The Last HuskyChapter 3

The rain poured through the night.

By dawn, the downpour had faded into a miserable drizzle. Thanks to Duke pressing his warm body against mine all night, my fever had actually broken.

Duke was standing near the edge of the roof, his ears pinned straight up, listening to the vibrations of the concrete.

"System alert. Three infected gathered on the third floor. Fifth floor secure. Human survivors moving on the fourth floor."

I understood immediately. Someone was coming up the stairs.

Before I could even stand, a violent crash echoed from the roof door. My makeshift crowbar lock was not secure enough. After a few heavy kicks, the metal door flew open.

Tyler stepped out, gripping a bloody machete. Behind him were two sketchy guys from the fifth floor. Local thugs who had a reputation for stealing even before the world went to hell.

Martha trailed behind them, her face twisted in a bitter scowl.

Tyler's eyes locked onto the empty jerky wrapper by my feet. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Mom. I told you she was hiding food. Look."

Martha let out a screech. She lunged toward me, raising her hand to slap my face.

"You heartless bitch. Your brother has been starving all day, and you are up here having a picnic. Do you have more? Hand it over."

The two thugs moved in, circling me with dirty smiles. Their eyes roamed up and down my shivering body.

"Well, well. The girl is looking a little pale, but she is still pretty enough."

I gripped my rusted crowbar tight and backed up against the roof's edge.

"There is nothing left. It was just one piece, and I found it up here."

Tyler did not believe a word of it. He stepped forward, reaching out to grab me.

"Bullshit. Take off your clothes. I am searching you myself."

Duke lunged. He moved like a blur, sinking his teeth right into Tyler's wrist.

"Ahhhh."

Tyler screamed in agony, dropping the machete. "Get this dead mutt off me."

He stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding arm. The two thugs exchanged a look, raised the heavy steel pipes they were carrying, and swung them down hard at Duke.

Duke was fast, but he was just a dog, and he was trying to stand between them and me.

Smack.

A steel pipe connected with Duke's back leg. The sickening crack of bone was loud enough to echo over the wind.

Duke let out a heartbreaking yelp and collapsed to the tar roof, his back leg twisted at a horrifying angle.

"Duke."

My vision went red. I raised the crowbar and charged forward, ready to kill them all.

One of the thugs simply raised his boot and kicked me square in the stomach. The force sent me flying backward. I crashed hard into the rusted metal railing, curling into a ball as the air left my lungs.

Tyler snatched his machete off the ground. He marched over with a vicious look in his eyes. He did not kill Duke. Instead, he took the flat side of the heavy blade and started bashing it against Duke's skull.

"Bite me again. Go on, bite me again."

Duke whimpered, blood dripping from his snout, but his bright blue eyes stayed locked onto Tyler in pure defiance.

Tyler turned his head toward me, his face glowing with a sick sense of revenge.

"Hey sis. That puffer jacket looks really warm. I think I will take it."

"You are going to die anyway. Be a shame to waste it."

He stepped up and violently yanked the zipper down. Martha stood on the sidelines, not only doing nothing to stop it, but cheering him on.

"Hurry up. Stop wasting time. It is freezing up here."

I fought back with everything I had, scratching my nails across Tyler's face, leaving a deep, bleeding trail.

"Get off me. You are a monster."

Tyler wiped the blood off his cheek and backhanded me hard across the jaw. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine. With the help of the two thugs, they pinned me down and physically ripped the winter coat off my body.

I was left in a thin, worn-out sweater. The biting winter wind instantly pierced right to my bones.

Tyler gleefully slipped my coat on. It still held my body heat. He patted the sleeves down with a look of disgust.

"Smells a little like wet dog, but it will do."

He stood over me, looking down at my bruised body and my crippled dog.

"Look at you. You are worse off than a stray animal. Just hug your stupid dog and wait to die."

Martha spat directly onto my face.

"Let's go. Leave this jinx to rot."

They turned to head back to the stairwell.

But right at that moment, an explosive sound echoed from the floor below. Then another. And another.

It was the sound of dozens of decaying hands slamming against metal.

The zombie horde had made it up the stairs.