Chapter 12

  Gone

  The alarm didn't just ring; it screamed.

  WHEEEEEEEEE-OOOOP!

  The sound vibrated in Lee’s teeth. The front window of the pharmacy, already spiderwebbed from days of pounding, finally gave way.

  CRASH.

  Glass sprayed across the linoleum like diamonds. The grey, rotting tide poured in over the display counters.

  "THEY'RE IN!" Kenny roared. He didn't fight. He grabbed Duck by the collar and shoved him toward the back office door. "KATJAA! GO! TO THE TRUCK!"

  "DAD!" Lilly screamed. She grabbed Larry’s heavy arm, pulling him up from the corner. "MOVE! WE HAVE TO MOVE!"

  Lee stood near the main counter. The axe was in his right hand. The master keys were still in his left. He knew he should move.

  But looking at the swarm, his eyes locked on the first walker stumbling through the broken glass. It was a man in a torn suit.

  To Lee, the face changed. The rot disappeared. The gray skin turned warm brown.

  It was his brother.

  "B?" Lee whispered, his voice trembling.

  The walker snarled, its dead eyes locked on Lee's throat. It lunged over the counter.

  Lee didn't move. He couldn't. His brain was stuck in the memory of the Motor Inn. He saw his brother reaching for him, not to bite, but to forgive.

  The walker’s teeth snapped inches from Lee’s face.

  BLAM.

  The shot was deafening. The walker’s head snapped back, black blood spraying over Lee’s shirt. The body crumpled to the floor.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Lee flinched, the illusion shattering. He dropped the keys on the linoleum with a loud clatter.

  He looked to his right. Carley stood there, the pistol smoking in her hand. Her eyes were wide with terror, but she had taken the shot.

  "WAKE UP!" she screamed over the noise. "YOU HAVE TO MOVE, LEE!"

  The fog in Lee’s mind cleared. He looked down at Clementine. She was terrified, clutching his leg, staring at the monsters pouring into the room.

  "GO!" Lee shouted, scooping her up and shoving her toward the back hallway where Kenny had just disappeared. "GET TO THE ALLEY! I'm right behind you!"

  She didn't hesitate. She turned and sprinted into the back office.

  "Lilly!" Lee yelled, swinging the axe into a walker that had grabbed Larry’s coat.

  "I CAN'T LIFT HIM!" Lilly cried.

  "I've got him!" Glenn yelled, rushing from the aisles. Together, he and Lilly hauled her massive father toward the exit.

  The pharmacy was overrun. The alarm was still shrieking, a beacon calling every dead thing in Macon.

  The Split

  "The alarm!" Doug yelled over the chaos. "The main panel is locked out, but the battery box is on the side wall! It's going to draw the whole city to the alley if we don't kill it!"

  Doug didn't run for the exit. He dove onto the floor, snatched the master keys Lee had dropped, and scrambled toward the far side of the pharmacy.

  He reached the heavy metal battery box mounted right next to the boarded-up side window. His hands flew over the casing, using the metal key to pry the cover open. He reached inside, grabbed the thick red wire connecting the battery to the siren, and ripped it out with all his strength.

  FZZZT.

  The shrieking alarm died instantly. The sudden silence was filled only by the guttural groans of the dead already inside.

  "I GOT IT!" Doug yelled, turning around with a breathless, triumphant smile.

  But his victory cost him his awareness. The wooden boards on the side window right behind him groaned under the weight of the herd outside.

  CRACK.

  The wood splintered. Pale, rotting hands crashed through the glass directly behind Doug's back. They grabbed his shirt. They grabbed his hair. They violently jerked him backward into the jagged window frame.

  "LEE!" Doug screamed, his sneakers sliding on the floor as he fought to hold onto the wall. "HELP!"

  Lee spun around, but a scream from the other side of the room stopped him dead.

  To his left, near the front counter, Carley was on the ground.

  She had stayed behind to cover the group's retreat, but her gun had clicked empty after saving Lee. She had lunged for her purse on the floor to get her extra ammo, but a crawler—hidden beneath a fallen display rack—had snagged her ankle.

  "NO!" Carley screamed, kicking frantically at its face, her fingers desperately scratching at the floor just inches away from her bag. "GET OFF! LEE!"

  Lee stood in the middle of the pharmacy. The main herd was spilling over the counters.

  Carley was on the ground, defenseless, dragged by the leg because she used her last bullet to save his life.

  Doug was pinned against the glass, sacrificing himself to kill the alarm and save the group's escape route.

  Lee tightened his grip on the axe. He could only reach one

  The herd is closing in. Lee only has time to swing his axe once. Who does he save?