Rise of the Undead Box Set | Books 1-3 | Apocalypse Z

strangers aren’t welcome.”
“Amy? It’s me, Alex,” shouted a familiar voice. His voice.
Amy lowered the gun, almost too scared to believe it was true. “Alex? Is that really you?”
“It’s me, and I need help. I’m hurt,” he said in response to her frantic queries.
“Hurt? Oh, no!” Amy cried. “Hold on. I’m coming.”
She rushed forward and undid the padlock before swinging the gate open. Alex rode through, his figure hunched low over the tank. Amy checked the road behind him, looking for zombies, but it was clean. One less thing to worry about, at least.
After locking the gates once more, she ran back to the house. Panic blossomed in her chest along the way. She’d never seen Alex hurt before. He never even got a cold. Not so much as a sniffle. What if it was serious? What if he died?
For a moment, she almost allowed fear to overwhelm her. Then she spotted him lying on the ground. Amy shook her head, determination washing away her uncertainty. Her brother was hurt, and he needed her help. She had to be strong. “I won’t let anything happen to him. He’s home now, and that’s all that matters.”

Chapter 15 - Alex
Alex rode through the gate with the last bit of strength he possessed. He came to a stop in front of the house, his house, and promptly keeled over. His legs couldn’t hold him upright any longer, and the bike weighed a ton.
After spending a freezing night in a dilapidated old shack, cold, hungry, and in pain, he’d tackled the final leg home. After several hours of sheer torture, he’d made it, and now he had nothing left to give.
His hearing was dim, and he only vaguely became aware of Amy’s voice, urging him to get up. Somehow, despite her petite frame, she dragged the bike off his pinned leg and hoisted him up.
He clung to her, willing his legs to work. Together, they staggered up the porch steps and into the house where he collapsed onto the nearest couch. That was when it all went black.
Alex woke the next morning to find himself tucked into a cocoon of blankets. His boots were gone, and his wound had been dressed with fresh bandages. A glass of water stood waiting on the side table along with a couple of painkillers, and he swallowed them greedily.
On the couch opposite him, Amy lay curled into a little ball. Her blonde hair spilled around her face in a golden waterfall. The sight made him smile. She always slept like that, rolled up with her knees tucked beneath her chin. It made him realize how much he’d missed her. How much he’d missed all of them, and now his parents were gone. She was all he had left in the world.
He must have made a sound because Amy’s eyes fluttered open and fixed on his face with alarm. She jolted upright. “Are you okay? Are you in pain? Can I get you anything?”
Alex shook his head. “I’m fine.”
He wasn’t though. Not by a long shot. Despite his best efforts, the wound in his side had festered. A raging fever had hold of his limbs, and he alternated between sweating like a pig and shivering until his teeth chattered.
She jumped off the couch and pressed a cool hand to his forehead. “You’re sick.”
It was a statement, not a question, and he couldn’t deny it even though he wanted to spare her the worry. “Yes.”
“I cleaned your wound, but it’s gone bad. You need antibiotics,” Amy added.
“Which we don’t have.”
“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I checked mom’s cupboards and the first-aid kit, but there’s nothing. We have to get you to a doctor.”
“There aren’t any doctors available. Not now. No hospital either,” Alex said, tugging at his collar as his skin overheated. He threw off the covers he’d slept under as sweat burst from his pores. Within seconds, he was soaked to the bone as the fever raged through his body.
Once the bout passed, Amy pressed another glass of water into his hands along with a bowl of soup. “Eat. You need to keep your strength up.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled through spoonfuls of the beefy broth, relishing the noodles and bits of carrot that floated around in the thick concoction. It eased away the hollow feeling in his stomach, and he felt much better once he got it all down.
While he ate, Amy paced up and down in the living room, her heart-shaped face scrunched up into a frown. “There has to be something. Someone who can help.”
“There’s no one, Amy. It’s every man for himself now, trust me,” he replied, shifting on the couch with a grimace of pain. “It’s chaos out there. How do you think I got this stab wound?”
She rounded on him in a fury. “Don’t you dare give up on me, Alex. You didn’t come all this way to die on me. I’m not burying any more family. Not today, and not tomorrow.”
Alex winced. “I’m sorry you had to do that, Amy. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you when you needed me.”
“That’s okay. The fact is, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters. What happened to you, anyway? What’s it like out there?”
Alex filled her in on everything that he’d experienced and seen since the outbreak began. He took care not to gloss over any of the facts. She needed to know what was out there. Half-truths wouldn’t save her from the worst while preparedness might.
Amy listened the entire time, not interrupting once. When he was finished, she resumed her furious pacing before coming to an abrupt halt. “I’ve got it. I’ll take you to the Robinson’s.”
“Huh?” Alex asked. “Who’s that?”
“Our neighbors. Don’t you remember them?” she asked.
“Vaguely. When last did you see them?”
In brief terms, Amy told him about her encounter with the couple and their offer. “I’m sure they’ll be able to help you.”
Alex thought it over. “Well, it’s worth a shot.”
Amy nodded. “Let me grab a few