Last Stand of the Dead - 06 Read Free

so he ran to the next truck, and moved it back alongside the others.  He got out just as the ghouls were stumbling into fighting range.
    Duncan pulled out his pistol and fired three shots at the nearest ones, striking them in the head and knocking them to the ground. 
    I wish I could have seen Duncan’s face when the Z’s he had shot didn’t stay down, they got back up and started moving for him again.  But I did get to see his face as he raced back to our position.  If ever there was a poster for “WTF ,” Duncan’s face was it.
    Charlie was the first to get the point across and clarify things for Duncan.
    “Ever wonder why they’re called ‘bullet-proof helmets?’” He asked.
    Duncan stared at Charlie for a moment.  “Oh, geez.”   He wasn’t as much embarrassed , as he was dreading the inevitable teasing that was going to follow once we finished up this business.
    We all chuckled a bit, I watched as Sarah and Rebecca stabilized their rifles on the hood of the truck.  Sarah fired first, sending a round through the eye of the closest zombie, dropping him to the ground.
    Rebecca killed the next, shooting him dead before the first even hit the dust.  Sarah followed suit and the next four were eliminated quickly .
    I went over to the corpses to make sure they were dead, but it was clear they weren’t coming back.  The bullets had entered their heads, bounced off the Kevlar helmets, and reentered the skulls, seriously scrambling their signals.  The clothing on several had been torn around the legs and arms, telling me there had been several attackers.  A couple of the soldiers had huge tears in their throats, which told me that they had been attacked wh ile they were sleepin , or had been finished off when they had been taken to the ground.  Either way, it wasn’t a good way to go.
    Tommy joined me at the corpses , while the rest of the crew waited by the trucks.
    “Something about this is sitting wrong, John , ” h e said.
    I looked around for any movement stirred up by the shots before answering.  “Talk to me.  What’s on your mind?”
    “If these guys had bunked in the trucks, they’d have been pretty safe from attack.  So they had to be coaxed out.”  Tommy looked down at the soldiers.  “How could they have been lured out?”
    I shook my head. “We aren’t going to find answers here, and the only place to get them is where they came from.”  I pointed to the other side of the river.  “We have to get over there anyway.”
    We walked back to the trucks and I laid it out plain for the crew.  “We’re crossing here, and I don’t know what’s on the other side.  Charlie and I will take point, Tommy and Duncan, you two ride in the truck bed and give us cover if we need it.  Rebecca, you drive the van up front, we’ll keep the side door open in case we need a retreat.  Sarah, you’re on the truck, make sure Duncan doesn’t fall out.”
    “Hey !” Duncan protested. “One time! And it was a big bump you hit!”
    We all laughed , and then got serious as we loaded and made ready.  I had magazines within easy reach; my pickaxe and tomahawk were loosed and ready to go.  My knife and pistol mags were within easy reach, and I figured if I was to cross over the great divide today, I was going to pay my way dearly.
    Charlie and I walked ahead of the vehicles, but close enough for a quick retreat.  Rebecca kept the van just slightly back and to the left of us, leav ing an open door within easy reach.  If it got bad, we could be inside within a second or two.  I figured we still had five to ten soldiers to deal with, and possibly several zombie kids, so we had to be careful.
    Charlie spoke up as we reached the top of the first hill, placing us directly above the railroad tracks that crossed the river.
    “Figure the zombie kids did this?”  He asked.
    I nodded.  “Can’t be anyone else, except for new zombies made by the kids.”
    Charlie thought about that for a second.