“Sorry, man. I’m just excited and exhausted at the same time.” Johnny apologized as he continued to shuffle through the piles of keys. After about a minute they had found all the Can-Am keys and rushed over to the wheelers.
“I’ll try a key in this one and when it doesn't work, I’ll toss it to you for that one.” Johnny said. Roosevelt didn’t answer. He stood there watching Johnny as he shoved the first key into the ignition. The engine roared to life and Johnny let out a loud, “Hell, yeah! First try baby!” Johnny handed the rest of the keys off to Rosie.
The big man tried several with no luck and then finally on the ninth, try the key twisted forward, switching on the automatic headlamps.
“Shit yeah!” Roosevelt shouted, tossing the remaining keys to the floor. He climbed on and pressed the ignition button and listened to the engine roar to life. They both shifted their wheelers into drive and hit the throttle. Both machines lurched forward and smashed through anything that got in their way. Johnny looked back fully expecting either a horde of the dead to burst through the door or a small group of soldiers but neither happened. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze back to the side window of the building. Beyond the glass was an open field that the salesmen used to use for getting a customer excited about riding off in the sunset on their brand-new wheeler.
“Stay on my ass!” Johnny shouted back to Roosevelt as they inched closer to the glass. Johnny goosed his engine and the front tire lifted off the ground slightly as the front end impacted with the triple paned glass and shattered into a trillion tiny pieces. Roosevelt stayed right on Johnny as his wheeler launched out of the bay window and hit the grass beyond. Dirt and chunks of grass flew into the air as the two men raced across the open field.
“Let’s try to find a gun shop and a gas station before we disappear into the great outdoors.” Roosevelt shouted over the whipping wind. The January wind was freezing on their sweat soaked bodies as they veered right back toward the edge of town. They both glanced back down the street and spotted the horde of zeds surrounding a tall Ryder box truck. Several shots rang out as the soldiers on top of the truck started firing rounds into the growing crowd.
“Good riddance assholes!” Johnny said giving the soldiers one last quick look. He aimed his wheeler toward a barn sitting by itself in a field directly behind the town’s main street. They pulled the vehicles inside and cut the engines.
“Let’s walk from here so we don’t attract any more attention on our way in.” Johnny said. Roosevelt pulled his key from the wheeler and stuffed it into his pocket. He then twisted off the gas cap and checked to see if they could make it out of town. He rocked the wheeler back and forth until seeing that the fuel tank was almost half full. He looked at johnny and stated as much before replacing the cap and watching his friend perform the same action.
“Same here. Should be plenty to get us to the next station away from here.” Johnny replied. Roosevelt agreed and a couple of minutes later they were running alongside of a dentist’s office. They stopped at the end and took a quick look around. Seeing nothing and no one out on the street they moved with purpose across to the opposite side. They stopped in front of a small business named Ricks Rifles and More. Johnny let out a silent cheer as he could not believe their luck. He put his hand on the door and pushed but the door didn’t budge.
“Shit its locked.” He said, disappointment rising in his gut.
“Let’s go check around back. I bet the back door isn’t locked.” Roosevelt said, taking the lead. When they reached the door, Roosevelt reached down and twisted the knob.
“Boom!” He said, jerking the door open too quickly. Three infected stumbled out of the door knocking Roosevelt to the ground and falling directly on top of him.
“Johnny!” Roosevelt shouted as three sets of snapping teeth inched closer to his face and throat.
Chapter Four
6:02 p.m. New Year’s Day 2049
Behind Rick’s Rifles & More
Georgia
Johnny, jumped to the side, just barely avoiding being on the bottom of this terrifying dogpile. The three zombies were piled one on top of the other, and all three of them directly on top of Roosevelt. Roosevelt's thick arms held tight at the closest one’s shoulders, barely being able to keep it at arm's length. The weight of the two on top combined with its incredible strength were proving too much for even Roosevelt.
Johnny scrambled back over to Roosevelt plowing his foot into the side of the top zombie’s head. ‘Blood sprayed and bone crunched as his foot caved in the things cheek and sent it stumbling several feet away. He drew the pistol from his waistband and fired two fast shots, dropping the zombie before it could recover. Johnny quickly turned his attention back to the pile. He lifted his pistol, pressed it against the side of the middle one's head and squeezed the trigger. A loud boom echoed off the brick buildings that surrounded them. Blood and bone exploded out of the side of its head before the eyes snapped shut and the body fell limp.
As the zombie's body fell limp, the weight of this proved too much for Roosevelt as his arms gave out and the bottom zombie was now chest to chest with him. Johnny grabbed the dead one by the shoulders and rolled him to the side before grabbing the last one with both hands and helped Roosevelt lift the thing away, far enough for Roosevelt to scramble from beneath it. He pulled the pistol from his waistband and Johnny shoved the zombie hard, sending
