Chad finished opening the door, and the group adjusted to the sudden light, knowing if they didn't, it could be a death sentence.
Nick was out it first and fast, Ali hot on his heels. Nick raised the M4 and quickly and easily found the first target: The one Chad had reported as closest to the bus. It was a woman, who was 45 or 50 when she was killed and brought back. She spun around, and Nick got the privilege of seeing how bad the damage to her was. She was bitten in a dozen places, and she was literally covered in blood. She turned and snarled an inhuman snarl.
At this point Mike and Tracy were out the door as well, sprinting to form a wall back to back with Nick and Ali.
Nick, still running, raised his weapon at the woman, who had finished her turn, and charged towards them. He waited for a few seconds, and fired. The first shot he had ever fired with the weapon felt like a bunch of anxiety relieving itself right there, a calming effect, even if the situation was anything but calm.
The shot missed her completely.
Nick paused, aimed, and fired again, and saw a stream of blood erupt from the woman's right arm. A skim shot. Getting closer.
Nick aimed, still moving, and fired a third time, the weapons kick was manageable in semi-auto. Nick had overestimated it. He hit the woman in the lower belly. He was making progress. It was slow, but it was still progress.
A shot rang out next to Nick. Ali had fired her MP5 for the first time, and somehow hit the crazed woman in the leg. The recoil of the small gun wasn't that bad, even to Ali's small frame, and she lined up for another shot.
Ashley and Chad were now out of Mike's house, and were racing to the bus.
Nick fired a fourth time. Another complete miss. The woman kept running towards them, getting closer with each passing moment.
Ali fired again, hitting the woman in the right hip. Blood exploded from the impact.
About twenty feet separated Nick and Ali from the crazed woman, who was still charging madly towards them.
Ali fired for a third time, and Nick fired for again as well, hitting the woman in the upper chest. He was getting more used to the weapon every time he fired it. Ali, right next to him, a look of intense concentration on her face, was getting more used to her MP5 as well.
Mike's front yard had turned into a battle field.
BOOM!
Mike fired his 870 for the first time, at a young man, who had much of his neck ripped out. The buckshot caught the man, who was a good twenty-five feet away from Mike and getting closer, in the upper chest, and it only slowed him for a moment. He staggered back, and continued sprinting towards the big teen.
Tracy stepped up next to Mike and added her Beretta M92 to the fight, firing twice in pretty quick succession as Mike racked the shotgun for another shot. Both her shots missed the the young man entirely.
Chad and Ashley ran right through the tunnel created by the two back to back pairs, and they sprinted to the bus. Chad fired twice at the crazed young man, missing him once, and hitting him in the left thigh with his second shot.
The woman was only fifteen feet away from Nick and Ali now. Nick stopped completely, realizing he'd never hit a moving target while he was also moving, and he stood, aiming carefully. This shot would have to count: the woman would be on them in mere moments.
Nick fired, just as Ali did. The two shots hit the woman, now only ten feet away. Nick's hit her in the left cheek, spinning her a bit, and Ali's hit her in the head. Blood and pieces of skull and brain left the woman's skull moments after the bullet did.
Ali's shot was only about an inch away from missing the woman's skull on the right side. Another inch right, and the shot would've missed completely. A miracle shot. The woman hit the ground about six feet from them, the small 9mm bullet doing just fine in putting her down. She didn't get up.
Nick tilted his head slightly, to see a middle-aged man wearing a light blue, blood-stained sweater, come snarling right at them. Nick had some time on this one. He aimed, and fired, catching the man in the neck. Close. The man staggered but kept coming. Ali fired, hitting him in the upper right chest, the 9mm bullet not slowing him at all. Nick aimed and fired again, hitting the man in in the upper head, about an inch and a half above the forehead. The man staggered and plummeted to the ground.
BOOM! Mike fired the 870 again, this time hitting his target, the young man who was now about ten paces away, in the head. The buckshot affected most of the man's head, and some of his neck and upper chest as well, tearing the man to pieces. The recoil of the large gun not seeming to affect the very large Mike at all.
Chad arrived at the bus running full-tilt, and kicked the door once, cracking it open. Ashley was right there as Chad ascended the steps, tossed his backpack and the 30-30 aside, leaned his M1 carbine against the seat, and jumped into the driver's seat of the bus. He ripped the keys out of his mouth, and rammed them into the ignition, turning it. The bus shuddered to life, as Ashley, suddenly remembering her job, stationed herself at the lever that would close the bus door.
Nick scanned the area on his and Ali's side with his M4, looking for more of the insane attackers
Mike found the fourth target, a young blond woman, who looked like she could have just gotten out of collage. Tracy fired three shots in quick succession, only one of which actually hit the woman. The one that hit, hit her in the lower belly.
Mike waited until the woman was in range, about twenty feet, and he lined up the cross hairs and fired. Direct hit. The shot obliterated the young woman's face.
Mike was the ace up the group's sleeve. He had easily the most experience with guns, and he was proving it.
"Tracy, Ali!" Nick shouted, as he scanned the area for more targets, "Get on the bus!"
The girls didn't wait to be told again, they turned, and sprinted towards the bus. Tracy getting there first, and climbing aboard, followed closely by Ali. The heavy backpacks they wore, not seeming to slow them at all, as they climbed the stairs and found seats on the bus. Ali, sliding into the left side front seat, and Tracy sliding into the right. Both girls getting there backpacks off, and stowing them at their feet and out of the way.
"Mike, go!" Nick yelled, as he slowly backed towards the bus, still looking for more targets.
Mike turned and ran. He stopped at the foot of the bus stairs, "Nick, I got ya! Move it!"
Nick realized Mike was covering him, and he turned and ran, getting on board the bus only seconds after he was called. The equipment only slowing him down just a bit. He would still have to get completely used to wearing all that extra weight. Nick spun around, and brought the M4 to bare, covering Mike as best he could from within the confines of the bus.
The creatures then started coming out of the woodwork. Drawn to the gunshots, over a dozen of the blood-soaked and ripped apart creatures started charging the bus from all directions.
"Mike, get on!" Ashley yelled, still waiting to close the door.
Mike turned and hauled aboard the bus.
The bus doors slammed shut, and Mike found a seat, next to Ali, on the front left seat of the bus.
The entire engagement had taken less then forty seconds.
"Go!" Nick yelled, as he grabbed the front seat to brace himself, as the first of the insane attackers got to the bus and started to pound on it.
"Fuckin' A!" Chad slammed the gas pedal to the floor and the bus shuddered into motion, leaving Mike's house, and the enraged assailants behind.
The only sound for nearly a minute was very heavy breathing from all six teens.
"Is everyone alright?" Nick asked, sucking in huge breaths of air.
"Yeah." Mike answered for everyone.
Nick looked at each member of the group to see for himself. Everyone looked shaken, but alright.
"Mike," Nick said, "Molly's house is just further along this road, right?"
"And a right turn." Mike added nodding.
"You remember the way?" Nick asked Chad, who looked like a madman behind the wheel of the huge, yellow vehicle.
"Yeah, dude." Chad answered.
The two had once been to Molly's house with Mike to pick her up, and Chad had a pretty good memory.
"Good, just keep driving." Nick said.
"Yes, Miss Daisy. I'll be drivin'.", Chad muttered.
Nick turned to Mike, who was quickly pulling off three shells from the bandoleer, and loading them into his shotgun. He sat right next to an uncomfortable looking Ali, who couldn't have looked smaller next to the huge Mike.
Ashley had found a seat on the bus's front left side, next to Tracy. Both looked scared and and shaken up, but thankfully unhurt.
Chad got to the right turn, and spun the bus's large steering wheel, turning the mammoth vehicle.
"Mike, about how long to Molly's from here?" Nick asked, still standing but braced against the front right seat of the bus.
"About three minutes, I'd say.", Mike said, calculating their speed and factoring in about how far away they were. He'd been to Molly's house many, many times.
"You remember where, Ch-", Nick began.
"Yes! I fuckin' remember, man! Chad replied hotly.
"Alright, good." Nick said as he pulled his cell phone out of it's pocket.
"I'm gonna get Molly ready."
"Dude!", Chad said smiling from his position as he drove the bus. "I'm gonna have to call Molly 'Private Molly' from now on.", he said, laughing a bit.
Everyone just stared.
Chad looked around quickly, before turning back to face the outside world. "You get it? 'Saving Private Molly'?" He said nearly laughing again, while he tried to keep the mood of the group as light as possible.
No one laughed for a moment, not sure how to take this.
"What the fuck? I thought it was pretty funny." Chad said, slightly down-heartened by the non-laughing, completely silent response his comment had received.
Nick did end up giving a small laugh, and Mike did as well several moments later.
"Told you it was fuckin' funny." Chad muttered, avoiding the remains of two flaming vehicles that looked like they had had a head on collision.
"Alright, everyone quiet for a sec." Nick said as he punched in Molly's cell's number into his phone, and hit 'SEND'.
Everyone looked on with barely contained anxiety as Nick put the tiny phone to his ear.
He heard it begin to ring.
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Well, first major encounter. Hope it went well.
Oh, for all the people who sent me messages thanking me for the C2 invite, three of the replies I sent never got there. I must have used a bad system or something I replied to every message, so if you were one of the three who did NOT get a reply, please confront me about it, as I don't remember who exactly it was. I've been communicating with a LOT of people lately.
The most sincere apologies for anyone that this message has any relevance to. The last thing I want is to be painted as is some rude guy who doesn't respond to messages.
And for everyone: Thanx again for all the support!