As though they were one, the undead move in the same direction - toward the young boy with wide, terrified eyes. He stays there, as the gas trickles into the can. At least thirty animated corpses make their way toward him, but he's immobile as a rock. He's so small, you know they could gobble him up in a few chomps if he doesn't get out of their path. You're about to rush forward and push him away, but Buster breaks away from the group first.

"Hey! C'mon, you ugly zombies!" he shouts, drawing their attention. "Over here!"

He's near them now, and he swings the flat side of the axe into a tree to make a loud thonk. The majority of the undead turn his way, but the most persistent stay on track toward Po.

"Hey!" Paul shouts, running out. "Tasty human here!"

He bangs a car with one of the thick metal pipes and it clinks now. Roge has his arms out holding you and Mack behind, tells you both to hush, even though you weren't making a peep. Paul is moving now. He hits another car and it's alarm goes off. Undead are hot on his trail, their teeth already working at nice, forceful chomps. Before Paul disappears behind a pile of cars, Po returns to Roge, Mack, and you with the gas.

"Close one," he whispers. He reads the mortified look on your face. "Don't worry. Unc will be okay. They're not very fast in a group."

The mob of undead follow Paul around the car, more piling into their ranks by the second. All the while, he manages to keep them just out of reach.

After gassing up, Roge fires up his chainsaw. The noise rips through the atmosphere like an amplified siren. Immediately, undead are drawn to it. They aren't afraid, they're intrigued - as intrigued as flesh eating animated corpses can be. They're abandoning Paul and coming for Roge.

"Your turn," Mack says, nudging your shoulder.

You fill up, then pull the string a few times. It fires up.

Everyone is ready for attack. The scene is entire mayhem. Dead blood, guts, and limbs are flying every which way. So far, you've sliced through two construction workers, a guy in a suit, and a few teenagers in basketball uniforms. They just keep coming, and you keep slicing.

Mack's machine falters, and she gets crowded.

"No!" Buster screams loud enough that you can hear even over the buzz of your motor. He rushes to her aid.

Paul is pretty good with those pipes. He's landing heavy blows. Each one hitting their mark. You see him yell, but you can't make out the words.

You just keep moving forward, toward the mall. It's only halfway away when the weed eater sputters and dies. You pull at the string but it isn't starting, so you just swing the blade at the nearest undead. It sticks in its head, but it stays there. Unable to pull it out, you let go and look around. On the ground, amidst broken glass and bits of debris, is a crowbar.

You notice the moans of the undead once again. All motorized weapons have apparently run out of gas. They've done a good job of thinning the numbers of the undead drastically, however.

"Keep going, guys," Paul shouts. "We're almost there!"

A little boy comes running at you. He can't be more than eight, but he's dead. His face is grey and his filthy teeth are bared. You thunk him on the head with the crowbar. Then again for good measure. A woman rushes up, you think she was one of your teachers in middle school, but it's hard to tell with half of her face eaten off. You hit her, and silently think how sorry you are about it, but it has to be done. Sorry, you're already dead.

Roge screams. You chance a look back. It's too late for him, but Paul, red faced, swoops in like a hurricane and starts going wild on all the undead surrounding Roge. He's done for, you realize when the view clears and you see the blood spurting from his neck.

You fight your way all the way to a restaurant that's attached to the mall and open the door.

"Come on!" you tell them. "I found a way in!"

"Nnngrr," you hear behind you. A vice grip grabs your arm. You turn back to the restaurant and slam the undead's head. He drops right there at your feet. The uniform is familiar. He works at the restaurant- well...he did. But what does this mean? Is the infection only in the restaurant or has it spread through the entire mall?

Into the Mall - SKIP TO CHAPTER 31