Chapter 10 – We End it All

The fortification barely held the initial attack. The beasts nearly broke through with swarming numbers. Garrett was picking zombies off with expert precision using a scoped rifle when they were at a decent range. That didn't last long however as these zombies were faster than the others. They closed on their position quickly and the two survivors had to switch to their close range weapons.

Annissina grabbed a shotgun from her bag and started blasting large chunks from the creatures' bodies. Several fell with holes missing from their midsections and guts were splayed along the tarmac, their blood and bile leaking from inside the pink strands of flesh. Old blood was running like water through the cracks in the ground, a red river speckled with black spots where the blood had clotted inside the dead bodies. Garrett was unloading clip after clip into the creatures and the plane was only starting to fill with fuel.

"How much longer!?" Anni yelled over the gunfire.

The pilot made a signal that said 10 minutes. It might as well have been an eternity to the other two. The horde was growing and the mutated zombies were showing now; Boomers exploded in their ranks, sending lesser zombies flying, Hunters leaped and bounded over their comrades just to get shot out of the air. Smokers, Tanks, and all manner of mutated freaks were vying to get to the living feast. Luckily the makeshift fort had been made ahead of time, allowing them to put the ammunition near the cart mover.

Garrett hadn't moved far from the vehicle and he probably wouldn't unless he had to. The undead corpses were starting to gather around his cart, their bodies making a makeshift wall of cover. The stench in the area was horrible, and it was getting worse with each dead thing that lumbered into the area. Garrett was starting to have trouble keeping up with the flow of zombies, the beasts using their fallen as cover, moving from one pile of dead to another.

The damn things are getting smarter…Garrett thought. They were being commanded; not just herded by the stronger zombies. A tank lumbered through the creatures and was throwing his lesser minions to the side, trying to get to the survivors. Garrett and Anni focused their fire on the giant zombie and were able to drop it before it got close enough to do any damage. Other creatures were starting to join the attack now; undead dogs ran between the feet of the walking corpses and carrion birds circled overhead, cawing with joy at the splendid feast they would have tonight.

The plane was nearly fueled; 5 minutes had passed and they had managed to keep the zombies at a healthy distance, but the horde was growing – and fast. They had swelled from around 500 beasts to at least a thousand if not more. The survivors were burning through ammo at an amazing rate – more than half was gone already.

"Anni! Get in the plane!" Garrett yelled.

Annissina obeyed and jumped into the plane; making sure to keep a firing point open so that she could still help Garrett hold the beasts off. Garrett moved the cart mover so that it wrapped around the back of the plane, helping shield them from the attack. He turned in his seat and shot his assault rifle on full automatic, the shells ripping through pallid flesh and sending grey chunks of skin and muscle flying in all directions. Only two more minutes.

The fight was nearly over but it wasn't done yet. Anni blasted a zombie's head that had gotten close to the plane, its decayed mind splattering on the black pavement. She raised her shotgun and a hunter's claw grabbed the barrel and shoved its face into the window, snarling like an angry dog. Anni gasped and grabbed one of her pistols and shoved it into the hunter's mouth before pulling the trigger, blowing the back of the creatures head out in an explosion of gore.

Garrett grabbed a small bottle of gasoline he had filled earlier and lit the small piece of cloth poking out of the neck of the glass and threw the makeshift explosive. It shattered in the middle of the zombie's ranks and set a great deal of them ablaze – killing several, but also blocking a small section of the attack from reaching them.

A zombie flew towards the cart, thrown by a second tank. It hit the roof of the vehicle and cart-wheeled over the plane, raining blood from a gash in its back where the spine was showing. Garrett blocked his head and by the time he looked up the tank was halfway to the plane. He opened fire and looked back; the pilot had finished fueling the aerial vehicle and was climbing into the pilot's seat.

Time seemed to slow down for a moment as Garrett was struck by sudden realization. He spun the cart mover around and pulled next to the plane.

"Move! Get it started!" He yelled, the tank closing fast.

The pilot nodded and started the engines. Garrett leaned over and shut the plane's door. The only way to get out – and in. Anni jumped and thrust herself against the window, a horrified look on her face. Garrett smiled sadly and covered his heart with his right hand and bowed his head slightly. A sign; the last message she would ever receive from him.

I Love You…

The cart mover spun away and sped into the crowd of zombies and sent them flying or crushing them under the vehicle's tires. Gore and blood splattered all around the cart as Garrett made one last attempt to keep the zombies from Annissina's only salvation. The plane moved forward and started to pick up speed. The cart was tearing a path through the lesser zombies, Garrett blasting anything that didn't get crushed.

"Stop the plane!" Anni screamed, her voice full of pain.

"I can't! If we don't leave now we never will!" The pilot stated. "He's doing it to give us time!"

Anni turned back and watched as the scene sped away, the plane slowly lifting into the air and flying to safety.

Back on the ground Garrett watched as the plane became a speck on the horizon. He had done it; he had saved her. He turned his attention back to the over three hundred zombies still craving for his flesh. He limped out of the cart mover and lit his last Molotov cocktail, leaving the bottle in the passenger seat. He stood next to the vehicle and drew his silver machete, planning to make his last stand one that would make the beasts work for their meal. As the first beasts got close he slashed them down like a master swordsman, but the numbers of the creatures overpowered him; dragging him to the ground and clawing at his body.

Despite the pain the boy smiled. These bastards wouldn't be full for long…

"Eat your fill…." He gurgled through a mouthful of blood.

And the cart mover exploded; incinerating the entire mob that surrounded his corpse; a full hundred zombies.

Anni never saw the explosion; never saw Garrett fall, never saw that airfield again. She was transported to a nearby military base that had been protecting uninfected refugees. Everyone had lost something. She was no exception; but she had lost the last thing she cared about.

The End