Free The Dead Don't Bleed: Part 2, The Aftermath by S. Ganley Page B

hey were just about out of time. By now the guy who had crept into the backyard would have probably already chosen a gardening tool for a weapon and was probably getting ready to move into position to strike.
    Garrett studied the layout of the yard and decided on a course of action that would get them up close to that lone zombie beside the shed while keeping out of sight. The decorative fence covered with vines and flowers jutted out into the back yard a distance past where the creature was stuck. By making a wide loop into a patch of trees they could follow that cover until it came up even with the fence and then simply run straight to the side of it allowing the dense buildup of flowers and leaves to mask their approach. He motioned with hand signals for the others to follow him and took off at a trot into the row of trees while glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Miranda was keeping up ok. He could tell that she was not at all used to this level of physical exertion. Sprinting, crawling, ducking and slithering through metal tubes was just like running a grueling obstacle course and more demanding than running a straight even marathon. She was starting to show signs of fatigue and Garrett knew that they needed to stop soon and allow her to rest and recuperate before she dropped out on them. She caught his glance at her and even through the strain on her face still managed a reassuring smile to tell him that she was fine and could keep up.
    Reaching a point within the trees where they were parallel to a spot along the fence that Garrett was reasonably sure was just about even with the zombie on the other side, Garrett stopped and dropped to a knee. Without speaking he motioned for Calvin and Miranda to remain there while he drew the long combat knife he kept strapped to his leg in a leather sheath. They hadn't discussed who would be the one to actually finish the job, but Garrett somehow felt that it was his responsibility to take care of it. He approached the fence as quietly as possible, keeping a close eye on where he placed his feet to ensure he didn't step on something that would make noise and announce his presence. He could hear the zombie as it thrashed about struggling to free itself just a few feet away from him. The moans and groans coming from the creature were almost in a distinctive rhythmic pattern. When it reached the limit of forward motion that the snare along its feet would allow it would bellow a loud grumbling almost hissing sound that Garrett thought resembled some form of aggravation at its inability to move forward. Then it would relax and step backwards two or three feet to gain momentum to try again, just as it started to move forward the zombie almost growled as though it was motivating itself to try harder on its next attempt to break free. He wasn't too worried about these noises, if they hadn't attracted attention to its predicament by now he figured that any other zombie hearing those sounds would not consider them to be something they needed to investigate further. He could see the outline of the zombie through the fist-sized square holes in the fence and breaks in the foliage covering it. The pattern of forward and backward movement was easy to follow and allowed Garrett to predict where and when the zombie would be at any given moment. He picked a spot along the fence that would put him in a position directly in line with where the zombie ended up at the extreme end of its range of forward motion. Garrett thought that this point was were the thing was the most focused on trying to free itself and least likely to be aware of subtle changes in its surroundings. He was just studying the fence and dense growth of flowers for the best spot to make his move when his peripheral vision caught a subtle shadow passing further down the fence moving into position just behind the zombie.
     

Chapter 4
     
    It was almost midnight before Dr. Woods and his people were escorted by a squad of