Zombie Road | Book 8 | Crossroads of Chaos Simpson, A. (new books to read .txt) 📖

said it’s a large walk in safe and will most likely be open. If not, we start grabbing everything on the secondary list.”

Jessie nodded then indicated Wallace again.

“I’ll give you a ten minute, then a five-minute warning on the radio when I think the job is nearly complete,.” she said, “At which point you’ll accelerate quickly back to the hospital and eliminate or lead off any of the undead that have gathered at the docks. We will then proceed to the railroad bridge and park the trucks in the middle. If we are not being pursued, which is highly unlikely, we’ll move everything we’ve gathered into the sailboat. If we are being chased, we’ll climb down the ropes to the awaiting canoes. We’ll paddle across the river to our trucks on this side and go back in a day or so when they’ve either wandered back into town or fell off into the water to get the other trucks.”

“It sounds good.” Jessie said. “I already have a couple of kayaks at the scenic overlook. I’ll leave my car there and meet you on the water near the sailboat. It it’s clear, I’ll bring it back. If not, it can stay there until the dead are gone. Any questions or concerns?”

Everyone stared at the map, tried to think of something they hadn’t covered but they’d been working out details for a week. It was as good as it was going to get.

“Remember.” Jessie said. “Anyone can call this off if something unexpected happens. There are radios in every truck and team leaders have the handhelds. Keep your eyes open and keep everyone in the loop if something doesn’t go right. If you get into a jam, we can always fall back on plan B.”

“What’s plan B?” someone asked.

“I’ll come for you.” He said “And when I get there I’ll arrive with violence.”

Someone in the back started to laugh but it died quickly when no one else joined in. The others stared at the hard young man with the low-slung guns and the scar on his face.

They didn’t laugh.

They believed.

41

The Hospital

Jessie pulled their convoy to a stop a few miles from the outskirts of the little city. So far, they hadn’t picked up any followers from the houses they passed and if Wallace was right, they had all congregated in town. He had moved the M-60 and its articulated mount over to Natty’s side of the car. She had her Kevlar gloves on and he’d duct taped the impact jacket sleeves to her wrists so they wouldn’t ride up. Her arms would be outside the bars when she operated it.

“Wait here.” Jessie said over the CB. “I’ll go slow to pull as many followers as I can. Give me ten minutes then roll in.”

“You ready?” he asked Natalie and she cinched her harness a little tighter then nodded.

He dropped the Mercury in gear and eased the clattering diesel down the road. The houses got closer together and big yards gave way to tiny lots. The streets were empty except for the cars. Some parked at the curb, some in the middle of the road with doors open, some blocking sidewalks and smashed into buildings. Old plastic bags, paper cups and other trash was piled up against the houses. Tattered bits of clothing, ragged shoes and decayed corpses that looked like shriveled leather mummies were rotting away in the morning sun. He caught movement and saw a pack of dog’s slink down an alley. They didn’t look starved and he was pretty sure he knew what they were eating. They found the horde near the center of town only blocks from the hospital. The streets were packed, some swaying listlessly back and forth but most had heads up and were sniffing the air. They heard the diesel idling down the streets, its exhaust note echoing off the buildings, and were looking for the source. For the food. For the blood.

Jessie eased the burbling car to a stop as the grey wretches of humanity slowly realized the noise was where the food was. He clicked on the Dad’s Faves playlist, cranked the volume and Axl Rose started Welcoming them to the Jungle. A woman with long matted hair and the tattered remnants of a house coat was the first to raise her voice. A dry croaky moan escaped her throat and she reached for them, still two blocks away. Others joined the call and the horde started shuffle stepping towards them, urging each other onward.

“Clear us a path.” Jessie yelled over screaming guitars and revving motor. “We’re going straight in and then taking the first right. It’ll put us in front of the hospital.”

He floored it, the car leapt forward, she squeezed the trigger and started walking tracers into the crowd. The chop top launched hard, the oversized run flats squalled and rolled white smoke to blend with the black pouring from the exhaust. Natty raked fire back and forth, sent bodies tumbling, store glass shattering and concrete chips flying from the buildings. Jessie aimed for the mob and hit them at forty, sent bodies flying and black sludge sprayed the car. He bounced over the fallen ones and cut the wheel to turn the corner. All terrain tires churned the bodies, shredded muscle and papery skin, crushed brittle bones. Natalie squealed when the gun was twisted, ripped out of her hands by a gray man that bounced off the fender.

“Hospital is coming up on your right.” Jessie yelled over the screams of the undead, the roar of the engine and cursing of Natty as she wiped slime from her hands. The zombies broken head had splashed all over her.

“Light it up, blow the windows out!”

“I’m trying!” She yelled right back and sprung open the cover. The ammo belt had broken when the bouncing zed had plowed into the gun. She swiped the half dozen rounds away, laid the fresh links in and slammed it closed. She charged it, her finger