The four soldiers rushed off to do so as Jinx and Jarvis studied the map.
“We’re six blocks south and a few blocks to the west of the hospital,” the Corporal mused as he pointed to the map. “So they’re somewhere in this area. I think if we come up to this road, we should be able to find them.”
Jarvis nodded, but cocked her head. “And what do we do once we find them?” she asked.
“Haven't thought that far ahead,” Jinx admitted, and shoved the map into his pocket. “Now let’s move.”
CHAPTER NINE
The drive to the north side of town was tense, the soldiers on edge, worrying about what they were going to find. Jarvis slowed down as they reached the neighborhood and slowed to a stop after Jinx smacked the side of the truck.
“We should walk from here,” he suggested, “we have to be close and don’t want attention on us until we’re ready for it.”
The quartet readied their weapons, and the Corporal made sure to grab the walkie talkie and stuff it into his pocket before leading the group away.
The neighborhood had a handful of zombies milling about, all of them headed northward. There was sporadic gunfire in the distance, but it was muffled, sounding like it was from inside a building.
“That’s gotta be them,” Jinx said.
The soldiers moved quietly, creeping quickly but as lightly as they could. They got off of the main road, walking between the houses, letting the grass soften their footsteps. Jinx made sure to be cautious, stopping at every corner of each house, not wanting to end up surprised with a bad situation.
After a couple of blocks, the Corporal finally spotted the target house across the street. He motioned for the team to be silent, leading them to the back porch. He pulled out his knife and slid it into the lock, slamming down on the handle with his hand to use brute force to open it.
He moved inside, motioning for Jarvis to cover the other hallway. As soon as she set foot on the carpet, a zombie lumbered out from a bedroom, and she kicked it in the chest, knocking it to the floor. She shoved her boot into its throat and stabbed it in the forehead, then finished her sweep before rejoining the others in the main room.
“We’re clear,” she said.
Jinx waved to the team from the front. “Window,” he said.
They moved to the front window, standing on either side of it so they could see out without being visible. The situation across the street was dire. The entire front of Dickerson’s house was covered with zombies, stretching twenty-five, thirty ghouls deep.
“I’ve played concerts with fewer people,” Stein murmured.
Jarvis shook her head. “That’s what you get for playing in a shitty band.”
“Hey now, I…” Stein began, but then shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right, we were shitty.”
Jinx pulled out the walkie talkie, raising it to his lips. “Dickerson, do you copy?”
“Jinx, where are you?” the Sergeant replied immediately. “Not sure how much longer we can hold out. The front door is starting to crack under the pressure.”
The Corporal peered out at the crowd. “We’re across the street.”
“All right,” Dickerson replied. “First order of business is going to be moving some of these fuckers away from the door. Too many are pushing on it, and we can’t hold it up much longer.”
“Ten-four,” Jinx said. “Give me a minute to come up with a plan.”
“Understood,” the Sergeant replied. “We ain’t going anywhere.”
The Corporal lowered the radio, studying the area. “Ideas?”
“We got some fireworks left, we can try and peel them away,” Burch suggested.
Jinx shook his head. “Too many of those things are engaged, they aren’t going to break away for some firecrackers,” he said.
“We could fire the roman candles into the crowd?” Stein piped up. “Start lighting some of them up?”
Jinx pursed his lips for a moment. “That’s a plan of last resort,” he replied. “On the one hand, it might work, but on the other hand it might set the house on fire.”
“With our luck it would be the latter,” Stein muttered.
“I could plow the truck through them,” Jarvis suggested. “If I build up enough speed I should be able to make it from one side to the other, cut their numbers in half.”
Burch shook his head. “But that would only be temporary,” he said. “Plus, if you don’t make it across, we’d have to walk back, and I’m already getting enough exercise for the day.”
“So you don’t want to do my plan because you’re a lazy fucker?” She raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. “And because it’s a temporary solution.”
Jinx studied the landscape, paying special attention to a large thick tree on the other side of a fence that was parallel to the horde and just up from the front of the house. “I like the idea,” he said.
Burch blinked at him. “Really?” he asked. “You want to risk the truck?”
“Nope, and we’re not going to,” the Corporal replied, shaking his head. “But I like the idea of cutting their numbers in half.”
Jarvis raised an eyebrow. “So if we’re not going to use the truck, how are we going to do it?”
Jinx smirked and pointed towards the giant tree he’d spotted. “Who wants to be a lumberjack?”
Jarvis put a hand to her forehead, laughing in exasperation. The other two shook their heads in disbelief.
“All right,” Burch finally said, smacking his thighs as he stood up. “I’ll check the garage.”
Stein jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Pretty sure we passed a work shed on the last block, I’ll go check that,” he said.
“I’ll let Dickerson know what the plan is,” Jinx said.
Jarvis snorted. “That should be a fun conversation.”
The Corporal chuckled as he lifted the radio to his mouth. “Dickerson, come in,” he said. “We have a plan.”
CHAPTER TEN
“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” the Sergeant demanded.
Jinx shrugged. “Might have been accused of that from time to time,” he drawled. “Nothing was ever proven, though.”
“Jokes. You got
