Snippet #2394535

Henderson was glad that the girl was in front of him, she wouldn't see him stumble in the dark as the exhaustion of days events started to catch up him. He was a strong man, physically and mentally fit, but thirteen hours of driving plus the past two hours of panic and terror were taking their toll.

The grass around them made gently swishing sounds as they passed, the occasional twig snapping or panicked flight of some ground nesting bird the only sound other than their breathing and foot falls. The breeze at least was warm and he felt comfortable enough despite his damp clothing and 60 pounds of equipment on his back. Some of it would have to go, he realized that now, the pack was to big and unwieldy to have on at all times, plus the assortment of weapons he carried would surely get in the way at some point.

Several times the girl turned to speak and he mimed shooting her again, glad she had finally taken the hint. That same thought came with a rush of self criticism though. It wasn't far to expect the people of truck eighteen to handle the situation well, he was the only one amongst them with any sort of training and he realized that he would need to be more patient when dealing with them.

Finally the girl had taken enough silence and whispered an introduction. He thought for a moment then replied in a whisper almost to quiet for her to hear.

"Sergeant, or Sarge will do ma'am."

Before she could ask another question he held up a hand and signalled for her to kneel as he did the same. Something was moving swiftly towards them through the undergrowth. He levelled the pistol, unsure of what would come, almost certain it was no zombie for they did have the welcome habit of moaning whenever they detected prey. Instead of shooting though, he almost cried out for joy when the shape resolved itself into Gunner, tongue hanging out, tail wagging as Henderson whispered praise in his ear and pulled a soggy, but much appreciated, treat from his combat pant pocket.

The farm wasn't far ahead now but before he could say anything to Jenifer the sound of gunshots echoed flat and clear across the fields, low moans filling the air at once. He waited but no more shots came however and no screams, whoever had done the shooting was either dead or escaped. He hoped it was the second one. He knelt next to Jenifer, his mouth almost to ear, aware suddenly of the perfume she was wearing.

"Jenifer, you need to listen carefully to me. We are going to try and make it to those buildings." He gestured in the dark towards the distant structures. "I am going to lead, you follow me, and for the love of whatever god you believe in, do not make a noise or we're both dead. Understand?'

Once she had nodded he shrugged his rucksack off and carefully re-slung his weapons so they would not impede his movement. Then he unstrapped a small folding shovel from the side of his pack and slowly clipped it open. He tested the edges of it, still as sharp as when he'd honed the edge while waiting for the truck to leave.

He took her small slender hand in his, and with Gunner stalking silently next to them , began a slow approach on the farmhouse. He wasn't entirely sure how zombies detected human presence but he wasn't going to make it any easier and so went slow and quiet.

They came across the first zombie a hundred yards from the house, the vast majority of them were clustered beneath the nearby silo, he could hear their fists beating on the metal and see where they had started to stack slightly as they climbed on top of each other to reach whoever was up there. He also caught movement on the second floor of the barn, a terrified facing peeking out quickly before ducking back inside.

The first zombie wasn't even aware of their approach as it stumbled towards the silo and Henderson moved swiftly, releasing Jenifers hand to slam the shovel blade down into the creatures skull. It gave one hideous spasm and then dropped at his feet. He dragged the blade free, cleaned it carefully on the grass and then grasped Jenifers hand again, leading her to the wall of the house.

The zombies arriving were fewer now, their moans drowning out any other noise as Henderson dispatched two more with quick blows to the head. Only once were they spotted but the zombies moans were lost amongst all the others and he allowed it to follow him into the space between the house and barn before killing it quickly.

Spade cleaned once again he knelt at the corner of the barns far side, Jenifer pressed close behind him, and scanned the open space. No zombies appeared here and he could see the doors to the barn, a small man door and two massive sliding doors. If the rest of truck eighteens survivors had made it he hoped they would be smart enough to have climbed to the second floor and removed any access, which presented a problem as much to him as zombies.

"Keep close." He hissed at Jenifer and repeated the words in a foreign language to the dog who instantly sank into a belly crawl at his heel and as one the three of them crept slowly along the side of the barn. They arrived at the big sliding doors first and he could see at once they were locked from the inside by a chain. He peered through the crack but couldn't see anything in the darkness of the barn.

The small man door was next and he found it unlocked, gently opening it, the sound of the click muffled by the moans outside. He urged Jenifer and Gunner inside before closing it just as quietly behind them, taking a 2x4 and propping it so the door couldn't be opened again from outside.

The three waited for a moment in the darkness before Henderson motioned for Jenifer to wait as he hoisted himself into the rafters. He could hear frightened whispers now and the sound of movement.

"Truck eighteen." He called quietly. Nothing. He tried again, louder this time.