Free Rise by Gareth Wood

around carefully, and finally spotted what we were after. From the ridge earlier we had seen a few rail cars on the tracks near the station, and in the rain they were harder to find than I had thought. We planned to get Jess up on top of one with her rifle, and I would go and create some distraction to draw the dead away from the building for a little while. I already knew what it was I’d do, so Jess climbed up onto a railcar that said Alberta Wheat Board on the side, and I passed her rifle up to her. The rain stopped around then, but the lightning and thunder kept up, and I suspected more rain was coming.
    I quietly snuck over to the fence, and walked the length of it upstream since there were fewer undead there. The grass was very overgrown along the fence, and I was looking for a place out of sight of the undead to climb over it. I finally went far enough and slung the rifle over my shoulder. I waited, listening, for a good five minutes before I climbed over. I paused at the top and looked around, but it was hard to see anything in the dark. I jumped down and crouched in the grass again, and listened for another five minutes. When nothing happened I breathed a sigh of relief and crept towards the road nearby. I had to maneuver my way very carefully around some cars and trucks until I was once again downstream of the radio station, about a block away. The crowd of undead was concentrated by that building, so it was fairly clear where I was. One straggler was a little close for comfort, and I held the Glock ready in case he caught sight of me. I managed to get past him, as he was also staring at the lightning with empty eyes. One bonus to the rain, it kept the decayed stench down to tolerable levels.
    I had taken a position a block away from the crowd of corpses, around a corner. I could see from the streetlights in the area that they were all near that building, so I carried on with the plan. I walked along the street until I found a newer model car, big and expensive. Just my luck, it had a broken window. I unlocked it and opened the driver’s side door. I reached down and popped the release for the gas tank cover, then turned the wheel and pushed. The car slowly started moving out into the street, and I pushed some more until I got it clear of the curb. I stopped and looked around again. Never can be too careful. I grabbed a flare from the backpack and closed the drivers’ door quietly, then took the inner cap off the gas tank. I got behind the car and pushed until it was heading towards the street where the undead were gathered. I let it go on its own momentum, popped the flare, and stuffed it into the gas tank. I then turned and ran, hoping to be well away before the tank exploded. I made it three steps.
    The gas tank went up with a quiet ‘poof’, and I found myself face-down on the street kissing pavement. This was so not a good idea. I got up, ignored the sudden twinge in my back, and ran for the alleyway nearby. The car was now on fire, and was sure to draw some attention. I walked as quietly as I could down the alleyway, cut around the side block into some serious shadows, and crouched behind a truck. I stuck my head around to see most of the undead wandering towards the burning car. They all had their attention on the fire, and at least 45 of them were walking towards the wreckage. The others were all looking the other way, so I crossed the street behind them and ducked into the alleyway behind the radio station. As I walked towards the back of the building I saw that the large cluster of zombies there had dispersed and were all walking towards the burning car. I waited until they were all out of sight, then went over to a garbage can and lifted it up. I carried it over to the fire escape and turned it over, then climbed up on top and grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder. With a little effort I pulled myself up a few rungs until I was able to get my feet on a rung. Then I just climbed up until I was at the