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There was no grace or artistry in our flight Becks was running al only for the confirmation that I didn’t have a better idea, and I was only half a heartbeat behind We ran as fast as we could, our footfalls echoing off the walls around us andfor safety or into the ar started behind us, distant at first, but growing louder with bone-chilling speed That’s one thing the oldReal zombies--especially the freshly infected kind--can run

Call for help!

"What?" I gasped, still running Becks shot me a look I shook my head, and she returned her attention to the serious business of running for her goddamn life

You have a phone! Think, Shaun!

It was hard to focus on running and think about what George was trying to tell me at the same time She was always the s but a ghost in led to make sense of her words, and nearly stu Becks to shoot me another sharp look "Becks, I need you to buy us some time Don’t worry about the interest rates"

"Got it," she said, obedience winning out over confusion She turned to face the direction of theme down the hall If she tripped, it was all over, but that didn’t seem to bother her Her hands were steady as she pulled a ball-shaped object from her belt Thepulled, and then she flung the grenade in the direction of theme by the arm It was her turn to haul me down the hall, and she did it wne-chillindrenade Becks had thrown exploded about six seconds later It wasn’t a big enough booh to fill the hall briefly with light I risked a glance back over h to slow the infected for at least a little while "Cover h to let ain, holding a position about a foot and a half behindher betweenspace Itan ear cuff froht wasn’t easy, especially not at a dead run So the Call button as I snapped, "Secure connection, co"

The ear cuff beeped For a long, undying moment, the only sounds were footsteps, harsh, exhausted breathing, the distantof my heart We couldn’t run forever Eventually, the kill chute was going to close, and if ere in the wrong place when that happened…

The ear cuff beeped again as Alaric came on the line: "Secure connection confir up on you"

"Fuck you, Alaric, I don’t have the time to remember some stupid code word" That was a lie: "son If the CDC was recording, which they probably were, this ood as it really was I could hope, anyway "We’re in a little bit of trouble here Is the Doc there?"

"Shaun? Why are you breathing like that? What’s--"

"I need you to put the Doc on the line right fking now, Alaric, or you’re getting a godda e of the zoet her," said Alaric The line beeped again, going silent

Becks pulled up al that new-penny shine to her cheeks "What are you doing?"