by Brown, TW
I bet a lot of survivors went out that way, I thought as we moved closer to the heard. Marshawn pulled out a strand of firecrackers and let it unspool.
“Why do you think they never turned around and headed for the gunshots?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“All the pounding they are doing is keeping up a steady racket. Plus, if you noticed, something about the taller buildings between here and there had really done a good job of muffling the sounds,” Gideon explained.
I paused and listened. Sure enough, I could hear the muted pops that came every once in a while. Turning back to the building that was completely surrounded by the undead and winced at the loud pounding sounds of so many hands on the metal siding.
I looked back the way would need to go just to make absolutely certain that the way was clear. Nothing was moving and I felt like just this once we had things going our way. I also very quickly scolded myself for possibly cursing our chances.
Marshawn lit the fuse and tossed it toward the nearest bulge of zombies at the corner of the building. As soon as it started, a few heads began to turn. By the time the strand had run its course, Marshawn had thrown the second string of firecrackers.
It was like watching a vile glacier come apart as the undead turned in droves and came away from the building. The ones leading the way were a wall of open mouths and grasping hands. I didn’t even realize until I almost tripped over my own two feet that I was instinctively backing away. It didn’t matter that they were a good hundred or so feet away and moving slow…there was something a bit horrifying about the wall of undead trudging toward us.
I glanced at Marshawn and Gideon and noticed that they were both staring wide-eyed and backing up as well. Regardless of how many times I’d told myself that these things were losing the ability to instill fear, I could feel my heart pounding against my ribs with an almost painful ferocity.
We turned our bikes around and started walking just a bit faster than the zombies. By the time we had covered two full blocks, I glanced back and noticed that we’d managed to bring along perhaps three-quarters of the mob that had been surrounding the building. A good number had turned back and were once again banging on the sides of the warehouse.
Still, I tried to guess how many were following and found it was almost impossible. And what I also noticed now that they were strung out was a good number that were dragging themselves along the street. These legless horrors were bringing up the rear and it managed to give this group an even more frightful appearance.
They were filling the street from side to side and the tail end was just now clearing the edge of the lot the warehouse sat on. Some were tripping over curbs, fire hydrants, and who-knew-what-else and vanishing. One small old man that had been in the front stumbled as he stepped one foot on to the curb but the other remained on the street. I watched in morbid fascination as he was trampled underfoot. Eventually, enough trekked over him to the point I could no longer see him. The last thing I saw was what I was fairly certain had to be an eyeball exploding from its socket as a booted foot came down on the face.
We rode along just fast enough to keep a good distance. When a few came wandering out from the side streets as we passed by, we simply swerved wide and let them fall in with the herd. Only once did I have to stop and hop off my bike to take down a pair of them when there was no way to get past them due to another small group that were coming from the opposite side of the tee-intersection.
We kept moving, drawing the zombies along like post-apocalyptic Pied Pipers. The horde that had peeled away from that warehouse structure continued their slow march. The front line was a melded wall of reaching arms and grasping hands; undead serpents wanting to drag us into their clutches and devour us whole.
When we reached the highway, we were surprised to discover several small clusters coming from both directions and across a few of the open lots. By the time we reached a few blocks from the Guard depot, a new flurry of gunfire sounded. Many of the undead reacted and adjusted their course, but it was clear that proximity to us was a big factor in how the undead responded to the new stimulus.
We also had one small group of twenty or so that stood directly in our path and had no visible intention of altering its direction. We were the oasis and they were thirsty sojourners in the desert.
“We need to spread out,” Gideon said with a surprising trace of panic lacing his words.
“Sticking close lets us keep our back defended,” Marshawn growled as he pulled a machete that was curiously shaped like a miniature sword from a Sinbad adventure. I’d have to ask him later where he’d found it.
I pulled one of the Rag-and-Bone Man cudgels and wondered how that crazy bastard was faring. Gideon pulled a pair of long knives as he allowed his bicycle to clatter to the ground. I understood how easy it might be to show no regard for something as inconsequential as a bicycle, but I certainly was not about to risk breaking something on mine by letting it fall to the ground so carelessly.
I moved over towards Marshawn, making sure to give us each enough room to wield our weapons but still remain close enough to help if the situation called for it. I shot a look towards Gideon and felt my annoyance warm as he moved to the far side of the two lanes that made up our side of the highway and wedged himself against the husk of some sort of generic compact car.
As the first of the undead reached us, I shot one final glance back at the enormous herd we were leading along. We still had enough distance to work with, but I doubted I could allow myself to feel comfortable.
As the first of the small group came in range, I cocked back and swung for the fences. The head erupted in chunky gore and the body tottered for a moment before crumpling to the ground. That seemed to act as the signal as the next couple of moments became a festival of carnage..
When we were done, bodies lay scattered about and the herd behind us had covered over half the ground between us and them. We weren’t in immediate danger, but none of us took our time getting our stuff in gear and getting back on the bikes.
By the time we drew near enough to home in on where the shots were coming from, the sun was almost directly overhead, and I was sweating hard inside my leathers enough that I could definitely smell myself. So nasty.
My eyes were stinging, and I could feel rivulets rolling down my back and into…other places. Marshawn swerved over beside me and leaned close.
“We have a tail.” He managed to keep his lips from moving and I wanted to make a joke about him taking up ventriloquism, but those words chilled the humor from my lips and I instinctively looked behind us. All I could see was the sea of undead.
“Not behind us, about a street over. I just caught a flash from something reflecting in the sun.” He gestured with his eyes in the direction.
“Maybe it was just—” I started to try and explain his paranoia away, but he cut me off.
“Then a dark shadow shot across the intersection.”
I slowed my bike. Gideon pulled up beside us and slowed as well. We had opened a good distance between us and the herd, so we could come to a stop figure out what to do.
“I only saw one person,” Marshawn said, speaking in a whisper as if the person, who was at least two blocks away, might hear. “Doesn’t mean there aren’t more, but I just saw the one.”
“And we don’t even know if they are from Don’s people,” I added. “They could simply be a survivor that is rushing to the sounds in the hopes there might be help.”
“So what do we do?” Gideon asked. “It’s not like we can just ask the zombies to hold for a moment. Excuse me, zombies, would you mind terribly just waiting here while we go investigate another matter?” Gideon affected what I guess he thought passed for a snobby accent but really just sounded like he was trying to hold in a full bladder.
“I will go,” I offered. “You two keep rolling and bring this herd into play so we can try to end this before nightfall.”
I glanced back as a few unpleasant scenarios ran th
rough my mind involving us trying to mount an attack in the dark with hundreds of undead around us. I felt a shiver run through my body and shoved those thoughts way in a hurry.
“Just don’t waste a lot of time on it,” Marshawn warned. “If you don’t see something in just a few minutes, break off and join us. I don’t like the idea of us splitting up.”
I gave a nod and sped off ahead of them and then veered off toward a street that took me back into the warehouses that seemed to be in abundance in this area. I heard the pop-pop-pop of a strand of firecrackers going off and figured that Marshawn was keeping the herd on his trail instead of breaking away to follow me.
I went less than a block when I caught the sight of a shadow moving up the street about a block away. Whoever it was, they apparently spotted me and were trying to duck back around the corner they’d just passed.
I stood up and began to pump my legs as hard as I could, throwing everything I had into gaining speed. Something told me that I didn’t want this person to get away. If Don had a warning about our incoming herd, he could either set up a defense or just bail and get away.
I rounded the corner and saw my intended target less than a block away. The figure was geared up, that was the first thing I noticed as they visibly started and tried to speed away.
I was surprised at the fact I was gaining on this person. I’d never been much of a cyclist and was surprised at my apparent leg strength. Slowly but surely, I was eating up the road between us.
The person glanced over their shoulder and saw they were losing ground. The hoody they wore made it impossible for me to really make out any distinct features, so I still had no idea if it was a boy or a girl. I tried to put on just a bit more of a speed burst, but I could feel my legs starting to fail. If that person could maintain their speed for another minute or two, they would start to pull away.
Luckily, I wasn’t the only person starting to fatigue. I saw when the rider’s shoulders slumped that they’d given up and I allowed myself to coast up to them. I could hear the heavy panting and what almost sounded like sobbing.
I pulled up and stopped, making sure that I had my pistol drawn with enough distance between us that I maintained my advantage.
“Get off the bike, keep your hands where I can see them, and turn around very slowly,” I ordered.
“It’s me, Evan,” a familiar voice said with a hitch.
I felt my stomach clench. “Selina?”
“Don’t be mad,” she sobbed. “I needed to be here…I needed to help.”
“Dammit, kid,” I huffed, my breathing still a bit ragged from the chase. “This isn’t a game. This is going to be ugly business. Killing people…zombies everywhere. And I don’t have the time to be watching over you.”
“Then let me help,” the young girl pleaded.
“You can help by staying out of the way. You could’ve really helped by staying back at the damn camp.”
“I’m not a child, Evan,” Selina managed to choke out as she stuffed down the tears.
“But you are,” I replied, finding a degree of calm that I don’t think I truly felt consider the situation.
“Maybe I was before…but it’s different now. And I can help. I know I can shoot better than anybody here. Just let me help.”
I considered her request. This little girl who should just now be getting crushes and hanging out with her friends was begging me to let her basically become a sniper and murder living beings. It did not matter a whit that these people were about to face off with needed to be taken down. It didn’t matter that I would be killing people; what mattered was that this would not be something she could simply undo.
I had to make a decision. On one hand, I sure could not afford to be distracted with keeping an eye on her. And no matter what she said, or I told myself, that would be exactly what I would do if she went with us. On the other hand, we did need every gun we could bring to bear, and she was a hell of a shot.
“No.”
The word dropped like a lead weight. She actually flinched. At first, I thought she might burst into tears again. I quickly wished that would’ve been her response. Instead, her face went beet red.
“You can’t stop me. You aren’t the boss of me.”
“If you are living with us, then I am. You don’t always get your way, and my decision is not up for debate. You need to go…” I looked around and saw a small coffee kiosk. “You need to get in there and hang out until we come back for you.”
“What if I don’t?” she challenged.
“The find another group to live with.”
I really hoped that she did not call my bluff. There was no way I would be able to follow through with a threat like that.
The look on Selina’s face had me fighting not to give in…not to just hug her and tell her that everything was okay. Still, the fact remained that this was not a place she needed to be.
“Listen,” I schooled my voice to try and not sound exasperated, “I care about you. I care too much to let you be a part of this. This is something you don’t get to come back from. Once you kill a living person, it changes you forever.”
“But…” the tears trickled down her cheeks, but it was as if she had chosen to ignore them as she blinked hard to try and force them away.
“No buts.” I looked around and spotted a small shop with a heavy shed beside it. “Get up on the shed and then stay put unless the situation becomes dangerous.”
I didn’t want to send her inside of anyplace where she could encounter danger. And I did not have the time to make sure the building was secure.
I lifted my front tire and spun the bike in the direction I’d indicated. A few seconds later she was pedaling beside me in silence. The only sounds were distant moans of the herd being led away and the sporadic sounds of gunfire.
I watched her climb up before I started away. Just before I turned the corner that would put her outside of my field of vision, I saw her flop back flat on her back. I knew she was upset, but I would take that over the alternative.
As soon as I reached the highway again, I picked up my pace. The trailing end of the herd was still in sight and if I swerved over far enough, I could see that the front edge had rounded a corner. That meant they should just about be reaching the depot.
Things were about to get hot.
***
I stashed my bike in some bushes that lined the front of some sort of shipping building with a sign still asking for “good drivers” to apply now. A few of the undead had broken away from the herd and were wandering the open parking lot of the building as well as one of the ramps that led to closed loading bay.
Not wanting to have them lock in on me and catch us by surprise from behind, I made short work of them and then followed the herd. I was able to climb a fence of some empty lot with a building declaring that it was “ready for your small company needs” according to the sign hanging inside and on the main window. I skirted along the edge, keeping my eyes peeled for anything that might be trapped on this side with me as well as watching the masses that were trudging along on the other side of the tall fence.
It wasn’t lost on me that the sheer numbers made that flimsy cyclone fencing about as effective as a paper towel in keeping the zombies away from me. In those numbers, a simple shift of attention would turn them towards me, and that fencing would fold over in the blink of an eye.
With no warning, there was a sudden flurry of gunfire as well as shouting. It seemed that our plan was about to go into the next phase.
I picked up my tempo and veered away from the herd and towards a cell tower that we’d spotted on the way in. When I reached the base, I started up, the first bit being a bit of a challenge since the first twenty feet or so had solid grating effectively enclosing the ladder and keeping me from being able to climb it.
I had to basically wedge myself against the tower and the grating, with my back against the structure and my feet pressed into the grating. I started shimmying up and had to catch my
breath after I’d reached the top.
From there, it was a long climb to a very small platform. Out of habit from my video game days, I did a quick look for anything that might’ve been left up here and was disappointed, but not surprised, to find absolutely nothing.
I brought my binoculars up and started scanning. It only took me a few moments to find my groups. From there, I let my gaze move inside the depot. There were three main groups set up behind assorted barricades. They were in a sort of triangle that prevented them from being flanked.
It didn’t take long to realize that they’d stopped returning fire. They were watching as the herd came up and started welling up at a few spots against the fence. Other parts of the herd had fractured into smaller groups that were advancing into the bursts of gunfire. That allowed me to get a better pinpoint on where Don’s people were set up besides those positioned on the school bus that were easy to spot from my vantage point.
I was puzzled as to why nobody seemed to be set up on the .50 cal. That weapon should be able to make short work of many of the undead. It was actually part of what we were counting on. The last thing we wanted or needed was a group this size taking up residence at the depot. Part of our plan was for the machine gun to bring the herd down to numbers we could manage once we’d eliminated Don Evans and his crew.
I started trying to locate what I considered the primary target and became flustered. All of the people outside the depot were geared up in protective equipment that made any sort of positive identification virtually impossible.
After a sigh of frustration, I allowed my pack to slide to the platform. I opened it and pulled the flare gun and case of flares from it. Not really waiting to try and determine a threat level, I aimed for what looked like what might be the largest group of Don’s people and fired a flare.
The flare spiraled to the ground, and there was a brief moment where I thought that perhaps they hadn’t heard it being fired.
Then…every head turned up towards me. A hail of gunfire came with bullets pinging off the rails and even the underside of the platform I was standing on. I hugged the center to try and stay safe. Seconds later, my people were moving in. I know because the sounds of ricocheting bullets ceased.
