It looks smaller than I remember.

Noah lowered the passenger side window and stared up the access road leading to what used to be his home. It was as if the farmhouse had been frozen in time, almost untouched by the world around it. The building stood just as it had when he and Devin had returned that one last time. The window boxes were overgrown, but still had spatters of color from flowers that had survived beyond the end of summer.

The lawn at either side of the pebble path was lush and green. Noah eyed the long grass, remembering the surge of adrenaline and urgency he’d been filled with to find strangers on his land, strangers who’d needed his help. He had seen so much death. His family, his neighbors, people he’d grown up with. He might not have known Devin or Kerry, but he had needed to help, needed to feel as if he wasn’t just surviving for himself, surviving to be alone.

Motion beyond the farm buildings caught his attention. Noah leaned his elbow on the side of the door and watched the sluggish movements of a freak as it emerged from between the trees that ran along the back of the property and behind the large barn. The sound of the engine running had most likely disturbed it, drawing it in as it searched out the source of the foreign noise and what it hoped was a meal.

Noah reached to the passenger seat and ran his hand over the solid handle of the ax. He wanted to go over there and cave the monster’s skull in. Smash it into oblivion so it could no longer mar the landscape of his home. He gripped the handle, then released it. A second infected body stepped out from behind the first. This one’s movements were different, faster, more eager, its body firmer and probably more recently turned.

“Don’t be an idiot,” he said in a low voice.

Don’t be a bigger idiot than you’ve already been.

As soon as he’d hit the main highway to Garnett he had regretted leaving without a word. But he had known Devin would talk him out of it, or worse, he would have come along, and he didn’t want that on his conscience. He didn’t want to put anyone in harm’s way. For a moment, he’d thought about turning around and heading back, and maybe he should have. But this was something he needed to do. He needed answers. He needed to know that despite Chicago’s fall, he still was of some use in this world. That somewhere, somebody could use what was inside him.

Raising the window, Noah shifted his focus to the road into Garnett. He didn’t know what he expected to find when he got there and didn’t have a clue where to start looking, or what he was looking for. He thought back to that first month when the virus hit. There had been rumors, news reports about people getting sick, saying people had died. It wasn’t until weeks later things had gotten so crazy and violent, and the dead coming back to life had become a terrifying reality.

Noah glanced at the monsters, both edging closer as they followed the side of the barn. He remembered the confusion and fear, the quarantines and registration points once the army had rolled into town. It hadn’t mattered how many soldiers there’d been with their guns and vehicles, how orderly they had manned the centers and screening tents at the ER, it had all turned to shit in the end.

Noah twisted his hands around the steering wheel and listened to the low hum of the engine. It reminded him of the sound of the army trucks as they had driven away. They had lost control in less than two days, and as quickly as they had shown up, they had abandoned the people of Garnett. Noah remembered the sight and sound of the monsters, as they had appeared almost out of nowhere and had rushed at the crowds outside of the army base. Person after person fell, mauled to death to reawaken and start the cycle again, only this time more fell like some strangely choreographed wave of falling and rising bodies.

Noah had accompanied his father to the hospital that day. Like so many others they had wanted answers. Were the reports real? Why did they have the townspeople lining up to be tested? What were they looking for? People had refused to be shooed away with a simple “everything’s under control” and “do as we say” from the army and their doctors. His father had been so strong, pulling Noah, a grown man himself, from the chaos and to their truck.

Don’t look back. Despite his father’s words, Noah had. That was the first time he’d seen anything so terrifying, so brutal. People had been eating people.

Swallowing, Noah gazed one more time on the place he had called home. The farm didn’t hold the answers he needed, just bad memories. The more recently turned monster had reached the top of the driveway. Noah eyed it up and down, wondering if he had known the man the freak had once been.

Does it really matter? He’s just one more monster. You can’t fix him.

Noah wiped at his face. “Time to go.” As he pulled away, he stared straight ahead. This time he wasn’t going to look back.

The drive to Garnett was one filled with unwelcome memories no matter how hard Noah had tried to keep focused on the road. Simple things stirred flashes such as passing the tree he’d climbed with his brother, or the neighboring farm he’d been caught stealing eggs from after a dare with his friends.

Where I had my first kiss. Where I met my first love, and my sixth.

Noah rolled the car to a stop as he reached the far end of town. After switching off the engine, he sat back and waited. He stared forward and let the eerie silence envelop him. There had been no visible activity as he had made his trip through the center of the city. The main street was just as hauntingly empty and untouched as he remembered.

After his family had gone and he was alone, he hadn’t ventured from the farm and its surrounding land in what had felt like a lifetime. In fact, it had been three months. April. Everything had felt so peaceful in the city. So quiet. So empty. At least at first.

Noah closed his eyes. He needed to get his head straight, because things weren’t always as they appeared to be. The streets may have seemed deserted, but anything could be lurking just out of sight.

Opening his eyes, Noah leaned forward. He checked around. Still nothing.

I need to do this.

He glanced at the passenger seat. Beside the ax sat a handgun. He ran his fingers over the grip and his thoughts were of Devin. By now Devin would know he had left the prison. He could only imagine what Devin must think of him.

That you abandoned him.

Devin had to know Noah would never leave him, or the others, unless he had to. He was doing this for Devin, for all of them.

Noah picked up the ax and handgun and got out of the car. He secured the gun in his waistband, then reached back into the car to take the keys. He pushed the door shut with a low thud and took a moment to get his bearings. The ER was a couple of blocks away. He figured the walk would help clear his head, but also if the situation at the hospital was different to that of town, he would hopefully be able to retreat from the area without alerting anyone or anything to his presence.

Noah locked the vehicle and pocketed the keys. He took one last look around. He heard nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat. The streets were empty. People had either fled, or the monsters they had become had forged ahead in search of food. Securing his hold on the ax, he headed to the sidewalk, keeping close to the buildings for cover.

Stay focused. Stay calm. Stay safe. Stay alive.

The voice in his head was Devin’s, deep and husky and reassuring in its direction.

Come back home.

Noah could do all of those things. What he was doing might have seemed insane, but he was no idiot. He was of no use to anyone dead.

Taking a left, Noah kept to the back streets as he navigated to where the hospital was. As he neared the area, the serene silence broke and he came to a stop. Noah tilted his head and listened. There was a low rumble in the air, an unnerving and familiar sound. He stared at the sky as he tried to differentiate between the chorus of wailing voices.

How many?

Fear made Noah’s mouth dry, and he swallowed hard. He’d come this far. He had to try.

If there are too many you turn back. Simple.

Noah pressed on. He stayed low until he found a suitable hiding spot with a view of the hospital and its adjoining buildings. Noah ran his fingers over his lips as he assessed the area. The fences and tents the army had erected still stood in the large parking lot on the left hand side. He leaned out. A lot of the tents were behind the fencing with a large gate securing the area. He eyed the metal frame, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the gate. It wasn’t clear, but it looked as if there was a padlock and chain.

Is it secure?

Within the fenced area was a large number of infected monsters. Noah assessed the danger from his crouched position. The metal fences looked sturdy, supported by heavy concrete bases.

How did you get in there? There must have been thirty, maybe more of the undead caged inside.

The monsters were active and most were grouped together at the back against the building. Blood marked the wall and window. From what he knew of the freak back at the prison, these could not have been trapped for a great length time. The one Emily had named John was weaker, sluggish, emaciated. These still had an air of power and hunger about them as they pawed at the bloodied window.

It had been just over eight months since the attack at the hospital. Eight months since he had first set eyes on the new horror born into the world through blood and violence. He shifted uncomfortably as he eyed the remains in the street. As horrific as their deaths had been, maybe they had been the lucky ones. They were dead and gone. Noah leaned back, noting motion outside the fences. Three shuffling corpses made their way toward the caged group. The sound had drawn them in.

Noah ground his teeth as he eyed the undead. The first to reach the fence was a young adult male. The freak’s left arm was gone, and blood-soaked, torn material hung over a gaping hole on his left side. Some of the man’s ribs stuck out at strange angles and Noah couldn’t help but think of scenes in movies where aliens tore their way out of their victims’ bodies. In this case, Noah figured it had been something tearing into the man that had done the damage. The freak looped the fingers of its right hand through the gaps in the chain link fence and rocked back and forth.

I can take him down.

The other monsters joined the first in pulling and pushing. One was a middle-aged woman, skin and hair had been ripped from her face, and her jaw and teeth were visible though a jagged wound in her cheek. What looked like fresh, slick and glistening blood covered her hands. She was wild and aggressive as she sought to join the group on the other side of the fence. The third freak was another male, older, but smaller. The freak jerked its head from side to side, a strange twitch pulling its attention from the fence and in Noah’s direction. These two would be more difficult to deal with.

Is it worth it?

Noah tensed, freezing as a primal, raw sound came from behind him. Gripping the ax, he turned his head. He fixed his gaze with that of a dog. The animal still had a warmth to its eyes and it lowered its head. Noah grimaced as he noted the blood and wound on the animal’s hind leg. He glanced back to where the three freaks were preoccupied. For now it was safe to focus on the dog. He examined the animal’s injury. The wound had been inflicted recently.

“Did she get you, boy?” he said in a low voice.

The dog walked toward him. With a whimper, the animal slumped against Noah’s leg.

Noah pressed his finger to his lips and stroked the dog’s head, offering it a little comfort, and hoped to secure its silence. He checked the dog’s leg. He couldn’t tell if the animal had been bitten, or if it had been from the female freak grabbing and clawing at the dog in desperation to hold on to its meal.

“It’s okay.” Noah stroked the dog’s neck.

As he threaded his fingers through the animal’s golden fur he remembered his own dog. She had been a beautiful creature, a collie, a proud and devoted animal, and one of the family. The sound of her neck being broken by the rabid monster his father had become still haunted him, along with the screams and tears of his mother, brother and sister.

He looked down at the animal. If the dog had been infected, it wouldn’t take long for the virus to overcome it. It seemed weak, had probably lost a lot of blood. He’d seen many different animals that had been attacked by the monsters, seen the eaten out carcasses scattered along the highway, and yet, none of them had turned and come back. He curled his hand, feeling the strands of the golden retriever’s coat between his fingers, and the warmth of its body against his knuckles. He didn’t know the reasons, maybe some links in their genetics, overfamiliarity of living side by side with people, but for whatever reason, he had heard of dogs being taken by the virus, reanimated as vicious monsters. It had been because of one such creature that Jack had lost his legs.

The memory of the sound of his father snapping their family pet’s neck made him flinch. He looked at the dog. Could he do it? The wound was deep and crimson. Blood had matted the fur the length of the retriever’s leg as well as across its back and stomach.

Noah soothed his hand around the animal’s neck, feeling out its heartbeat. He ran his hand lower, and back and forth as he circled its throat.

It’s just a dog.

He watched the rise and fall of the animal’s stomach with each shallow breath. It was in a bad way.

I can’t do it.

Noah glanced over his shoulder. The female freak with blood on her hands had turned away from the fence. She lifted her face, opened her crooked mouth as she seemed to search the sky for something. Noah swallowed hard and looked back at the dog. Blood oozed from its wound.

Carefully, Noah eased his leg from beneath the animal. It stared up at him as if knowing there was nothing Noah could do for it. Not here. Not with those things so close.

He stroked the dog’s head one last time, then focused on the three monsters. It had to be just the three of them on this side of the fence. If there were others nearby, Noah figured they would have been drawn in by the noise by now.

“Three.” Noah patted the bulge of the handgun beneath his T-shirt. Though he was glad of its solid feel under his hand, he knew the sound of gunfire could alert any undead in other parts of the city to his presence. He got to his feet and gripped the ax. If he could draw them this way and into the street, he hoped the larger group inside the fence would continue to be unaware of him.

Noah stepped out from behind the wall. He licked his lips before pursing them to whistle. He made two sharp, short sounds and edged back. The closest of the monsters focused on his call. It made a crazed sound and dashed in Noah’s direction.

Noah led it farther from the others until confidence swelled in his gut. He could do this. Parting his legs, he raised the ax and prepared to strike at the monster.

The female freak radiated power as she ran at him. She let out a wild cry, clawing at the air as she rushed forward. Noah was ready. As she neared he swung his arms back, holding the ax in both hands. In the blink of an eye, there she was, right in front of him. He delivered his blow with a punishing force. Metal hit bone. A strange sound echoed around him as the ax severed nerves and tendons. Noah jumped to one side as the freak skidded past him. It writhed on the ground, dark, thick blood running from the gaping wound beneath its jaw. Noah smashed his weapon down on the freak’s temple. The body stilled. Dead for good this time.

The other two undead monsters were in the street. Both were nimbler than their battered bodies suggested. Noah took long strides back, trying to put some space between them and give him time to think. The smaller of the two broke away, charging ahead. Its head bobbed from side to side, causing it to weave and swerve from its path. Noah swung the ax as it neared. The undead being flung itself sideways, dodging Noah’s blow.

Fuck.

Noah and the freak collided, falling in tangled confusion. Noah frantically kicked out and scrambled backward, dragging the ax with him. Fear gripped him as he fumbled with the weapon before managing to raise it and slamming the handle into the freak’s open mouth as it lunged at him.

“Fuck off.”

The corpse fell motionless across his legs. Pushing hard, Noah managed to lift the body off him. There was no time to catch his breath. The second monster slammed him from the side. He rolled across the ground, stumbling over his own feet as he tried to stand. Pain shot through Noah’s ribs where they’d collided and he grabbed for the side of the building to gain his balance.

The second freak hit the floor as Noah leaned back against the building. With only one arm and the damage to its body, it struggled to get to its feet. The other, however, was up and limped forward.

Now’s my chance.

Noah raised the ax, gripping it at both ends, and held it horizontally. With a determined cry, he rushed forward, slamming the handle into the freak’s face and pushed it to the other side of the street. The freak’s back hit the opposite building and it let out a horrific guttural sound as the handle smashed through the bottom half of its face, severing the lower jaw.

Adrenaline surged through Noah. His heart beat crazy-fast as he pulled the ax back. Noah didn’t hesitate, swinging the ax into the monster’s face. He spun around and brought the ax down hard on the third and final monster before it was fully standing. Noah hit the freak over and over, smashing into its head as he forced it to the ground in a bloodied mess.

Noah stepped back, holding the ax loosely at his side. He looked to the sky and caught his breath.

Please, no more.

Lowering his head, he went to wipe his face, stopping at the sight of his blood-spattered hands. Chunks of flesh and bone clung to the head of the ax.

Should I feel bad? He swallowed hard. He didn’t feel anything.

Noah wiped his hands on his pant legs, smearing the red-brown viscous liquid across his skin. He eyed his stained digits. Maybe this had been a mistake.

I shouldn’t be here alone. No. I shouldn’t doubt myself or I’ll make mistakes. Big ones. And I can’t afford to do that.

Noah turned the ax in his hand and made his way down the street. The dog was still lying against the low wall. With a sigh, Noah crouched beside it. He ran his hand over the animal’s back, noting how much cooler the animal felt. He draped his arms over his knees and ducked lower. The dog was dead. A strange sense of loss struck his heart. Why should he care about a dog? A dog that wasn’t even his.

It had been somebody’s once. He glanced back at the dead bodies. Just like they were.

With a sigh, he got to his feet. He stood over the animal. Would it come back? He looked at the dog. From experience, if it was going to happen, it would happen soon.

Why should I think this time would be any different?

When an infected person died, though it might take hours to succumb to the virus and their injuries, their reawakening could take mere seconds, a minute or two at most. In an instant, they were back on their feet ready to rip into the first living thing they came across.

Noah lifted the ax and flipped it over. He would never forgive himself if his inaction meant someone got hurt.

“Sorry,” he said and swung the ax. He winced as the point of the pick punctured the dog’s skull.

Closing his eyes, Noah lowered his head. For a moment, he simply listened. A chill passed over him as the growls and groans of the trapped undead rose to a shivering crescendo. He opened his eyes and let out a low gasp. The tone of the monstrous choir made his skin crawl. He took a deep breath as way of calming himself and stepped into the open. He looked straight ahead at the hospital’s main entrance and tightened his hold on the ax. A metallic sound drew his attention, the freaks who had separated from the main bulk outside the window were aware of him. They pressed their bodies hard against the fence. The crisscrossed metal mesh bowed under their weight.

Noah looked back at the doors, convincing himself he was doing the right thing for him, for Devin, for all the people he knew and cared about at the prison. He straightened before stepping forward.

I’m doing this for all of us.