Candy looked back and gasped at the hundreds of zombies that were on their trail and the dozens more that were coming out of the streets to join the undead ranks.

Sarah led her down a vacant street and toward a shopping center. In the rural area this seemed like the only commercial thing around. The shopping center consisted of three stores pressed together with concrete and brick siding. The first store was a Food City grocery store, beside it was a video rental place, and next to that was a tanning salon. The windows of all three stores were shot out and busted cars crowded the parking lot.

"This way," Sarah said, and headed for the grocery store. "We'll ditch them in here and then swing around and meet up with the others." She didn't wait for Candy to protest. She ran through the cars as quickly as she could and kept her sights on the task ahead.

"Look out!" Candy cried behind her.

A zombie leaped from between two cars and knocked Sarah over. Her back struck the asphalt with a hard SMACK. The zombie pinned her down and went for her throat.

Sarah managed to grab the rotter's neck. She squeezed and pushed the reanimated corpse away but it would not relent. Black goo poured from its mouth as it tried to bite her. The dark matter splattered on Sarah's chest and smelled like feces.

"Sarah!" Candy gasped.

The zombie swarm had caught up to them. Hundreds of rotters piled into the parking lot, crawling over the cars, and sometimes under them. They were only fifteen feet away and closing in fast.

Chapter 18.

"We're almost there," Alex said. "Just keep going."

Joelle pumped her legs as fast as they would allow. Her ankle was throbbing, making her limp, and every time Alex stumbled over a tree root or small depression in the ground it made the pain even worse.

"Be a little more careful," she said.

Alex slowed down as they approached the woods. They quickly ducked under the long branches and found the Winnebago without difficulty.

"Let's put him on the ground, I need a break," Joelle said.

Alex agreed and they dumped Paris on the ground beside the vehicle. His chest still rose and fell so they concluded he still had a chance to live.

Joelle unlocked the Winnebago and sat on the steps. She dangled her legs and sighed exasperatedly. "I just want to rest my ankle for a few minutes before we carry his ugly ass in here."

"Aren't you worried about Sarah?"

"Do you see any zombies around?"

Alex swung his rifle off his back and scanned the area through the scope.

Joelle hopped off the metal steps and walked over to him. She gently lowered the barrel. "There aren't any because Sarah is taking care of it."

"She's a pretty tough cookie," Alex said.

"Yeah, she is. Don't worry about her. I know you've got a crush on her but she can take care of herself."

"I don't have a crush on her. I barely even know her," Alex defended.

"Don't give me that. I've seen the way you look at her. You can't fool me," Joelle chuckled. "Don't worry I think she likes you a little bit."

"She only likes me a little bit?"

"Don't push it, Romeo, take your time and she'll be yours. She's not exactly tame, you know."

Alex laughed and shook his head.

A low moan came from Paris. Alex had his rifle aimed at his head within seconds.

"He's not one of them," Joelle said. "He's just injured, remember?"

"I don't like to take any chances," he said, and walked over and pressed the rifle barrel to Paris's forehead.

Paris mumbled something intelligible and raised his hand to fend off the firearm.

"See," Joelle said. "He's fine, at least as fine as someone shot in the stomach can be."

"Dammit, I was kind of hoping he was a zombie so I could blast his head off."

"I thought we needed him for information?" Joelle snapped.

"We do, but when I saw Candy staring at him in the church I started to wonder. I meanehe's a terrible man, there's no question about that. Who could rape a girl like that, or even any other woman? And those people nailed to the tombstones and in the churche" Alex shook his head in disbelief.

"Look," Joelle interrupted. "I know he's a rapist and a murderer but we need him alive. For now."

Paris moaned again. Alex sighed and put his rifle back over his shoulder.

"Let's get him inside before any zombies hear us," he said.

Joelle knelt down and took Paris by the legs. She grunted as Alex lifted the other end. Together they heaved Paris into the Winnebago. They bumped his head against the door on their way up the stairs by accident. Paris groaned, and they ignored him.

"Let's put him down on that bed," Joelle instructed.

"No way - that's my bed. Put him on the floor. He can sleep on an air mattress."

Joelle complied and they set Paris down near the kitchen table. Joelle immediately washed her hands and then went to the top bunk and propped a pillow under her ankle.

Alex pulled a folded mattress from the storage closet and blew it up. Ten minutes later he was out of breath and the mattress was formed. He rolled Paris onto it and then took out a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

"Is that really necessary? The guy is barely holding on and you're going to put cuffs on him?"

Alex snapped the stainless steel bracelets around one of Paris's wrists. He cuffed the other end to the kitchen table post. "I don't like to take any chances, I told you."

Just then, a chorus of groans rang out as rotting limbs suddenly began to beat on the side of the vehicle.

"Shit, they found us." Alex lifted the curtains to reveal dozens of zombies headed toward them. Four were beating on the Winnebago's side, but the others were starting for the door.

He pushed open the window and killed two with his rifle. Joelle started to slide out of her bunk, but he motioned her to stop.

"I can handle them. Get your rest. You're going to need it."

Joelle lay back on the bunk and propped her foot back onto the pillow, listening to Alex firing the rifle. Once he ran out of bullets she addressed him.

"You know, you're bringing them right to us. Any zombie within earshot is going to drag its ugly ass over here."

Alex shouldered the rifle. "You're right. I'm going outside to deal with them. Will you be okay?"

"Go, I'll be just fine," she said, and watched him withdraw his machete from his belt and head outside. She could still hear the hungry moans and shuffling feet around the Winnebago, but it was soon replaced with a steady CHOP sound akin to someone cutting wood. Her hands trembled as she remembered the feel of the machete as it had hacked through the dead men in the church. She couldn't close her eyes, could only listen, as Alex went to work on the rotters outside.

Paris's groans brought her out of her stupor. She looked down at him. He still lay on the air mattress, handcuffed to the kitchen table's main post. His head moved back and forth.

"Help...me."

"What do you want?" Joelle pressed. "I could've been with my daughter by now if it wasn't for you."

"Water...please," he begged.

Joelle sighed and rolled out of the bunk. She walked over to him and snatched a plastic bottle of water from the minifridge.

"Here you..."

Paris's hand shot out and he grabbed her bad leg. He yanked, trying to knock her to the floor, but Joelle managed to grab the table. She pulled her foot from his grasp and darted for the door.

Paris reached for her but the handcuffs held him back. He thrashed his free limbs in a frenzy. "You fucking bitch, I'll kill you. Just wait till..."

Joelle picked up a toaster from the kitchen and threw it at him. Paris had enough time to cry out before the toaster hit his skull. He howled in pain and Joelle picked the appliance up again and smashed it between Paris's legs. He screamed. The noise sounded like an owl screeching.

"Don't ever try that again," Joelle said.

"You...bitch," Paris groaned and placed his one free hand between his legs.

Alex burst through the door. His machete was dripping dark red.

"What's going on in here?"

"Paris tried to attack me," Joelle replied.

"So you threw a toaster at him?"

"She crushed my balls you dipshit," Paris grunted.

Alex doubled over in laughter as Paris screamed his protest.

Alex handcuffed his other arm to the table post and tied his legs together with two bungee cords from the storage closet. He couldn't stop laughing, and pretty soon Joelle joined him.

Paris passed out from pain and loss of blood within minutes.

Chapter 19.

Sarah drew a wicked looking serrated knife from her jacket. The zombie on top of her bore down, and was a mere fraction away from tearing out her throat when she plunged the knife into its ear.

The zombie's yearning for her flesh immediately ceased.

Sarah tried to force the knife out but it was embedded in the monster's skull. She pushed the corpse off of her and got to her feet.

Candy backed into her. "There's too many of them," she whispered.

Hundreds of walking dead shuffled through the parking lot, mere feet away from both of them.

Sarah snatched the shotgun out of Candy's hand and ran toward the grocery store.

"In here, follow me," she ordered.

The zombies poured from every side of the parking lot and were cutting them off from reaching the store.

Sarah leapt onto the hood of a Volvo, climbed over the roof and jumped off, Candy following behind her, mimicking her actions. Sarah did the same thing when she came to three other cars and was soon at the front door. Zombies groaned and reached for them at every stretch, raking their yellowed nails along the cars' surfaces, breaking their fingers against the cold metal. They barely avoided the zombies and ran into the store.

Inside, the store was deserted. All of the shelves they could see were empty. With no working lights, the darkness crept in and hid whatever was lurking at the back end of the store in a concealed veil.

With an endless horde of flesheaters on their trail, Sarah didn't hesitate to run through the store. Candy did the same and they both ran down the first aisle that they came to: Aisle 9 Behind them, the zombies piled into the grocery store, breaking any glass that wasn't already shattered, knocking over the leftover registers, and filling the air with a foul stench as they shuffled down the aisles in pursuit of their prey.

Sarah and Candy made it to the back of the store quickly. As they were running, Sarah withdrew a small flashlight. The zombie horde made hungry moans and were so loud that when Sarah tried to speak above the noise Candy couldn't even hear her. Instead of talking, she pointed to the butcher's section and climbed over the counter. Candy had no difficulty as she too jumped onto the counter and met Sarah on the other side. As soon as she did, the zombies came storming down the aisles and all converged on their spot, crawling over each other in an attempt to get over the counter.

Sarah ran through the double doors behind the meat department. She gagged when the flashlight's beam illuminated rows of rancid meat crawling with maggots.

Three zombies were already there eating a female corpse. One, a fat man in a blood stained apron stuffed the leftover remains of a woman's brains into his mouth. The other chewed on the dead woman's legs, taking small chunks from her inner thighs and appearing to savor the flavor. They didn't seem the least bit interested in the meat which surrounded them or the strangers.

Sarah slammed the butt of her shotgun into the two zombies munching on the legs. They went down easy and without a fight. The butcher, however, was another story. He dropped the gray matter he'd been squeezing between his fingers and came at her. Sarah didn't have time to bring the shotgun down on him. He got a fistful of her dark hair and pulled her closer. He would've finished her but Candy stepped in.

A shiny cleaver chopped the zombie's arm off at the elbow, and then went for his head. The former butcher didn't have any time to react as Candy severed his head from his shoulders in three quick blows.

There was no time for Sarah to voice her thanks as the zombie horde's moans rose to a crescendo. She got off the floor and shined her light behind them in time to see the swarm crawling over each other until they made it over the counter. She stepped over the remains of the butcher and directed Candy to another door marked EXIT.

They ran down a concrete hallway that ended in a green steel door.

Sarah pushed on the metal bar but the door didn't budge. She rammed her shoulder against the door and it opened an inch then shut again.