“Ace?” Dante asked, voice skeptical.
The redneck shook his head. “Told you that you weren’t going to like it,” he drawled.
Dante held on tight to his friend’s waist as Ace made the turn and picked up speed again. He glanced over his shoulder, though stayed low, and spotted the SUVs gaining rapidly on the pavement.
They raced towards Ridgeland, a long country road with vast fields on either side. Less than a mile up ahead, there was some major construction equipment blocking their path.
Bullets started flying again as they reached the construction zone. Ace pushed the bike as fast as it could go, narrowly avoiding one of the big machines as he darted in between them.
Dante looked back, seeing the vehicles slowing down in order to weave their way through the large machines. Even with the obstacles in the road, they remained close enough to keep the bike in view.
The construction zone ran for a solid mile, with a lot of road work being done. Giant dirt and gravel piles dotted the area, work half-finished and not completed due to the end of the world. Ace slowed down near the end of it, making sure that their pursuers wouldn’t give up on them.
“Two mile sprint to Ridgeland,” Dante said, “do you think we can make it?”
“This thing has enough juice to get us there,” Ace replied, “but I have no idea what we’re going to do once we’re there.”
“Find some zombies and head towards them,” Dante said.
The redneck froze. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” he cried. “You want me to go towards those things?”
“I have seven shots left, and somehow I doubt I’m going to be able to go seven for seven on headshots against these guys,” Dante explained. “We need to get them off our tail once we get there, so unless you got a better idea…”
“Yeah yeah,” Ace drawled, though he didn’t sound happy about it. “I hear ya.” He shook his head as he revved the engine.
They looked back and saw the vehicles getting close enough to them, so they took off. As they moved, the gunmen began firing again, narrowly missing them as they picked up speed.
The road was mostly straight, allowing them to remain within sight of the mercenaries, which were quickly gaining once again. They were able to put enough distance between them to reach the town before lethal firing range, however.
Ace sped down the main road through town, looking frantically for a horde of zombies. Finally, on the third cross street, he spotted a pack of a few hundred at the far end of the next block. He screeched around the turn and accelerated towards the hungry ghouls.
“Hang on!” he cried, and Dante braced himself as they reached thirty yards away from the mass of rotting flesh.
When they first started, it had appeared as though they had a path to roll through them, but the engine noise attracted more ghouls, closing that off.
Ace slammed on the brakes about twenty yards from the horde. “We ain’t getting through that!” he yelled.
Dante looked back just as the SUVs made the turn towards them. He frantically looked around the store-lined road, one long building on each side with different shops sectioned off from one another.
“Clothing store, go!” he urged, motioning wildly.
The duo leapt from the bike, leaving it to crash to the ground as they raced towards the store on foot. Gunfire from the mercenaries peppered the road, bullets whizzing by their heads and hitting the zombies that were now trying to converge on them.
Dante raised his gun and fired a few times, shattering the front window of the store. They leapt through the opening as the SUVs pulled up outside, the seven pissed-off mercenaries bustling out.
“You two, buy us some time!” one of them barked, and two of the men broke off and set up a firing line, popping zombies in the head as they got close. Most of the ghouls seemed to be moving slower than normal, but still at a dangerous clip. They concentrated their fire on the fastest moving ones.
“Cover in the rear,” the leader continued, pointing at a lone soldier. “Rest of you, push in!”
Ace and Dante reached the back of the store, hiding behind the cash register. They could barely hear what the leader was saying at that point, but they heard enough to know they were in trouble.
“What now?” Ace whispered.
Dante looked around. “We gotta get out the back,” he replied quietly.
Ace nodded, and they stayed low, creeping towards the back door as quietly as possible. At the sound of boots on broken glass, they knew the mercenaries were entering the store, and they reached the end of the counter, stopping at a gap of five yards of open space between their cover and the door.
“I’m going to fire,” Dante murmured, “and when I do, you run like hell.”
Ace nodded and readied himself.
Dante took a deep breath and then popped up over the counter just enough to catch a glimpse of his enemies. He pulled the trigger rapidly, firing off three shots in quick succession.
One of the bullets managed to hit a mercenary in the vest, sending him tumbling to the ground. The other three next to him adjusted their aim and opened fire, sending three-round bursts towards the direction of the gunfire.
As soon as Dante pulled the trigger, Ace darted out from cover, racing to the back storage room door. He smashed through it and slid inside, leaving it open for Dante, who was right behind him.
Bullets peppered the wall, sending shards of wood and mannequins flying everywhere. Dante dove head first, sliding along the floor until he reached the door. Ace reached out and pulled him in before slamming the door shut.
Bullets shredded the cheap wood and continued to fly through the wall as they rapidly crawled across to the back door.
“Go!” Dante hissed. “I’ll buy us a second!”
Ace scrambled to his feet, racing towards the
