by S. Ganley
"It's right in front of you Calvin! Hit the damn thing!" Garrett bellowed as the zombie came almost face to face with him separated only by a thin sheet of protective glass. He suddenly felt like an animal on display in a glass cage at the local zoo. Only in this case it was the spectators looking in who wanted to eat the exhibits behind the glass.
"It’s a little harder than it looks, unless you would like to pull over for a second and give me a steady shot!" Galvin yelled back at him.
He pulled his aim up to the left just a fraction and his third try put a hole from ear to ear in the zombies head and sent it tumbling off the hood to sink into soft mud next to the trucks front tire.
It took a moment before they could see any progress, but little by little they picked up speed as that police car was pushed forward towards the end of the mud trap. The cop managed to anticipate each little deviation in their direction and kept the wheels turned straight to flow along in line Garrett's truck behind him. Thirty seconds after ramming into the back of the car the rear tires reached solid enough ground to gain traction and the cop eased down on the gas and wrenched the crushed rear end free from the front of the truck.
Zombies were already running along the outskirts of the mud pit and quickly closing on both vehicles. Garrett climbed the truck the rest of the way clear of the mud and drove around to the side of the police car, the driver shot him a quick thumbs up and Garrett motioned for him to follow along as he led the way back onto the road and cut the turn onto Spring Hill.
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The 711 gas station and convenience store at the intersection of Spring Hill road and Old Dominion drive was the closest logical place for them to pull over again after covering enough distance that any zombies trying to pursue them from the mud hole and around the sports center would be at least fifteen or more minutes still behind them. Garrett drove a quick circle around the store and small collection of adjoining buildings to ensure they were as alone as possible for a short stop to regroup and check on the cop and anyone else in the car with him.
Pulling the truck up in line with the gas pumps, Garrett thought this would also be a good opportunity to top off their tank, power was still on at the moment but there was no telling how long that would last. Once they lost the juice they would have to take the time to siphon gas from either underground tanks or out of the gas tanks of other cars and trucks they came across.
Calvin and Garrett collected their rifles and jumped out of the truck to walk back to the police car and meet the people they had just risked their lives to save. They found the police officer behind the wheel already digging through a first aid kit and helping the woman in the front seat with him. Her entire face was coated in blood and her nose looked as though it had been smashed flat across her face. Garrett and Kyle exchanged brief introductions while Kyle continued to work on the woman, it appeared to Garrett that she was just regaining consciousness and seemed very woozy and disoriented.
"What happened to her?" Garrett asked with sincere concern in his voice.
"Hit the dashboard when we landed in that mud pit." Kyle explained as he flinched against a stab of pain from his chest as he leaned over the seat to try and clear the blood from Shellie's nostrils with a wet wipe. "I think I also busted a damn rib or two myself when I nailed the steering wheel."
Seeing the injured woman in the seat next to the cop Garrett suddenly remembered that when he had first driven across the dirt field next to the patrol car it had appeared that Kyle was holding up his side arm and pointing it towards the passenger seat. Once Kyle had spotted them coming to their aid the gun had disappeared again. He now thought he had an idea of just what was about to happen in that car and that if they had waited another couple of seconds to enter into the fray, things would have turned out much worse for both Kyle and his passenger. He couldn't really blame the guy, had he been faced with the options they had been looking at back there it is likely the same thought would have crossed his mind as well. There was little need for him to mention to either Calvin or Kyle what he had seen in that split second, each of them had their own way of dealing with mortality and he considered it a personal and private issue that if the cop didn't bring up he wouldn't either.
"Hey! I'm gonna hit the store for supplies, anything you guys need?" Called Calvin from next to the pump where he had just finished topping off the truck with gas.
"Any first aid supplies you can find, aspirin, all the water and Gatorade you can grab. Make it quick, we can’t stay here long." Garrett called back.
Turning back to Kyle he tried to lighten the mood a little, "You're not going to arrest us if we just help ourselves I take it?"
"Man, get whatever the hell you need, I am just really grateful you came along when you did, another minute out there and..." Kyle didn't finish the sentence, and Garrett could hear him choking up a little as he turned his face back towards Shellie so Garrett wouldn't see the tears welling up in his eyes.
"Hey, don't mention it. It’s been a shit morning for everyone and we really need to watch out for each other. Look, we are going to get back on the road in a minute or two, we thought about heading into Great Falls, maybe down into the park and see if we can hide out for a while. You're welcome to tag along if you want. We would probably all benefit by sticking together."
Shellie was starting to come around and had been listening to the exchange between the two men, "It sounds like a smart idea if you ask me," she offered.
"Well, ok then, sounds good. I was thinking about heading in that direction anyways but hadn't thought of the park. Right now that sounds like a good option."
Garrett asked Kyle a little about his department and any support they were still able to provide. Keeping his composure as best he could Kyle explained briefly what he had been through that morning and that to the best of his knowledge there was no longer any working police force operating in the area. He had also heard that state police and National Guard forces were supposed to have been deployed to help support hospitals and manage relief efforts but had no contact with any of them. His assumption was that they had either fallen victim to the outbreak themselves or had been simply overrun by sheer numbers. He gave Garrett an abbreviated rundown on how his own department had been hit hard with the total loss of their force.
Before they could get into any more details about what they knew of the apocalypse, Miranda slid over next to Garrett and discreetly whispered that she needed to use the bathroom inside the 711 but she wasn't comfortable going in the store alone. Shellie overheard the conversation and came to Garrett's rescue by offering to accompany her. When Miranda saw her exit the police car a little shaky on her feet but comfortably holding a shotgun which she expertly pumped two more rounds into before heading towards the store, she shrugged at Garrett and trotted off to follow along with Shellie. Before she made it five feet, she called out to ask Shellie to wait a minute. Turning back towards Garrett she walked up beside him, lifted her head to his face and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I don't think I properly thanked you for rescuing me." As a flush of red started creeping along her cheeks she turned back around and hustled off to join Shellie and head inside the store.
Calvin had just dropped off a load of drinks in the back of the pickup truck and had witnessed this little exchange between the two of them. He sidled up alongside Garrett and watched as both Miranda and Shellie trotted off into the store together.
"Hmmm, looks like it takes a zombie apocalypse to finally get your mojo working my friend. She does have a nice little ass though."
Garrett looked over at him and was about to say something but let it go, each of them was dealing with this in their own way, if it helped Calvin to resort to his frat boy mannerism, then so be it. But he did silently have to agree that their new friend had an attractive back side.
"So what happens next?" Calvin asked, "It looks like you are calling the shots this morning, so how do you propose to deliver your little flock to the promised land?"
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br /> Garrett pondered that for a couple seconds. The truth was, he was just making it up as he went, how does one ever prepare themselves for such a catastrophic event when there was no play book ever invented that could help guide him. Whatever they did he had a feeling it was going to be a long and bumpy road before they found that promised land.
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Also available on Amazon.com:
The Dead Don’t Bleed Series
Part 2: The Aftermath
The Infected Series
Part 1: The Infected
Part 2: Gerald’s War
Part 3: Rise of the Zombies
Questions and comments are always welcome.
Contact the author at:
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