Free Survive by Todd Sprague

handed him a brown bandoleer with dozens of shotgun shells held in by loops of cloth.
    Roger came over, and John reached into the cabinet. He came back out with an AK 47 with polished wood grip and stock. He showed Roger how to load it, handing him a pouch with several loaded magazines. He grabbed the little H&K MP5 for himself, along with another pouch of magazines. “Alright, boys, let’s get going.”
    * * *
     
    They met Truck Robin and Harold Mason in the driveway. Truck had a shotgun over one shoulder and a little revolver tucked in to the top of his boot. Harold had his lever action 30-30 leaning up against Morgan’s pickup.
    John nodded to Morgan. “How’d it go last night?”
    “No problems. We heard gunshots off towards town, but nobody came near. I could smell smoke this morning, though.” Truck spoke with a slow country drawl. “I want to come with you.”
    “You sure you’re up for this? You were up all night.”
    “Yeah, no problem, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
    “Maybe, maybe not,” Morgan said, almost cheerfully.
    Roger looked at Morgan and raised one eyebrow. “Always the optimist.”
    “Just the same, I think you should stay here. Get some sleep, you can help us unload when we get back.” John said. Truck nodded reluctantly.
    As the five men piled into the truck, Morgan driving, Harold in the front seat, Roy and Roger in the open back of the pickup, John began to climb up into the bed but stopped when he saw Sara come running towards them.
    John caught her in a big hug. Sara whispered into his ear. “One quick goodbye when you get out of bed isn’t going to cut it, mister.”
    “I’ll be back soon, sweetheart,” John whispered back. “I promise.”
    Sara stepped back a little bit. “You better come back. I will never forgive you if you leave me alone with your family!” They both laughed a little. “No, seriously,” Sara deadpanned.
    “I need you to do something for me. Kurt and Patrick are going to put the barricade up at the pass today. Just make sure someone watches it all the time. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
    Sara nodded and kissed John. Then she turned and walked back toward the cabin. John watched her for a few moments before jumping up into the truck. Morgan backed down the driveway, and they headed out.
    * * *
     
    The road was completely deserted this far from town. They drove along at forty miles an hour, weapons trained on the surrounding forest and fields as they passed. Every house seemed deserted, though some had hastily erected barricades around doors and windows. In the distance, a long black column of smoke snaked into the sky. John pointed it out to Roger and Roy, but said nothing. They both nodded back.
    They saw their first Zed a few miles down the road. A car had flipped over in the left lane. Skid marks all over the road showed that it had been going pretty fast when it had crashed.
    Morgan slowed down as they approached. A shoe lay right on the double yellow line in the middle of the road. As they neared, they could see the shoe was not empty.
    Roy was the first one to spot it. He screamed an alarmingly unmanly scream as a hunched figure shambled out of the tree line.
    The creature used to be a man, but now was little more than strips of flesh and decay hanging from muscle and bone. It was missing its left foot from the ankle down. John noted in the back of his mind the claw marks and bites all over the Zed. Bear or wolf , he wondered to himself. Must have been real hungry to go after an animal.
    The Zed moved quickly for something with only one foot. It reached the edge of the road, only a few yards away from the truck, before they knew it. Roy, the closest to the Zed, pointed his shotgun at it and pulled the trigger. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! He pulled again and again, screaming in terror.
    “Take the safety off!” John yelled, pointing his MP5 directly at the Zed’s forehead. He held his fire, though, watching both the Zed and Roy.
    Roy looked