“It’s working!” Roosevelt shouted, watching in the side mirror as Dwight hammered down and grabbed another gear. Ahead he could see the Bronco hauling ass toward them in the distance. A crackling sound of static sounded above Roosevelts head followed by a familiar voice.
“Rosie, is that you?” Johnny's voice sounded over the CB radio. Roosevelt snatched the mic hanging down by a black bungie and pressed the transmit button.
“Turn around now! This horde is the biggest we’ve ever seen! Get out of here!” Roosevelt shouted into the mic as he watched the old fire chiefs truck race toward them.
“What can we do to help?” Johnny asked.
“Just turn around and pace ahead of us while we work out a plan.” Roosevelt replied. He watched the old red bronco slow to a stop and turn around. The Bronco paced ahead of the blood covered semi a quarter of a mile while they continued to talk over the radio trying to hash out a plan.
“What happened back there?” Johnny asked.
“Damn horde took out damn near all of the town's men before the fight ever got started. We had to fall back almost immediately.” Roosevelt replied.
“How many made out?” Bud's voice said into the radio.
Dwight took the mic and said, “We’re not sure Bud. They were supposed to get into the trailer, but the zeds were just too damn fast. They slaughtered us man.”
“What about the rest of the town?” Bud asked.
“No clue. We started back this way to lead the horde away from the town. I don’t think any continued toward the town after we drove away.” Dwight replied.
“What's the plan now?” Johnny's voice asked.
“I guess we’re going to lead them as far out of town as we can. How much fuel is in the bronco?” Roosevelt asked.
“About a half tank if the gauge is correct.” Johnny replied.
“Perfect, here's what we’re going to do.”
Chapter Twenty-One
12:33 p.m. January 4, 2049
Southeast Tennessee
The semi continued past the truck stop leading the horde out away from the town while the Bronco paced ahead watching for signs of trouble. The plan was simple, Johnny and Bud were to stay ahead of the semi until they had led the horde at least twenty miles away from the town. They would then speed up getting out of the hordes sight and then stop to check and see how many men were still in the trailer. After that they would get back in and take the long way around and back to the town staying out of the hordes sight completely. Hopefully, the horde would continue in the direction they were going and not double back to the town.
“It’s going to work. Those things are dumb as shit. No way they’re going to figure out what we’re doing.” Roosevelt said into the radio as they sped off, away from the sprinting horde of zeds. Once they were miles ahead of the horde Bud turned the bronco to the right and followed the road several more miles before cutting back toward Sweetwater. The drive back was eventless and quiet until they pulled up to the opposite end of town. Bodies lay all over the street in groups as a few of the zeds continued to feed on the lifeless corpses. They had stopped far enough away that the zeds didn’t notice them right away.
“Oh God no!” Bud said in a weak voice as he started to get out of the truck.
“Bud wait a minute!” Johnny said, excitedly. Bud turned his head to look at him, an angry expression on his face.
“What?” He demanded. Johnny cleared his throat.
“You’re going to get every damn one of those things after us if you walk up there now. Let’s come up with a plan and find out who all is still alive inside.” Johnny said. Bud looked at him for a long time before turning back to the scene outside.
“What did you have in mind?” He finally said.
“Well I was thinking that we might find survivors in some of these houses and we can take out any zeds we find without alerting the rest of them and getting ourselves killed in the process.” Johnny replied. Bud thought about that for a second as he stared out at the few zeds consuming his people. He gave a short nod and then turned back to Johnny.
“Better let them know what we’re doing.” He said before turning back to stare out of the window. Johnny hailed Roosevelt on the CB and explained the plan. They all checked their rifles and loaded empty mags before getting out of the vehicles and quickly moving to the closest house. Roosevelt led them around to the back of the house and slowed to climb the short set of stairs that led to the back door. A bloody handprint was smeared across the glass door and a dark-haired woman lay lifeless on the floor. Roosevelt slowly opened the door and moved inside, his rifle up and scanning from side to side. They had entered the homes kitchen, the smell of burnt rice wafted through the air from the stove. Bud walked over and turned off the burner before looking down at the woman on the floor.
“I think her name was Cindy.” Bud said, shaking his head. He started to turn away from the woman when her eyes snapped open, her milky white eyes staring into his soul. She shot to her feet with a loud howling scream and lunged for Bud. She grabbed him by the arm and opened her mouth wide displaying two rows of straight, red stained teeth. She jerked his arm to her mouth and started to clamp down, but Roosevelt slammed his rifle but into her mouth, knocking out every single one of her front
