Mark Tufo - 'Til Death Do Us Part

“Dad!” Ron said louder than he needed to.

“I’m covering…nothing yet,” he said, looking through his scope.

Travis was back with his second ammo run. He had just stood up and was turning to run back in. “Zombies!” he yelled, pointing into the woods about forty yards away. They had been heading towards the house, but changed direction when they spotted movement; Gary.

“There’s dozens of them,” Lyndsey said.

“Sis, get the kids down into the fallout shelter,” Ron said, not taking his eyes off Gary. There were dozens in sight, but more kept coming. “Gary, it isn’t worth it!” Ron shouted wrapping his hands around his mouth to project his voice. But that was a lie, it was worth it. One truck could smash through just about everything they had accomplished.

Gary was humming as he was running, then he started to sing softly, “ Risin’ up, back on the street. Did my time, took my chances. Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive… ” Gary reached the bridge just as he completed the first stanza. He saw the zombies but still figured he had enough time to pull the pin. His shoulders, arms, neck, and legs, strained as he pulled on the two foot around pin. Inch by blessed inch it scraped free.

“Gary, get out of there,” Ron shouted.

Tony started shooting. Gary could hear zombies thudding to the ground.

“Still time,” he said as the bodies hitting the ground still sounded far enough away.

Added to Tony’s precision shots was Travis’ cover fire. “Uncle Gary, you should really get your ass moving!” Travis shouted.

“No swearing,” Tracy admonished him.

“This is as good a time as any,” he answered his mother in between blasts.

She was too lost in twisting worry to give Travis any flack over his response as she watched zombies streaming through the woods like ghostly bearers of death.

Gary had both legs dug into the ground and was pulling with all his might, the pin yielding but on its own schedule, not caring in the least that Gary’s timetable was running late. The majority of it was out, but now the bullets were of close enough proximity that he could hear them whining by like relentless deer flies. He pushed up and down until the heavy ‘pin’ dropped to the ground. He lifted it over his head and again broke out into song. “ It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight… ” Gary tossed it to the side and started running.

“Let’s go, Rocky, get your ass back here!” Ron was motioning for him. “If he starts shadow boxing while he’s running, I’m going to kill him.”

BT was beside Travis, they were keeping the zombies to Gary’s left from approaching any closer, but it was Tony’s sniper rifle shooting that was keeping the ones that had gotten up behind him from being able to drag him down.

Cindy held the gate open for him as he ran through. She quickly closed it and latched it, heading back up to the deck as the first of the zombies crashed into it. Gary gave the zombies the finger, sang one more stanza and headed upstairs. “ Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival, and the last known survivor… ”

“Are you nuts?” Ron yelled at his younger brother. “You did good.” He gave Gary a hug. “Don’t do it again.”

Gary saw a trail of dead zombies where he had been. “Yeah, that’s probably safe to say.”

“It doesn’t sound like they’re coming any closer,” Tracy said.

“Looks like they’re just dropping their payload,” Ron said, looking as zombies were coming by the score.

Nicole came up to Ron’s side. “MJ wants to know if he should throw the switch.”

“Now would be as good a time as any.” Ron was still trying to bring his beating heart down to a manageable rate and not having much success.

The six-foot high chain link fence was swaying as more zombies walked into the impediment, the extra braces on the poles and the chain link section themselves would not be yielding anytime soon.

Perimeter lights flooded on just as the zombies touching the gate and fence stood bolt upright, a decent current running through their frames, enough to kill a man or at the very least incapacitate him. The zombies’ muscles were locked in place, and still more came pressing up against their stock still brethren only to join them in their rigidity.

“Is it killing them?” Tracy asked, hoping that was the case.

Ron grabbed his binoculars. “I can’t tell for sure. Travis, can you go down and tell MJ to turn the fence off for a minute, then back on? Thanks,” he added as Travis went by.

The first few zombies that had been the unfortunate first test zombies fell to the ground as the current let their muscles loose. More moved in to take their spot, but there were not yet enough that they blocked out the zombies on the ground as they stood and fought for access to the fence.

“Well that answers that question,” Ron said more to himself. He walked inside and yelled down the stairs. “Turn the fence back on.” Travis was already on his way back up and heading for the outside deck.

“Time to make them pay for their trespassing,” Tony said as he sent a bullet through the forehead of the nearest zombie. A plume shot out the back of its skull. Travis, Gary, and BT joined in the shooting.

“Take your time,” Tony told them. “One shot, at least one kill with them packing this closely. Bullets are going to get precious by the time this is all over.”

The first quandary surfaced about twenty minutes into the firefight. The dead zombies up against the fence hadn’t seen fit to fall away so that it would be easier targeting in on those behind.

Mad Jack had just come up from the basement to see how his handiwork was holding up.

“Going to need you to go back downstairs and turn it off,” Ron told him.

Mad Jack’s face fell. His face, which had a moment before been beaming, was now dejected.

“It works fine, MJ,” Ron said, picking up on the man’s feelings. “Probably too well. We can’t get the extra dead ones off the fence. Listen, shut it off for about a solid minute, keep it on for ten and just keep repeating the cycle while the zombies change out.”

Mad Jack had an extra swagger in his step as he headed back down.

Mrs. Deneaux was sitting on a lounger looking up at the sky as she enjoyed one of her cigarettes.

“You getting in on this?” Ron asked, preparing his rifle.

“When it counts I suppose I will,” she said after exhaling.

Zombies still flowed. The fence which encased the entire grounds was now at least ten deep at the minimum; the only thing keeping them from going deeper where the trees. The accumulated weight—no matter how strong the supports—was beginning to fold the structure in on itself. They had to keep revolving weapons out as they got too hot to shoot without damaging the barrels and still it would not be enough.

“Truck coming!” Gary shouted over the blasts.

“Want me to take out the driver?” Travis asked. “I’ve got a clear shot.”

“Let him come,” Tony said. “He’ll fill in the hole nicely.” And then I’ll kill him when he tries to run , Tony thought, trying to protect his grandson from the distaste of killing a man that would linger with him through his entire life like a rotten piece of food that would come back up for a second taste from time to time.

The truck started slowly down the dense, tree-lined path, then began to pick up speed. Tony thought that someone had surely drawn the short end of the stick as they barreled towards the fence line and ultimately the house. The trailer had been removed, giving the truck the ability to be more maneuverable and move faster. Tony could not see the driver as he sighted in. The straw had been short, but not short enough that they didn’t try to protect that driver. He was hidden behind what looked like a piece of steel.