Nano Z by Brad Knight Page B

to catch their breath. Meat puppets immediately descended upon them.
    With his baton, the male twin swung for undead heads. He managed to connect with a couple creating a lane to Amber and Mack. Sure that they wouldn’t survive alone, the twins wasted no time reuniting with their former co-prisoners.
    The bear puppet jumped off the top of the rodeo arena. It didn’t bother climbing down. That was one of the advantages of having metal bones.
    Shit. Mack saw the bear land in the parking lot. The butt of his gun wouldn’t be enough to take the creature down. He knew he had to think, and think fast.
    Cars. We’re surrounded by cars. Sure driving out of here won’t be possible, but they still have tanks full of gasoline.
    “Is he taking off his shirt?” asked the male twin. He was referring to Mack who quickly stripped off his Kevlar vest and started unbuttoning the shirt underneath.
    “Normally I wouldn’t complain, but I hardly think this is the right time for that.” The female twin addressed Mack’s impromptu stripping.
    “Just keep them off of me,” said Mack as he twisted up his shirt. He took a quick mental inventory of the cars near them.
    I need something old. Nothing modern. There! Mack found what he was looking for. Not far away was an old pickup truck.
    The rest of the group kept fighting as Mack ran towards the old pickup. They managed to keep the meat puppets back but just barely. It wouldn’t be long before Amber ran out of ammo though. And the male twin could only swing around his police baton for so long. Their survival depended on whatever their leader had planned.
    Shit. Mack caught a glimpse of the bear puppet coming towards him and the group. More accurately he saw the white smoke over the other meat puppets get closer. He had to hurry.
    First thing Mack did was break off the pickup truck’s antennae. Then he moved on to the gas tank. After managing to open the little door and unscrewing the gas cap, he tore the sleeve off of his shirt. The newly formed rag was wrapped around the end of the antennae. That was stuffed into the open gas tank.
    “I’m out!” yelled Amber as she pulled her pistol’s trigger and heard the click.
    Shit. “Come over here! Now!” Mack yelled as he unspooled the gasoline soaked rag.
    Amber and the twins slowly backed up to Mack. The male twin beat off any meat puppets who got close. They had to weave through a couple parked cars but successfully reached Mack and the pickup.
    “Run for the woods. Don’t wait for me, just go,” instructed Mack as he stuck the rag back into the engine. He left some slack out to serve as a fuse.
    “No. I’m staying here, with you.” Amber refused to leave.
    “Please Amber, there’s no time to argue. Just go. I’ll catch up. I promise.”
    “You promised you’d protect me!” Amber got angry.
    “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Now go!”
    The group did as they were told. They ran for the woods which weren’t far. All they needed to do was reach them before the bear puppet caught up.
    The bear had no concern for any other meat puppets. It barreled through them like they weren’t even there. They might as well not have been. They didn’t slow the monster down at all. And it was close to its quarry, seeking fresh meat.
    I should’ve asked them for a lighter. Mack realized he didn’t have anything to light the gasoline soaked rag with. The possibility of using the muzzle flash from his assault rifle came to mind, but it wasn’t a sure thing. So instead he looked in the bed of the truck.
    Much to Mack’s relief he found a flare in the bed of the pickup. Not wanting to waste a single second, he tore off the top cap, lighting it. Then he held the bright flames of the flare to the gasoline soaked rag stuffed into the gas tank.
    Run like your life depends on it. Because it does. Mack ran as fast as his legs allowed. Adrenaline carried him most of the way to the woods.
    The undead bear climbed over other downed puppets and