealed along the blacktop.