The final two creatures stood outside of the fence, not even trying to get under through the opening now. Approaching the fence, Jon pointed the barrel through a gap in the chain-link and quickly shot each of the creatures in the head.
With the snarling stopped and only the sound of the wind surrounding Jon, he drew in several breaths.
More screams came then from behind Jon. They were in the distance, maybe a quarter of a mile away. Jon cursed. His gunshots had drawn the attention of others.
Time to move.
Jon picked up the bat and removed his knife from the creature’s skull before crawling under the fence.
Fighting against the pain in his legs, Jon hurried towards the trees as the screams of the dead things drew closer.
But he’d be out of sight before they got there.
13
Jon avoided confrontation with the dead and the living alike as he approached his home. He stared down at the ignition coil in his hand, shaking his head.
“You better work for a long time and be worth all the goddamn effort.”
Whether or not he would install the ignition coil that evening or not was another issue. More than anything, he wanted to crash into his bed when he got back to the cabin. But he worried about leaving his motorcycle out by the road any longer than he had to. After the close call with the zombies, Jon didn’t think he had the energy to get the bike up the hill. More than likely, nothing would happen to it, but there was always the off chance that drifters could come by and find it. Then all his trouble and nearly dying to get the coil would have been for nothing.
He knew what he needed to do, and dreaded it.
“But tomorrow, Jon, you’re not doing shit but lying around the fucking house.”
Ahead, Jon spotted the edge of the tree line and the road his house was on. He felt a new surge of energy, knowing he was almost back to the cabin. He hoped that energy would hang around while he fixed the bike.
Coming out of the trees, Jon turned to the left toward his cabin. And he froze.
Two men, each of them armed, stood near his bike.
Jon ducked behind a tree. He then glanced around it to watch the two men.
They had uncovered Jon’s bike and stood it up. One of the men kneeled next to it, checking what was wrong with it.
“Son of a bitch,” Jon whispered to himself.
Wanting to get a closer look, Jon crept down the tree line, careful to stay out of sight. He shifted his gaze between the two assholes fucking with his bike and the ground, being cautious not to step on any branches. He stopped when he was across the two-lane road from the two men.
“It’s definitely the ignition coil,” the man observing the bike said.
“Easy fix?” the other asked.
“Oh yeah. Pretty sure we’ve got the part back at our camp.”
“Good. Keep an eye out down here. I’m gonna run up the driveway and see what we got. No telling what else this piece of shit has up in this cabin.”
The man headed up Jon’s dirt driveway.
Jon waited patiently, keeping his eyes on the lone guard left beside the road. The man stood with his hands held firmly on the gun, glancing left and right. Jon wondered how he could get a chance to cross the road and take the guard down without being noticed.
The guard turned around and looked down at Jon’s bike. He took his right hand off of the gun to run it over the chrome, down the leather seat. He looked both ways again, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Jon hid behind the tree, just in case the man looked his way.
Then, when the guard was sure no one was watching, he set the gun down and got on the bike.
Jon's brow creased as he watched the guard sit on the saddle, pretending to rev the bike’s motor up and even making a couple of engine sounds under his breath. Jon stifled a laugh.
You’ve got to be shitting me.
The guy was like a little kid who’d gotten his uncle’s permission to sit on his bike. Even for Jon, it embarrassed him to watch it. But the ridiculous moment also opened up the perfect opportunity.
He moved out from behind the tree and crossed the road, crouching down and keeping his steps light. The closer he got to his bike, the more he heard the guard making the ridiculous engine noises. Jon stood as he approached, planting his feet and wrapping his arm around the man’s neck.
Jon’s arms bulged as he squeezed, pressing his right forearm against the guard’s throat and using his left hand to cover the man’s mouth, silencing the screams.
The guard flailed his arms, first trying to pry Jon’s arm loose from his throat before looking to grab any part of Jon he could find.
But he found nothing but death.
The man’s weight fell into Jon, who was sure to hold onto him so that he didn’t fall off the bike, taking it down with him and making noise to garner the attention of the other guard up at the cabin. Fighting the pain in his injured leg, Jon eased the man off the bike and down onto the road.
Jon stared down at the man, looking into his lifeless face to assure he was dead. Then he shifted his attention to the cabin.
Gritting his teeth, he picked the assault rifle up off the ground, confirmed that it was loaded, and started up the gravel path to his home.
14
Jon stopped halfway up the hill, kneeling to check the ground for footprints. The gravel made it impossible. It could have only been the one guy he’d seen, or there could have been others who’d headed up there before he’d arrived. But whoever was up there would regret fucking with his shit.
He continued up the hill, staying low and walking up
