Page 72 of Grave Danger

A moment of tense silence descended as Zellmer and Cody stared each other down. Finally, Zellmer turned his sunglasses toward Demetrius. “I saw you out at Buford Heights the other day. You’re taking quite an interest in cemeteries these days.”

“It’s never too early to make plans,” Demetrius said with a shrug.

More staring. Demetrius started to feel the urge to fidget when he saw a figure come up from behind a low rise about fifty yards behind the deputy. The sun was in Demetrius’s face, keeping him from seeing any details.

Another figure topped the rise, followed by another, and then a fourth.

“Looks like we were early to the party,” Cody said, his voice low and tight with tension.

Zellmer looked over his shoulder, then turned to face the new arrivals. His hand dropped to his holstered weapon, and he brought his shoulders back.

“Were you planning to meet people here?” Zellmer asked, keeping his back to them and his eyes on the approaching figures.

“No,” Demetrius said. “Do you think they’re just paying their respects to someone?”

“Nope,” Cody said.

Demetrius wanted to laugh and tell Cody to be serious, but he was afraid Cody might have a point. Six shapes were now coming toward them. One walked with a very pronounced limp that looked so painful it made Demetrius flinch.

Zellmer stepped back until he stood just in front of Demetrius. He unsnapped the strap across the butt of his weapon, but kept it in the holster. Demetrius noticed a small scar across the knuckle of Zellmer’s thumb, and he wondered how long ago it had happened, and if Ryan had been with his father at the time. When Zellmer himself noticed the scar, did it make him think of his father, dead for more than two years now?

“I don’t like the looks of this,” Cody said.

“Me neither,” Demetrius said.

The group was about thirty yards away, steadily advancing, all of the figures silent and focused on them. Demetrius could see details now, and it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice inside him.

These people were dead. Or had been dead. A couple of them for a very long time. They were dressed in fine clothing, but it was torn in places, and each of them was covered with dirt and mud. Their mouths gaped open, and a man with thick white hair marred by clumps of dirt, had threads dangling from his upper lip.

“That’s close enough,” Zellmer said, his voice deep and authoritative. “Stop right there.”

None of them stopped. One of them made a low moaning sound that sent a shudder through Demetrius.

“Shoot them,” Cody said. “In the head.”

Zellmer pulled his weapon and held it with both hands, pointed at the ground. The three of them backed up several steps, and Cody moved to stand in front of Demetrius and put a hand back to rest on Demetrius’s hip as if holding him in place.

“Stop where you are, this is your final warning,” Zellmer practically shouted.

“For fuck’s sake, they’re zombies,” Cody said. “Shoot them in the head.”

“I’ve never fired my weapon at someone before,” Zellmer shouted back, not taking his eyes off the advancing line of what Demetrius now knew to be actual what-the-fuck-was-going-on zombies. “I have to be sure.”

A woman lurched in from their left and grabbed Zellmer by the shoulders. Demetrius shouted, and then Cody pulled him aside and had an arm around his chest as they watched the woman bite Zellmer in the neck. The deputy screamed and jerked away, leaving the woman standing with skin between her teeth and blood glistening on her chin.

“Fuck!” Cody shouted.

“She fucking bit me!” Zellmer pressed a hand to his neck. The gun wobbled in his right hand, and he stood with his back to the oncoming group of undead. His hat and sunglasses had been knocked off in the attack, and he stared at them wide-eyed, looking far too young for any of this to be happening.

“Behind you!” Demetrius pointed as one of the men reached for the deputy

“Fuck!” Zellmer jerked away and raised his gun, firing a shot that struck the man in the shoulder.

Demetrius jumped at the hard sound of the gunshot, and watched Zellmer stumble around the back of Cody’s truck, putting it between himself and the zombies.

Zombies. For fuck’s sake, they were in the middle of a herd of zombies. Demetrius couldn’t really process everything, and he kept jerking his head around to look over his shoulder, afraid of being caught off guard by a zombie like Zellmer.

Zellmer. That thought brought him back to the moment. Zellmer needed help. He was going to bleed out if they didn’t get him to a hospital.