The butcher downed one more creature before stepping away from the line and heading over.
“Go out, see what you can see and report back,” Wendy said.
“No,” Zion said firmly.
She jutted out her chin, glaring at him. “No?”
“If there are zombies on the bridge, we need to find a way to slow them down,” he replied.
Calvin scratched the back of his head. “How do you propose we do that?”
“Burn ‘em,” Zion replied.
Wendy shook her head furiously. “No, no, no,” she insisted. “We need the gas that’s in those cars if we’re going to be able to-”
“Wendy,” Zion cut in, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but we need to get people out of this camp, and now.”
Her eyes went wild, and she pointed a finger at him. “No!” she yelled. “This is our home and I’m not going to abandon it!”
“Look around!” Zion yelled back, waving his free arm. “We can barely hold this group back and we have a fucking gate. What do you think is going to happen if zombies from the bridge join them? Or the hundreds that are about to come through the hole in the wall on the other side of town?”
She screwed her fists into her eyes for a moment. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” she snapped, but she knew that he was right. She pulled out her walkie-talkie. “Monique, come in,” she said, defeat in her voice.
“What’s up?” came the reply.
Wendy took a deep breath. “What’s your status?”
“Two blocks up on the western wall,” Monique reported. “Found a hole caused by some debris so we’re patching it up.”
“Keep it open,” the redhead instructed. “I’m sending some people your way.”
“My brother get back?” Monique asked.
Wendy nodded. “Yep.”
“Feel safer already,” the other woman came back. “We’ll be waiting.”
The redhead pocketed her radio and raised her chin. “What do you need?”
Calvin and Mateo shared a glance, and then the latter spoke up. “I need a lighter and a shirt or rag or something.”
“And we need to know how far down to go before we find a car with gas left in the tank,” Calvin added.
Wendy turned and shoved two fingers in her mouth, letting out a sharp, loud whistle. One of the gunmen jumped down from the wall and trotted up to her like a trained dog.
“Yes, ma’am?” he asked.
She motioned to him. “Give Mateo here your lighter,” she instructed. “And your shirt.”
The man didn’t miss a beat, peeling off his stained t-shirt, and handing it over to Mateo with his lighter. “Anything else?” he asked.
“Do you recall how far you have made it on the bridge getting gas?” she asked.
The man nodded. “Yes ma’am,” he replied. “We left a pizza delivery sign on top of the last car we drained.”
“So we need to go one past it?” Mateo asked.
The gunman nodded again. “Yep, the next one up should be full,” he said.
“Thank you,” Wendy cut in, “now get back to the fire line.”
He turned quickly and rushed back up to his post to resume shooting, now shirtless.
“If you boys are good, get going,” the redhead urged.
The duo glanced at each other and then tore off in a sprint towards the hole in the wall.
Wendy turned to Zion. “We have to figure out how to get these people out of here,” she said firmly. “I only have enough vehicles to get a little more than half of them out.”
He motioned for one of the nearby stabbers to come take his spot holding the gate up. Once he was sure it was secure, he stepped away and faced her. “Then we need more vehicles,” he said. “How many more do we need?”
“Five, maybe six if they’re big,” she replied.
He pursed his lips for a moment. “What if we get the shuttle buses from the park and ride a few blocks over?”
She sighed. “Assuming that bomb didn’t destroy it,” she muttered.
“That’s a chance we’re gonna have to take,” Zion replied.
Wendy turned and whistled at the fence crew. “Joan, I need you to start getting people from the houses to the center of town,” she barked. “Use my house as the base. Then get every vehicle you can over there.”
The young woman that Mateo had saved nodded from the fence and turned to head off.
“And watch yourself!” Zion called. “We’ve seen some runners.”
Joan swallowed hard, face terrified, but nodded firmly and rushed off.
“It’s close enough that we can get to the park and ride on foot, right?” he asked, turning back to Wendy.
The redhead nodded. “Just a few blocks.”
“Yo, shirtless dude,” Zion called to the half-naked gunman, “get my truck in front of the gate. That should hold them off!”
The man nodded and hopped down, getting to work as Zion and Wendy broke away from the gate.
She waved for him to follow her. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Calvin and Mateo tore down the street, looking to the west for the hole in the fence. The latter was the first to skid to stop as he spotted Monique and two others standing guard.
“Hey guys,” Monique greeted as they jogged over, “how bad is it up there?”
Calvin shook his head. “Real bad,” he admitted. “How’s it looking on the street?”
“Looks clear at the moment,” she replied. “Everything that’s coming up joins up with the horde at the gate.”
He nodded. “Watch yourself on the south,” he advised, “we have another horde coming up. Maybe twenty minutes away if we’re lucky.”
She wrung her hands. “This isn’t looking good, is it?” she asked.
“It’s not,” he admitted. “Zion and Wendy are getting transportation to evacuate.”
Monique blinked at him, stunned. She knew that if Wendy was giving up the camp, it showed how serious the situation was. The redhead was not so easily swayed.
“You two better get going then,” she said, snapping back into action. She pointed out the hole. “Cut through the yard across the street, go up a couple of blocks, and then go over to the main road of the bridge. Should keep you
