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Alec picked up his weapon and slung the strap across his shoulder "Follow me From here on out we’ll keep the houses between us and the streets"

"Sounds good"

Alec slipped out of the shade andtoward the back Mark was right on his heels

They kept the same routine for the next dozen or so ho into the shade of the buildings; then they’d slink their way around the back to the other side and Alec would peek around the corner, searching for any sign of coave the all clear, they sprinted to the next house and started again

They made it to the end of another street, where you could turn left or right

"Okay," Alec whispered "We need to head down this road and take the second left That one runs into the big street whereall that partying going on"

"Partying?" Mark repeated

"Yeah It reminded me of some crankheads we busted in the twenties when martial laas declared Those people were just as nuts--bloody hell-bent psychos, they were Coies in his life, but those were the worst The drug had gotten stronger and stronger over the decades Noas so you never came back from Never For some reason the word stuck in Mark’s mind

"Hey!" Alec was halfway to the next house, and he turned back toward Mark "Fine time to daydreaht up and they booked it to the side of a three-story mansion, the shade a welco They sidled along the wall until they reached the back Alec took a peek; then they stepped around the corner and started for the other side Mark had only taken three or four steps when he heard a wet, cackling sound above hi to see soe and alien

But there was a woman perched on the roof, as ratty and filthy as any of the other infected Mark had seen recently Her hair stuck out in every direction and her face was s

She h and a racking cough She s a set of perfectly white teeth, but then turned it into a snarl After another burst of cackles she rolled backward and disappeared behind the lip of the roof’s gutter--one of the few homes that still had a roof

Mark shuddered He hoped he’d be able to get the ie of the wo a few feet away fro his weapon toward the roof but with no shot

"Where’d she go?" the et out of here Maybe she’s by herself"

"Fat chance"

They shuffled along until they reached the far corner of the back side of the house Alec leaned out for a quick look

"All clear We’re getting closer, so buck up and look alive"

Mark nodded

Alec took off for the next house and Mark was just stepping out to do the same when a horrific screech stopped him cold He looked up just in tih the air with her ars Her face was lit withtoward Mark, who couldn’t believe what he was seeing

He turned to run but it was too late Her body slaround

CHAPTER 52

She went for his eyes, as if the i to her Howls poured from her mouth as if she were some kind of tortured creature The wind had been knocked out of hiround He rolled over, gasping for air as he grabbed her hands, tried to force therasp and clawed at his ears, his nose, his cheeks, scratching and slapping He continued to fight her off

"Help!" he screaet a clear shot!" the lance at Alec He was standing there, hopping around as he ai the Transvice at the woers were suddenly in his er into his cheek and pulled as if trying to rip the side of his face off, but her finger slipped out Her hand flew up into the air, then ca back into his face with a clenched fist Pain and anger burst through him like a lit chain of firecrackers

Finally able to breathe, he got his hands underneath her body and stuck his elbows out, then pushed hard She flew off hi onto her back with an audible thud that et back onto her hands and knees But Mark had righted hiht on his left foot and kicked out with his right, sla the toe of his shoe into the side of her head She screamed and flopped over, curled up into a ball and held her face in her ar

Mark quickly scrambled away from her "Go ahead, do it!"

But Alec didn’t He calmly walked up to stand beside Mark, the end of his weapon pointed at the suffering woaets her friends? Ruins our chance at surprising the look, then raised his eyes to Mark "If it makes you feel better, then you do it" He turned and started walking toward the next house, scanning the area for potential enemies

Mark went over to where he’d dropped his Transvice and backpack in theoff the crazy woman He didn’t take his eyes off her as he picked both ite the straps, then hefting the weapon in both hands once they were free He aimed it at the lady and walked closer until he was just a few feet away Still she lay curled up in the fetal position, whi back and forth Mark found that he felt no pity, no sorrow She was past being human, had lost every ounce of sanity, and that wasn’t his fault And for all he knew, she had friends nearby, or was just playing weak so that they’d walk away and leave her alone

No There wasn’t time for pity anymore

He took another step back, firainst his chest, aier A buzz and hum filled the air; then the Transvice recoiled and shot out a beaht that sliced into the woman’s body She didn’t have tiray and exploded into a finein an instant