Siege (As the World Dies 3)

Katie was nearly halfway up the stairs when she looked down to see Jenni pushing the children onto the first steps of the staircase.

“Travis, she made it!”

“Thank God,” Travis exclaimed, continuing to climb while holding his wife’s hand.

Jenni pushed Margie up onto the stairs. She heard the gunfire and turned. The zombies had reached the food court and were lunging toward the soldiers. The soldiers backed slowly toward the staircase, attempting to defend those on the stairs.

Why she looked up, she would never know. But Jenni did and saw a single black bird flying over the skylight. She flashed on Juan being shot and all that followed. And she understood.

“Keep going,” she told Margie, setting the two younger children on the stairs. “Get your brother and sister out of here!”

Jenni then turned and ran down the stairs. Running up behind Thomas, she grabbed his revolver from his holster.

“Hey!”

She ran past him toward the zombies.

The shambling corpses could not follow the people on the stairs. Amy had given her life for her children. They would live. Katie and Travis were going to have a baby and be a family. They would live.

This was her time. Her choice. Her decision.

“Hey, fuckers!” Jenni waved her arms. “You stupid gawddamn muthafuckin’ zombies, c’mere!” Then she screamed at them and waved her arms desperately. “Look at me, you fuckers! C’mon, you fuckin’ cannibals. Prime rib Jenni right here! Come get me!”

“What the fuck is she doing?” Kevin exclaimed as the woman danced terrifyingly close to the slowly advancing zombies.

Valerie looked up at the people on the stairs and the little kids trying to climb and understood.

“The right thing,” she answered, running after Jenni. “Hey stinkbags, follow us!”

“Oh, shit. Dammit! I don’t want to die,” Thomas growled, but ran after the women.

Kevin was about to follow when he felt a tug on his hand. Looking down he saw a little girl Jenni had shoved up the stairs looking up at him.

“Mister, we need to go get my Mom,” she said.

“Shit!” He snatched up the girl and ran to the stairs.

The last soldier, William, hesitated, then he too followed Jenni. “Awwww, hell…”

The four of them teased, taunted and lured the zombies after them and away from the staircase. Low on ammunition, they held their fire, moving ahead of the mob, keeping them away from the stairs.

Jenni screamed at the things, screaming her hate, screaming her joy, screaming her fucking lungs off. In that moment, she knew she was doing exactly the right thing. Glancing briefly up at the stairs, she could see Katie and Travis near the top and Kevin pulling the children up in the rear.

“Hey, you stupid shits, come get me, you stupid muthafuckas,” Jenni shouted with glee.

Their grisly faces and clawed hands reached for her, grasping at empty air as she danced away from them.

“C’mon fuckers!”

She was moving back toward the waterfall. In her head was a half-formed plan to circle the waterfall and head up the stairs.

It was then the zombies from the Right Corridor made their appearance.

Though delayed, the sprinklers had come on, quenching most of the fire.

The zombies now filed into the food court behind Jenni and the soldiers.

They were now completely surrounded.