“You’re the what?” Elliott said sliding to a stop. He looked warily as Shavian didn’t lower the rifle. Instead she came up to her knee, balanced her rifle and fired five shots, each one finding its mark in the foreheads of five different zombies.
With the clip empty she pressed the release as she stood up.
“It’s not important right now.” She pointed at the still running SWAT van. “That thing is! You told us the demons are attracted to noise. This thing in the only noise for a mile.” She glanced at the rifle to find the clip actually hadn’t come loose at all. With a growl she yanked on the magazine. “I am not going to die because some cop can’t maintain their guns!”
“They’re not demons, they’re zom-“ Elliott began meekly, but cut off with Shavian’s glare.
Putting the rifle on the ground and holding it with her foot she jerked till the magazine popped loose and she staggered back a few steps. Looking around, everyone was watching her except Higgins who was still keeping the zombies from overrunning them. “Well, what in the name of discount racks are you still sitting here for?” she shouted. “We have to get back in the van and we have to drive out of here!”
Pat gave a bark and leapt into the van without hesitation. Fipps nudged Jackson and smirked. “See, I told you, she’s dangerous, they always are.”
Roger moved past Elliott saying, “I think I’m in love my boy.”
Elliott stuttered, trying to think of something to say. Shavian just glared at Roger’s back as she pushed new bullets into the clip from her bandoleer. She considered pushing one through his back. Higgins fired off two more shots as he backed closer to the van.
“Covered.”
“Right,” she said and put the refilled clip into the rifle and picked up the other. She tossed the rifle into the back of the van and climbed up herself. Roger was already behind the wheel and looked to be all but drooling over the controls. She was still trying to figure out if she liked the idea of him driving again after flipping his van but Higgins jumped in and pulled the door shut locking it down.
“Drive,” he said, taking any choice away.
It was all Rodger needed to hear. He put the van into drive and romped the pedal down, jumping the truck into action, as well as tossing anyone not sitting into the back wall, namely Higgins, Pat, and Shavian. Higgins hit first while Pat, with four legs, was able to keep her balance, but Shavian was half way to the front. She was taken off her feet, sliding along the middle aisle till she took out Higgins’s legs, leaving them in a heap at the back.
Elliott looked back and held an arm out like he could save her. “Shavian!” Then with a crunch a severed arm flopped over the hood and he turned back declaring, “Zombie!”
Sitting up Shavian pushed a long lock of hair that had worked its way free from the leather thong. “Yeah, he cares,” she muttered as Pat licked her cheek.
From under her Higgins watched the front. “Ass.”
“No, just Scottish,” she said. Pulling herself off Higgins, she moved to the front and slapped Rodger over the back of the head between each word. “I’m…going…to…prophesize…your…death!”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Rodger ducked his head against the slaps. “Come on lass, I’m trying to drive.”
“There is no way I can make it any worse!” she said. Elliott looked up at her with his puppy dog eyes. She growled at him and turned back to the others. Fipps didn’t seem affected by her display but Jackson was keeping his distance; she’d take small victories. Besides, Fipps didn’t seem so bad.
Pulling the truck onto the road, Rodger coasted to a stop.
“What now?” Shavian called forward. Of course he would stop just as she got belted in.
“Well lass, is there any way that you could prophet us up some directions?” Rodger said.
“What do you mean?” She looked around.
“We said that Junie headed for Treeville Coffee,” Rodger said. “But does anyone actually know where it is?”
“What? All these guns and the SWAT team doesn’t have a GPS?”