Time of Death Book 2: Asylum (A Zombie Novel) by Shana Festa

sun, so we couldn't see the interior of the
showroom. I shuddered, thinking about what could see out.
    To our left was the service area. Having
owned a Nissan, I'd spent many an hour in both areas of the
dealership. We backed along the wall until we reached the service
entry. Seeing that the bay doors were down flooded me with relief.
I still didn't know what would lay beyond the doors, but knowing
they hadn't been open for two months, like an invitation to
unwelcome guests, left me feeling optimistic.
    We stood in front of the glass door waiting
to see if anything sounded from the other side and hoping it was
unlocked.
    "Moment of truth," whispered Jake. He closed
his eyes and took a deep breath, hand resting on the handle, and
pulled. A soft tinkle of bells sounded as the door opened a few
inches and he paused, ready to close it should any body parts show
themselves. When nothing happened, he pulled the door fully open,
taking care to go slower this time and not agitate the bells. The
four of us stepped inside, with Vinny in front and Jake quietly
closing the door behind us.
    We were in a short hallway with a clear view
to the service desk. The metal roll-down shutters were lowered and
signs of a struggle were evident. A long-dry mess of blood and
scattered papers littered the area in front of the desk. Something
dead had wanted whatever was behind those shutters, which meant at
one time there was something alive behind them.
    To our immediate right was the service bay,
dark behind a large set of glass doors. It was a no-brainer. We
went left, toward the showroom, which was much brighter due to the
wall of windows. Halfway down the hall were two vending machines. I
noted that they were both intact, and the clear panel covering the
front of the candy machine made it easy to see the full stock of
goodies. Its condition would have been much different had there
been people left alive in the building.
    Vinny put his arm out, blocking our passage
and whispered, "Listen."
    I heard it, a soft rhythmic thumping.
    "What do you think it is?" asked Meg.
    "Nothing good. Be ready for anything."
    We continued to the opening of the showroom.
The first smell of death hit me and I knew we weren't alone. The
cavernous room made it difficult to locate the thumping. Vinny gave
Jake the sign to go left, indicating he would take the right. A
wave of sadness rushed through me, remembering a time not so long
ago that Seth had made up hand signals to mess with me, and to try
to cheer me up after Jake's team went missing.
    Meg and I stood guard at the opening, ready
to take out any threats that came at us head on. Okay, so maybe
ready was a bit of an overstatement. It was more like we stood
there huddled together ready to shit our pants at the first sign of
trouble.
    Daphne shifted in the bag, jostling the
strap's position on my shoulder and nearly causing the strap to
slide off. Jesus, I thought, please just let her stay quiet for a
few more minutes. Meg cocked her head, questioning my sudden
stiffness and, without moving, I shifted my eyes to the bag.
Realization dawned and I saw her fear.
    I saw Jake through a gap between two display
models; he was almost to the front of the showroom. Vinny mirrored
his progress on the other side, pointing to something outside my
line of sight. When they both raised their weapons and began moving
closer to each other, I knew they'd spotted a bogey. Both men
disappeared behind the massive SUV, and I held my breath waiting
for something to happen.
    An oomph echoed in the big room, followed by
the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
    "Clear," boomed Jake.
    I rolled my eyes at Meg and gave a mock
salute. "Aye Aye, Captain."
    The inert form of a man lay face down on the
linoleum, the Nissan logo on the back of his short-sleeve shirt
and—what I hoped were grease stained—pants identifying him as a
service employee.
    "I cleared the offices on my way up," said
Jake, who was currently lying flat on his stomach