Page 88 of Grave Danger

“We know,” Demetrius said, adjusting Cody’s arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get moving. We’re almost there.”

“Leave me out here,” Cody said.

“Not a fucking chance,” Dave said. “Oliver, Agatha, clear us a path.”

“We’re on it,” Oliver said, holding up the branch he was using as a makeshift spear.

“Move out,” Agatha said, taking up a spot just ahead of them and opposite Oliver.

“I’m going to turn,” Cody muttered. “I’m dead.”

“Shut the fuck up and walk, asshole,” Dave said.

Demetrius was grateful for Dave’s presence, as terror had swallowed whole any words of comfort or encouragement he might have provided. They weaved a path through the trees, Oliver and Agatha jabbing at every zombie that dared approach.

Lightning illuminated the woods and thunder boomed afterward, and all the while the rain continued to fall. Demetrius’s shoulders ached from Cody’s weight, and his feet slipped on the carpet of wet leaves, but they all pushed on until they came upon a tall cyclone fence with curls of razor wire along the top.

“Help!” Agatha shouted. “Help us! We are injured and surrounded!”

There was no response, and they set off along the fence, Agatha taking up position in front with her makeshift spear, and Oliver bringing up the rear. Zombies lunged for them and fell as one or the other stabbed the attackers in the head.

They reached a corner of the fence and hurried around it. The woods thinned a bit along this side of the lab’s perimeter, and Demetrius gasped at the number of zombies he saw staggering toward them through the trees. He panted hard and jostled Cody as he adjusted his arm across his shoulders, cringing when Cody cried out.

“I’m sorry!” Demetrius shouted.

Cody tripped over something and staggered forward, taking all three of them down to the ground. Demetrius planted face first into the dirt and leaves and came up sputtering, tasting grit between his teeth.

“Get up!” Agatha shouted. “Get him up!”

“I can’t,” Cody said. “I’m done. Leave me here.”

“No!” Demetrius shouted. “Come on, Bower, get your ass up and get a move on. We’re almost to the gate.”

“I can feel it inside me,” Cody said. “It’s cold, and it’s going everywhere.”

“Fuck that,” Dave shouted into Cody’s face. “I’m not losing you. Get on your fucking feet.”

“Oliver,” Agatha shouted. “Behind you!”

Zombies closed in from every side, penning them in against the fence. Agatha and Oliver turned their backs to them, poking and stabbing with the branches, trying to keep them at bay. Dave got to his feet, kicking and shoving in an effort to help. But there were too many, and Demetrius pulled Cody up against him, circled his arms around Cody’s chest, and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“I have loved you from the moment I saw you. You are the love of my life.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Cody had already decided the smell of them was the worst part. Touching them was no picnic, of course. All that cold, unyielding skin. But the smell. Yeah, that was hard to forget. Once it got inside his nose, it was stuck there. And now that smell surged around them in an overwhelming stench as the zombies closed in. A foul cloud that clung to his sinuses and coated the back of his throat.

Pain radiated out from the bite on his forearm. Cold tendrils flowed through him as well, making him shiver. Demmy wrapped his arms around him and clung tight. When Demmy whispered words of love into his ear, the pain eased a bit. Instead of the weird combination of cold and burning sensation, a gentle wash of warmth went through him.

He gripped Demmy’s arms and closed his eyes. They’d had a good run. Far too many monsters for his liking, but if that was what had brought him and Demmy together, he’d take them.

A gunshot made him jump. He heard Demmy cry out in surprise, and fear spiked through him. Had one of the fucking zombies been carrying a gun? Had Demmy been shot? Before he could say a word, more gunshots punched through the pouring rain, followed by an amplified voice telling them all to get down.

Even more gunshots. Some kind of automatic weapon now, so heavy duty firepower. The thud and squelch of bodies hitting the wet ground around them joined with the gunshots. A symphony of chaos and death.

Cody dropped his chin to his chest and closed his eyes, clinging to Demmy’s arms as if they were a life ring. The scent of blood, bright and coppery, drifted in among the smells of fetid earth and rot.

When the shooting finally stopped, Cody’s nerves felt electric. Pain coursed up and down his spine, the majority of it gathering in a spot at the base of his skull. He moaned, and then Demmy’s arms were gone, and Cody felt cold, tired, and alone. Just the consideration of opening his eyes exhausted him, so he kept them closed and drifted.