“About five hundred yards up,” Jermaine said, pointing, “can’t miss ‘em.”
Zion nodded and cocked his head. “You thin ‘em out good?”
“Kinda,” Jermaine admitted, scratching the back of his head. “There are some big packs in the front and some breaks, but they filled back in a bit. I used everything I had against them.”
Zion held out his fist. “I know you did, man,” he said, and after a firm fist bump, he got off of the truck. Calvin slid over into the driver’s seat, and Zion sauntered over to the second truck, where Jack sat behind the wheel. “Okay, start getting set up here,” he said.
Tori leaned over from the passenger’s side. “I was thinking we set one up here, and retreat about a hundred yards before the next one,” she said, and pushed her glasses up on her nose. “Gives us a chance to adjust our strategy if we need to.”
“Have at it, girl,” Zion replied, nodding. “Your boyfriend and I are gonna ride up ahead to try and slow ‘em up a bit.” He checked his watch. Eighty-seven minutes. “We need to keep them on this side of the crossroads for eighty-seven minutes. So do what you need to do.”
Tori gave him a thumbs up as Jack began a three-point turn so that the trailer was facing the horde. Zion headed back to Calvin’s truck and hopped up into the bed, waving his hand in the air.
“Let’s move it!” he cried.
Calvin popped it into gear and drove slowly down the interstate. The headlights cut through the night, and it wasn't long before they caught a glimpse of the horde.
Thousands of zombies stretched across the northbound side of the road, with a few on the other side of the median, all moving as one. Zion shook his head when he saw there were only a few breakaway groups that had swelled in strength to several dozen each.
“Well, looks like those molotovs were a bust,” Calvin called through the back window.
Zion clenched his jaw. “Hopefully the cinder blocks won’t be,” he said. “Get me in position.”
His friend spun the truck around so that Zion faced the horde. The red brake lights illuminated the immediate vicinity, but didn’t cut too far into the darkness, only about ten yards or so. He picked up a cinderblock and tested the heft in his hands, loosening his knees and waiting for the undead to get within striking distance.
The moans and footsteps grew louder with each passing second. After a moment, the first creature stepped into the light, ghouls bathed in a hellish red glow. Zion immediately lobbed the cinderblock at the first creature he saw, smashing it in the face and knocking it to the ground.
“Inch it up every few seconds!” he called back to Calvin.
The sniper complied, basically letting off the brake and allowing the truck to move a bit on its own in reverse. Zion chucked a few more blocks at the front edge of the horde, knocking down creatures and causing several more to stumble.
Gotta break these things up, he thought, and then began launching several cement blocks into the darkness, hearing the impact crunching bones he couldn’t see. After several throws, he smacked the hood of the truck.
“Let’s get back to the line,” he said. “Gotta see how the lopper works before we use any more of these.”
Calvin sped up, driving a couple hundred yards up to the first machine. Harold and Missy were there with Jack, making the last minute adjustments. The first mower was the smallest one they had, enough for a small home in the city. The most extended up from the engine, with two metal bars sticking out, one of which just cleared the seat and the other a foot above that. They were staggered, looking like a weathervane.
“Let’s get this thing started up,” Zion said, “they’ll be here in just a couple of minutes.”
Harold motioned for Missy and Jack to back up as he turned the key on the engine. It roared to life, idling nicely. He ducked down so he was below the seat before flipping a switch on the control panel. Then he crawled out of the way as the metal spokes began to rotate.
The three college kids hopped into the back of the truck with Zion as they watched the contraption pick up steam, rotating rapidly. They could hear the blades whipping through the air like a chopper.
Zion nodded in approval. “That’s certainly going to leave a mark,” he said, and smacked the roof. “Back us up, Calvin.”
The sniper moved, and then they stopped about forty yards from the mower, turning the truck around so that the headlights could illuminate the battlefield. They anxiously awaited the arrival of the horde. It felt like an eternity for them to arrive, with Zion constantly checking his watch.
It was nearly ten minutes later before the horde came into view.
The lead zombie shambled towards the weapon and was quickly met with a metallic blow to the face. The impact tore off the front part of its skull, dropping the creature to the ground. More creatures met the same fate, blood and bone spraying everywhere, the moans drowned out by metal whirrs crunching bone.
The college kids let out whoops and began exchanging high fives, vibrating in their seats.
“Don’t get too excited,” Zion said tersely, “they’re coming around the sides.”
They sobered and turned to the mower, and while it did an admirable job of knocking down creatures in the center of the highway, hundreds of creatures walked past it as if it wasn’t even there.
Calvin popped the truck into reverse and backed up a little as the ghouls got closer to them. As they moved, the mower began to rock back and forth from the constant impact of the blades. Within a few more seconds, it became completely unstable, flipping over onto its side, crashing to a halt.
Jack pressed his hands to his forehead. “My god, what did we get?” he groaned. “Fifty?
