Bryan and Michael both immediately pointed at Mateo, the only athletic-looking one of the bunch.
He shook his head. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Okay, what do you need?”
“We got two streets where the bulk of them are,” Fingers explained. “You get to run down, distract them, and bring them up to me.”
Mateo nodded. “And where are you going to be?”
“On top of the building at the end of the street,” Fingers said. “When they get close, I’m gonna detonate the bombs right over their heads. The blast should go a long way towards luring them out.”
Mateo pursed his lips. “And what about the rest?”
Fingers glanced at the holsters on either side of the man’s torso. “Here’s hoping you’re good with those,” he said, inclining his head to the blades.
Bryan and Michael snickered and exchanged a fist bump, and Fingers eyed them with a calculating gaze.
“Not sure why you chuckle nuts are laughing,” he drawled, “because it’s going to be your job to start getting those things out of the hotel.”
The duo sobered immediately.
“How do you suggest we do that?” Bryan asked.
Michael threw his hands up. “Yeah, and what are we supposed to do with that many of them?”
Fingers pointed to the ceiling in the center of the room. Four bombs dangled above them with a long fuse running out the front door.
“As far as what you’re supposed to do with them,” he began, “you lure them inside here and get out through the front before locking them in, and I’ll handle the rest. As far as how, I really don’t give a fuck.” He spread his hands. “Yell, shoot, do an acappella version of Baby Got Back, whatever floats your boat.”
The two men stared at each other, wide-eyed with terror.
Fingers laughed. “Amazing how quickly you tough guys fold,” he scoffed. “Hope it’s just you shitting your pants, and not you realizing it’s hopeless.”
They tried to respond, opening and closing their mouths, but no sound came out. Fingers grabbed the bombs from the table and another bag from the ground. He checked his watch and shook his head.
“Let’s get a move on,” he said shortly, “we’re gonna have guests showing up in an hour or so. Probably best for everybody if we’re alone in this town.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Zion and Calvin sat out of sight of the zombies at the gate, listening as they moaned and shook the metallic barrier. After a few moments with no conversation, Zion checked his watch.
“Two forty-eight,” he reported. “Break time is over, brother. You ready to start causing a ruckus?”
Calvin stood, readying his rifle. “Let’s do it,” he declared. “You figure out the plan yet?” he asked.
Zion shook his head. “Out that door at the end of the hallway, you open fire, and we haul ass down the other side of the upstairs hall,” he replied. “Just gotta hope that there aren’t too many of them standing in our way.”
“And if there are?” Calvin cocked his head.
Zion shrugged playfully. “Then it’s been a fun ride.”
The sniper chuckled and smirked at his friend. “You know, you might just have a future in motivational speeches.”
Zion clapped him on the back. “Come on, let’s roll,” he said, and they headed into the back room. They crept to the back door and cracked it open, peeking out into the hallway. It was clear, so they stepped out, walking briskly to the end.
“Okay, when we get out to the main hall, you start picking those things off on the far side,” Zion said quietly. “I’ll cover you while you do.”
Calvin nodded firmly. “How many shots you want?”
“You just focus on firing until I tell you to move,” Zion said. “The more shots, the more of those things that are gonna head out of the store.”
Calvin checked his ammo, making sure his rifle had been topped off. When he was ready, Zion peeked out the door, spotting a lone zombie about five yards away, with nothing else in his immediate view. He held up one finger to signal to his companion there was only one enemy.
He threw open the door and rushed out, swinging his bludgeon fiercely, striking down the ghoul as Calvin slammed the door behind him and did a quick sweep of their rear, finding several zombies far down the hallway towards the other anchor store.
“Forget ‘em,” Zion said, smacking his arm, “let’s move.”
They ran out to the main portion of the mall, straight towards a walkway over the large center area.
“Set up in the center,” Zion barked, “let’s do this!”
Calvin ran straight across, hopping up onto a bench and taking aim at the left side of the building. He quickly scanned, finding a zombie about twenty yards down. The first shot boomed, blowing the back out of the creature’s head and alerting every zombie to where they were.
As he found his next target, Zion went into sentry mode, looking in every direction for something to bash. His first one came up from the rear, a teenager in blood-tattered pajamas, about fifteen yards away from Calvin. He rushed it and swung hard, sending the lightweight monster tumbling to the ground.
He turned and saw the group they had hidden from in the store was working its way up towards them. It was easily a thirty-strong horde at this point, too much to manage with just a bat.
Another booming shot rang out, prompting Zion to glance to the other side. Zombies began to pour out of the stores, with twenty to thirty stretching all the way down to the second floor entrance to the garden center.
“Gotta buy him more time,” he muttered to himself, and frantically looked around, spotting a large metal trash can on the corner. He did a quick scan, seeing that nothing was close to them. He rushed over, set his weapon down, and picked up the can. It was heavy and cumbersome, so it took him a moment to get a handle on it.
Zion strained as he
