They waited a safe distance from the turn. The infected emerged. Long, gangly arms swayed as the crazy rounded the corner before stopping.
“Oh my God,” Lacey whispered.
The monstrosity roared and moved towards them, its arms outstretched. Bucky lifted the rifle.
“Now, Bucky!” Aaron shouted.
Bucky squeezed the trigger. Light flashed intermittently as the bullets exploded from the barrel. The crazy jolted this way and that as the bullets struck, but still it moved forward.
“The head!” Aaron cried.
“I’m trying!”
Bucky lifted the sight to his eye and squeezed the trigger. Bullets pounded the crazy’s body, but still it continued. He lost control of the weapon with a prolonged press of the trigger. The rifle took a mind of its own, flailing around them, pumping ammunition into the walls. Lacey screamed. Bucky released the trigger as it flew from his hand and clattered somewhere in the darkness.
“What now?” Johnny shouted as the giant bore down upon them.
“Get out of here!”
Bullets sounded around them. The crazy jolted before a precise shot entered its head and exploded from the back. The crazy dropped to its knees where it remained a few moments before falling to the side. They turned back to see Lacey clutching the weapon, still peering through its sight. The boys said nothing as she lowered the rifle down and hung it across her shoulder.
“Army cadets,” she said, almost smiling. Bucky watched as she wandered between the three of them to the head of the group. “Also, I’m are cord holder online for Call of Duty. You’re not the only one who succeeds at video games, Mr zombie slayer. Come on.” Lacey stepped over the body.
“Maybe you should hold on to that,” Bucky replied, knowing it would never return to his hands. Lacey turned, smiled and patted the rifle at her side.
“I think I’m falling in love,” Johnny whispered as she walked away. “You think I should tell her now or wait until the next time we’re in a difficult situation, like they do in the movies?”
Bucky grimaced. “Maybe we should just get a move on. That’s a different subject for a different day.”
The kids escaped the building into the chaos outside. Bodies littered the floor, both soldiers, civilians and infected. Captain Cardell lay in their path, gutted like a fish. Somehow the violence had become accepted by Bucky, as though he had become desensitized to the horrors of the new world. They found an exit over a metal gate that led through a small patch of wasteland uninhabited by the infected. Had they chosen the main gate, they’d have come face to face with Grout, the clown leader looking for them.
Along the road leading to the complex, a few crazies ambled, drawn by the noise of the ruckus happening at the football stadium. Lacey poised with the assault rifle, but hiding in the shadows served them well. The infected seemed too distracted by the noise to pay attention to their immediate surroundings. They stumbled by in packs, breaking into smaller groups now and then.
“How are we gonna get ourselves out of this?” Aaron whispered, crouching at the boot of a Peugeot 2008. They’d sandwiched themselves between its rear bumper and the front bumper of a Ford Transit, hiding them from eyesight. It had been a tight squeeze but they’d managed it.
“Just wait,” Bucky ordered, peering from the rear. The infected appeared worse. More contusions, more open wounds and what appeared to be rotting flesh in areas around their lips and eyes. He recalled the Prime Minister’s televised address stating that anyone infected would display these symptoms. That meant these poor losers had begun the decomposition process whilst still alive.
“What are you thinking?” Johnny whispered from the back.
“There’s another group of crazies coming up, then it’s clear for about a hundred meters or so. We can break then and make a run for it.”
Aaron frowned. “Where to?”
“God knows, Aaron! I don’t know!” Bucky retorted. “Anywhere but here!”
“So, we’re gonna be running blind?”
“Yes, we will. But you know what? We’ll be running. These will be walking.”
“Will you two cut it out!” Lacey snapped. “This is hardly the time.”
“I have an idea,” Johnny added to the conversation. “Stay here.”
“Johnny!” Lacey snapped as he moved around the vehicle and out of sight.
“What the hell is he doing?” Bucky asked. The herd of infected drew closer on his side of the vehicle. The right-hand side that Johnny vanished behind stood protected by the car. As long as he stayed there, he wouldn’t be spotted.
The approaching bodies moaned and swayed with erratic body movements. A woman with long, grey hair cocked her head to one side and squealed as she passed Bucky. He noted the streams of dried blood upon her skin and the dark, crimson blotches on a floral skirt. A man in overalls passed by next, his pale white face peering toward the sky, not the direction he was walking.
The car clicked. Bucky’s heart sank. A man ambled past, his face rotted to the core. Red bone protruded from the skin. He shambled past, drooling black liquid onto his jacket. They hadn’t noticed. The wave of crazies ended with a woman clad in an ambulance uniform. She staggered and moaned her way toward the football stadium. The popping of gunfire still echoed every now and then. Someone was still fighting back there.
“Guys,” Johnny whispered, returning to the rear.
“What in the blue hell have you been doing, man?” Bucky asked.
Johnny smiled. “This car has keys in the ignition. I noticed it before we hid down here. Even better, it’s an automatic. Guess what I can drive?”
“What?” Lacey replied. “You’re not old enough to drive yet.”
“Of course I’m not, but I used to drive my dad’s car around the abandoned airfield at Chelerton before they built a whole heap of houses on there. You know, every Sunday morning for fun. That
