The Living Dead Boy (Book 3): Journey Across Zombie Texas Page 15

  “It’s not like we have a choice now,” Troy said, shaking his head.

  “I’m sorry, you guys. I didn’t think there would be this many zombies out here,” Josh said, guilt weighing him down. “I’m really sorry.”

  “No time for that, dude. We gotta go. Besides, we all agreed to do this, right?” Danny shrugged. “And like Troy said, we’re the Zombie Hunters. We just gotta be smart.”

  Josh nodded. “And we’re smart. We can do this. Let’s go.”

  Straightening his shoulders and holding the smartphone in one hand, Josh walked toward the corn field. His friends followed in solemn silence.

  Like he’d feared, the field was muddy. It was a good thing his shoes were covered in plastic, or they would have been soaked. With each step, the ground squished. It took a few minutes, but they finally found their pace.

  Walking among the cornstalks that towered over their heads was a little claustrophobic. Knowing that zombies were in the vicinity only heightened his anxiety. The wind rustled the leaves of the stalks and cooled the air. The sun was still low in the sky, so the heat wasn’t overwhelming yet. Bugs swirled around, and the smell of wet earth filled his nostrils. There were still storm clouds in the sky, but to the east. He hoped the weather would turn in their favor.

  Slapping at a mosquito that landed on his arm, Josh wished zombies were that easy to deal with. The truth of the matter was that after all they’d been through back in Pious, he’d believed that the Zombie Hunters could handle any bad situation. But when he’d seen the zombie radar, he’d wondered if he was just a naive little kid trying to play hero. His stomach was in a tight knot, and his head throbbed with fear.

  They’d been walking for some time when Troy’s small fingers dug into his arm, jerking him to a halt. Looking curiously at the other boy, Josh caught a whiff of something dead. He pulled the smartphone out of his pocket and waited for the app to refresh. It still hadn’t updated and showed them in a clear zone. He showed the others the screen, but Troy looked doubtful. Putting a finger to his lips, Josh pointed ahead. The way looked clear for some distance.

  Dulce waved to him to keep going, but she took the shovel from Danny. He let it go without an argument. She’d proven to be a good fighter with it.

  Again they trudged on, the mud sucking at their plastic-covered shoes. The smell of death grew stronger with every step. There was definitely something dead in the area, but out in the country that was normal. It didn’t necessarily indicate zombies. When Josh was little, he’d once found a dead rabbit when visiting relatives on their ranch. The sight of the small corpse had given him nightmares for years. At least there didn’t appear to be zombie animals in this outbreak.

  The wind was picking up again, blowing through the corn field and stirring up the tall stalks. It had an eerie sound to it, and the hair on the back of Josh’s neck stood on end. Again he checked the smartphone. The app had a swirling circle on it. It was updating, but very slowly.

  Cautiously moving forward, Josh strained to hear any noise that might indicate zombies were nearby. He tried to keep a quick pace going, but it wasn’t easy on the uneven ground. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dulce was keeping a watch behind them. He trusted her. If something bad happened, she was a good fighter. She’d proven it with Chad and the hulking zombie.

  Again he checked the smartphone.

  He froze in place.

  The other kids pressed close to him to see.

  It was as if the zombies knew they were in the corn field. The red dots were moving steadily toward their location from the east, west, and south. Only the north remained clear, and probably because it was the evacuation route. They had to pick up their pace. Without a word, they all began to run.

  Rushing forward, Josh kept the phone in his hand. The battery was less than halfway charged, but he didn’t dare turn it off. Not when there were so many zombies closing in on their location. Leaves slapped at his face and the mud clung to his feet. His legs felt like lead as he attempted to jog through the muck. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance.

  The row of corn came to an abrupt stop ahead. Josh slid to a halt, the others slamming into him and almost knocking him over. A huge swath of the field was flattened into the mud. A span of fifty feet stretched from where he stood to the next section of the field. Trembling, Josh reached out with one hand and moved aside some leaves beside him to peer to the right.

  A herd of zombies slogged through the mud. Packed shoulder to shoulder, they moved in one giant wave through the field, trampling the cornstalks under foot. The kids had probably missed rushing into them by minutes. He checked the other side. It was zombie free for now.

  Breathing was becoming harder as panic ripped through Josh like a dark wave. He fought to control his shaking body. Turning to look at his friends, he saw the stark fear in their ashen faces. With a hand shaking so violently he was afraid he’d drop the phone, he activated the screen again. The only way to possible safety was straight ahead. Which meant the risk of being spotted by the zombie herd.

  “We have to run,” Josh whispered. “We have to get across the clearing.”

  “If one sees us...” Troy rubbed his hands over his face. “Oh, man.”

  “We should wait here, dude.” Danny’s dark eyes were wide with terror. “Wait until they’re gone.”

  “Can’t. More coming.” Dulce pointed behind them, then at the phone. “You can hear them.”

  To Josh’s horror, he realized what he thought was thunder was the sound of a zombie herd. The wind had distorted the sound as it swept over the field. Swallowing the painful lump in his throat, Josh checked on the herd that had trampled the field. The zombies were walking, not running, and were all moving in sync in one direction. There was no reason to believe the zombies would look behind them unless their attention was drawn by noise.

  The Zombie Hunters had to take the risk and run across the barren patch.

  “We have to be fast and quiet,” Josh whispered.

  Troy nodded, his lips trembling from fright.

  Danny didn’t even appear to be blinking. “Okay, dude.”

  “We go on the count of three,” Josh said.

  “If I don’t crap myself,” Troy muttered.

  “One...” Josh stared at the swaying cornstalks across the clearing. He was going to make it. “Two...” All of them were going to make it. “Three!”

  They kids dashed across the trampled ground. It was even more treacherous than the corn field, and Josh nearly tripped. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the rear flank of the zombie herd. It was still moving away from the kids. It needed to remain on that course.

  Lungs burning, arms pumping, feet slipping, and terror filling him, Josh ran for cover of the of the corn field. He heard a hearty splat behind him and a pained cry. Whipping about, he saw Troy spread eagle on the ground. Dulce dropped the shovel to pull him out of the muck as Danny darted past Josh. The Latino boy’s face was pale with terror. At a full sprint, he vanished into the corn field. Josh almost followed, but another look at Dulce and Troy stopped him. The slick mud was their enemy, and they were struggling. With a gasp, Dulce slipped and landed on her butt. Josh hurried back to help them both up, his heart beating so hard in his chest he thought it would burst out of him. Grabbing Troy’s arm, he helped him to his feet.

  “Sorry, Josh, sorry,” Troy gasped.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Dulce shouted, scrambling to her feet and grabbing the shovel.

  Troy remained in place, frozen with fear, staring in the opposite direction of the zombie herd. Josh swiveled his head toward what had been a zombie-free area and gasped.

  A new zombie herd was trampling through the remains of the cornfield. The zombies were packed together, hundreds deep, bloodied teeth gnashing as they spotted the children.

  Grabbing Troy’s hand, Josh dragged the smaller boy behind him and ran for his life.

  Chapter 26

  Josh plunged into the corn field, shielding his fa
ce with one arm. Troy ran ahead of him. There was no sign of Danny.

  Since the zombies already knew where they were, Dulce screamed for her cousin.

  The zombies were coming. The sound of their growls as they rampaged through the corn field seemed to come from all directions. The sound was deafening.

  Josh pulled the pistol from his belt and released the safety.

  Just in time, too.

  A zombie darted through the tall plants just a few feet in front of Troy. Snarling, it charged toward them.

  Troy scampered behind Josh. “Shoot it!”

  Josh set his feet apart, aimed between the zombie’s eyes, and fired.

  The zombie’s head snapped back as it went down in a jumble.

  The three kids ran past it.

  “Thanks, Josh,” Troy gasped.

  “I got your back,” Josh answered, breathing heavily.

  “How far? How far?” Troy panted.

  “Close! We’re close!” Josh shouted back. “The evacuation route is straight ahead.”

  “Where’s Danny?”

  Dulce barely got the words out of her mouth when a female zombie pitched through the corn toward her. The teenage girl swung the shovel, slamming it into the zombie’s face. It collapsed at her feet, twitching. Jumping over it, Dulce grabbed Troy by the arm and pulled him after her. Josh followed, his breath coming hard and fast.

  A zombie tumbled out of the corn in front of them, and Dulce swung the shovel, knocking it out of their way. It scrambled to its feet just as Josh reached it, and blocked his path. Growling, it surged toward him. Josh shot it in the head, and pushed past its falling body.

  Dulce continued to scream her cousin’s name, but the little boy didn’t appear. A zombie dove out of the corn and tackled Dulce. She barely got the handle of the shovel beneath its chin in time. Troy screamed in rage and stabbed the zombie through the back of its skull with his metal bar. It took three hard whacks, but the zombie fell over, dead. Dulce clambered to her feet, and the kids ran.

  A few more times, zombies pitched out of the cornstalks. Dulce knocked them back with the shovel, or Troy stabbed them by thrusting his bar up under their chin and into their brain, or Josh shot them. He lost track of how many bullets he had left. He hoped he had enough.

  At last the end of the field came into view. Beyond it was a patch of green grass and a barbed wire fence.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Josh shouted.

  Dulce glanced back at him, and her eyes widened. “Behind you!”

  Josh spun about to see three zombies rushing between the rows of corn after him. He aimed for the first, fired, and missed. Holding his breath, he tried again. He hit the zombie, but not in the head. They were closing in on him too fast to aim again, so he turned and ran. Fear fought to shackle his feet, but self-preservation overrode it and pumped adrenaline through his body. Josh plunged through the cornstalks following in Dulce and Troy’s wake.

  “Get past the fence!” Josh yelled.

  He didn’t dare look behind him, for he could hear the zombies closing in.

  Dulce and Troy burst out of the corn field and ran to the fence. Dulce pushed Troy through first, and turned just in time to hold off a skinny, mud-covered zombie with the shovel. Bracing the handle against the zombie’s throat, she shoved away the snapping teeth. Josh escaped the cornstalks and ran to the struggling pair. The zombie saw him and whipped about to attack. Josh shot it point-blank in the face.

  “Thanks,” Dulce gasped, and scrambled through the fence

  Josh ducked through the barbed wires just as the three zombies chasing him bore down on him. One of the zombie’s fingers wrapped around Josh’s foot before he could pull his leg through. Growling, it attempted to drag him back through the wires. Dulce grabbed Josh around the waist and yanked him away. The plastic bag covering his shoe slipped off, freeing him from the zombie’s grip. It howled and pressed its body against the wires, its hands stretched out as it reached for him. The other two zombies flung themselves against the fence, shrieking with frustration.

  More zombies flowed out of the corn field. They slammed into the barbed wire, and thrashed as though caught in a trap. Not smart enough to climb over, they pushed against the wires, snarling and reaching for the three kids on the other side.

  “Danny! Danny!” Dulce cried out, but only more zombies poured out of the field.

  “It won’t hold. We gotta go,” Josh gasped.

  Turning around, he saw Troy staring with wide eyed at the scene below.

  The kids were standing at the top of an incline. Below was the evacuation route. The lanes of cars were at a standstill. People of all races, ages, and genders moved in an orderly fashion in two lines. It took a second for Josh to realize they weren’t zombies.

  “The evacuation,” Josh gasped.

  “For real?” Troy looked at him, fear and tears filling his eyes.

  “Yeah. Look!”

  Along the edges of the two rows of civilians were men and women in military garb carrying huge weapons.

  “Oh, no,” Dulce exclaimed. “The zombies will get them!”

  His momentary joy vanished. “Oh, crap!”

  They’d lost Danny and now the zombies were going to wipe out all the people on the evacuation route. And it was entirely his fault. Josh regarded the zombies piling up against the fence with dread. It was only a matter of minutes before it collapsed.

  “We have to warn them,” Troy said. “We have to warn the people!”

  The three kids ran down the incline toward the evacuees. Josh led the way with Troy and Dulce behind him.

  “There’s zombies! There’s zombies!” they shouted, pointing frantically toward the barbed wire fence.

  A female soldier spotted them, and ran toward the bottom of the incline. “Move it, kids! Now!”

  The three surviving Zombie Hunters reached the side of the road, and the soldier pushed them into the line.

  “Don’t get out of line again!” she barked at them. “It’s dangerous!”

  “But there’s zombies! Up there!” Josh protested.

  “They’re being handled,” she answered.

  There was a loud roar overhead and then a thunderous clatter. Josh stared in shock as a huge Army helicopter gunship swooped overhead and opened fire on the zombies at the fence. Bullets tore the undead apart, blood spraying into the air.

  “Ohmygawd, Troy! They’re killing them!” Josh exclaimed, holding his hands over his head and cheering. “Yes!”

  “We’re saved!” Troy shouted.

  Dulce stared in shock at the carnage.

  “Keep moving! Keep moving!” came the sharp barking orders from the soldiers.

  The evacuees craned their heads to watch the slaughter. Some cried out in fear, but all kept moving forward. The kids were swept along with the throng.

  “Did you see that? Ohmygawd! That was amazing!” Josh whooped.

  “It was like a movie! It just came out of nowhere and nailed them.” Troy high-fived him.

  “Danny is there,” Dulce cried out. “Danny is there!”

  The boys dropped their hands.

  “I’m sorry, Dulce! I forgot for a split second.”

  Josh surged toward Dulce to embrace her, but she held out her hand to stop him.

  “Me, too. I’m so sorry,” Troy echoed.

  Another helicopter gunship appeared over the treetops and joined in the massacre of the zombies in the field. Bullets ripped apart the zombies and shredded the cornstalks.

  Tears streaming down her face, Dulce watched the slaughter. Troy took her hand and pulled her along. Josh joined them, resting his hand on her shoulder. Again, guilt weighed heavily on him. It was his fault Danny was gone.

  “Dulce, I’m so sorry,” Josh said, feeling helpless.

  She didn’t answer as she covered her face with one hand and cried.

  The line was four people deep and the steady pace kept everyone moving forward.

  “Hey, look at that!” Troy said, pointing.
“What is it, Josh?”

  In the distance a swarm of what looked like large flying bugs was approaching from the west. Around the kids, people began to cheer.

  “Finally!” a man beside Josh said. “It took them long enough to get here!”

  “What is it?” Josh asked.

  “The airlift,” the man in the plaid shirt with the big beard answered.

  “I thought that was in San Angelo,” Josh answered. “We just got here so we don’t know what’s going on.”

  “When the traffic got so jammed it couldn’t move, they started airlifting along the route. It’s finally our turn. And right on time.” The man showed Josh his phone. He, too, had the zombie radar app. “They kept saying we’d be safe, but they cut it close with those gunships, huh?”

  Josh lifted his eyes to watch more gunships flying overhead. “Yeah.”

  The evacuation helicopters started to descend up ahead, and Josh felt close to tears. They’d actually made it to the airlift.

  As the crowd moved past empty cars and toward the wide empty field where the helicopters were landing, Dulce rested her arms across the boys’ shoulders. She’d left her shovel behind at the fence. Josh looked up at her and saw she was still crying. Blood flecked her clothes and face, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “I’m sorry,” Josh said to her feeling like a broken record.

  “It’s my fault,” Dulce answered, sniffling. “I wanted to be with my mother. I made Danny come.”

  “No, I did. It was my idea,” Josh said. “I’m so sorry.”

  Dulce shook her head. “No. I know it’s my fault. Thank you for being nice, but I know the truth.”

  With a sorrowful sigh, Josh stopped arguing with her. Maybe they were both to blame.

  The sound of the gunships firing on the zombie hordes continued to reverberate around them. Though the crowd was scared, they followed the directions shouted at them by the soldiers protecting them. The steady stamp of feet and the murmur of the crowd only added to the noise level. After the quiet while being on their own, Josh was overwhelmed by so much activity.