their homes. In reality, he figured most of them would probably still be here, albeit undead.
After about ten minutes of slow driving, Jack stopped his FJ by the blue tank. It looked just like they had left it, and he hoped the cache was still intact. Will stayed in the FJ and Sandra held watch with the AR while Jack opened the tank. First, he had to dig out the seam that was just below the surface of the ground, revealing the combination padlock. After entering the combination, Jack slid the lip of his Hi-Lift jack under the hook of the latch and began cranking. It took about a minute to raise the top section of the tank on its tracks, and it took both he and Sandra to push the top over on the hinged track to fully open the tank.
Jack jumped into the tank and inspected the cache—everything looked like it should. Unfolding the step stool left in the tank, he began lifting out his family’s cached items, followed by the group’s items. The personal items of the other families would stay in the tank in case Jack had to leave before the others arrived.
Malone, Texas, FM 308
Farm-to-Market Road 308—Bexar wondered how many signs the Texas Department of Transportation had to replace each year because someone stole it, or fired a bunch of .308 holes in it. Malone was a ghost town, and Bexar couldn’t tell if it was because anyone left had hunkered down, or if they had fled to some other location, or if they were all infected. Either way, he really didn’t care since it was still better than what they had encountered in Hubbard.
Wary of another ambush, undead or otherwise, Bexar lay on the roof of his Jeep with the binoculars for nearly an hour for reconnaissance after reaching the outskirts of the town. Not seeing any activity, they moved ahead, keeping the Jeep’s speed at around fifty miles per hour, weapons drawn and ready to go. For safety, they had Keeley lay on the floorboards again covered by his Kevlar vest; Jessie was ready to go with the AR. Malone flew by the windshield, and quickly the Reed family arrived in Mertens, Texas. Ahead of them stood a small group of grain silos, all of which were on fire. Several people stood by the silos, watching them burn.
Bexar slowed by the edge of the group . “Hey buddy, is everyone okay? You shouldn’t be near those things if they’re burning; they’ve been known to explode.” The man turned, but instead of answering, moaned and lurched towards Bexar and his Jeep.
“ Ah SHIT!” Bexar pulled the 1911 up from his lap, fired once into the face of the dangerously close undead, and let the clutch out on the Jeep too fast, stalling the engine. The loud report of the .45 had caused the other undead to turn and begin towards the stalled Jeep. Jessie opened the passenger door, stood in the door frame, and began taking shots over the windshield with the AR as best she could. Bexar pushed in the clutch, turning the ignition key back and forth to engage the starter while pumping the gas pedal. The motor roared to life, and Bexar took one more shot at an undead through his open window.
“ GET IN!” he shouted.
Jessie sat back in the passenger seat , and hadn’t even closed her door when Bexar began pulling forward as fast as he could. Two miles down the road, he pulled the spare pistol magazine from his belt and switched the magazine in the well of the pistol. Being down two rounds in an eight-round magazine wasn’t a way to stay, so another tactical reload was in order.
CHAPTER 13
Lake Ray Hubbard , Texas
The scariest part about driving on a highway that crosses a lake and is semi-clogged with cars disabled by an EMP is not that there’s nowhere else to go and you might get stuck. No, the scariest part is that you might get stuck and eaten by a zombie. Malachi was overwhelmed by the constant stress of the past two days, and found himself driving on autopilot as he crept the Scout and trailer through the disabled vehicles. On his right, towards
After about ten minutes of slow driving, Jack stopped his FJ by the blue tank. It looked just like they had left it, and he hoped the cache was still intact. Will stayed in the FJ and Sandra held watch with the AR while Jack opened the tank. First, he had to dig out the seam that was just below the surface of the ground, revealing the combination padlock. After entering the combination, Jack slid the lip of his Hi-Lift jack under the hook of the latch and began cranking. It took about a minute to raise the top section of the tank on its tracks, and it took both he and Sandra to push the top over on the hinged track to fully open the tank.
Jack jumped into the tank and inspected the cache—everything looked like it should. Unfolding the step stool left in the tank, he began lifting out his family’s cached items, followed by the group’s items. The personal items of the other families would stay in the tank in case Jack had to leave before the others arrived.
Malone, Texas, FM 308
Farm-to-Market Road 308—Bexar wondered how many signs the Texas Department of Transportation had to replace each year because someone stole it, or fired a bunch of .308 holes in it. Malone was a ghost town, and Bexar couldn’t tell if it was because anyone left had hunkered down, or if they had fled to some other location, or if they were all infected. Either way, he really didn’t care since it was still better than what they had encountered in Hubbard.
Wary of another ambush, undead or otherwise, Bexar lay on the roof of his Jeep with the binoculars for nearly an hour for reconnaissance after reaching the outskirts of the town. Not seeing any activity, they moved ahead, keeping the Jeep’s speed at around fifty miles per hour, weapons drawn and ready to go. For safety, they had Keeley lay on the floorboards again covered by his Kevlar vest; Jessie was ready to go with the AR. Malone flew by the windshield, and quickly the Reed family arrived in Mertens, Texas. Ahead of them stood a small group of grain silos, all of which were on fire. Several people stood by the silos, watching them burn.
Bexar slowed by the edge of the group . “Hey buddy, is everyone okay? You shouldn’t be near those things if they’re burning; they’ve been known to explode.” The man turned, but instead of answering, moaned and lurched towards Bexar and his Jeep.
“ Ah SHIT!” Bexar pulled the 1911 up from his lap, fired once into the face of the dangerously close undead, and let the clutch out on the Jeep too fast, stalling the engine. The loud report of the .45 had caused the other undead to turn and begin towards the stalled Jeep. Jessie opened the passenger door, stood in the door frame, and began taking shots over the windshield with the AR as best she could. Bexar pushed in the clutch, turning the ignition key back and forth to engage the starter while pumping the gas pedal. The motor roared to life, and Bexar took one more shot at an undead through his open window.
“ GET IN!” he shouted.
Jessie sat back in the passenger seat , and hadn’t even closed her door when Bexar began pulling forward as fast as he could. Two miles down the road, he pulled the spare pistol magazine from his belt and switched the magazine in the well of the pistol. Being down two rounds in an eight-round magazine wasn’t a way to stay, so another tactical reload was in order.
CHAPTER 13
Lake Ray Hubbard , Texas
The scariest part about driving on a highway that crosses a lake and is semi-clogged with cars disabled by an EMP is not that there’s nowhere else to go and you might get stuck. No, the scariest part is that you might get stuck and eaten by a zombie. Malachi was overwhelmed by the constant stress of the past two days, and found himself driving on autopilot as he crept the Scout and trailer through the disabled vehicles. On his right, towards
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