at my house after his house got overrun. But when they started just going house to house looking for people to eat, it was time to leave. I saw a family that had boarded up their windows get attacked, and in no time, at least a hundred of those things were tearing at the windows and doors. The boards didn’t last long, and the family was eventually slaughtered. These things would beat their hands off trying to get into a house if they thought there was meat in there.”
“Sounds like you guys have seen a lot.” I said, shifting Jake, who was testing his “twisty” powers.
Tommy sighed. “Sometimes I wonder what the point is. Why bother to go on? Be real simple to just eat a bullet and join everyone who’s died, you know?”
I nodded. I had been there, and the only thing bringing me back from the brink was the little guy in my arms.
We got lost in our own separate thoughts, so much so that we jumped when Duncan leaped up. “We got company!” he yelled, pointing towards the entrance to the preserve.
9
Tommy and I both craned our necks to see what Duncan was pointing at, and we saw a group of people slowly making their way down the lane towards the lake. There was about fifteen of them, and it was obvious they were not among the living. Their shambling, disjointed walk was the first clue, and the second was when one of them stumbled, his arm, which had been hanging by a tendon, snapped off, and he didn’t seem to notice.
Tommy and Duncan fingered their weapons and looked at me. I took the situation in and made a decision. “If we stay, we might get them all. But a battle will attract a lot of attention. I’m taking off back on the trail. I’ll fight on my terms.” I said, taking Jake back to the bike and strapping him in.
Tommy called to me, “What about us? Our car can’t take ramming any more of them, and we don’t have enough ammo to get them all.”
I looked at Tommy. “Your car can fit on the trail. Get moving and follow me.”
Tommy didn’t need to be told twice, especially when the zombies caught sight of us and started groaning, their pace increasing at the sight of food. Duncan was already in the car, looking anxiously over his shoulder and mentally calculating how long it will take for the zombies to get to us. Tommy ran to the car and started the engine. I pushed the bike and trailer back to the trail and guided Tommy and Duncan over to the path. Their car was just narrow enough to fit comfortably on the trail, but if we had to cross any bridges or go through any tunnels, we were going to be in trouble.
I rode quickly, putting as much distance between the zombies and myself as I could. I knew they were going to follow, but hopefully they would lose the trail after a little bit. The nice thing about the trail was it curved frequently, so the zombies were going to lose sight of us fast.
Their groaning faded into the distance as we headed back to the trail crossroads, and I took the south fork. I figured to stay on the trail as much as I could, and avoid population centers. Eventually, I figured to hit Interstate 57,and be able to head south with the hope that other towns had survived and would welcome other survivors. That was the plan, anyway.
After riding for a while, Tommy honked his horn and got my attention. I pulled up and he got out of the car. He was holding a length of rope and I eyed it curiously.
“Feel like taking it easy for a bit?” he asked, tying one end to the rear bumper of the car.
I got his meaning and grinned. “Sure, thanks. The trail just heads south for a while. It will cross two roads, then merge with a main highway for a bit. That will be Oak Lawn Ave. It might get a little snarcky there, so we’re going to have to be careful.” I took the other end of the rope and tied it to my bike, leaving about twenty feet of space.
“Try not to go too fast, hey?” I asked
“No worries.” said Tommy, as he got back into the car.
We started off with myself and
“Sounds like you guys have seen a lot.” I said, shifting Jake, who was testing his “twisty” powers.
Tommy sighed. “Sometimes I wonder what the point is. Why bother to go on? Be real simple to just eat a bullet and join everyone who’s died, you know?”
I nodded. I had been there, and the only thing bringing me back from the brink was the little guy in my arms.
We got lost in our own separate thoughts, so much so that we jumped when Duncan leaped up. “We got company!” he yelled, pointing towards the entrance to the preserve.
9
Tommy and I both craned our necks to see what Duncan was pointing at, and we saw a group of people slowly making their way down the lane towards the lake. There was about fifteen of them, and it was obvious they were not among the living. Their shambling, disjointed walk was the first clue, and the second was when one of them stumbled, his arm, which had been hanging by a tendon, snapped off, and he didn’t seem to notice.
Tommy and Duncan fingered their weapons and looked at me. I took the situation in and made a decision. “If we stay, we might get them all. But a battle will attract a lot of attention. I’m taking off back on the trail. I’ll fight on my terms.” I said, taking Jake back to the bike and strapping him in.
Tommy called to me, “What about us? Our car can’t take ramming any more of them, and we don’t have enough ammo to get them all.”
I looked at Tommy. “Your car can fit on the trail. Get moving and follow me.”
Tommy didn’t need to be told twice, especially when the zombies caught sight of us and started groaning, their pace increasing at the sight of food. Duncan was already in the car, looking anxiously over his shoulder and mentally calculating how long it will take for the zombies to get to us. Tommy ran to the car and started the engine. I pushed the bike and trailer back to the trail and guided Tommy and Duncan over to the path. Their car was just narrow enough to fit comfortably on the trail, but if we had to cross any bridges or go through any tunnels, we were going to be in trouble.
I rode quickly, putting as much distance between the zombies and myself as I could. I knew they were going to follow, but hopefully they would lose the trail after a little bit. The nice thing about the trail was it curved frequently, so the zombies were going to lose sight of us fast.
Their groaning faded into the distance as we headed back to the trail crossroads, and I took the south fork. I figured to stay on the trail as much as I could, and avoid population centers. Eventually, I figured to hit Interstate 57,and be able to head south with the hope that other towns had survived and would welcome other survivors. That was the plan, anyway.
After riding for a while, Tommy honked his horn and got my attention. I pulled up and he got out of the car. He was holding a length of rope and I eyed it curiously.
“Feel like taking it easy for a bit?” he asked, tying one end to the rear bumper of the car.
I got his meaning and grinned. “Sure, thanks. The trail just heads south for a while. It will cross two roads, then merge with a main highway for a bit. That will be Oak Lawn Ave. It might get a little snarcky there, so we’re going to have to be careful.” I took the other end of the rope and tied it to my bike, leaving about twenty feet of space.
“Try not to go too fast, hey?” I asked
“No worries.” said Tommy, as he got back into the car.
We started off with myself and
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