Dead America - Lowcountry Pt. 6

by Derek Slaton

  Ace smirked. “You saying you wanna ride bitch?” he asked.

  The taller man drew his handgun. “I’m saying I want to do a drive by, and I need you to drive,” he replied. “You think you can handle it?”

  “Let’s do it,” Ace agreed.

  “As soon as you get clear, I’ll get everybody to safety,” Lily cut in.

  Dante nodded. “Thanks,” he said.

  “And Dante…” she added, and when he looked over, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a searing kiss that left him light-headed. When she pulled away, she smirked up at him. “We’ve been a couple for all of ten minutes now,” she said. “Don’t go making me single again, you hear?”

  He brushed a stray hair from her face. “I’ll see you for dinner, hon,” he promised.

  He broke away from her and headed over to the bike, where Ace was already sitting in the seat.

  The redneck patted the seat behind him. “Hop on there, cowboy,” he drawled. “You about to get way closer to me than you ever wanted to.”

  Dante got on and Ace flicked the switches on the handles. He readied himself to kick-start it and then glanced over at his cousin.

  “As soon as I get this thing fired up, you push open that door and then stay outta sight,” he instructed. “You got it?”

  Lily nodded and got into position as the boys got situated on the bike. Dante gripped the gun tightly in his hand, psyching himself up to strike.

  “You hit that throttle and never let up on it,” he said. “Doesn’t matter if I hit them or not, we just need them to follow.”

  Ace chuckled. “Well, there’s eight of them and we have one handgun,” he drawled, “so if you could hit at least one of ‘em that would help us out.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Dante replied.

  “Hold on to your ass,” Ace declared, and then hit the kick-start. As soon as the engine roared to life, he slammed the accelerator and picked up speed, bursting out of the gas station as Lily pushed open the door.

  They tore out of the parking lot and onto the road, racing towards the two SUVs. The one remaining mercenary guard, who was relaxing against the driver’s side door of the front vehicle, perked up at the noise.

  He walked around in front of the hood, clutching his assault rifle, trying to get his bearings on the noise. When the dirt bike came into view, he raised his gun.

  “Contact, contact!” he screamed, and took aim.

  Dante aimed over Ace’s shoulder and fired, his bullet missing side and punching through the windshield of the vehicle. It had the intended effect, and the mercenary dropped to one knee, giving them another second to fire again.

  The second bullet hit the guard in the throat, and he fell to the ground, gripping his neck as he rolled back and forth gasping for air.

  The bike blew past the vehicles as the other mercenaries poured out into the road, firing wildly after the duo. Ace didn’t let up despite the bullets whizzing by them, keeping up his speed and putting distance between them. Luckily they were moving fast enough that the retaliatory shots missed them by enough of a safe margin.

  Dante glanced back and saw the guards leaping into their vehicles, slamming the doors and spinning the SUVs around to give chase.

  “Did it work?” Ace yelled.

  “Yeah, and you need to get a move on,” Dante yelled back. He looked over his shoulder again, keeping watch as the vehicles gained speed, slowly but surely closing the gap. He started to worry as they came within fifty yards, and mercenaries began to hang out of the windows, rifles in hand.

  “We need a turnoff!” Dante cried.

  “Interstate is another mile up!” Ace called back.

  Dante looked again, noting the SUVs only forty yards behind now. “We don’t have that long!” he warned.

  “Fuck, hold on!” Ace bellowed and veered to the left, nearly toppling them right off with the sharp turn. They bumbled through a shallow ditch, getting settled in the grass, and then gaining traction up the other side to hit a small dirt road through the countryside.

  Ace rose back up to top speed as the tires gripped the dirt, and Dante looked back over his shoulder again. The SUVs spun out for a moment in the ditch before gaining traction, giving them a chance to gain more distance again.

  “How we looking?” Ace asked.

  “Bought us a few seconds, but that’s it!” Dante replied.

  “Dammit!” the redneck barked.

  They raced down the dirt road as the SUVs started gaining again. They could hear the faint sound of rifle rounds firing, even over the high-pitched whine of the engine.

  There was another dirt road a few hundred yards up on the right. Both men kept their heads down as bullets whizzed by them, hoping to make it to the turnoff in time. Dante looked back, and the vehicles were gaining again, so he aimed and fired his gun as best he could on the bumpy terrain.

  The bullets pinged off of the front end of the lead SUV, causing no damage but forcing the gunmen to duck back inside for cover.

  Ace made another dramatic turn, nearly losing it on the loose gravel, but correcting at the right second and managing to keep them upright. As soon as they made the turn, they nearly crashed into a cow, but he managed to deftly swing around it.

  Up the road a bit, a fence portion had broken loose, allowing for dozens of cattle to escape their enclosure. They dotted the road, most of them off to the side to feast on the grass, but several in the road.

  Ace wove in and out between them, putting them at a safer distance from the pursuing vehicles. Dante turned and looked, watching the SUVs swerve and smack into a cow, knocking it down and denting their hood in the process. It slowed them down a bit, but they were still managing to cut a path through the obstacle course.

  “This helps, but now what?” Dante asked. “We’re still miles away from Ridgeland.”

  “I got an idea, but you’re not going to like it,” Ace called back.

  His passenger took a deep breath. “Seems to be the way the day is going,” he muttered. “Do it!”

  Ace sped up again, keeping the distance but not getting so far ahead that the SUVs wouldn’t be able to see them. The whole point was to lure them away, so if they lost them they might head back to the gas station and spot Lily’s escape with the others.

  At the end of the dirt road, they hit a paved two-lane road. Across the street there was a sign to the left reading Ridgeland - 3 miles. A small orange and white sign sat beside it, pointing to the right that said, Detour.

  “Ace?” Dante asked, voice skeptical.

  The redneck shook his head. “Told you that you weren’t going to like it,” he drawled.

  Dante held on tight to his friend’s waist as Ace made the turn and picked up speed again. He glanced over his shoulder, though stayed low, and spotted the SUVs gaining rapidly on the pavement.

  They raced towards Ridgeland, a long country road with vast fields on either side. Less than a mile up ahead, there was some major construction equipment blocking their path.

  Bullets started flying again as they reached the construction zone. Ace pushed the bike as fast as it could go, narrowly avoiding one of the big machines as he darted in between them.

  Dante looked back, seeing the vehicles slowing down in order to weave their way through the large machines. Even with the obstacles in the road, they remained close enough to keep the bike in view.

  The construction zone ran for a solid mile, with a lot of road work being done. Giant dirt and gravel piles dotted the area, work half-finished and not completed due to the end of the world. Ace slowed down near the end of it, making sure that their pursuers wouldn’t give up on them.

  “Two mile sprint to Ridgeland,” Dante said, “do you think we can make it?”

  “This thing has enough juice to get us there,” Ace replied, “but I have no idea what we’re going to do once we’re there.”

  “Find some zombies and head towards them,” Dante said.

  The redneck froze. �
�Are you out of your fucking mind?” he cried. “You want me to go towards those things?”

  “I have seven shots left, and somehow I doubt I’m going to be able to go seven for seven on headshots against these guys,” Dante explained. “We need to get them off our tail once we get there, so unless you got a better idea…”

  “Yeah yeah,” Ace drawled, though he didn’t sound happy about it. “I hear ya.” He shook his head as he revved the engine.

  They looked back and saw the vehicles getting close enough to them, so they took off. As they moved, the gunmen began firing again, narrowly missing them as they picked up speed.

  The road was mostly straight, allowing them to remain within sight of the mercenaries, which were quickly gaining once again. They were able to put enough distance between them to reach the town before lethal firing range, however.

  Ace sped down the main road through town, looking frantically for a horde of zombies. Finally, on the third cross street, he spotted a pack of a few hundred at the far end of the next block. He screeched around the turn and accelerated towards the hungry ghouls.

  “Hang on!” he cried, and Dante braced himself as they reached thirty yards away from the mass of rotting flesh.

  When they first started, it had appeared as though they had a path to roll through them, but the engine noise attracted more ghouls, closing that off.

  Ace slammed on the brakes about twenty yards from the horde. “We ain’t getting through that!” he yelled.

  Dante looked back just as the SUVs made the turn towards them. He frantically looked around the store-lined road, one long building on each side with different shops sectioned off from one another.

  “Clothing store, go!” he urged, motioning wildly.

  The duo leapt from the bike, leaving it to crash to the ground as they raced towards the store on foot. Gunfire from the mercenaries peppered the road, bullets whizzing by their heads and hitting the zombies that were now trying to converge on them.

  Dante raised his gun and fired a few times, shattering the front window of the store. They leapt through the opening as the SUVs pulled up outside, the seven pissed-off mercenaries bustling out.

  “You two, buy us some time!” one of them barked, and two of the men broke off and set up a firing line, popping zombies in the head as they got close. Most of the ghouls seemed to be moving slower than normal, but still at a dangerous clip. They concentrated their fire on the fastest moving ones.

  “Cover in the rear,” the leader continued, pointing at a lone soldier. “Rest of you, push in!”

  Ace and Dante reached the back of the store, hiding behind the cash register. They could barely hear what the leader was saying at that point, but they heard enough to know they were in trouble.

  “What now?” Ace whispered.

  Dante looked around. “We gotta get out the back,” he replied quietly.

  Ace nodded, and they stayed low, creeping towards the back door as quietly as possible. At the sound of boots on broken glass, they knew the mercenaries were entering the store, and they reached the end of the counter, stopping at a gap of five yards of open space between their cover and the door.

  “I’m going to fire,” Dante murmured, “and when I do, you run like hell.”

  Ace nodded and readied himself.

  Dante took a deep breath and then popped up over the counter just enough to catch a glimpse of his enemies. He pulled the trigger rapidly, firing off three shots in quick succession.

  One of the bullets managed to hit a mercenary in the vest, sending him tumbling to the ground. The other three next to him adjusted their aim and opened fire, sending three-round bursts towards the direction of the gunfire.

  As soon as Dante pulled the trigger, Ace darted out from cover, racing to the back storage room door. He smashed through it and slid inside, leaving it open for Dante, who was right behind him.

  Bullets peppered the wall, sending shards of wood and mannequins flying everywhere. Dante dove head first, sliding along the floor until he reached the door. Ace reached out and pulled him in before slamming the door shut.

  Bullets shredded the cheap wood and continued to fly through the wall as they rapidly crawled across to the back door.

  “Go!” Dante hissed. “I’ll buy us a second!”

  Ace scrambled to his feet, racing towards the back door a few yards from him. Dante rolled over onto his back, firing the remaining three shots from his handgun blindly through the door, hoping to hit something. The gunfire stopped for a second, assumedly so the mercenaries could take cover.

  Ace burst out the door, and a mercenary in the alley grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the brick wall of the adjacent building.

  “Got you, motherfucker,” the beast of a man snarled, squeezing the redneck’s throat tightly.

  Ace thrashed about, flailing his arms in a vain attempt to break free.

  Dante burst out of the door, lowering his shoulder and crashing into the mercenary’s back. The impact sent the large man hurtling face first into the wall, smashing his nose into the brick and allowing Ace to wriggle free.

  Dante didn’t let up, not wanting his enemy to regain any composure, immediately going on the attack. He delivered a few forceful strikes to the side of the large warrior’s head, stunning him. The mercenary whipped around and threw a hook that Dante was able to block, though he stumbled to the side a few steps.

  As they fought, Ace gasped for air, finally regaining his breath. He leapt to his feet and slammed the large metal door shut, throwing the thick latch down to lock it from the outside. There was a place for a padlock, but no lock to be found, so he snatched a chunk of metal from the ground and shoved it through the loop to reinforce it.

  Dante exchanged blows with the large mercenary, finally landing one on the man’s nose, shattering it and sending blood down his face.

  The man staggered back, rage in his eyes. “I’m gonna rip the pretty side of your face clean off, motherfucker,” he snarled.

  “You’re welcome to try,” Dante replied with a smirk.

  His opponent let out a grunt and lunged forward, throwing a forceful straight punch. Dante ducked to the side and managed to catch his wrist, pulling it and using the momentum to fling him into the wall.

  As soon as he hit, Dante shoved his forearm into the back of the guy’s neck, wrenching his arm behind his back.

  Ace darted forward with his pocket knife, rushing over and stabbing the mercenary in the side like a prisoner shanking a rival, in short fast strikes.

  Their opponent screamed in pain, bracing his foot against the wall and shoving back. His weight was too much for Dante, and he staggered backwards onto his ass. The mercenary drew his handgun and turned towards the fallen man, holding his side with his free hand.

  Before he could aim, Ace leapt onto his back, stabbing him in the throat. The mercenary threw an elbow, hitting the redneck in the side of the head and sending him to the ground. The knife stuck straight out of his neck, blood pouring out around the blade.

  He put one hand to the wound, and raised his gun towards Ace, who reached out and grabbed his wrist, forcing the gun high. The bullets just missed the redneck’s head, and in the confusion, Dante rushed forward and gave the hilt of the pocket knife a forceful palm strike, driving it deep into the mercenary’s throat.

  Blood spurted everywhere, and the large man staggered back, firing one more shot before collapsing to the ground.

  The back door of the store began to shake violently as the men inside struggled to break out.

  “We gotta get out of here,” Dante said.

  Ace grabbed the fallen man’s handgun and shoved it in the waistband of his pants before grabbing the assault rifle and trying to get it off. It was clipped to the man’s vest, however, and he couldn’t disengage it.

  “Leave it!” Dante barked, spotting a few zombies heading towards them from one end of the alley. He started moving in that direction, and Ace stood up, eyes wide.

 
; “Where the hell are you going?” he blurted.

  “We still need cover,” his companion replied, waving for him to follow.

  They broke out into a sprint, pumping their legs hard, and Dante psyched himself up as he neared the trio of zombies in the mouth of the alley. He smacked into the first one, a smaller teenage ghoul, and picked it up by the shirt and belt, driving it back into the others. His momentum and added weight allowed him to push through to the open road.

  He tossed the corpse on top of the others, looking both ways quickly. To the left was mostly clear road, and to the right was the back end of the horde that was headed towards the still-firing mercenaries. A handful of creatures turned and spotted them, moving their way.

  “Come on, we have to get a few more blocks away,” Dante urged.

  The duo tore as hard as they could away from the horde, and due to the slower gait of the zombies, they were able to pull away.

  They made it up a block before cutting over, darting past ghouls as they went, none of which posed a significant threat to them.

  Finally, after getting halfway across town, they ducked inside a store that had an open front door. They quickly swept the room, finding that it was empty before they ducked down behind the counter to regroup.

  “Well, that was a whole lotta fun,” Ace huffed, sarcastic even through his exhaustion. “Can’t wait to do that again.”

  Dante shook his head. “That’s good, because we’re not out of this yet,” he said.

  “Pretty sure we’ve bought Lily and the others enough time, don’t you?” the redneck asked.

  His companion nodded. “Yeah, but we still have to get out of here without them seeing us,” he replied. “And at the moment, we don’t have a vehicle.”

  “There are some neighborhoods nearby,” Ace said, waving a hand above his head. “We can try and find us a ride there.”

  Dante shook his head. “Would take too much time,” he said. “Even if we find a car, we’d have to find the keys to it, and there’s no guarantee they’re going to be in the house.”

  “So what the hell you wanna do?” Ace asked, letting out a deep breath.

  Dante contemplated for a moment, and then finally shook his head again. “Well, I got an idea,” he said, and smirked before repeating Ace’s words back to him, “but you aren’t going to like it.”