The pounding footsteps in the dark hallway closed in fast and forced Max to back a step away from the shattered doorway. His right hand gripped the bent iron pipe tight as he stared out of the grocery store's back room. Before he could even catch his breath, a gaunt shadow shot out of the corridor like a bullet from a rifle barrel. So fast! The muscles in Max's neck went taut as he jerked his shoulder back at the last second. Rotting teeth slick with black fluid snapped shut less than an inch from his nose and blasted him with the nauseating stench of carrion. The wiry corpse lost its footing and crashed into a stack of cardboard boxes. Yet before Max could swing his pipe, three more figures bolted out from the end of the same hallway at a freakish pace. "Damn it," Max hissed as his breath caught. One runner is bad enough, let alone four of them in a room this tight! My strength went up, sure, but my stomach's been empty for three days thanks to Chloe and Derek! Taking on four

The cry for help over the handheld radio was cut short by shattering glass and savage snarls, leaving only cold static behind. Max clicked the radio off and clipped it to his backpack strap. His gaze locked onto the two-story supermarket at the end of the main road. That scream definitely came from that building, Max thought as he twirled the iron pipe in his hand. If someone locked other survivors inside on purpose, the undead horde must be massed around the front entrance. He moved fast through the shadows of the side alley without the slightest intention of playing the hero. The guy on the radio had probably already been torn apart by monsters. To Max, however, that supermarket was a supply mine that hadn't been picked clean yet. "Food, medicine, radio batteries, and whatever cash or jewelry is sitting in the store safe," Max murmured calculatingly. "I need more capital before the blue stone in my pocket wakes up again." When he reached the narrow alley alongside the building

The black pistol barrel behind the iron bars shifted as it searched for a target. Max yanked Mia by the shoulder and pressed her behind the concrete pillar beside the door. "Quit hiding, you bastard!" Derek barked, slamming the butt of his pistol against the bars. "Toss that big backpack out here right now, or I'll shoot the woman next to you!" Chloe stood behind Derek with her arms crossed. The shock on her face had given way to a smug sneer now that her boyfriend held a gun. "I can't believe you're still breathing, Max," Chloe mocked. "Three days ago, you were crawling like a dog when Derek kicked you out. Now you think you're tough just because you picked up an iron pipe?" Behind the pillar, Mia clutched her jacket, her face pale. "What if he actually shoots through the bars?!" "Relax. Guys with plenty of bullets don't bark like cornered dogs," Max replied, raising his voice on purpose. He eyed Derek's trembling hand. The two spent casings on the asphalt outside showed just h

The warm pulse of the blue meteor stone in his pocket grew stronger. Max pulled his sleeve down at once to cover the bluish veins that now stood out more clearly against his skin. "Why are you standing there holding your pocket?" Mia asked in a shaky voice near the hood of the truck. "Is the cut on your arm bad? Want me to grab a bandage?" "Just a surface scrape," Max replied flatly as he kicked the iron drum onto the sidewalk. "Get in before all this noise draws more zombies." As soon as Mia climbed aboard, Max hit the gas and drove the pickup toward the red mark on Raven's map. Ten minutes later, deep cracks spiderwebbed across the pavement. Beyond a torn chain-link fence stood a partially collapsed research facility on the rim of a massive crater. "So this is the Impact Zone..." Mia whispered, her face pale as she stared at the blackened crater in the distance. "This place feels way creepier than the supermarket. Are you sure you want to go in there?" "Because half the buildi

Thin smoke curled up from the bullet hole in the asphalt in front of the hood. In the passenger seat, Mia tensed up and gripped the dashboard. "Max, throw it in reverse, hurry!" Mia whispered in panic, her face pale. "This place is overrun by armed raiders! If we get out, they'll rob us blind!" Instead of hitting the gas to flee, Max pulled the handbrake and killed the pickup's engine calmly. "Are you crazy?! Why did you turn the engine off?!" Mia gasped under her breath. "Look up at the roof and behind the gate barricade," Max said flatly, nodding toward the windshield. "Twelve men with rifles have us in their sights." Mia looked up and swallowed hard. Along the edge of the distribution building's roof, a row of rifle barrels glinted under the late afternoon sun. If I try to U-turn on an open road like this, they'll riddle the cab with bullets, Max calculated coldly. Better to lure their leader out into close range. "Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut," Max ordered briefl