Joelle tuned around, pressed her stomach to the dumpster lid and descended feet first.

Sarah grabbed her by the waist and slowly put her on the ground.

Joelle flinched when her broken ankle touched the street, and she relied heavily on her other leg for support.

"Lean on me," Sarah ordered.

"No, I'm fine. You need your hands free in case we run into more of them."

Sarah didn't listen to her, braced herself under Joelle's shoulder and helped her to stand.

"Once we get to that door you're on your own," she said.

"Thank you," Joelle mumbled.

Together, the two ladies made their way out of the alley. Once clear of the narrow confinement, they spotted the Liberty building across the street and made their way over.

Joelle flinched with every forced step and held onto Sarah like a life raft.

"Easy now, we're almost there," Sarah urged.

When they came to the wide double doors, Sarah eased Joelle down onto the stoop. She tried the handle, but the door was locked and probably reinforced from the inside.

Joelle took off her backpack and began pulling electric wires, clay, and three sticks of dynamite out.

"Damn, I guess this won't take long," Sarah laughed. She knocked on the door. "Hellooooo, is anybody home?" She waited for a reply then knocked again. "Open up, we know you're in there. Why don't you make this easy on yourself and save us the trouble of breaking in?," she demanded.

A soft, quivering voice answered, "We don't have any food, go away!"

Sarah took out her handgun and beat on the door with it.

"You heard the man, Joelle. He says there's no food and we should go away."

Joelle slapped the clay on the door, inserted the wires and dynamite then shook her head. "He's lying. If he would share his spoils like a good boy we wouldn't have to do this."

"How many people do you think he's got holed up in there?"

"None," Joelle said. "He's a greedy man. If he had anyone to help him they would've shot us through the windows before we even got here."

Sarah looked up the side of the building and spotted an endless row of glass.

"I hope you're right, boss."

"I am. I trust the scout. Now help me across the street before this thing blows us apart."

Sarah lifted her by the armpits and let her lean against her shoulder. She snatched the backpack up and aided her toward the alley.

They were halfway across the street when the dynamite exploded, the blast sending pieces of wood and metal into the air, destroying the door, and sending a shockwave throughout the small town.

The man inside was screaming, not in pain, but in disbelief.

Sarah put Joelle down on the sidewalk.

"I'll be right back," she told her. "Stay put.

"Do you think that's such a great idea? What about the zombies?" Joelle trembled, as she glanced back at the alleyway.

The dumpster was shaking back and forth. Dozens of rotting, skeletal hands poked out of the spaces between the dumpster and the wall. They would push through any minute and come for them both.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Sarah smiled. She cocked her pistol and walked into the open cavity where the door to the Liberty building had once stood.

The man was still shouting and screaming obscenities at the madness of the world.

The dumpster inched forward.

Joelle could make out hundreds of decayed heads and flapping jaws moaning for a taste of her flesh. She dug into her backpack again, producing a stick of dynamite and a lighter.

The dumpster shook once more, and finally toppled over. Hundreds of zombies poured out of the alleyway like water breaking through a dam.

Joelle lit the wick on the dynamite. She held onto the red stick, wondering if it would be better to throw it, or just hold it and finish her twisted life.

The zombies shuffled toward her, their mouths gaping open with anticipation.

BAM! BAM!.

The retort from Sarah's gun echoed in the building; the man inside stopped screaming.

Joelle dropped the dynamite by accident. She watched as it rolled away from her and wished she had the strength to chase after it.

The zombies were closing in on her, reaching for her, ready to rend and rip into her warm body until she littered the streets like the rest of the trash in town.

Joelle pulled out another dynamite stick. She didn't even have time to light the fuse when the one she had dropped exploded at the front of the zombie horde.

The explosion took out eight or ten zombies, blowing them apart. Their heads and limbs flew into the sky and hit the concrete with a sickening sound.

Joelle went to light the stick in her hand, but it was much too late. Dozens of hands pawed at her damaged leg, pressing against it, and cracking the bone further. She screamed as the zombie horde pulled her closer. Her life was over.

Chapter 3.

The first gunshot ripped through the dead crowd and popped two skulls like dark red water balloons.

Joelle jerked her head up in time to see a second blast sever the front line of the crowd. The zombies on her leg hadn't yet managed to rip through her pants legs, and she jabbed at them with her good foot.

Another gunshot sounded and the dead on her leg broke apart in splatters of bone and teeth.

Joelle scuttled backward, away from the zombie horde and closer to the building.

"Keep shooting, Sarah!" she cried.

The report came much closer this time. Joelle felt a rush of wind blow by her as dozens of buckshot beads soared over her head. The blast cut through the zombies, slicing most of them in half, but hundreds more poured from the alleyway to take their places, though they were sluggish and would take their time getting to her.

Joelle looked over her shoulder for support and her mouth dropped. A man dressed all in black and wearing a gas mask leveled a shotgun at her head.

he threw her hands up instinctively. "Don't shoot me! They didn't bite me," she said. "I'm not infected."

The man stared at her momentarily and then withdrew the firearm and walked away.

"Hey, wait a minute," Joelle called after him. "Who the hell are you? Come back here!"

The man drifted around a street corner and vanished.

Joelle stayed where she was. She waited for him to come back but he never did. Seconds later, soft footsteps raced toward her.

"Joelle, are you ok?" Sarah asked her. She was drenched in sweat and her shirt was soaked in blood. She caught Joelle looking at the blood splatters and explained, "It's not mine. I ran into a pack of zombies in the building. That crazy guy was keeping them locked inside an office. I barely escaped. Jesus, what the fuck happened here?"

"A man in a gas mask came from nowhere and saved my life. I didn't even get his name."

Sarah scanned the streets for the mysterious stranger but only saw more zombies headed in their direction.

"He saved me," Joelle replied.

"Were you bitten?"

"No," Joelle answered immediately.

Sarah gave her a quick look over, checking for open wounds. When she didn't find any she helped Joelle to stand and aided her into the building.

"We're going to have to spend the night here."

"But Graves and the others are leaving at dawn," Joelle protested.

"We'll catch up to them, don't worry."

Sarah dragged her into the Liberty building and flipped over a large dining table to block the door.

"This won't hold them for long. We have to get upstairs and hide in one of the rooms. If we're quiet they won't find us."

"I can't make it. My ankle . . ."

Sarah's hand connected with Joelle's cheek.

"Snap out of it. You're going to live. I didn't carry your skinny ass out of that alley for nothing."

Joelle's cheek turned red, and she stared at Sarah with doe eyes.

"You need to toughen up or you'll never survive out here."

Joelle headed for the staircase. She hopped on her good foot until she reached the first step then she crawled.

Sarah attempted to help but Joelle jerked away.

"Don't touch me again," she growled.

"Look," Sarah frowned. "I'm sorry I hit you but you were losing it."

Joelle continued to crawl step by step, every movement sending jolts of stabbing pain up her leg, as she whimpered and wobbled her way up the stairs.

"My fucking ankle hurts!"

Joelle's scream brought Sarah into action. She wrapped her arms about her waist and hoisted her up the rest of the staircase like she was a beaten puppy. Once they reached the top, Sarah guided her into the first room, an undecorated bedroom, and got her on the mattress in the corner.

"I'm going to find some pillows to elevate your leg, okay? Stay right there."

"Ha, ha, like I can really go anywhere now," Joelle snapped curtly. She waited in the dark and listened to the sounds of the night. Outside, hundreds of shuffling feet milled about the building. She heard the scrape of fingernails along the wooden dining table blocking the door downstairs, and then the sound of it breaking apart. The zombies were inside and there was nothing she could do about it. If they came upstairs she was done for.

A moment later Sarah returned. She carried two large pillows, a small metal canister, and a black sack. She closed the door behind her and put a chair under the handle.

"We have to be really quiet now. No noise, not a peep, or they'll find us. I found some extra ammo in case we need it and grabbed food from the storage here. We'll eat in the morning," Sarah explained. She stuffed one pillow under Joelle's wounded ankle and shoved the other behind her head. Once Joelle was comfortable Sarah lay on the floor.

"Do you snore?"

"No, do you?" Joelle countered.

"A little bit, but don't worry. If they break in here I'll just kill them all."

"Do you have enough bullets for that?" Joelle asked, quivering.

Sarah closed her eyes. "Let's try to get some sleep. I'll put your leg in a cast tomorrow. I've done it before." She shifted onto her side and faced the door with her handgun pointed at it.

Joelle didn't fall asleep for hours. She kept moving her leg into different positions until she discovered one that didn't cause her as much pain.

The zombies flooded into the building, knocking things over, breaking windows, and causing a ruckus. Eventually, the stairs creaked as a few of them managed to climb upstairs.

Joelle's eyes bulged when she heard them walking toward the door. She opened her mouth to wake Sarah, but nothing came out.

The living dead passed the door leading to the room where Sarah and Joelle were holed up. Whether the zombies didn't notice it or didn't think it housed anything to feed on, Joelle never knew. She chewed her bottom lip as more of the flesh eaters climbed the staircase. The shadows created by their decomposing bodies urged them to come inside, but none of them bothered.

Joelle finally shut her eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.