“What should we do?”
“She needs help. I think we should be gentlemen and go over there. Do you have your gun?”
“I’ll get it,” Victor answered. He went into the truck and found his gun. He grabbed some rounds from the box and stuffed them in his shirt’s front pocket. Kyle moved the truck to the side of the road and turned it off. He reached into his pack to get some shells. He loaded them into the shotgun and grabbed two more fresh magazines. He put them into his back pocket.
Kyle looked at Victor and said, “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” he said, “let’s go be gentlemen.”
They both held their weapons out in front of them as they ran toward the direction of the woman.
Chapter Five
The woman yelled continuously as Kyle and Victor weaved their way through the bushes. Kyle was carefully scanning the area to make sure the screaming woman wasn’t attracting more unwanted company. Victor ran ahead and began moving toward the woman’s driveway.
“Wait up,” Kyle called out.
Victor stopped only a few feet away from the garage door and turned. He was already mid-way up the driveway. The woman walked to the edge of the one storey house roof. Kyle reached Victor and looked up.
“Susie?” he said to the woman.
“Kyle,” she said. “I thought that was your truck.”
She looked at Kyle and he stared back. The woman looked like hell. Her once bleached blond hair was now a dirty blond color, and nestled with knots. She had dark circles under her tired red eyes. The gray sweats she was wearing were in desperate need of washing.
“What happened to you? You look like shit,” Kyle said.
Victor laughed.
“You’re an asshole,” she said then looked beyond them to the street. “Look out,” she yelled.
Victor and Kyle turned quickly. Staggering up the driveway were three Existing Dead. They walked with the same slow-motion movements of all the others they’d seen. The guys raised their weapons.
“Get the one on the far right,” Kyle told Victor. “Make sure you aim this time. We don’t have many rounds left for your Snubby.”
“Okay,” Victor answered.
Before they could fire, Kyle heard something like a sparkler being lit. “What’s that noise?”
Kyle twisted his head and looked up toward Susie. She yelled a small war cry and launched an ignited dynamite stick toward the Existing Dead. The explosive bounced in front of the dead then rolled a few feet behind them.
“Holy shit,” Kyle said as he noticed what it was. “Victor, run and get down!”
Victor didn’t move. He just turned around and curled down into a ball. Kyle stood next to the boy and cuddled him. They waited for what seemed like an eternity, but it was only a few seconds.
The dynamite exploded. The blast obliterated one of the bodies, sending limbs, sprays of blood, and concrete bits into the air. The other two Existing Dead flew upward, bodies still intact. One landed several yards away in the middle of the street, while the other landed on the edge of the roof, teeter-tottering. A decent-sized crater formed at ground zero. Kyle and Victor stayed still for several seconds. Finally, Kyle let go of Victor.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Victor looked around, dazed. He stared at Kyle and said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you stink like fish that’s been sitting out in the sun.”
Kyle felt like popping the kid in the face for being rude, but he let it roll off his back. Kyle smiled and held Victor’s head in a headlock.
“Are you guys okay?” Susie called from the roof.
“What the hell was that?” Kyle said, letting Victor go. “Where did you get dynamite from?”
“I found it,” Susie answered, not wanting to say any more.
“You could have fucking killed us. We could have taken care of them without making a huge explosion,” Kyle said, finally feeling some anger for Susie’s recklessness. He turned and walked a few paces to the hole. He looked around the area to make sure no more dead were sneaking up behind them.
Susie walked up to the Existing Dead that had its legs teetering off the roof and gave it a huge kick. Below, Victor didn’t notice the body tipping from the roof like a car that had just driven over an embankment. He was completely unaware of the danger above. Kyle turned just in time to see the creature come crashing down on top of Victor.
The body made contact with Victor’s head, instantly knocking him unconscious. The boy fell onto his back, the zombie swamping him. His gun discharged in his grip, nearly striking Kyle in the head. He heard the bullet shoot by his ear like a fly.
“Victor!” Kyle yelled. He hustled back to the boy, dropped his shotgun and yanked the dead body off of him. “Victor,” he said again. Victor lay motionless on the ground, his clothing covered in dirt and muck from the Existing Dead’s tethered clothes.
“What the fuck did you do?” Kyle yelled up at Susie. Kyle put his fingers on Victor’s neck to check for a pulse. It was faint.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t see him,” she said in a panic. “Bring him into the house; I’ll open the garage door.”
Kyle thought twice about accepting Susie’s invitation. He didn’t want to be around someone so irresponsible. But then he remembered that before the Existing Dead, Susie had been a nurse. She had worked at the hospital nearby. Victor needed help, and Kyle had no idea what to do. He had taken a job site safety course because of his construction jobs, but that was many years ago. The only thing he remembered was how to give CPR and check for a pulse, and even those details were a bit hazy.
The garage door began to roll up. Kyle grabbed the body that had fallen onto Victor and threw it as far as he could toward the street. In mid-air, the creature’s eyes opened. It landed face first onto the ground, scraping some of its skin. Kyle turned. The garage door was almost open. He slid the shotgun through the opening and carefully lifted Victor’s body with both hands. The door was almost fully open, revealing Susie pulling on a double chain to open the garage.
She looked at Kyle and yelled, “Look out!”
Kyle heard a moan behind him. He quickly turned and saw the Existing Dead he had just thrown shambling toward them. He turned toward Susie and yelled, “Don’t throw another fucking stick of dynamite!” Kyle tossed Victor’s body over his shoulder in the fireman’s carry. He drew his Glock and fired at the monster that continually moaned. The first shot went through the zombie’s neck. It stopped moaning. He fired again, hitting it in the chest. Kyle was finding it hard to aim with Victor’s weight on his shoulder. He fired four shots rapidly. One caught the monster in the center of its forehead. The bullet went through its head, exiting the back with a popping noise. The creature fell to the ground. He holstered the gun and walked into the garage.
Susie began pulling the other chain to make the garage door close. Kyle walked straight into the house and searched for a couch to lay Victor down. He found the living area and laid the boy down gently. He ran back to the garage to help Susie. She was almost done closing the door. Kyle knelt down to pick up his shotgun and looked outside. Before the door completely closed he saw several pairs of legs walking up the driveway.
Susie turned and said, “Where is he?”
“I put him in the living room,” he answered.
“Good, go elevate his head and get me some water out of the tub,” she replied and walked to a cabinet against the wall. She took out a first aid kit and some paper towels.
“The tub?” he asked.
“Yes, I filled it up with water when the pumps were working. Grab that bucket over there and fill it half way.”
Kyle turned and saw the bucket. He picked it up and said, “Where’s the tub?”
“Go in. Make a left up the hall, second door on the right.”