“Don’t worry, Mike. You’ve got this,” John told him; their eyes met briefly in the rear-view mirror. Mike smiled, some of the confidence creeping back into his face.
John continued to take his shots, making most of them count. He called down to Abi during a pause, “Tell BB to give it a count of ten, then pull up and go secure that gate.” Abi immediately got back on the radio.
Jack was intently watching the approaching zombies. Some of them were only about fifteen feet away and he could make out individual details. It would be easy to mistake them for regular human beings — if it weren’t for those faces.
Bang! Jack jerked in his seat as something hit the window right beside his head. He turned and found himself face to face with a zombie. Only the glass kept them apart. That same glass was smudged with a combination of blood and other liquids, as the zombie had smashed its face into it. Abi yelped from the seat in front of him, and Mike jerked the car slightly. The zombie had come from the side and made a headfirst lunge into the Humvee. It raised its fists and started pounding on Jack’s door.
“Mike, get us out of here!” Abi yelled.
The older man complied, backing the vehicle in a zig-zag motion around parked cars and other obstacles. The zombie at Jack’s window tripped over the bumper of another vehicle as it tried to follow. It fell out of sight, but the car jumped slightly, and Jack was sure they had run over it. They slalomed past several haphazardly parked vehicles and found themselves at another intersection.
“We’ve got more company incoming, chief!” Mike yelled up to John.
“Roger.” John dropped down from the hatch and swapped out another magazine as he talked, his voice high enough to be heard through their earplugs. “Hold this position, then start driving forward again on my signal.”
Jack looked out of the front windshield and saw the top of the second Humvee turning the corner in the distance. Their crazy plan seemed to be working!
John had popped back up through the hatch and started taking shots again. This time his shots went in multiple directions, as zombies were closing in from all angles. Jack watched in fascination as John executed head shot after head shot. He moved with an almost fluid motion. Turn, scan, sight, shoot. The man was a machine. Jack almost forgot to have a new magazine ready as John’s hand reached down inside the cab. Jack hurriedly placed the mag in John’s hand and the former soldier was back to his regular routine within two seconds.
Jack noticed that John was focusing his shots on the zombies in front of them now. There were only a few more to go, and the coast would be clear. John dispatched them and pounded on the roof of the vehicle. Mike started moving forward again. Not a single zombie got to their vehicle. Mike traversed the road, picking up speed when it opened up in front. He tried to avoid running over downed zombies. Even then, he couldn’t quite avoid the odd leg or arm.
They bounced along inside as the vehicle navigated towards the community gate. Jack could see activity there. Michelle was sticking out of the top hatch and providing cover while Bill and Nat had left the vehicle and were pulling the sliding gate open. Within moments, Mike had pulled up behind the other Humvee. A quick look told Jack there were no more zombies at the gate, but then he looked along the wall and spotted more figures lurching towards them from the distance. Zombies were moving towards them along the wall on the other flank as well.
John dropped down into the vehicle. “Abi, your M4.” He placed his own weapon at his feet. Steam rose from the barrel. Abi handed John the weapon, and after a quick check through the window, he swung the door open and jumped out. Jack opened his door without a second thought.
He raised his sidearm. About half a dozen zombies were ambling towards him from the alley to his left. For now, they were out of his range. Jack remembered the lessons at the ranch well enough not to waste ammunition on this kind of shot.
The gate was open, and BB had already pulled forward. Abi jumped out of the Humvee and stood beside Jack with her own sidearm drawn. Behind them, Mike started the vehicle forward.
“OK, kid, start heading towards the gate.”
Abi touched his elbow and they backed up after the vehicles. The zombies were closing in but were still too far out for Jack to take a shot.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw that BB had pulled through the gate and over to the side. BB and Tammy had gotten out of the Humvee, weapons ready.
John held up the rear. He stepped smoothly towards the gate, a few feet behind Jack and Abi. Jack was focused on the approaching undead, but nevertheless could not help notice how the ex-soldier moved without looking where he was going, while he held his rifle steady.
Just then the first zombie had approached close enough for Jack to take a shot. Abi also had the zombie in her sight but waited for Jack to shoot.
BLAM. The zombie’s head jerked backwards and sideways as the shot entered his left eye. The figure crumpled to the ground.
“Good kill, Jack,” John said before taking a shot himself.
Another zombie collapsed. Abi took her shot next, and a third zombie fell to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
“Back!”
John motioned, and everybody stepped past the gate. Nat and Bill pulled the gate as zombies approached from all angles. The gate slid shut but bounced open slightly. Bill frowned in confusion and gave the gate another shove, to the same effect.
“It ain’t catchin’.”
“Back!” John ordered as the
