Before they could throw the first one, the window next to them exploded in gunfire. Tori leaned out the window and spotted an older man aiming a hunting rifle. She waved her arms.
“Hey, hey!” she called.
He blinked at her in surprise and then raised an eyebrow. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked politely.
“You any good with that?” she asked, pointing to the rifle.
“Oh, yes ma’am,” he replied.
She reached back in and grabbed a milk jug, showing it to him. “If I throw one of these, you think you can hit it?” she asked.
He shrugged. “No different than skeet shooting,” he replied.
“Hang tight,” she said, “we may need you.” She motioned for Missy to go. Her friend nodded and lit up the first molotov.
Tori leaned out the window, and underhand tossed the firebomb. It flew through the air, landing about five yards behind the end of the horde. There was an explosion of fire, which barely struck the back end. About eight to ten zombies caught fire, slowly engulfing them.
“Going to have to get riskier,” Missy mused.
“You just be ready with that extinguisher bomb,” Tori replied, and readied another molotov, pitching it out.
This time the bottle landed about ten yards deep from the back, shattering on the head of a zombie. Flaming liquid shot out in every direction, coating dozens of corpses.
“There we go!” she exclaimed, punching a fist into the air.
The girls watched as the flames engulfed the monsters, the scent of burning rotted flesh reaching up to the window, causing them to gag a bit. Luckily, the fire stayed localized near the back half of the zombies. As the fire burned, they began to drop to the ground.
“Okay, one more,” Tori said with a deep breath. “Going to go near the front this time.” She turned to the man in the window. “And you, get ready, we may need you.”
He nodded. “Just give the word,” he said.
She got her molotov lit and lobbed it about ten yards from the building. It landed and creatures near the front erupted in flame, catching and burning in an outward circle through the ghouls. After a minute or so, the flames grew within a few zombies of the building.
“Extinguisher,” Tori said, and Missy handed one over. “Okay, I’m tossing this out near the building,” she called to the window man, “hit it when it’s about ten feet above the crowd.”
“Can do,” he replied.
She counted down from three and then dropped it. They watched as it fell, and then a shot rang out. The jug exploded, sending extinguisher powder spreading over the front creatures. Almost in an instant, the fire snuffed out.
“Nice shot!” she exclaimed.
The three of them stared down at the zombies, easily still a hundred and fifty creatures still standing and pushing forward.
“How many cocktails we have left?” Tori asked.
“Two,” Missy replied.
The blonde nodded. “Let’s thin out the ones in the back a bit more, and let Harold and Jack pick off the stragglers with the impaler,” she suggested.
Missy flicked her lighter. “Let’s light ‘em up!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Missy and Tori came downstairs to see Zion trying out the impaler. He lined it up and fired, hitting three creatures in the head, letting out an excited yell in the process. He quickly yanked down the lever, reloading it far faster than Harold and Jack were doing together before rolling it over and firing again.
“This is so much fun!” Zion declared. “Can y’all make me a portable version of this?”
The boys shared a glance.
“Wheels wouldn’t be practical,” Harold said.
Jack shrugged. “Could make it like a steadi-cam, like they have for films.”
“Like Vasquez’s machine gun from Aliens!” Harold gushed.
Jack nodded vigorously. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Forget the impaler, can you just make me one of those guns?” Zion cut in.
Tori shot them a playfully stern look as she approached. “I’m glad you boys are having fun,” she said, “but can we go help Calvin out before you start coming up with diagrams?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Zion replied with a nod. He peeked outside to the horde, seeing about forty or so remaining standing, with some still writhing on the ground. “While these two finish off the ones still standing, can you boys get prepped to clear out the burnt ones?” he asked, turning to the two gunmen that Tori had sent down. “Hunting boots and leg protections, just spike ‘em and leave ‘em be. We can clean them up tomorrow.”
The two men nodded and ran off to gear up.
“Missy, why don’t you stay here and keep an eye on the boys?” Tori asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Make sure they don’t get into any trouble.”
Her friend smiled and nodded, heading for the impaler.
Zion led Tori to the emergency exit, snatching up a piece of rebar on the way. “Just gonna borrow this,” he said.
There was some light banging on the emergency door, sounding like just a few hands. Without being asked, Tori walked over to the nearest wall opening and smacked it a few times, yelling out to the creatures. Within a few moments, the banging stopped on the door and the zombies moved over to her, reaching through the opening with excited open mouths.
“Okay, did my part,” she said, and Zion cracked a smile and snuck out of the emergency exit.
He stepped over to the first target and jammed the rebar into the back of its head, stabbing the next one through the eye as it turned to him.
Tori emerged from the garage, carrying a box with a few molotovs and extinguishers. “Just like to be prepared,” she said.
Zion nodded in approval. “All right, let’s go get your boy,” he said with a grin.
They came around the wide of the building, seeing the smoldering mass of burnt flesh on the far side.
“Just to be safe,” he said quietly, “let’s cut through the trees.”
She nodded. “Agreed,” she said. “Death by barbecued zombie isn’t on my list of preferred ways to die.”
“Oh yeah?”
