Feed
Page 36
The sound of gunshots attracted Shauns attention. I heard his sharp intake of breath as he turned, surveying my attackers. Holy
Were past saying it and all the way to doing it, I snarled, and fired again. The shot went wild. Four bullets and only two zombies down; the odds were not in my favor. Buffy!
Buffy never sends out a camera without a two-way sound pickup. She says she doesnt trust us to manage our own levels, but really, I think she just likes being able to eavesdrop without leaving the van. Her voice emerged from the speaker a moment after I called her name, coming through crackly and distorted. Sorry for the delaydistracted. Weve had a perimeter breech on the south fence. One of the gates went down and theyre reporting casualties. Howre you two faring?
Lets just say that if you have a broadcast point near some unoccupied men with heavy weaponry, now would be a swell time to use it. I fired twice more. The second bullet hit its target. Six bullets and three zombies down, while the remaining four continued to approach. I fired at the new leader of the pack and missed. A crossbow bolt whizzed by my shoulder and the zombie toppled, the end of the bolt protruding from its forehead. Three zombies. I didnt come out here expecting to actually fight anythingIm only carrying a pistol, and Im about to be out of bullets. Shaun?
Three bolts left, he called. Think you can make it up this fence?
No. Im a decent sprinter and I can gun a motorcycle from zero to suicidal in less than ten seconds, but Im not a climber. I nearly washed out of the physical section of my licensing exams, twice, thanks to my lack of upper-body strength. If I was lucky, Id be able to cling to the fence until the zombies grabbing my ankles hauled me down and ate me. If I wasnt, Id just fall.
The speaker crackled. Theres a group of guards on the way, Buffy said. Theyre having some problems, but they said theyd be there as fast as they could.
Hope its fast enough, I said. I started backing up toward Shaun and the fence. My father has always had just one piece of advice about zombies and ammunition, one hes drilled into my head enough times that its managed to stick: When you have one bullet left and theres no visible way out of the shit youre standing in, save it for yourself. Its better than the alternative.
Two more crossbow bolts whizzed by, and two more zombies fell, leaving just one to shamble toward us, still moaning. There were no answering moans, either from the sides or from behind. Shauns pack was down, and there didnt seem to be any further reinforcements coming.
Fire any time now, Shaun, I said tightly.
Not until I know that there arent more coming, he said.
I kept backing up until I hit the fence and stopped, keeping my gun in front of me, muzzle aimed toward the shambler. Between the two of us, we had the ammo to take it down as long as that was all there was. It figures, I said.
What figures?
We finally crack the global top five, so of course were going to get eaten by zombies that same night.
Shauns laughter managed to be bitter and amused at the same time. Are you ever not a pessimist?
Sometimes. But then I wake up. The zombie was continuing to advance, moaning as it came. There were no answering moans. I think its alone.
So shoot, genius, and well see.
I may as well. I steadied my hands, lining up on the zombies forehead. If it eats me, I hope youre next.
Always gotta go first, dont you?
You know it. I fired.
My shot whizzed past the zombie, punching a barely visible hole in the nearest RV. Still moaning, the zombie raised its arms in the classic embracing gesture of the undead, moving slightly faster now. No ones ever figured out how the zombies can tell when their victims are unarmed, but they manage somehow.
Shaun
We have time.
Yeah, sure, I said. The zombie was still twelve feet away, well out of attack range, but it was closing on us. I hate you.
Its mutual, Shaun said. I risked a glance up at him, and saw that he was aiming for the zombies forehead, waiting for the perfect shot. One bolt, one chance. Maybe that sounds like the odds hed been playing before, but it wasnt. Its easier to get a bulls-eye when theres nothing actually at risk.
Just so were clear, I said, and closed my eyes.
The gunfire came from two directions at the same time. I opened my eyes to see the last zombie mowed down by a hail of chain-fed bullets being fired by no fewer than four of the guards, two closing on either side. Above me, Shaun gave a loud war whoop.
The cavalry has arrived!
God bless the cavalry, I muttered.
Our tense stand-off was over in a matter of seconds. I ignored the fallen camera as I pushed away from the fence and strode toward the nearest pair of guards. The camera was a write-off. Buffy had the footage downloaded by now, and they were going to insist on destroying the damn thing anyway, since it had almost certainly been spattered with blood when the guards started firing. The electronics were too delicate to survive a full decontamination. That sort of thing is why we keep our insurance paid up.
Steve was there, scowling at the fallen infected like he was challenging them to get up and let him kill them again. Sorry, Steve, the virus only reanimates a host once. His partner was a few feet away, scanning the fence. It wasnt Tyrone. I paused, starting to get the vaguest idea of how the zombies had broken through the fence.
Ideas never drew ratings without confirmation. What happened?
Not now, Georgia, said Steve, with a tight shake of his head. Just not now.
Were past saying it and all the way to doing it, I snarled, and fired again. The shot went wild. Four bullets and only two zombies down; the odds were not in my favor. Buffy!
Buffy never sends out a camera without a two-way sound pickup. She says she doesnt trust us to manage our own levels, but really, I think she just likes being able to eavesdrop without leaving the van. Her voice emerged from the speaker a moment after I called her name, coming through crackly and distorted. Sorry for the delaydistracted. Weve had a perimeter breech on the south fence. One of the gates went down and theyre reporting casualties. Howre you two faring?
Lets just say that if you have a broadcast point near some unoccupied men with heavy weaponry, now would be a swell time to use it. I fired twice more. The second bullet hit its target. Six bullets and three zombies down, while the remaining four continued to approach. I fired at the new leader of the pack and missed. A crossbow bolt whizzed by my shoulder and the zombie toppled, the end of the bolt protruding from its forehead. Three zombies. I didnt come out here expecting to actually fight anythingIm only carrying a pistol, and Im about to be out of bullets. Shaun?
Three bolts left, he called. Think you can make it up this fence?
No. Im a decent sprinter and I can gun a motorcycle from zero to suicidal in less than ten seconds, but Im not a climber. I nearly washed out of the physical section of my licensing exams, twice, thanks to my lack of upper-body strength. If I was lucky, Id be able to cling to the fence until the zombies grabbing my ankles hauled me down and ate me. If I wasnt, Id just fall.
The speaker crackled. Theres a group of guards on the way, Buffy said. Theyre having some problems, but they said theyd be there as fast as they could.
Hope its fast enough, I said. I started backing up toward Shaun and the fence. My father has always had just one piece of advice about zombies and ammunition, one hes drilled into my head enough times that its managed to stick: When you have one bullet left and theres no visible way out of the shit youre standing in, save it for yourself. Its better than the alternative.
Two more crossbow bolts whizzed by, and two more zombies fell, leaving just one to shamble toward us, still moaning. There were no answering moans, either from the sides or from behind. Shauns pack was down, and there didnt seem to be any further reinforcements coming.
Fire any time now, Shaun, I said tightly.
Not until I know that there arent more coming, he said.
I kept backing up until I hit the fence and stopped, keeping my gun in front of me, muzzle aimed toward the shambler. Between the two of us, we had the ammo to take it down as long as that was all there was. It figures, I said.
What figures?
We finally crack the global top five, so of course were going to get eaten by zombies that same night.
Shauns laughter managed to be bitter and amused at the same time. Are you ever not a pessimist?
Sometimes. But then I wake up. The zombie was continuing to advance, moaning as it came. There were no answering moans. I think its alone.
So shoot, genius, and well see.
I may as well. I steadied my hands, lining up on the zombies forehead. If it eats me, I hope youre next.
Always gotta go first, dont you?
You know it. I fired.
My shot whizzed past the zombie, punching a barely visible hole in the nearest RV. Still moaning, the zombie raised its arms in the classic embracing gesture of the undead, moving slightly faster now. No ones ever figured out how the zombies can tell when their victims are unarmed, but they manage somehow.
Shaun
We have time.
Yeah, sure, I said. The zombie was still twelve feet away, well out of attack range, but it was closing on us. I hate you.
Its mutual, Shaun said. I risked a glance up at him, and saw that he was aiming for the zombies forehead, waiting for the perfect shot. One bolt, one chance. Maybe that sounds like the odds hed been playing before, but it wasnt. Its easier to get a bulls-eye when theres nothing actually at risk.
Just so were clear, I said, and closed my eyes.
The gunfire came from two directions at the same time. I opened my eyes to see the last zombie mowed down by a hail of chain-fed bullets being fired by no fewer than four of the guards, two closing on either side. Above me, Shaun gave a loud war whoop.
The cavalry has arrived!
God bless the cavalry, I muttered.
Our tense stand-off was over in a matter of seconds. I ignored the fallen camera as I pushed away from the fence and strode toward the nearest pair of guards. The camera was a write-off. Buffy had the footage downloaded by now, and they were going to insist on destroying the damn thing anyway, since it had almost certainly been spattered with blood when the guards started firing. The electronics were too delicate to survive a full decontamination. That sort of thing is why we keep our insurance paid up.
Steve was there, scowling at the fallen infected like he was challenging them to get up and let him kill them again. Sorry, Steve, the virus only reanimates a host once. His partner was a few feet away, scanning the fence. It wasnt Tyrone. I paused, starting to get the vaguest idea of how the zombies had broken through the fence.
Ideas never drew ratings without confirmation. What happened?
Not now, Georgia, said Steve, with a tight shake of his head. Just not now.
