Last Stand of the Dead - 06 by Joseph Talluto Read Free Book Online Page B

gear changed the minds of several men who were beginning to walk forward. I hadn’t even flinched when the shot was fired.   I smiled to myself, and then changed the subject.
    “We need to get moving if we have any chance of catching these zombies.  Just let us know which way they went and at the least , we can avenge your dead, ” I said.
    That set off another round of yelling, which was only interrupted by a low moan coming from the firehouse .  I turned quickly and saw one of the wounded in the building come stumbling out.  His arm was black from the virus, and he was pale from death.  His dead eyes looked around and he uttered another moan.
    Charlie was closest, so he just raised his rifle and shot the man in the head as he took another step f orward.  In the bay of the fire house, several prone forms were beginning to twitch and stir.
    “Excuse us for a moment, ” I said.  Following Charlie, we walked the bay and efficiently put a rifle round through each of the people lying there.  The biggest danger was a round ricocheting off the concrete and hitting us after passing th ro ugh a zombie. We were careful to aim at an angle which kept the round away from us.  It didn’t help the back wall any, but that wasn’t our lookout.
    We finished our task and went back outside.  The crowd had dispersed somewhat, but there were still several people milling about.  They looked dazed, like they had fallen from a good height and had the wind knocked out of them.
    “Can anyone tell me anything more about these zombies?”  I asked the crowd in general.
    A teenager stepped forward.  He was about nineteen or less, and wore loose jeans with a plain white t-shirt.
    “I could tell you where they ’re headed, ”  The boy drawled slowly.  He was armed with a long knife, the end of which was black and rusty.
    “Which way?” I asked, getting into the truck.
    “I said I could.  Didn’t say I would.”
    I looked at him for a moment.  “Suit yourself.” 
    We left him open-mouthed and his cohorts in a similar state behind as we drove south to get back to 34.  Tommy radioed to Freeman what had happened, but was unable to get a response.  I figured we needed to get west as quickly as possible.  We were right behind these guys, but we had to detour a bit to get ahead of them.  That was one of the problems with travelling by truck.  We were limited to the roads while the little Z’s could travel wherever.  I wasn’t about to go chasing them down on foot.  Not that I was worried about meeting the zombies, but Sarah would shoot me dead for such a stupid idea.

Chapter 12
     
     
    We reached the end of 164 and turned east again on 34.  The countryside was heavily wooded, interspersed with farms and small ponds.  There were no more large population centers the further we moved away from water, and I was grateful for that.  We drove as quickly as we could, and Sarah pointed out to me that the next town on the map that connected with the railroad was Biggsville , and we might be able to set up an ambush there.
    I looked at the map for a second and it made sense.  We had covered the distance in about ten minutes, and with the small ten-minute head start the zombies had on us, we might just get a break with this one.  The only thing that worried me was the possibility that the kids might leave the railroad and get around us.  In that case, it was up to Colonel Freeman.
    We reached Biggsville , and turned up S. Church Street, which seemed to be the main road through town.  The first row of houses we passed showed no signs of any recent habitation, and the side roads we passed were full of homes falling into disrepair and ruin. The Illinois Department of Transportation building seemed to be in good shape, being made of brick, but the Biggsville United Presbyterian Church had one wall completely cave d in, giving the building a grumpy frown.
    Further north, the rows of houses ended at Arthur Street, and it was