“Dude, really?” he whined.
Rollins shrugged. “I told you to watch out,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat. “Now you getting in, or what?”
Stein stared down at the slimy passenger seat. “I’ll hitch a ride with Jarvis,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.
Rollins shrugged and started up the SUV, opening all the windows. “Baked zombie, ugh,” he muttered as he nearly gagged on the putrid stench in the car.
He popped the vehicle into reverse and pulled out, Jarvis and Stein following close behind. As he drove, there was a gigantic BOOM in the distance. As he parked in the lot a few blocks down from the bridges, he spotted a giant plume of smoke rising on the horizon.
“Jinx certainly doesn’t disappoint, does he?” he said to himself and got out of the vehicle. The zombies on the bridge began to wander towards the noise, the nearby ghouls in the store parking lots joining them.
“Quit yapping to yourself and come on,” Jarvis barked from the truck. “We need a couple more cars for that other bridge.”
Rollins leapt out of the SUV, leaving the key in it, and hopping up into the back of the truck. Jarvis peeled out of the lot and headed back towards the residential area.
“Where are you going?” Stein asked.
“A few blocks further back,” Jarvis replied. “That explosion is going to get everything closer all riled up.”
She went for six blocks, reaching a cozy tree-lined street. They looked around, trying to find vehicles to borrow.
Stein pointed to a house with two sedans sitting outside. “That’s our winner,” he said. “Two cars, meaning they probably never got out. Just gotta find the keys and we’re rolling.”
“Good enough for me,” Jarvis replied.
She parked the truck in the driveway and all three got out. They rushed up to the front door and Jarvis nodded to Rollins. He gave the door a forceful front kick, rattling it pretty well but not opening it. He tried again, but the door stayed fast.
“Jesus Christ,” Jarvis muttered, “let me at it.”
She shoved him out of the way and gave the door a good boot, which freed it from the latch. Stein chuckled.
“I loosened it for her,” Rollins insisted.
His friend shook his head. “Yeah, I’d totally go with that.”
“Move,” Jarvis urged, and the duo snapped back to it, quickly moving into the spacious bungalow. They took up position in the living room, keeping an eye on the hallways. They could hear movement at the far end of it, sounding like several hands banging on a door.
“Company down the hall,” Stein reported.
“Watch that,” Jarvis replied. “Rollins, kitchen.”
He moved into the kitchen, scanning the walls for any key ring holders. She did the same in the living room and finally found two sets of keys hanging by the front window.
“We’re moving!” she declared, and grabbed the rings, tossing them to the boys.
They went back outside and the boys each picked a car, checking thoroughly for any unwanted passengers inside, and thankfully finding none.
Jarvis hopped back into the truck and led the caravan back towards the bridges, stopping at the rally point. Most of the zombies had moved across the bridge, but there were still a few dozen making their way towards it. The trio sat in their vehicles with the windows down so they could hear each other.
“How long do we wait?” Rollins asked.
Jarvis took a deep breath. “As long as we can.”
“We got five minutes at best,” Stein said.
Jarvis cocked her head. “What makes you say that?”
He pointed towards the southern bridge, half a mile or so away. There were easily a couple hundred zombies moving across it towards them.
“Fuck, okay,” Jarvis said. “We need to move now.”
Rollins furrowed his brow. “And just leave them on this side of the bridge?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s going to take time for us to do this,” she explained. “We block off the northern bridge and they can still cross on the southern one.”
“Fuck it, good enough for me,” Stein agreed. “There were a few broken down scars on the bridge already, so we just have to fill in the gaps.”
Rollins waved his hand. “Well lead on then.”
Stein popped it into gear and started driving, with Rollins behind him and Jarvis bringing up the rear. There were several zombies in the roadway, some of whom turned towards the noise. She gave a single honk of the horn and then floored it.
The increased speed sent Jarvis flying around the other two soldiers, pulling in front. She sped up, smacking into the zombies in the road and crushing them, clearing the path for the other two.
The bridge had a few dozen zombies on it, most of which were on the far side of it, moving towards the restaurant fire. There were a few cars broken down, having gotten into a crash at some point several weeks ago. There was a gap on either side of the wreck.
Jarvis stopped in the middle of the street about thirty yards from the wreck, and the other two drove around her, one on each side.
Stein skirted a few dozen zombies and pulled gently into his opening, leaving just enough room to open the door and get out. As he hopped out, he readied his assault rifle, firing a few shots at the throng of ghouls standing between him and the truck.
Rollins pulled his car into the gap on the other side, squeezing between the wreck and the side of the bridge. As he started to open his door, he had to shut it again quickly as a zombie from the window of the wrecked car lunged out, smacking against the glass.
He clambered into the back seat, opening the back door, but it was wedged up against the wreck, making it impossible to get it wide enough.
“Fucking shit, man,” he muttered, and looked out the back window. There were thirty or so zombies growing ever closer to him.
Stein noticed that Rollins
