I put my gun in my belt and ran towards the gate, helping Will and Adam to pull it fully closed and lock it back up securely.
“Let’s hope it works” he said looking through the peephole out into the darkness.
“Yeah, I nodded” we turned to walk back towards home and the main entrance.
By the time we got there, John was up on top of the ladder that Will had vacated with a pair of binoculars.
The horn from the car blared, “Come on suckers, come get me you filthy rotten animals” could be heard in between horn blasts.
I had to smile at Mick, he really was giving it his all.
“It’s working” John called down quietly.
“I’m just going to check on Cory” Lewis replied.
“I’ll go check on the girls” Will told me, clapping me on the back.
“Me too” Adam gave his goofy grin. I smiled back, warmth filling me inside.
“I’m going to wait here for a little while” I nodded up at John, the blaring of the horn was getting quieter now as Mick moved away.
I checked through the small hole in the gate and saw that our plan seemed to be working, the zombies had turned away from us and were following the sound of the car which I could no longer see.
Hope filled me, with just a small niggle in the back of my mind that hoped the noise didn’t draw more zombies towards us than it did away.
About thirty minutes later there was crackle on Johns radio which was turned down low.
We were now sat side by side on the ground in front of the gate, each exhausted and nodding off. Sleep threatening to take me over completely, despite the nap I had taken earlier in the smoking shed.
“Hey, its Mick” his voice sounded raspy but it could have just been the signal.
“Mick, it’s me John, how are you man?” John’s tone was rushed, he was worried about his friend and rightly so.
“I’m as good as can be. I’ve made it into the hut and have pulled up the bridge. It seems to be working, they are still coming at me and falling into the moat.” He chuckled, followed by a chesty cough.
“That’s good Mick. But, how are you?” John stressed the last word.
“I’m ok son, I’ll give it an hour. I have the car idling with the cd player running, to hopefully draw more in.”
“Thank you, Mick, I wish there had been another way” John dipped his head, I watched as silent tears hit the dirt in between his legs.
Placing my hand on his shoulder I took the radio off him.
“Hey, Mick it’s me, George. Thanks again man, you’ve saved our lives today. Is there anything we can do for you?”
“Hey George, nope I’m all good. Just look after John there. I’m going to keep a little battery in this thing. Over and out” he chuckled at the last bit and didn’t wait for my reply before turning his radio off.
“Want to go in?” I asked John quietly, keeping hold of the radio.
“Nah, not just yet. Can we just sit here for a while?” he sniffed, lifting his red, bloodshot eyes to meet mine. Almost pleading with me silently. My heart went out to him, we’d all lost our fair share of loved ones. Me? Well I’d had more than my fair share of loved and lost. I don’t think I could handle anymore loss at the moment or ever again.
I just nodded, he lay his head on my shoulder and I placed mine back against the gate. The night was relatively warm and it wasn’t long before I could feel my eyes starting to close again, John’s soft snores alerted me that he was sleeping and soon they lulled me to sleep.
Chapter 16
The low rumble of a small explosion jolted us awake. We were both on our feet within seconds, my heart was beating so hard I thought my ribs were going to break.
“What the hell?” John was scrambling up the ladder as I fumbled with the latches that held the peephole closed. My fingers were numb and not working properly.
“No, no no. Please God no” John begged the invisible higher power.
I finally got the cover open and looked through. A plume of smoke rose in the distance. So, my idea of the gas canisters worked. I was both happy that I helped even a little but I had what felt like a large lead weight in my stomach. Another life lost. How many more would we lose before we won this war? Would we ever win this war?
I watched as John slid down the ladder and snatched up the radio from where it had fallen to the ground when we were sleeping.
“Mick? You there? Come in Mick please?” John spoke into the radio but only got static in return.
“I’m sorry John, he seemed like a good man” I walked to my friend and hugged him tight. My arms barely reaching around his muscular frame.
“He really was” Johns voice broke and his shoulders slumped against me, his legs barley holding him up.
“Come on let’s get you into Lewis” I let him go and wrapped my arm around his shoulder, steering John towards his new home.
I saw him inside; Lewis and Cory were curled up in the corner of the massive U shaped black fabric sofa. They had pulled one of the grey tartan throws from the back of the sofa over them.
Lewis stirred as we entered the room, his eye met mine. I shook my head no. He closed his eyes briefly, then untangled himself from the young boy that they
