“[M]y Coke hit the floor with a metallic clink, so much like the sound of a bullet casing being dropped.”

“Journalism must have been very different before people resolved so many of their conflicts with bullets.”

“Any good Irwin can make going to the corner store for a candy bar and a Coke lood death defying and suicidal.”

“We have speed, and we have bullets. Everything else about this fight is in their favor.”

“My story ended where so many stories have ended since the Rising: with a man—in this case, my adoptive brother and best friend, Shaun—holding a gun to the base of my skull as the virus in my blood betrayed me, transforming me from a thinking human being into something better suited to a horror movie.”

“She was sitting on the counter, holding a can of Coke. “Looking for this?” she asked. “My savior.” I walked toward her, making grabbing motions. “Gimme. Gimme sweet, sweet caffeine.” “The word is ‘please,’ Mason.”

“When you’re being chased by zombies, hills are either your best friends or your burial ground. The slope slows them down, which is great, unless you hit the peak and find out that you’re surrounded, with nowhere left to run to.”