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She sidestepped the infected man and raced around the side of the pack, closing in on the dog.

My heart hammered at how easily this could go wrong. All someone had to do was trip or lose track of the infected, and we’d be overwhelmed.

Luke stepped in and swung at the first man, cracking the pickaxe against his temple. He staggered but didn’t fall.

I kicked him the rest of the way down and unloaded a nail into his forehead.

We didn’t have a second to reset. Another one lunged from the side and grabbed my sleeve. Luke slammed his shoulder into it and broke its grip. Before I could use the nail gun, he brought his pickaxe down and dropped it with one hit.

“Thanks,” I said, breathless.

“Always.” He spared Kirby a look. “Get the dog!”

“What do you think I’m doing!”

The dog scampered between her feet, nearly tipping her off balance when she tried to avoid trampling it.

“Got it!” she shouted, scooping it into her arms.

“Now run!” My stomach tightened as more of them closed in on us. If we couldn’t get out of here now, we wouldn’t be leaving at all.

Kirby tucked the dog under her arm, clamping it against her as it wriggled and twisted.

Luke swung again, creating a path for her to get through. Another infected tumbled to the ground, still moving, and I fired the nail gun into its brain.

“Kirby, you need to get moving!” I yelled.

She kept the dog close to her chest. “No shit!”

The three of us took off, running for the car with the dead following closely behind.

Luke stayed back and covered our rear, swinging at anything that came too close.

I yanked the rear door open, almost dancing on my feet as I waited for Kirby to dive inside with the dog. When she was safely settled, I slammed the door and scrambled into the passenger seat.

Luke ran around the bumper, jumping behind the wheel as the first grimy hands reached for my window. He started the engine and took off fast enough to throw us all backward in our seats.

As the moans faded behind us, the dog went quiet, and blessed silence filled the space. It tucked its nose under Kirby’s chin and finally stopped trying to escape.

“Hey, you’re good, you’re good,” she murmured, stroking its head and holding it close.

It took a while for the dog’s panting to slow, and up close, it seemed even smaller, with big eyes that had seen too much. No collar or tag. Nothing to tell us where it belonged.

Kirby finally checked underneath for the gender reveal. “It’s a girl.” She huffed out a breath and smiled. “I’m calling her Pearl. Too bad neither of you gets a say.”

I didn’t care. I’d never seen her this happy before. Her features were bright, her smile wide. “Looks like a cross between a Chihuahua and a Jack Russell,” I said, reaching back and patting the soft fur on Pearl’s head.

“A Chi-russell?” Luke asked.

“Her breed’s princess, thank you.” Pearl licked Kirby’s wrist, then her neck and nose, keeping up the affection until Kirby laughed and pulled away.

Luke checked the rearview with a vague smile before returning his attention to the road. “I hope you and Pearl are happy. You almost got me killed.”

“And you’d do it all over again.” Kirby didn’t glance up from the dog in her arms. “I knew you wouldn’t drive off. You don’t have it in you.”

I smiled and settled in my seat.

Soon enough, we’d be leaving Kirby with her parents. Then it would be my turn to break up what remained of our group.