Dean went right back out once the dog was in and collected a couple of bricks from the garden edging. Dean was in his element now. Not many people had a throwing arm like Dean O’Reilly.
He stepped towards the fence near the back corner. From that angle he could toss the bricks out of the alleyway and into the street beyond. The plan was simple, really. Draw any Silent Screamers away from the gate and hopefully out of sight. Then sneak out through the gate and down the opposite direction of the alleyway.
And if there is trouble, “batter up!”
With that last thought, Dean tossed the first brick. It sailed in a high arc out over the fence and between the two buildings to land in the street. Dean heard the brick shatter on the pavement.
Damn. I was hoping to hit a car and set off an alarm.
But the effect was instant nevertheless, as Dean heard movement from several locations.
Quickly, he lofted the second brick. He threw this one even further. The crashing sound that followed told him that he had probably hit the building across the street.
Dean allowed himself a self-satisfied smile as he beckoned Sophie towards the gate. Dean got to the gate before his girlfriend and listened intently for a moment. He didn’t hear anything that sounded close by. Dean tightened his grip on the table leg in his hand and slowly opened the gate.
The coast looked clear. He peeked around the gate, towards the alleyway entrance, and was dismayed to see several forms in the road. Dean almost changed his mind and retreated into the yard. He looked behind him into Sophie’s face. She was scared. It filled him with the desire to reassure her. He raised a finger to his mouth, nodded once, and led the way into the alley.
They kept as silent as possible. But they had gone no more than half a dozen steps when the unthinkable happened. A shape came into view from around the corner ahead of them. It had been a teenage boy in life. It saw them and instantly rushed forward, knocking over a garbage can in its path. The noise alerted all the monsters around them.
Dean stepped forward and swung at the approaching figure, catching it in the arm and shoulder and sending it into the fence to their left. Dean heard bones snap, but the sound did not give him cause to hesitate. He quickly stepped up to the figure and swung downward. The boy was lying on his side against the fence, which fouled up Dean’s blow. The table leg hit the fence a foot above the boy’s head and slammed into the hard-packed dirt an inch from its face.
“Fuck!” Dean exclaimed as reverberations ran up the club and into his wrist.
The boy feebly reached for Dean’s foot with its good arm as Dean lifted his club for the killing blow. Behind him he heard Sophie cry out, even as his club descended towards its target. The distraction made Dean miss his second blow, the club glancing off the top of the boy’s head and once again into the dirt. It seemed to do the trick, though, as the boy lay still after that.
Dean looked over just in time to see Sophie go down under two zombies. He saw her hit the ground hard with the back of her head. Dean uttered an animal growl and ran towards the fray. Already, fists were falling onto the prone figure of Sophie.
A red mist descended on the athlete as he rushed to the aid of his girlfriend. He swung his heavy club like a scythe, sweeping the figures off Sophie with one blow. He kicked out, sending one figure backwards into the fence, and stepped over Sophie’s inert body. Dean followed up with a swing at the head of the second figure, crushing the side of its head with and audible crunch. A second swing brought the other assailant down, and a third finished it off.
Dean looked up in time to see another zombie loping down the alleyway towards him. He planted his feet, lifted his club over his head, and repeated the move he had perfected over the last day. It was a one-hit kill.
“Sorry, lady,” he said between gulping breaths as he observed the damage he had caused.
Dean scanned the alley mouth as he backed up towards Sophie’s prone form. Thankfully, there was no movement.
“SOPHIE? OH, BABE! CAN you stand?”
Sophie opened her eyes to see Dean standing over her. He held out his hand. She looked up at him. Her left eye was already starting to swell, impeding her vision slightly. Despite the pain, she was able to give Dean a small smile. Without saying a word, she extended her hand to be clasped. The big man pulled her to her feet.
Sophie wobbled on her feet unsteadily. Dean looked at her in concern and was about to sit her down again when they both heard feet slapping the pavement. At least one more zombie was about to appear at the end of the alleyway.
“Quick, babe, we’ve got to move!” he urged.
Dean let Sophie go and collected his club. To her credit, Sophie tried to walk towards the other end of the alleyway. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other as the world spun around her. She continued taking steps even as a struggle took place behind her. The world had narrowed down to her feet and the ground immediately in front of her.
Another step.
Was that Dean
