at the sun and back to the interior of the truck. The others settled in to wait for sunset to release our Undead companions. Vincent and I sat along the steel wall in the sliver of shade.
“Got any water, Squirrel?”
I pulled my canteen off my belt and shook it; a swish answered. I held it out to him and searched my pockets for the flask I recovered on the last run. He took a couple of sips and passed it back to me. I drank a little before accepting that my new flask was lost forever.
“We’ve got three-quarters of a canteen of water to last the day. Think we should try to put down a couple of fleshies from here or conserve energy until nightfall?”
I looked at the football sized chunks of concrete surrounding us.
“What the hell; let’s give it a try. I think we can do some damage with those.”
I grabbed a hefty piece of stone and stood at the top of the mound. With a practice swing, I tossed the ballista at the crowd of recently dead. It crashed into the shoulder of a man who looked like Peter Jackson in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans. The fuzzy carcass fell over but hoisted itself again; this time its arm swung loose in the busted socket.
“Not bad. I think we can at least do enough damage to give us a better shot. If not, reinforcements will awaken soon.”
My partner flung a block and bowled over two of the Dead, breaking the legs on one.
“Nice one. What bugs me, though, is that there are so many zombies who were living people not long ago. That means their either was a group thriving until recently and they got overwhelmed or...”
“...that there still is a rival camp nearby and these are just the ones they lost a short time ago. Yeah, I know.”
We both threw brick-sized lumps and managed to destroy one of our attackers and completely miss the other. The satisfying crunch of its skull caving in gave me a second wind.
“This trip tonight is gonna suck isn’t it?”
“Doesn’t it always?”
He’s got a point. At least I’ll...we’ll have Daemon, Cal, and Reggie to help. Wonder if Daemon’s folks are alive? I hope this doesn’t end as badly as my family.
I pushed aside my thoughts and the ghosts of my former life.
“You make a good point, Vincent.”
###
When the last rays of light faded into the shadows of pine trees and totaled cars, only five Dead remained around our battered hideaway. Pale forms tore the heads apart as another gurgled through its broken maw. Black blood bubbled from the ripped throat of the spectral-eyed woman. Sunny stood a dozen steps from the creature and looked away while Reggie stomped its face into the pavement; only a silent puddle remained of the distorted features.
No one spoke about why Sunny was so distraught over the kill; it was obvious. The fleshie had been stumbling with its baby dragging the ground by the umbilical cord. Thankfully, the baby hadn’t turned as well. As we built a low fire to dispose of the other Dead, Chase and I buried the woman and her daughter. Bubba said a prayer over the grave while the rest of us looked on.
I wonder what she would’ve named her. Or did she even know if it was going to be a girl?
I used my peripheral vision to check on Sunny; stone-faced but her pallor told us how worried she was. She barely appeared to notice her husband placing his surviving hand on her arm. I made a private promise to myself to keep the same fate from reaching my friend.
At any
“Got any water, Squirrel?”
I pulled my canteen off my belt and shook it; a swish answered. I held it out to him and searched my pockets for the flask I recovered on the last run. He took a couple of sips and passed it back to me. I drank a little before accepting that my new flask was lost forever.
“We’ve got three-quarters of a canteen of water to last the day. Think we should try to put down a couple of fleshies from here or conserve energy until nightfall?”
I looked at the football sized chunks of concrete surrounding us.
“What the hell; let’s give it a try. I think we can do some damage with those.”
I grabbed a hefty piece of stone and stood at the top of the mound. With a practice swing, I tossed the ballista at the crowd of recently dead. It crashed into the shoulder of a man who looked like Peter Jackson in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans. The fuzzy carcass fell over but hoisted itself again; this time its arm swung loose in the busted socket.
“Not bad. I think we can at least do enough damage to give us a better shot. If not, reinforcements will awaken soon.”
My partner flung a block and bowled over two of the Dead, breaking the legs on one.
“Nice one. What bugs me, though, is that there are so many zombies who were living people not long ago. That means their either was a group thriving until recently and they got overwhelmed or...”
“...that there still is a rival camp nearby and these are just the ones they lost a short time ago. Yeah, I know.”
We both threw brick-sized lumps and managed to destroy one of our attackers and completely miss the other. The satisfying crunch of its skull caving in gave me a second wind.
“This trip tonight is gonna suck isn’t it?”
“Doesn’t it always?”
He’s got a point. At least I’ll...we’ll have Daemon, Cal, and Reggie to help. Wonder if Daemon’s folks are alive? I hope this doesn’t end as badly as my family.
I pushed aside my thoughts and the ghosts of my former life.
“You make a good point, Vincent.”
###
When the last rays of light faded into the shadows of pine trees and totaled cars, only five Dead remained around our battered hideaway. Pale forms tore the heads apart as another gurgled through its broken maw. Black blood bubbled from the ripped throat of the spectral-eyed woman. Sunny stood a dozen steps from the creature and looked away while Reggie stomped its face into the pavement; only a silent puddle remained of the distorted features.
No one spoke about why Sunny was so distraught over the kill; it was obvious. The fleshie had been stumbling with its baby dragging the ground by the umbilical cord. Thankfully, the baby hadn’t turned as well. As we built a low fire to dispose of the other Dead, Chase and I buried the woman and her daughter. Bubba said a prayer over the grave while the rest of us looked on.
I wonder what she would’ve named her. Or did she even know if it was going to be a girl?
I used my peripheral vision to check on Sunny; stone-faced but her pallor told us how worried she was. She barely appeared to notice her husband placing his surviving hand on her arm. I made a private promise to myself to keep the same fate from reaching my friend.
At any
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