“I figured you'd need drivers. Both these boys volunteered to go along.”
The guy Al had the confrontation with, Jeb, and someone I hadn't seen before were busy mounting the two by sixes on the Ford's front bumper. Al looked at me and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. Neither one of us wanted anything to do with Jeb. He was too volatile. Besides he had an ax to grind with Al and I didn't feel he could be trusted.
“We'll only need one of your men Chief. We're used to each other and Rick will be going with us.” I said.
“That's good. Seth didn't volunteer to go anyway. I had to twist his arm a little. He won't mind if you take his truck. I'll see to that.”
Al was shaking his head, getting ready for a show down with the Chief.
“I know what you're going to say. Don't. Jeb's a good man. He just gets a little carried away sometimes. You need to forget about what happened before Al. I already talked to Jeb. He's over it.”
“It's either him or one of the girls Al. We've faced a hell of a lot the past few days. Nothing this big though. We're going into the biggest horde we will have faced so far. If something happens and we don't make it back at least they'll have each other.”
“You mean like they can be girlfriends?” Al asked with a smile on his face.
“If that's what it takes, yeah.” I couldn't help but smile back.
“Then let's go.”
Gina and Cindy both wanted to come with us but we persuaded them to stay. I promised Gina we would try to get to her father and hopefully bring him back with us. I don't know what Al said to Cindy but she finally relented and agreed to stay with Gina. The five of us went to our vehicles to load up for our upcoming outing. The three of us each took two 9mms, a Mossberg shotgun, and an automatic assault rifle. Al rummaged around in the back of the truck and came out with two rucksacks. I assumed, correctly, that each was full of fragmentation grenades. Jeb had his own weapons and refused our offer to borrow any firearms.
We got into the trucks and headed for the gate. Al insisted on riding with Jeb. He wanted to keep an eye on him and I rode with Rick. The girls followed us in the Hummer with Mike behind them in his cruiser. When we got to the gate, Rick told me he would be more comfortable if I drove. I was relieved to hear this since I felt the same way. It wasn't that Rick wasn't a good driver, I just would feel better with him covering our flanks and myself choosing the direction we took. Jeb would be driving his truck and would lead us through the gate. After we made it through, we were going to separate and try to split the horde and draw them off in different directions.
It was going to be tricky getting through the opening in the barricade. The gate wasn't really a gate. There was a trailer wedged at an angle through the opening. To move it, a truck would have to be hooked up to the trailer and it would have to be driven out. To do this, a diversion would have to be created along the fence far enough away to draw the zombies away from the trailer. An experienced driver would hook the trailer to a truck, pull forward enough for us to drive the trucks through, then back the trailer back into the opening. All this had to be done fast enough to prevent the zombies from getting into the compound. The trick was to not knock the wall over when pulling out or backing the trailer back into position.
To draw the zombies away, two way radios wrapped in towels were tossed over the wall. Mike's wife then started talking through her radio and we waited for the zombies to be drawn away. Mike had one of his deputies on the trailer as a spotter. The signal was given. The truck backed in and was hooked up. Mike tossed a few grenades over the wall and when they went off, the truck pulled forward. As it moved forward, shooters got into position. When the trailer cleared the opening, all hell broke loose.
Gina and Cindy were with the group firing into the opening. Most of the zombies had been drawn away. That still left over twenty zombies close enough to the now open compound to get in. As the opening widened, the shooters moved into position crossing the road firing into the horde. Jeb's truck shot forward and I followed close behind. The shooting stopped and we cleared the gate. Jeb made a hard left and I shot off to the right. They were everywhere. I plowed through them with no problem. It was a rough ride but we sat up high enough that clearing the zombies we crushed under our wheels was not a problem. As prearranged, I went about a hundred feet and turned back to the opening. Al and Jeb were in the process of doing the same thing.
The radio I carried with me came to life. It was Gina.
“The trailer is back in position. You okay?”
“Yeah Gina, we're fine.” Rick said. I was busy driving and since he was facing the fence and couldn't risk shooting into the horde, Rick had radio duty. “Al, are you guys alright.”
“It's a rough ride. But yeah, we're good.”
Gina was talking into the radio but I couldn't hear her. Rick had dropped it on the seat when we got turned around and began firing into the horde. Al was supposed to be on the radio now, but I didn't think he was. Grenades were flying over the top of the truck and landing in the midst of the zombies. It was a beautiful sight. Watching as the grenades went off, bodies and body parts flying out from the center of the explosion. The plan was for us to drive back and forth through the horde until the herd was thinned out a bit. Then move off slowly, both trucks headed south. There was a cut off to the southeast about a mile down the road. Rick and I would go that way while Jeb and Al continued south. Hopefully this would give the people back in town enough time to move the pre-assembled wall pieces into position. When they were done, we would loop around back to the bridge and come back into town that way.
Al was definitely in his element. There was nothing he enjoyed more than killing zombies. We turned to make another pass through the horde and Al opened fire with the semi-automatic rifle. He had a knack for keeping the rifle at just the right height. I'm sure he missed occasionally with the truck constantly slamming into and over bodies but I'd be willing to bet he didn't miss much. After three passes, the crowd of zombies had been thinned out enough that we could begin leading the rest away.
“You had enough Al?”
“Yeah, it's time to start playing pied piper. Gina you still there?”
“Yeah Al, I'm here.”
“Put Cindy on, will you?”
“Hey Al, it's me. Everything okay? Sounded like you used a hell of a lot of grenades there. I'll bet you're having fun. Aren't you?”
“Just doing my part honey. You know me. Just another cog in the machine.”
“Look, you be careful. I want you back in one piece. You hear me.”
“Yes dear. I'll make sure not to have too much fun. Oh shit, we're coming up on a big crowd of them. The streets blocked. I got to go. Love you.”
“Rick you listening?”
“What is it Al?”
“Have Steve pull up here.”
Al had Jeb pull over to the side of the road to make room for me to get along side of him. I pulled up next to him and rolled down my window. Al was hanging out the window, shooting into the approaching horde. I sat patiently waiting for a break in the action.
“Tell Rick to join in. Concentrate on the center. Get ready. When I say go, Jeb you drive right into the center of them. Steve follow close behind. Not too close though, leave enough space between the trucks so you can stop real fast if you need to.”
“Got ya boss.”
“I'm not the boss. This is your show buddy. I'm more of a technical adviser here.”
Al stopped talking and started shooting. The ones in the center of the road were dropping fast. The zombies off to the sides were closing in. If we didn't get moving soon, we'd be surrounded. Al stopped shooting and reached down to the floor board. I knew what that meant. Soon the grenades would fly.
“Why don't you toss a couple too Rick?”
“I thought you'd never ask.”
Rick and Al each threw grenades into the mass of zombies gathered in front of us. I waited until Jeb started forward then I followed him through what was left of them. There were plenty of zombies left and we just plowed right through. Bodies flew everywhere, I could see Jeb had his windshield wipers going. The front of their truck was thick with the blood of the zombies. The truck we were in was covered in the black tar like blood that was flying everywhere as we crashed through the front line. Once we made our initial push past the front of the pack, the herd thinned out a little and we were able to keep a steady pace.
I had to get on the radio and talk with Al. “You guys need to slow it down. This isn't a race.”
“Tell me about it. This guy is scared shitless. He's on the run.”
I could hear Jeb arguing with Al in the background as I tried to talk to Al. Rick looked at me and we both busted out laughing. Al was screaming at Jeb to slow down. And Jeb countered that if they didn't go faster, they'd be trapped. It sounded like he was about to cry. Then the radio went silent.
“Steve you see that?”
“What?”
“Al's got his gun against Jeb's head. Oh shit, he just hit him with the barrel.”
It wasn't so funny anymore. “Al, take it easy. We need Jeb in one piece.”
“This asshole won't listen. Don't worry though; I think I've got his attention now.”
I had to admit you had to admire Al's dedication to our mission. I might not agree with Al's method, but Jeb did slow down. He had to. I doubted his vision was clear and he needed a free hand to rub the side of his head.
“Try not to hit him again, okay?”
“He's not bleeding. Jeb you're okay. I won't let the big bad zombies get you.”
We drove for a few miles. The line of zombies stretched out behind. We stopped every few minutes to let them catch up to us. Rick watched for the fast moving zombies and started calling them runners. Since we were in the rear, he had to take them out before they got to the trucks. Al was able to help him some but most of the time it was up to Rick. Every time he got one with the first shot he looked to me for my approval. I had the urge to pat him on the head and offer him a treat. We were coming to the place in the road where we would split up.
“Al, you're going straight here. We'll take the left.”
“You got it. Stay in touch.”
“Will do.”
Jeb went straight and I turned to the left. Most of the zombies followed him but a few did come our way. Rick and I both got out of the truck and started shooting the zombies coming at us. After a few minutes, the number of the undead coming our way got to be more than we could keep up with and we got back into the truck. Rick wanted to drive for a while. The number of zombies in front of us had thinned out so I reluctantly relinquished the wheel. He drove away slowly and started to lead them away. Five minutes down the road, Al reported in. The radios were short range so I could barely make out what he was saying.
“Fucking asshole shot me.”
“What? Did you say someone shot you?”
“I can barely hear you.”
“Al, are you alright?”
“Hell no I'm not alright. Jeb shot me. I think my ribs are broke.”
“Can you hold on until we get there?”
“I guess I'll have to. The trucks wrecked. Jeb's knocked out. I hit him a little harder than the last time. You need to hurry. I'm surrounded and they look hungry.”
“Give us a minute. Rick get us there.”
Rick did a 180 and started back the other way. We were by some open fields so he was able to avoid driving through most of the zombies. The way he was driving though, I don't think it would have made a difference if there was a brick wall in front of us. He was getting through no matter what. We came to a place in the road where the fields turned to forest. Fortunately, we came to the tail end of the line of zombies that were trailing us. Rick ran through a group of about twenty zombies and didn't even slow down. He came to where we had turned off and made a left. Soon we would come to the horde that was following Al.
“Al, you still with us?”
“No, I got tired of waiting. Hitched a ride with these two hookers. I think they're gonna give me a freebie. This hurts like hell. If I wasn't wearing body armor, I'd be dead.”
“I was wondering about that. How the hell did it happen?”
“We came to a shit load of zombies. I threw a few grenades into the crowd. When I was reaching into the bag to grab another one, the bastard shot me. You shot me didn't you?”