Ž
Reggie reached into the doorframe and grabbed his Henry Repeating rifle and took aim at the zombies across the road, wandering in the field. The crack of the rifle was satisfying, but not as much as it was when the zombies dropped from his shots.
The sounds of the shots echoed in the early morning and his targets blurred as one by one they dropped. Some he recognized as either friends or neighbors. Maybe he should set the whole place aflame? Burn the whole of Huntsville to the ground. Why not? There was nothing left except these damned zombies. He paused and reloaded his rifle, ignoring the AR-15 that was leaning against the wall. He took aim and there seemed to be even more zombies out there. He knew the sound of the rifle was drawing them in. Good, bring it on and he’d kill them all or die trying.
His eyes went to his family, drawn there by sorrow. He asked himself again, who had bitten his children? Was it a friend or a neighbor? Did it matter? His children had suffered and that pushed him towards madness. The zombies blurred once more and he wiped at his eyes with his forearm. Should he let them bite him and just become mindless? Should he just blow his brains out? End the pain. He aimed and shot another and watched as it fell. No. He would live and set the world on fire.
“Burn it all, burn them all,” Reggie said.
Ž
Bobby looked over at Avery and shook his head. They stood before the high fence of the Redstone Arsenal and all they could see were a sea of zombies.
“It’s like the whole world has turned into zombies,” Avery said, his voice filled with awe and horror. Bobby slid his eyes over to the younger man.
“You’ve a knack for the understatement, don’t you?” Bobby said and turned and spit a stream of tobacco to the ground. This was not good; at every turn his plans to set up is own little kingdom were being shot to shit. Was it him? He didn’t think so. He was a smart man, hell, he’d made millions. There had to be a safe place to hold up and wait this thing out.
“Let’s go and get you a Hummer. I’m then gonna give you a list of items we’ll need. I think we should split up and also see about recruitin’ more people. You’ve got lots of friends, don’t you? Maybe we can pick up some of your people and move this along?”
“Please Bobby, please. I don’t want to go by myself. I’ll die out there. Honest, please don’t leave me alone,” Avery turned, his face blanched of all color, his voice rising in hysteria. The bodies behind the fence became agitated and their moaning and cries grew louder as they pushed forward. Fingers pushed through the chain-link and the fence began to rattle.
“Shut the fuck up, you fool. Get in the vehicle, now. Damnit, you get those things riled up and they’ll push that fence down and be all over us like stink on shit,” Bobby snarled in a low voice and pushed the younger man between the shoulder blades. Avery nearly tripped as he ran toward the hummer. The sound of the chain-link fence rattled ominously. Bobby cursed under his breath as he looked over his shoulder and saw that the fence was coming down and thousands of the zombies would start to pour out of the base. They would be surrounded in moments.
He climbed into the Humvee, his hands shaking. Avery slammed the door shut and locked it, his eyes rolling with fear.
“You’d damned well better get yourself under control or next time I’ll leave you to get torn up,” Bobby said and turned over the engine. The low rumble of the engine was satisfying and he turned the large vehicle away but then stopped.
“Why…why are we stoppin’?” Avery asked, his head swiveling around as he watched the zombies moving and swelling like a tide.
“Keep your panties on, Mary. We’re goin’.” Bobby looked one more time at the sea of zombies. He felt the tiny hairs rise over his body. Was it even possible to stay in Huntsville? Was it worth it? Maybe he could gather up supplies and head farther out because with numbers like that, there was no way to survive this thing. He began to pull forward and felt the vehicle rock with the bodies that threw themselves against it. Avery moaned in terror and seemed to shrink in his seat. Bobby shook his head in disgust. The kid had no backbone. Maybe he should throw the kid out?
Twenty minutes later he saw a dark haze and black smoke billowing up a mile away. Something was on fire and from the haze, had been on fire for a while. Once more he thought of the idea of sticking around Huntsville. There were gas lines, propane tanks scattered about the city. Natural gas and wooden structures. This whole place could blow up, not to mention the rocket fuel that was stored there.
“Holy shit!” Avery said and pointed.
“Son of a bitch! My cars are on fire,” Bobby cried. He pulled near his dealership and saw bits of an aircraft that had plowed into his Humvees. There were curled and twisted cars scattered around and the earth was scorched and the acrid stink of asphalt, burning metal, and plastic permeated the air.
“What are the fuckin’ odds? Really, what are the odds?” Bobby said softly, shaking his head. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that the joints popped.
“Screw this, let’s just go get supplies. I think maybe we should just get out of town.”
“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a long time,” Avery said with sincerity. Bobby shot him a
