Hatcher had two choices. He could either continue on his course toward the main road and the highway, or turn right and go three blocks down and attempt to make the highway from there. Turning would slow the truck, but it would also put off their angle of attack. He also knew he’d have to slow the truck for the turns and that was precious speed lost and time for the Zulus to catch up. As the intersection approached, he made a last-minute decision. “Hold on!”
He tossed the shotgun into the seat beside Bren and hit the brake at the same time he turned the wheel. The large rubber tires beneath them protested as the heavy truck made the turn much too fast, but Hatcher quickly downshifted and floored the accelerator once more. Running through the gears, he chanced a peek into the side mirrors and saw the pursuers break around the corner of the far buildings, much farther back than he would have hoped for. “This might work.”
“What might work?” Bren asked as she braced herself against the dashboard.
“Trying to ditch these assholes.” Hatcher smiled at the quickly fading reflections in the side mirrors and prepared to cut across part of a parking lot to prevent having to make such a sharp turn at the next corner when more broke out in front of them.
“What about them? Can’t you just run them over?” Jason pointed excitedly at the small group of Zulus that entered their path.
Hatcher cursed under his breath and pushed the accelerator down harder. “Hitting a human body isn’t like hitting a cat or a dog. They can knock holes into the radiator or tear up pieces of the front end.” Hatcher jerked the wheel to the side and grazed one of the newcomers, then jerked it back the other way and felt something large go under the front tire, bouncing the entire truck into the air. He chanced a glance to Jason. “That was just one of them.”
Daniel continued to try to thread the large truck between the main mass of on-comers while preparing for the turn ahead. He downshifted and gave the truck more fuel, praying that it would get better traction as he pulled the wheel for a hard left and onto another street. Downshifting again and flooring the truck, he noticed one of the Zulus had managed to grab onto the side mirror of the passenger side and was beating against the window, brown streaks of nastiness smearing the glass. “Roll your window down part way and shoot the son of a bitch!”
Jason gave Hatcher a frightened look and then raised the shotgun to the glass. His hand shook violently as he reached for the handle and began to slowly lower the window. A bloodstained hand swiped at the open glass and tried to force its way inside the opening. Jason had leaned so far back he was practically in Bren’s lap. Finally, he angled the barrel of the shotgun through the opening and pulled the trigger. He couldn’t see if he hit the creature, but the ensuing scream and the body that fell from the side of the truck made him think that at least part of the buckshot had found its way to the target.
Jason leaned back in the seat and tried to catch his breath while Bren continually ran her fingers in and out of her ears, trying to stop the ringing.
“We have more company!” Hatcher yelled. He glanced at Jason and nodded with his chin. “You might want to rack another round into that thing and get ready.”
Jason stared at the shotgun as if it were a foreign object, then just as suddenly remembered how to use it. He jacked the slide and chambered another shell. Looking up through the windshield, he saw five more creatures running toward the truck…the onramp to the highway just blocks behind them. “What do we do?”
Hatcher ground his teeth together. “Too many to avoid. I say, roll that window down, lean out and clear a path.”
Jason looked at him as if he had three heads. “With a shotgun?”
“You’d better hurry.” Hatcher shifted again and steered the truck toward the side where the group was a little less populated.
Jason quickly rolled down the window and leaned his head and torso out. Placing the shotgun against his shoulder, he lined up on the lead creature and squeezed the trigger. Although he couldn’t see the damage, the lead Zulu suddenly dropped, both hands clutching its leg. Jason racked another shell into the chamber and took aim on the next closest and squeezed. Nothing happened, and he suddenly pulled himself back in as the truck bounced two Zulus off of each front fender, sending them flying in either direction. One Zulu went under the truck and could be heard bouncing against the undercarriage. The last one jumped to the side at the last second, then turned and followed the metal monster with food inside.
Jason turned a worried look to Hatcher. “Ya think the one that went under did any damage?”
Hatcher shrugged. “No way to know until we stop, and I ain’t stopping until I have to.”
Bren patted Hatcher’s arm. “Good plan.”
Candy and Vicky walked back toward the infirmary, talking as they went. “He’s just changed so much over the last few months. I mean, I can’t say that I really knew Hatcher before the outbreak, but…” Candy stared down the hallway and shook her head, eyes fogging. “Somehow I know he wasn’t like this.”
“I’ve seen something like this when I worked at Walter Reed. Soldiers come back from combat and their own families don’t even recognize them.” Vicky placed a comforting hand on Candy’s shoulder. “The
