The first three zombies in the center of the mass were crushed under the weight of it. The force of the impact knocked several more down, creating two columns of undead. Zion raced back to grab his weapon.
“Reloading!” Calvin called as the firing stopped momentarily.
Zion scanned the rear, seeing a handful of zombies coming up the other side of the aisle, still about thirty yards from the crossover. He looked at the aisle they had to run through, finding still about forty creatures out along the entire route of the run. There were a few really thick packs in their way.
“Thin out the big packs!” Zion cried. “Then get ready to go!”
Calvin nodded as he finished reloading and then took aim, firing some more. Zion turned to see the two columns of zombies were within ten yards of the crossover. He darted forward, swinging hard at the group closest to the railing. Instead of going for a headshot on the closest one, he swung deep and at an upward angle.
The thick wood caught three zombies under the arm, the force sending them lifting off of their feet and tumbling over the side railing. Zion didn’t look, but he heard the thud below as they hit the floor. He quickly turned to the other column, which had broken rank and headed his way. He swung low and hard, taking out the legs from a few creatures, sending them to the ground.
He ran back to Calvin, who fired off another shot. He looked down the aisle they were going to have to run through, seeing dozens of zombies, but a lot more spread out.
“We gotta move,” Zion said.
The sniper hopped down from the bench, both of them looking at the first floor. It was a sea of zombies, a lot of them pouring out of the garden center.
“You follow me and run as hard as you can,” Zion instructed. “Just push ‘em out of the way and keep moving. Escalator is at the center of the store. If we get separated, meet at the top.”
Calvin nodded firmly. “Lead on.”
They began their spring, launching from the spot. The hallway was about fifteen feet wide, and a hundred and fifty yards to the store entrance, with corpses both standing and laying dead along the path. Zion was five yards in front of Calvin as he approached the first pack. Three creatures shambled towards him.
He lowered his shoulder and barreled through them, clearing the path like a fullback for a running back. Calvin deftly hopped over the fallen corpses as they continued their run.
The next thirty yards were relatively easy, as the creatures were spread out pretty thin. Both men ducked around them, the outstretched claws never coming close to touching them. As they reached the next crowded section, there were two batches of four, staggered, leaving only a small section in the middle to break through.
“Go right!” Zion yelled. He broke towards the pack on the right, stopping just in front of them and swinging his weapon. The impact sent the lead two ghouls back into the others, all four slamming into the railing.
Calvin didn’t wait for him to get moving again, just run right by him and the fallen zombies. As he approached the next group, trouble arose. He ducked underneath the arm of an older monster missing a limb. As he came about, there was a corpse on the floor with a massive bullet wound to the head. He saw it, but not quite in time, his foot clipping the lifeless leg and sending him stumbling forward onto the ground.
The zombie that had been reaching for him moaned in delight and moved in quickly for its meal. Calvin scrabbled to get up, knowing he was in a bad spot.
The creature’s good arm reached out and grazed the fabric of the sniper’s shirt, but Zion grabbed it from behind by the collar and belt. He let out an animalistic yell as he tossed the thing over the railing.
“Ain’t no time to be lounging!” Zion cried, grabbing his companion by the arm and dragging him to a standing. The two men took off once again, despite the route ahead becoming more crowded, with about twenty zombies in the immediate vicinity.
Zion stared ahead, looking for a path through the mass of corpses that were standing nearly shoulder to shoulder and two deep. Calvin glanced to the rear, seeing the zombies they’d passed heading back in their direction.
“Whatever we’re doing, we gotta do it now!” he cried.
Zion held his weapon horizontally across his body. “Stay close,” he instructed, and took off running like a shot.
Calvin stayed hot on his heels as best he could, as Zion extended his arms at the line of zombies. He hit three at chest level with the wood, and pumped his legs hard, driving right through the corpses, knocking them back into the second row.
Both men leapt over the fallen creatures, as their friends reached out to grab them. By a hair’s breadth, they made it through the line and continued sprinting hard.
The store entrance was just ahead, with only a smattering of zombies standing in their way. They navigated through them and rushed into the store.
“Escalators in the center!” Zion screamed.
They dashed through the store, going straight down the main aisle in the center towards the frozen escalator, which was on the other side of a massive wall. As they rounded the corner, a dozen creatures greeted them, congregating around the entrance. The duo skidded to a stop and blinked in disbelief for a moment at the sight.
“Just once today it would be nice to catch a break,” Calvin groaned.
Zion looked around, spotting a shovel display just across
