Ozzie crept up to the rail as the shouting tinued outside. He gnced over at the hound on his left which was shuffling forward like some kind of military dog. On his left, the thief was creeping along as well, emuting his own ‘stealthy’ approa its own rather loosey-goosey way. He was gd that at the very least it didn’t fall all over itself. He grumbled inwardly, rethinking his idea for the upteenth time and peered over the rail. Down below, a half dozen mealking loudly and shouting, throwing gss bottles on the ground and snapping at anyone who got close.

  One of them was holding a bat, and he wasn’t sure if any of the others were armed. He scratched his neervously. Uh… okay… so… He trailed off in his own head, How do I even do this? He thought. I’d rather not make a big se, but I guess I don’t really have a choice. He scratched his neck again. Man this is such a bad idea! What if they’re part of a gang? Will they retaliate? Does it even matter? His lips thinned into a li’s not like I die anyway. I just gotta… attack? Right? Just go for it? Go. Do the thing. That’s right Ozzie. Just kill a bunch of noisy assholes who-

  There was a rush of movement oher side of him and he blihe sudden shift in the air enough to send his hair fluttering about his head. He blinked and blinked again. He whipped his head left and right. Empty spots waited for him at his sides. He turned wide eyes towards the air beyond the rail. His pupils shrank in fright. You have got to be kidding me! He screamed inwardly as the thief and hound hurtled through the air at their targets. One of the men down below looked up in momentary fusion in the heartbeat it took for the pair to travel in their dire.

  “Huh?”

  WHAM!

  CH!

  The hound nded on him without fas teeth digging into his throat as the thief tackled the man holding the bat to the ground with a snarl, biting down as well. The other four were slow to react, drunk as they were, and stumbled a little in fusion for a moment before sobriety hit them like a truck. “What the fuck?” One of the men shouted, “Is that a hound?” He barked, pulling a gun out of his pants. He aimed and pulled the trigger, a gunshing out but missing the hound by a wide margin. Ozzie shifted back a few paces, trying not to be seen.

  He has a gun? Oh damn it.

  One of the others charged forward and tried to kick the hound off of his rade. The hound pulled off the corpse and snarled, darting back a few paces and snapping its jaws at him. He stumbled and took a step back out ht. The other two men looked at one another and pulled out their own ons. They have guns too! Oh e on. Ozzie griped as one of them shot the thief. The thief jerked bad pulled off his prey, standing up and looking at its shoulder for a moment in fusion before looking up at the men.

  The thugs looked at one another. “Is that a fug zombie?” One asked.

  Just as he spoke, the hound lu the ohat had tried to kick it. He let out a shout and cry of pain as its fangs sunk into flesh. The thief shambled forward before breaking into a run, throwing itself at the remaining three. They poiheir guns at it and fired, ter mass. Three hits dropped it to the ground. Ozzie blinked, not feeling the e cut before the realization hit him and he frowned a little, Haven’t these guys seen a zombie movie before? He thought, a bit perplexed.

  A sh out nearby and he diverted his attention. “Somebody's fighting that gang!”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Oh my god is that a hound?”

  Ozzie shrank back a little while pretending to look like one of the bystanders. The hound below tio growl and snap at the arm of the man who was now pinned by it. The other three poiheir ons at the creature only for the thief to get back up and tackle one of them to the ground. “What the fuck?” His victim shouted, “Get it off it’s biting me!” He screamed only for the other two to start bag up. “Shoot it in the head! The head!”

  One of the others pointed his on at the zombie, hesitating a little. If he shoots now he’ll shoot his friend. Not that it matters I guess. A few feet away the first victim of the thief got to his feet and swayed a little.

  “Tim! You good?” One of the st two called only to freeze as ‘Tim’ looked up and charged at him. “Fuck! It’s spreading!”

  The st o down shortly after that. Just like that, that easily, Ozzie had killed four people without lifting a finger. His pack of five zombies and a zombie hound all stood up and got into a line of their own accord. They stared forward, bnk faced, and waited. Around Ozzie, more and more people had begun to e out, a few of them looking on in fusion and asking about what had happened. A few others were repelled and fled bato their rooms.

  “Why aren’t they moving?” One man asked.

  “You think they’ll e after us ?” Another said.

  “Go bato the house honey,” A third hissed hurriedly.

  A siren wailed nearby. The cops were ing. That was when it hit Ozzie that he had no idea where he was going to hide a bunch of zombies. Oh man I didn’t think this through at all! He whined and rubbed the sides of his head. Think, think, think! He squeezed his eyes shut, there had to be something he could do. The cops would be here any minute and…

  “They’re not attag. Just standing there…” One person murmured.

  “Do you think… were they made by a Light-touched?” Another said.

  “Definitely not a hero,” The first responded, “The cops are gonna be here soon.”

  “What do we do? It’s freaky but… they did help us, right?” The sed pointed out. “It’s not like they’re actual monsters, they aren’t attag us either.”

  There was a long pause as several of the other residents of the plex murmured amongst themselves. Ozzie lifted his head and looked around in fusion at the thoughtful expressions on the residents faces. One of them turned a his eyes. He turned away quickly, pretending to be one of the observers. “Hey!” The person who met his eyes shouted, “Whoever owns those things, um… I rent one of the ste rooms on the first floor! Fifteen! You um… use it as thanks. Just get ‘em out after the coast is clear.”

  Ozzie tehen blinked.

  “That’s a good idea.” A woman said, peering dowhe rail.

  Ozzie looked down at the zombies, white-knug the rail as he let the suggestion sink in. The sirens were getting closer. Could he trust them? Did it matter? He’d have to start over if the cops got there, they’d be more than well armed enough to put down five zombies and there went his pn to make them all taxi drivers. He pursed his lips, It does feel pretty good, though. A little gratitude. I’m no hero, don’t wanna be, but…

  He felt his e to the zombies and willed them to head towards the ste rooms on the first floor. They all moved as one, f up like soldiers and marg with the hound leading the way. The residents all murmured again as the creatures slipped into the inner hallway. To his right, he heard the ma up and hurry dowairs.

  “Where are you going?” One of them shouted.

  “Gotta let them in, don’t I?” He shouted back.

  “This is crazy, they could turn you!” Another shouted.

  “I don’t think they will!” He replied.

  Ozzie took a deep breath, feeling his dead lungs fill, and exhaled. He gave the zombies orders to go into the room that the man opened but otherwise do nothing. A few mier, the guy came out and waved at everyohe sirens were just around the er and people started to hurry bato their homes. Ozzie got to his feet and started to make his way to his oartment when he heard footsteps ing towards him.

  He gnced in the man’s dire.

  “Ozzie, right?” He said, “I’m Chris, your neighbor.”

  Ozzie cleared his throat, standing in the dim light of the shitty apartmeerihts. “Yeah, I’m Ozzie.”

  Chris walked forward and froze, close enough to take in Ozzie’s appearance. While those detectives had only seen a guy who’d just had a rough night, Chris rimed to pick out the details that they’d missed. He swallowed and then broke into a grin, “Mind if we talk?”