Free Last Stand of the Dead - 06 by Joseph Talluto

the group we should have had facing the zombies, not the new army.
    “ Hey, ” I said, as a way of greeting.  I assumed Sarah had filled them in on most of the details, anyway.
    A man stepped forward, a tough looking guy about my age, with an axe handle peeking over his shoulder.  “Talon, right?” he said extending his hand.
    “That’s right.”
    “Turner Hass, from Smithshire .   Your wife says we got some cleanup to do?”
    I gestured with my hands.  “This road is covered all the way to 34.  Don’t know about anything further north.  The line was supposed to go to 116, but I think it got ended here.”
    “ Damn, ” said Hass.  “Where you need us?”
    I thought for a minute.  “You guys know the terrain around here better than we do.  Why don’t you take the countryside, and we’ll take the road.”
    “Sounds good.   Can we get some weapons off these soldiers?”  Hass asked.
    “Sure, but I’ll save you a trip, ” I said as Tommy and Duncan came rolling up.
    After introductions, I brought the group to the back of the truck, and Tommy had piled up dozens of rifles and magazines.
    “Help yourself , ” I said.
    Hass smiled and took the weapon Tommy offered him, along with a spare mag.  The rest of the crew from Smithshire armed themselves similarly, and went off the road, looking for zombies.
    Tommy gave me a glance, and I shrugged. “We’ve still got a bunch, what’s twenty five out of a couple of hundred?”
    Duncan spoke up.  “Twelve percent.   We gonna stand here all day?”
    “Nope.   You get in touch with Freeman?” I asked.
    “I think we’re out of range, but I’ll try further north.”
    “All right, let’s go.”
    Tommy joined me on the road with Charlie, while Sarah, Rebecca and Duncan drove the vehicles.  It became a kind of routine.  The first one to come upon a dead soldier would shoot it, and then the other two would drag it off the road.  This continued for about two miles, and after that, it became impossible, since the dead were rising and not inclined to lie quietly until it was their turn to get shot.
    It was about that time when the crew from Smithshire began to earn their way.  One of them walked through the field, getting the zombies to follow them, and when they were bunched up following, two more would run forward with a length of rope, knocking the crowd down.  The rest would step in and finish them off.  It was efficient , and the ease with which they used it told me, they were very familiar with this practice.
    About a mile from Kirkwood, we pulled up and called in the crew from Smithshire .
    “Hey, Hass, ” I said, pronouncing it ‘ hoss ’, and the man grinned broadly.
    “Hey, Talon.   Thanks for the hardware, ” He said, cradling his rifle.
    “You all earned the heck out of it, ” I said. “Let me do you another.  That truck over there looks abandoned.  Why don’t you take it back with you?  Saves you the walk back to you r vehicles.”
    “Hey!  Thanks, Talon.”  Hass held out his hand and I shook it.  It seemed almost surreal, having this conversation while about a hundred zombies were converging on our position, but after the Upheaval, we tended to take these things in stride.

Chapter 16
     
     
    Tommy went over to check the truck out, and that’s when we found our survivor.  He was tucked in the fetal position on the floor of the truck on the passenger side, his arms wrapped around his legs with his knees up by his chin.  He was shivering , and his eyes were staring straight forward, seeing nothing.
    I waved Tommy off and motioned Rebecca to come forward.  Charlie was right behind her in case the situation turned south.  Rebecca spoke in low tones to the man, trying to calm him down and bring him out of his shock. 
    Whatever was going through the man’s head, he wasn’t going to calm down at all.  He started breathing hard, and then he covered his ears with his hands, blocking all sounds.  His rocking became