“Half a block down,” he said, pointing. “Down on the left.”
Jarvis peered past him down the road, and a smile broke out on her face. There was a gas station on the left side, right across from the neighborhood. A few dozen zombies stood between them and the target.
She nodded slowly. “How much time do you need to light it up?” she asked.
“There’s no power, so going to have to use brute force to get into the gas line,” Burch replied. “Probably some fuel left in the surface line, or I can open up the load valve on the ground and drop something in.”
Jarvis pursed her lips. “Once the gas is out, how long?” she asked.
“Thirty seconds?” he replied. “Got to set a little bit of a fuse, or else we’re going up with it.”
“All right,” she replied, and laid on the horn, getting the attention of the ghouls near the station. “Anytime you want to start shooting,” she teased.
Burch grabbed his assault rifle and hung out the window, popping off a few rounds towards the station. He aimed at the ground and a car on the side of the road, resulting in some nearby noise for the ghouls. Finally, the bulk of the creatures were heading their way.
Jarvis punched the gas and pushed through the crowd that had gathered in front of the truck, taking a few moments to pick up speed. She glanced in the rearview, seeing that only about twenty percent of the horde was following them.
She made a hard right turn on the next street, still plowing through zombies on the road.
“Where are you going?” Burch asked.
“Taking the scenic route to buy you time,” she replied, heading up two blocks before turning back towards the station. She circled back onto the road.
The diversion had worked somewhat, the bulk of the zombies walking towards the main road, however about ten ghouls were stubbornly hanging out near the station.
Burch readied his weapon, but Jarvis shook her head.
“Put that away,” she said, “your only job is getting the station rigged to blow. I’ll cover you.”
He nodded before pulling out his knife and reached down to grab an old ratty tank top from the floor below. He cut it into a long strand and held it up. “Let’s do it.”
Jarvis hit the gas, speeding up the road. As they grew close to the gas station, she swerved, hitting two zombies and sending them flying back onto the road, smacking their heads wetly against the pavement.
“Move it!” she barked.
Burch leapt out of the passenger seat, stumbling as he fell the four feet to the ground. He regained his footing and then tore for the fuel pump.
Jarvis opened her own door and stood on the step. “Come get some, motherfuckers!” she yelled, and carefully aimed and fired, striking a few zombies in the head and drawing the majority of the others towards her. Two ignored her and shambled towards Burch, so she reached back inside and slammed on the horn.
Burch startled, glancing back towards her. She pointed to the two zombies, and then tried to pick them off, but it was a difficult shot from the truck at that distance. He waved her off, and she nodded, turning back to fending off the rest of the zombies near her.
He tried the first pump, tugging at the fuel line and finding nothing. “Shit,” he muttered.
He tried two more, but there was nothing left in the line. He looked around for something heavy, finally seeing a slim metal sign sitting between the pumps. He rushed over and picked it up, using it as a battering ram on the pumps.
Jarvis laid on the horn again, and he glanced over, the two zombies much closer. He pulled his handgun and quickly dispatched them, and then watched as his partner fired off a few more shots from the truck, clearing the immediate threat to them.
Burch smashed the pump a few more times before throwing the sign down in frustration with a clatter.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Jarvis yelled.
He shook his head and turned to her. “The lines are dry,” he called back, “but if I can get into the pump, the internal lines lead straight down to the main tank.”
She looked up the road at the hundred or so zombies that had been attracted to their gunfire and headed their way. She looked back at Burch, who had run over to the far side of the parking lot, struggling to undo the metal cap to the refueling tank.
Jarvis hesitated for a moment, contemplating her next move. She glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing another large group of zombies headed their way too.
“Fuck it,” she muttered, “if it doesn’t work at least it’ll be spectacular.” She honked the horn a few times, but Burch ignored her, struggling with the cap. She backed the back end of the truck up and lined it up with the outermost pump, and revved the engine, honking the horn again.
Burch didn’t break his concentration.
She shrugged, giving up and flooring the vehicle in reverse. The tires screeched, and the truck sped backwards towards the pump. The back bumper hit in a vicious strike, knocking the pump clear off of the moorings. Gas spewed out, filling the parking lot with flammable liquid.
She moved the truck up, vaguely able to hear Burch screaming obscenities as he ran towards the truck, his ranting coming out in an unintelligible fast stream.
“What’s that?” she asked, putting a hand to her ear as he jumped into the passenger seat. “Can’t hear you. I was too busy fixing your problem.”
Burch shook his head. “You’re a crazy fucking bitch, you know that?” he asked breathlessly.
“Why do you think I fit in with this unit so well?” she asked.
All he could do was smirk, knowing she was exactly right.
“So, light this puppy and let’s get the fuck outta here,” Jarvis said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. “We got a lot of company headed our way.”
Burch looked up and down the
