Drawing his pistol off of his waist, Jon pulled up next to one of the zombies heading back to the house and aimed at its head. The first shot missed, but the next hit the creature in the face, dropping it into the tall grass. Another zombie was only a few yards in front of that one, but Jon decided to save his bullets. He’d instead try to catch up to the creatures closer to the house. He didn’t have a lot of ammo, and it was looking like he’d need to save as much of it as he could.
Jon gathered the attention of two other zombies as they came within 15 yards of Brooke. He stopped the bike with a slide, jumping off and laying it down. At the same time, he pulled the bat off of his back.
Rearing back, Jon swung the bat at the head of the zombie closest to him. Its skull cracked and it hit the ground. Adrenaline pumping through him, Jon turned and hit the other zombie, landing an exploding blow on the top of its head.
The other zombie he had passed on the bike came running toward him. Jon put the bat on his shoulder and swung like a home run king, nearly decapitating the zombie and sending it down onto the ground.
He then looked out to see the rest of the horde making their way back to the house and returned the bat to his back. There wasn’t much time. Jon hurried over to the house.
“Max, you have to come down here now,” Brooke said.
“What the hell is going on?” Jon asked.
“He won’t move,” Brooke said.
“I think he’s in shock,” Terrence said, standing next to the open door of the car. “Probably from seeing what they did to Tim.”
“Then we leave him.” Jon grabbed Brooke’s arm. She jerked it away.
“We’re not leaving him. We didn’t come out here just to let him die up on that roof.”
Jon bit his lip and looked up. “Max, you have to come down now.”
The man sat there, lips trembling and not responding. Jon peeked into the field to see the zombies fast approaching.
“Goddamnit, Max!” Jon said. “Get your ass down here now!”
Max stared down at Jon with empty eyes. He still didn’t move.
Jon heard the snarls of the horde and turned around. They were approaching fast.
“We’re out of time,” Jon said, stepping over to his bike. “We’ve got to go.”
Brooke stayed by the house, looking up at Max.
“Brooke, come on.”
Ignoring Jon, Brooke climbed onto the hood of the car. Then she reached for the edge of the roof, pulling herself up.
“Brooke!” Jon yelled. “Goddamnit.”
“She said it, man,” Terrence said, coming around to join Jon. “She’s not going to leave him behind.”
Jon bit his lip. He wanted to leave, but with the zombies fast approaching and Brooke up on the roof, it was too late for that now.
“Then we’ll just have to fight these bastards off as long as we can.”
26
Jon pulled the shotgun off his back. He’d already loaded it with more shells ready, but with the zombies coming toward them, he was going to have to land every shot. Terrence stood beside Jon with his pistol raised. Jon hoped Terrence was a good shot, or this might not end well.
Glancing back, Jon looked at Brooke up on the roof. She shook Max, trying to snap him out of the state he sat in. Then Jon focused on the zombies coming his way.
“Try to clear the ones coming for you,” Jon said. “That way, we don’t waste ammo.”
Rather than answering, Terrence fired the first round. He hit his target, but in the shoulder. It slowed the zombie down, but it continued to come at him. The second shot landed in the creature’s head, sending it down to the ground.
Knowing now that he had someone capable at his side, Jon took his first shot. The shotgun boomed, and the slug that came from the barrel took off the head of a creature running at him. Blood splatted from where its head had once been, and the rest of its body tumbled to the ground.
The zombies came at Jon and Terrence two to three at a time, many having tripped in the field trying to get to them. It made them easier to handle as opposed to the entire horde coming in a cluster. Jon and Terrence continued to land critical hits, and as Jon ran out and was forced to reload, he checked on Brooke.
She continued to shake Max and yell at him, and her face had grown red. Finally, she reared back and slapped him across the face. His eyes went wide and he came out of the trance, flailing his arms up and brushing Brooke. The movement was enough to throw her off-balance on top of the sloped roof. Jon jerked as he watched Brooke fall off the roof.
She landed on her feet, but still tumbled to the ground, falling forward onto her hands. Her gun fell from the waistband of her pants, landing on the ground next to her.
“Terrence, hold them off!” Jon ran to Brooke.
She lay on the ground clutching her left wrist. Jon fell to his knees next to her, letting the empty shotgun fall.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he said. “Are your legs okay?”
Brooke nodded. “They hurt, but it’s my wrist. I’m not sure if it’s broken or not.”
“Jon, look out!”
The warning had come from Terrence. A zombie had ignored him and was making its way toward Jon and Brooke. Jon grabbed the shotgun off the ground and pumped it, having forgotten it wasn’t loaded.
Shit.
He raised the gun as the zombie lunged at him. The creature grabbed onto it and pushed Jon against the house.
It snapped its jaws as Jon tried to use his leverage with the weapon to
