Page 5 of My Undead Love Life

Another moaned.

The wet crunch of splitting bone echoed off the walls over and over again.

“There’re too many!” I shouted, turning just in time to see more undead flooding around the corners of the train car.

The cane-sword wielder drove his blade through another infected before yelling back at us, “Then move faster!”

Keith stepped back and kicked the subway door with all his strength. Metal boomed beneath his boot, but it was still stuck.

Another impact slammed against the opposite side of the train car, rattling the floor beneath my feet.

The blond stranger fired twice in quick succession before looking over his shoulder at us. Even in the dark, I could see panic finally starting to crack through his grin. “You guys need to hurry!”

“Please,” Keith begged just before he finally forced the subway door loose with another violent kick.

The metal screeched open just enough to squeeze through.

“Take my girlfriend and keep her safe. We live in an Oasis. She can take you there if you’re looking for somewhere safe.”

The blond man blinked at him through the dim tunnel light. “What about you?”

Keith raised his M-4, hands steady now.

Behind us, shadows writhed through the shattered subway windows as more undead forced themselves inside the car. Their groans blended into one monstrous sound that echoed through the tunnel walls.

“I’ll hold them off and buy you time to get her away from this mess.” His eyes found mine again. “I love her more than anything.” He looked back toward the strangers. “And I’ve never been a bad judge of character. You’ll keep her safe.”

My heart dropped into my stomach so violently it hurt.

“No.” My nails dug hard into his arm. “No, absolutely not.”

“Spencer—”

“I’m not leaving you, Keith.” Tears blurred the tunnel around me. “I’ll die with you before I let you die alone.”

Pain flashed across his face so fast it nearly broke me.

“Don’t say that.” His voice came out barely above a whisper beneath the screams of the undead. “Don’t you ever say that.”

Another crash thundered through the subway car. Glass exploded inward. Rotten hands clawed through the opening.

Keith grabbed me and pulled me against him so suddenly I gasped. His lips crashed into mine harder this time. I kissed him back, determined to bruise his lips for even thinking he could leave me behind like this. My fingers tangled into the fabric of his jacket, clinging to him while the world fell apart around us.

The undead shrieked louder.

Gunshots exploded nearby.

Someone cursed.

Keith made a broken sound against my mouth before deepening the kiss like he couldn’t bear to let go. His hands shook violently where they held my face, and I realized mine were shaking just as badly.

“We have to go!” one of the strangers shouted.

The putrid stench of death thickened around us, but I was prepared to be bitten while kissing Keith.

From the subway entrance behind us came another chorus of groans. There were hundreds of dragging feet and snapping jaws rapidly approaching. And deeper in the tunnel, the second horde answered.

Two separate masses of undead were closing in on us.