I tightened my grip on the hand axe and rushed down the corridor.
The Infected around Carmen's bedroom heard me coming.
One of them turned first, its head jerking toward the sound of my footsteps. Its face was half-hidden beneath blood and torn skin, and its mouth opened wide as it threw itself at me.
I swung.
The axe struck the side of its head and buried deep. I pulled it free with both hands, shoved the body aside, and kept moving before the others could surround me.
Another Infected crawled across the floor from beside the door, dragging itself forward with one arm while the other hung uselessly at its side. It reached for my ankle.
I brought the axe down.
The blade hit the floor hard enough to chip the wood.
"Behind you!" Maribel shouted.
I turned just as an Infected climbed over the railing from the stairs. It had somehow forced its way past the bodies below and was pulling itself onto the upper floor, fingers scraping desperately against the hallway boards.
