MARZ | Book 2 | MARZ 2

by Davis, James

  “Put me down!” Peggy shouted as she repeatedly slammed her fists into Roosevelts strong back. Her blows didn’t even register in his mind until they were what they hoped was far enough away from the shoreline. Barking dog caught Johnny’s attention as they stood there catching their breath.

  “They have dogs on us! We have to find somewhere to hide where they can't get to us.” Johnny said, looking around the immediate area in hopes of finding a solution to their current problem.

  “Peggy can you run?” Roosevelt asked, staring directly into her eyes. She stared back with a scowl on her face and then gave him a curt nod. Roosevelt sucked down another lungful of air and then turned to look at Johnny.

  “Come on. We have to go!” Roosevelt said before crashing through another thicket of limbs. Peggy was right behind him and Roosevelt behind her as the three darted through the unknown forest. The barks were growing louder and louder the farther they ran and soon they could hear the animals crashing through the underbrush.

  “There!” Johnny said, spotting an old ranger’s station about seventy-five yards ahead of them.

  “Peggy you need to give it everything you got! Those dogs are right on our asses!” Roosevelt said as he jogged toward the building. Johnny picked up his own pace and soon they were in a mad dash to preserve their lives. Roosevelt turned his head to look back and check on Peggy, but he and Johnny had picked up the pace too hard for her old body to keep up.

  “Shit!” Roosevelt said, stopping to go back and get her.

  “Peggy, move your ass!” Johnny screamed as he spotted patches of black and brown fur smashing through the forest right behind them. Before he could scold the woman again three massive German Shepherds plowed through the remaining thicket of bushes. The ground opened and the three dogs raced toward Peggy’s tired frame.

  “Peggy, run!” Roosevelt screamed as loud as he could manage but it was too late. There was absolutely no way in hell she would ever make it to them before the dogs caught her. Peggy waved a hand at Johnny and Roosevelt.

  “Go on! Save yourselves!” She shouted back after turning to see what had Johnny so excited. Resigned to her fate Peggy slowed to a stop and just stood there waiting for death to come. The dogs closed the distance to Peggy in seconds. She turned to face the snarling animals just as the middle one launched himself into the air. The dog slammed into Peggy's chest, clamping its jaws around her throat, and shaking it violently. The poor woman didn’t even have a chance to scream before all three dogs were on her ripping her body apart.

  “Sonsabitches!” Johnny screamed as he ripped his pistol from his waistband. Roosevelt did the same and together they sent more than thirty rounds into the mass of fur and blood.

  Chapter Three

  4:57 p.m. New Year’s Day 2049

  Somewhere in the Georgia forest

  “Keep going! We’re losing them!” Roosevelt said as he gasped for breath. The mad dash had turned into a half ass mountain climb as the grade of the forest rose higher and higher with each passing step. After what seemed like a lifetime, they crested the top of the massive hill and stopped to take a breath. Both stared down at the scene before them. A small city lay at the bottom of the hill, fires and smoke licked the sky from burning apartment buildings and multi-car pile ups. They could see hundreds of people or infected walking around in the streets in no real hurry to go anywhere. Johnny turned back to the other side of the hill and watched for the advancing military men. He spotted them still about halfway down the hill just casually walking up to the top. They did not look happy at all. Probably pissed ‘cause we just killed all three of those piece of shit dogs. Johnny muttered.

  “We’ve got plenty of time.” Johnny said from his spot on the opposite side of the hill. Just then a shot rang out, tree bark exploded next to Johnny’s head. He dropped down and duck walked over to Roosevelt before standing up straight again.

  “Plenty of time huh?” Roosevelt teased as they each spun around and took off down the hill. They could hear the group of soldiers shouting behind them as they picked up their pace. Johnny and Roosevelt reached the bottom of the massive hill in record time, but they didn’t stop until they were across the street and weaved in between buildings. The dead spotted them immediately and let out vicious growls of frustration as Johnny and Roosevelt took off around the corner before the infected could reach them. Steam rose from both of their heads as the sprinted down a long street and veered right. Johnny’s shoulder scraped against the brick building as he raised his arm to point ahead of them. At the end of the street sat a Polaris dealership. The parking lot was full of new and used four wheelers and side by sides.

  “Come on! Those things will run every bit of one hundred miles per hour! We can go cross country the rest of the way to my dad’s on a set of those wheels!” Johnny explained, making a bee line for the building. Johnny and Roosevelt raced past intersections full of the infected as they headed for the dealership. Johnny chanced a quick peek behind them and gritted his teeth when he saw how many of the zeds were chasing them now.

  “We got company!” Johnny said, aiming a thumb behind them. Roosevelt quickly glanced back and then sped up a little more. They were almost to the dealership and the growing number of zeds were still quite a ways back when they finally pushed through the front door.

  “Find the keys to these two.” Johnny said as he walked around the two silver and red Can-Ams. Roosevelt raced back over to Johnny with a box full of keys and dumped them all out onto a small table sitting next to a set of soft looking chairs.

  “Only grab the ones labeled Can-Am.” Johnny instructed. Roosevelt shook his head.

  “I’m not a damn fool, Johnny. I know what we’re looking for.” Roosevelt scolded.

  “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 soldier
s 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 him several feet away. Roosevelt quickly fired his pistol, the bullet slammed into the zed's forehead and his body crumbled to the ground.

  Both men stood up straight and quickly checked themselves over for wounds.

  "Better get inside." Johnny said as what sounded like a stampede of rapid footsteps grew louder.

  Roosevelt nodded, stepping over to the door, grabbed the handle and pulled it open, this time taking a step back and raising his pistol to peer inside. Johnny and Roosevelt stepped inside the door and pulled it closed. Johnny twisted the lock and slid the deadbolt in before turning to peer down a short hallway. It was dark but he could make out the dark wood panels that lined the hallway and two doorways.

  The two men crept slowly forward, about seven feet away they came upon the first doorway in the right side of the hall. The thick wooden door was open. Johnny stopped and took a quick peek in. The room was small, an office probably. A large metal desk with an ancient computer on top. A picture frame lied face up, the picture inside showed a large brown haired man with a thick moustache stood next to a homely, broad shouldered woman in a dark blue dress, a skinny blonde haired boy of about ten years old stood in front of them his thick black glasses perched high on his nose and his buck teeth proudly displayed. The tall leather rolling chair was tipped on its side. A few file cabinets lined the walls. Sheets of paper littered the desk and floors.

  Johnny pulled his head back and motioned for Roosevelt to follow. They continued another several feet down the hallway before reaching the second doorway. This one was much wider than the first and had no door. The men stopped and Johnny peeked in as he had done with the first.

  "Bingo!" He whispered.

  "Let me see!" Roosevelt hissed, creeping up to peek around Johnny.

  The room was long and L shaped, to the right of the door a long glass counter ran the length of the wall and seemed to continue around the corner. Part of the glass had been shattered but the case was still full of various pistols and knives. Shelved lined the walls behind the counter, some of them had more pistols on display, some boxes of ammunition. The center of the room had four long weapon racks. The racks were full of rifles and shotguns.

  The two men slowly crept into the room and peered around.

  "I'll check around the corner, you grab some rifles. If I need help, I'll scream real loud." Roosevelt said, walking over and cautiously turning the corner.

  Johnny looked over the rifle racks before stopping and lifting an M4 style carbine with a small cheap looking red dot on top and a light attached to the bottom rail. He looked it over and nodded silently before looking back toward the racks. He looked through the rifles and reached down grabbing an older sig 553. This one lacked an accessory but had two magazines zip tied around the barrel. He placed the two rifles on the glass counter as he circled the counter and looked over the shelves lined with ammo boxes.

  He quickly found what he was looking for and grabbed several boxes of 5.56 ammo, placing them on the counter. He turned around and reached up toward the 9mm ammo boxes.

  "What you got?" Roosevelt asked through a mouth full of something. His deep voice breaking the silence of the room. Johnny jumped then spun around. Roosevelt stood there grinning. A pair of camouflage overalls covered most of his body. His large biceps stretched a tight grey thermal shirt to its limits. A bright orange beanie covered the top of his head. He reached into a large clear bag and pulled out a thick hunk of beef jerky and put it into his mouth, grinding his teeth until half of it tore off.

  "Where'd you get that?" Johnny asked.

  "Oh, there's tons of it! You want some?" He exclaimed between chews, holding the bag out toward Johnny.

  "Not the food, knucklehead, the clothes." Johnny replied.

  "They got that too." Roosevelt said, popping the other part of the jerky into his mouth, "It's cold where we're headed." He mumbled.

  “Here, take this.” Johnny said, holding the cheap carbine to his friend.

  Roosevelt looked the rifle over and chuckled. “The hell is hunk of junk? You grabbed the cheapest damn rifle on the rack.”

  “What’d you expect? You’re the military guy not me. I only ever fired my pistols at home.” Johnny replied.

  “Man, come on. There's got to be something better than this cheap thing.” Roosevelt said setting the rifle down on the counter along with his bag of jerky. Johnny followed him over to the rifle racks and stood next to his friend as the big man leaned over and searched the shelves.

  “Junk, junk, more junk.” Roosevelt said as he combed through the first rack of rifles.

  “Ah here we go. That rack must be the cheap shit.” Roosevelt added pointing a large meaty finger at the rack. He glanced down the second rack and quickly leaned forward and snatched a new rifle from the rack. He held the white tag
on the rifle up so he could see the price.

  “Jesus Christ, they’re awful proud of their shit! $1700 bucks for M&P 15! What the hell is wrong with people?” Roosevelt said as he held the rifle out and looked it over. He brought it to his shoulder and checked the irons and then started actioning the bolt. A huge grin crept onto his face as the price tag started to make sense. The smooth action of the bolt and the crisp trigger break made the final decision for him. The stainless-steel barrel didn’t hurt either. He looked down at the selector and noticed that there were three different positions. He looked closer to read the third spot, hoping he had found a full auto rifle. The word binary was stamped into the steel. Roosevelt shrugged.

  “Just as good as full auto in my eyes.” Roosevelt said as he rested the rifle on his shoulder and headed for a different rack across the room. He grabbed several P-Mags for the rifle and then turned to go stand next to Johnny. The pair stood their loading mags and stacking them on the counter for the next hour. When they had several stacks of loaded mags Roosevelt motioned for Johnny to follow him around the corner to the clothes racks and non-perishables.

  “Better find something warm. Gonna be a long trip on those wheelers if your freezing your balls off the entire time.” Roosevelt stated, pointing his chin at the rack of camo gear. Johnny browsed through the clothes and found a set of camp coveralls just like Roosevelts. He pulled them off the hanger and continued to search for a set of thermals.

  “Probably going to need a couple of these as well.” Roosevelt said, pointing a thumb to a rack of tactical bags. He held one up that could be worn like a bookbag. It had a long pocket to hold an entire rifle in along with a smaller section for any other gear one might need.