A boy meandered through the crowd, but he was just as dead as the rest. In one hand he carried some kind of a stuffed toy that was covered in blood, and he still wore little kid pajamas. It was just about the saddest damn thing I’d seen in days.
Anna looked away but I caught a tightening of her eyes. I reached over and put a hand around her shoulder. She didn’t flinch, and after a minute the tension went out of her and she leaned into me. She didn’t look at me, but she sobbed in silent heaves against my arm. I held on until she was done. When the group passed, we moved on. I didn’t say a word.
###
09:50 hours approximate
Location: Near Clairemont, CA - Undead Central
“This is the truck,” I said.
“No it’s not. We haven’t gone far enough. There was a big yellow truck next to the semi. I remember that.”
“There’s a big green truck. Are you sure it was yellow?”
“I’m sure,” she said but sized up the truck just the same.
I moved around the semi while Sails covered me. When we got around to the other side I stopped because Frosty growled.
A Ford truck that was at least thirty years old had smashed into the semi and the driver had been tossed against the side of the bigger truck. Most of the top of his head was gone. At least he wasn’t a damn Z.
A hand reached out for me and grabbed my ankle.
In my life, I have never let out a sound like that. It was filled with revulsion and fear and I sounded like a six-year-old when I jumped back and fell on my sore ankle.
Frosty wasted no time. She darted in and grabbed the Z’s hand and shook. I got myself loose and unlimbered the wrench. When the Z, a girl in her forties and covered in blood and goo, came out from beneath the vehicle, I bashed in her head.
Frosty took a seat next to me and panted.
I did the same thing I’d done to Anna. I leaned over and put my arm around her neck. She smelled like a dog that had been outside for a few days and I didn’t give a damn.
“You two really are cute together. Well, hell, Creed. I thought we were a thing. Looks like I’ve been dumped for that bitch.”
I stared at her for two seconds before I burst into quiet laughter.
###
10:00 hours approximate
Location: Near Clairemont, CA - Undead Central
After loitering in the shade of the truck for a bit, we took to the bikes and headed down the freeway again, weaving off the road and onto the shoulder until we’d gone at least another 2 klicks. As much as I willed the truck to appear, it did not.
“We have to be close,” Anna said.
I nodded and scouted ahead.
We’d come up on a slight rise that obscured the rest of the freeway. I struggled to try and remember anything that looked slightly familiar but it was like one big paint-by-numbers, minus the damn paint.
The rise gave way to another graveyard of abandoned vehicles. In the distance, about a klick way, lay another semi. Frosty stayed next to me and whimpered a couple of times. I leaned over and patted her head. She looked up at me and then her head snapped front as her hackles rose. With a soft growl, she dropped her head.
Among the cars, something prowled.
I found a car to duck behind and put my hand on Frosty’s shoulder to keep her calm. My leg ached from foot to knee but the ibuprofen had taken the edge off. With my other hand I motioned for Anna to join me. She pushed her bike the twenty yards that separated us and squatted beside me.
“See that?” I pointed.
“Shuffler?”
“Yeah. I think it’s the one that attacked the car yesterday.”
“No goddamn way,” she said but squinted into the distance.
“How do we play it?”
“I’ve got an idea, but I’m not sure how to get her to understand.” Anna patted the dog’s head.
“We could point and make dog noises.”
“You try that, Creed,” she said.
“I’ll go and I’ll take Frosty. Maybe she’ll get the message and draw the asshole away so I can move in for a quiet kill.”
If I went in swinging in the open, I was looking at a tough fight. As much as I’d like to say I was a badass zombie fighter, the fact of the matter was that shufflers, even one, could be a handful for a pair of people. This guy was one of the worst I’d seen.
“I should go. I’m not hurt,” Anna said.
“I got this. Just stay here and stay safe. If I get into trouble, you come in with gun blazing.”
“Two things, Jackson.” Her eyes were tight but she spoke with passion. “One – just because we did what we did last night doesn’t mean I’m some little teapot that you have to protect. I can take care of myself. Two – if I shoot, it will bring that group our way. Then we’re really fucked, unless we can manage to take out the shuffler and fifty or sixty Z’s.”
She made all kinds of sense. If she was Joel, I’d have no issue, but I knew Joel and I knew how capable he was. Anna Sails was different. She was good with her gun, but I’d never seen her take on a shuffler by hand. I got nothing against a girl kicking ass. In fact, I fucking love it. But if this was the same shuffler, then he was too smart for just one of us. He didn’t just jump into battle. Yesterday I’d seen him use a bunch of Z’s as cover while he crept around and tried to flank us. Then he’d leapt on top of our car and tried to smash in the back window. Only Anna’s quick moves behind the wheel had shaken him loose.
“I know you can take care of yourself. But things are different now. I get to worry about you.”
“Worry about yourself first, you big dummy,” she said.
“Words hurt.”
“So does my foot, so if you want to keep it out of your ass, just play it cool.”
“Fine, Anna. See that blue compact? I’ll hide behind it. You draw him out and then we can both take him down.”
“Not enough cover and it’s at least thirty yards. How are you going to ninja your ass over there?”
“I got skills. I had a good teacher,” I said.
“You can barely walk. I’ll go but I’ll use the red Mustang. See it? The convertible?” She pointed.
“Yeah.”
“You hide there. I’ll draw him out. I’m going to go out in the open and when he closes in I’ll fade back. You whack him when he comes after me.”
“Worst plan ever.”
“Got a better one?” she asked.
“Nope. Let’s get this ambush ready.”
###
10:10 hours approximate
Location: Near Clairemont, CA - Undead Central
I hobbled into position with Frosty. I stayed nice and low as I did my best not to stumble into cars. I kept my eyes wide for the smallest hint of a Z hiding out in a car. Last thing I needed was to have one of them snag my shirt and drag me down.
Frosty wagged her tail while I crouched next to the car. She kept looking in the direction of the shuffler but she didn’t bark or freak out. In fact, she was cooler than me. If this dog was smart enough to keep a level head in the face of a freaking shuffler, I should be cool enough to wait for Anna to draw him out.
Anna moved toward the shuffler’s position. She kept low and faded from car to car, always keeping the shuffler in sight.
I crawled to the front of the car but popped up to keep my eye on the bastard. He was dressed in rags and covered in filth. His long hair hung in stringy clumps that covered his face. He kept close to the ground and did the fast crab walk I’d come to expect from a shuffler. But what was he doing? Sniffing something out?
Anna bumped into a vehicle’s side mirror and dropped out of sight. The shuffler moved as quick as a whip toward her position. I had the urge to jump up and call him to me. I had my wrench, and chances were I could get in a good blow when he came at me.
All in all, our half-assed plan had gone to hell in about six seconds.
The shuffler wasn’t waiting around for Anna to get into position to drag him my
way. She was at a twenty degree angle to me and there were only a few cars separating us.
The shuffler must have been a goddamn mind reader. He latched onto her hiding spot like he had internal radar and leapt toward it. Anna went for her weapon as the shuffler hit the roof of the car she’d been hiding behind.
I moved.
Anna ripped her knife free of its sheath and dropped into a fighting stance. She kept the blade in a reverse grip, pommel next to her pinky, and got her other arm up as a guard.
I put too much weight on my ankle as I tried to break into a run and nearly went down as pain ripped up my leg.
The shuffler leapt off the car, but instead of directly engaging him, Anna slipped to the side and ripped the knife along his ribs. It turned with a snarl and came at her again.
I lifted my wrench high and strode toward the action.
If the shuffler was hurt, he didn’t show it. He dropped to all fours and then leapt again.
Anna dove forward and came up behind him. The shuffler turned and got a face full of blade. Anna was probably aiming for his throat, but the slash was still a beauty. I didn’t know if I was supposed to cheer or feel worried.
I was still twenty-five feet away, but moving fast.
The shuffler had learned his lesson and didn’t go on the offensive right away. He dropped to his hands and knees. His face, sunken in and small, was a horror of wounds and ripped flesh. He looked bizarre, like some strung-out fanatic.
Anna dropped to her fighting stance again, but this time she didn’t wait around. She advanced on the bastard.
He faded back, but not far, and then rushed in on all fours. Anna seemed to be caught off guard. Instead of moving to the side, she slashed down.
The shuffler bowled into her and took her to the ground. She fell hard and her breath was expelled in a big “whoof.”
I extended my legs, ignored the intense pain in my ankle, and almost reached the shuffler.
His head darted in, but Anna got her knife up and his mouth closed on the blade. She ripped it to the side, splitting his face open. Her other hand went to his throat to hold him back.
He flailed at her, punching her in the side with both fists, his legs locked tight. Goddammit!
A shape flashed past me and barreled into the fray. Frosty. Snarling, lips drawn back over teeth, she got her mouth around the shuffler’s arm and yanked.
Anna seemed dazed. She lifted her hands and tried to roll to the side.
The shuffler went after Frosty and gave her a glancing blow. She yelped in pain, let go, and backed up. Her lips drew back again as she bared teeth and growled, low, in her throat.
Furious, howling, and spitting blood, the shuffler leapt into the air, Anna his target.
I won’t say that it was pure luck. It was also a lot of adrenaline and anger mixed with fear. When I swung the wrench, it was with intent.
I hit the shuffler so hard that his head separated from his body. What was left of him collapsed on top of Anna. She rolled to the side and pushed him off. To my horror, his body still twitched. I grabbed the shuffler’s leg and dragged him a few feet away. Anna helped by pushing him away with her feet.
“Fuck me.” She tried to sit up and moaned.
“For the record,” I panted, “that was a terrible plan.”
I dropped beside Anna and helped her up. I looked her over, then met her eyes, which were filled with something like fear. I put my arm around her and held her close.
“If you and Frosty had taken a few seconds longer, I would be one of them now.”
“I tried to get here as fast as I could,” I protested.
“Creed, you were right on time. Thanks.”
Our moment didn’t last long. The moans of the dead reached us. Staggering to our feet, I was horrified to see a dozen of them coming at us. Frosty rumbled deep in her chest while her dark eyes stared, unblinking, at the threat. I put my hand on her neck and rubbed, but she didn’t take her eyes off the Z’s.
Anna and I struggled to our feet. We had about thirty seconds to make it to the bikes and then hightail it out of here. She held her hand at her side and grunted when she took a step.
The Z’s stepped up the pace when they got wind of us. Mouths wide, they moaned and groaned for our flesh. Arms up, feet staggering under rag-covered legs, eyes white and devoid of intelligence, they came on.
I dragged Anna after me, intent on reaching the bikes.
Then someone let out a quick short whistle.
I spun to the side as fear filled my gut.
It took a couple of seconds for me to connect the dots. Joel Fucking Kelly.
“Let’s go.” He gestured for us to join him.
Entry #17 - Rotted Flesh
10:30 hours approximate
Location: Near Clairemont, CA - Undead Central
“Joel! You scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Asshole.”
“What did you want me to do? Jump up and down to get your attention?”
“How long have you been watching us get our asses kicked?” I asked.
“Not long. I was near the rendezvous point, just hanging out, doing my hair, checking my nails, and wondering if you two were still alive. Then I saw you on the bikes with a dog in tow. I was about a hundred yards away and saw Anna take on that shuffler.”
Hanging out, my ass. Joel had probably constructed some kind of sniper hole and covered himself in weeds and dirt, and was sitting there, unmoving, while his Marine eyes never blinked.
“Fucker.” Anna looked back and grunted, leaning on me as we followed Joel at a quick pace. “But we got you, didn’t we?”
She gave the mangled corpse the finger.
“You did alright,” I said.
“We need to pull a disappearing act, then we can sort all this shit out. Just follow me and we’ll be out of this in no time. Nice dog,” he said after noticing that Frosty was still following us.
I didn’t argue with Joel. If he had a plan, I was all ears, because nothing we’d done today had been anything worth bragging about.
“Dog’s great. Her name’s Frosty. She’s smart.”
“Smart enough to keep quiet?”
“Yeah. I named her Frosty for a reason.”
Joel considered the dog.
Frosty sat, panting, while she stared back at Joel. She licked her chops and then thumped her tail a couple of times.
“Dog seems risky. Any barking...”
“Like I said, she’s smart.” I recounted how we’d first watched her tease a bunch of Z’s.
“Just keep her close and quiet,” Joel said.
He led us to the side of the road and then down the embankment. The ground was covered in refuse and luggage. Most of the bags had been ripped open, leaving the clothing and personal items of a dead world scattered on the grass and dirt. Joel pointed at a bunch of bushes.
“Push them aside, then cover up when you get in. I’ll lead that pack away.” He never took his eyes off the approaching group of Z’s.
They staggered in our direction, moaning and snarling. Flesh pulled tight against bone. Limbs rotting or altogether missing. If this bunch got too close, we’d have to haul ass. The wind shifted and carried their scent our way. Even after weeks of this shit, it still made me want to gag.
Anna moved to the little copse and tugged shrubs aside. Behind them lay a huge drainage tunnel that ran under the freeway. There had been a metal grate at some point, but most of the bars had been battered aside. Anna and I moved into the dark space. I couldn’t speak for Anna, but I was holding my breath. If the Z’s found us in here, they couldn’t come at us en masse, but I was beat and Anna couldn’t have much left after her fight with the shuffler.
Joel moved away from our position and waited for the Z’s. They stalked toward him in an unorganized group of hungry mouths and milky white eyes.
“Yo, dead fucks. Come here often?”
They started snarling and groaning when they got sight of fresh meat. Joel was a rock.
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Once they began to focus on him, Joel backed up a few steps. The grisly parade marched after him.
He waited until the first straggler was upon him, then whipped the butt of his gun around and smashed the Z in the head. It dropped, but a second one was just a step behind. Joel backed up again and then struck that one. The blow was glancing, spinning the Z to the side. Joel moved in and hit it one more time.
Joel moved back another step and clobbered the next one so hard it dropped like a rock.
The fresher Z’s bunched up on each other, and some went down in a tangle of limbs. He had their full attention now.
I moved in the tunnel but Anna put her hand on my arm and squeezed. I looked at her in the dark and could only see her shaking her head. I knew that Joel was capable of taking care of himself, but damn.
Frosty sat next to me and growled gently. I put my hand on her snout and then patted her head. She didn’t relax, but she was smart enough not to bark.
Joel turned and moved away from the bunch. Of the dozen that had been after him, only half were on their feet. He whistled at them and they came on, staggering over their fallen comrades. They moaned for Joel’s flesh.
He again turned and moved away, and they followed.
“Stay here,” I said.
Anna shook her head. “Don’t. He said he’d take care of it, Jackson.”
“It looks like he’s trying to take out the entire bunch by himself.”
“He’s thinning the herd. Making it easier to run if he has to.”
“Looks more like he’s trying to kill them all.”
“Can’t kill the dead,” she whispered.
Joel tugged his big knife out of the sheath. When the first Z was within reach, Joel slid to the man’s side, slammed his blade into the rotting neck, and yanked it out just as quickly. Gurgling, the Z went down.
Z-Risen (Book 2): Outcasts Page 12