Chapter 80- Down to the wire

The gate behind me was still attached, banging loudly across the pavement and sending the occasional spark into the air.  I stopped the van and went back to detach it.  The force required to pull the gate off it's track had tightened the knots, and it was virtually impossible to pull them apart.  Again I went back to the van, rummaging through the disheveled contents for something I could use to cut the wire.  My heart leapt when I saw a set of  bolt cutters, but in trying to pry them apart I found they were rusted shut.  I sprayed some lubricant on the hinges, hoping to free the frozen joints, but they would not budge.   I slammed them against the ground, hoping the force would crack the oxidization sealing the metal shut, but to no avail.

I tossed them back on the floor of the van and kept searching.  A crowbar, a sledgehammer, a pair of industrial shears and multiple utility knives, but nothing that could cut metal that size.  I found a wide chisel and grabbed a hammer.  Skeptical but hopeful, I placed the chisel onto the rubber sheathing covering the wire.  The dull blade held firmly in place and I slammed my hammer against it hard.  It cut the rubber sheath easily and dented the wires below.  The bright copper gleamed in the fading light and I placed the blade back into the groove.  I slammed the hammer down again, over and over, lifting it every once in a while to gauge my progress.  It was slow, but I was cutting through.

I continued to hammer away until a scuff behind me caught my attention.  I turned to look and saw a zombie crawling toward me, his face covered in glass shards.  It was the monster I had flung through the storefront window.  His legs drug uselessly behind him, and he snarled and snapped as he got closer.  I looked around quickly, making sure there weren't any others trying to surround me.  Confident that we were alone I stood and walked around the crawler, leading him away from my work.  He snapped and snarled but despite his best efforts he could only move slowly.  I weighed my options.  I could quickly dispatch him and get back to work, or lead him away over and over, keeping him away from me but not killing him unless I was forced to.

I didn't have time for this, and it clearly wasn't human anymore.  If they ever do find a cure for this, I doubt this one would make the cut.  I went back to the van and picked up those rusty bolt cutters.  Standing above the crawler, I felt his boney fingers close around my ankle.  I swung the bolt cutters downward into his skull, feeling them crush through the thick bone.  Immediately the grip released and it laid in a puddle of thick black goo.

I knew my time was limited, and I needed to load the van quickly. I was operating under the assumption that the mega-horde would round the corner any second, and if I was faced with thousands of the undead the odds of me escaping alive would dwindle rapidly.  My best bet was to get in, load up, and get out...  fast.

I went back to my work and hacked at the wire until it broke free.  Tossing the tools in the back of the van I started the engine and proceeded down the road.  I turned the corner where I had last seen Lou leading the pack away from me, and saw a body on the roof of the building.  It was torn to shreds, but I didn't need to call in a forensics team to know who it was.  It wasn't clear how the walkers had gotten up there, but that didn't change my course of action.  I drove rapidly but attentively around the next corner toward the back of the complex and saw two of the infected shambling in the middle of the street.  I didn't tempt fate and went around them, watching as they uselessly swung their arms in my direction.

I turned into the front entryway, the sides of the fence bent from where I had ripped the gate off.  Driving past them I navigated the narrow aisles toward my unit where all the supplies lay stacked and waiting.  I pulled up and put the van in park, climbing to the back to open the gate.  As I stepped out into the evening air I surveyed my supplies.  Lifting a case of water I carried it to the back of the van.  Shoving it toward the back, it scooted a few loose tools aside as I tried to make space inside.  I repeated the process four more times, each time pushing the water to the back.  I turned to begin gathering the few cans of gasoline I had and was faced with a horrible sight.  A massive group of zombies was lumbering toward me, blocking my only exit.