Meenda didn't hear Issy's arrival.From the rooftop, she had emptied her rifle at the six black-clad soldiers scrambling down the slope.
Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew…She managed to hit two before the rest began zig-zagging, making her shots miss in panic.Her hands shook uncontrollably as her magazine emptied.
"Reload, Meenda!"Mari's voice, calm and focused as she knelt beside her, snapped her back to reality.Meenda quickly swapped magazines.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang…The soldiers fired back, three covering the zombies advancing on them from the left road, while the other three sprayed bullets toward Meenda's rooftop position.Concrete chips exploded around them as bullets hammered the ledge.
Meenda and Mari ducked low behind the crumbling parapet.
Down below, Issy crouched behind a concrete utility post near the wall, returning fire at the trio of soldiers entrenched about 150 meters uphill.
Pew pew pew pew pew…Though most of her bullets struck the road or walls, the suppressing fire was enough to force the soldiers to duck and take cover.
Issy swiftly reloaded.
"Meenda, watch out — RPG incoming!"Limo's shout blared through their earpieces.
Issy spotted a soldier kneeling behind a wall, aiming a rocket launcher at Meenda and Mari's position.
She aimed carefully, her AK tucked snugly into the natural pocket formed by her large chest, steadying the notoriously hard-kicking rifle far better than most men.
Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew…A full magazine's worth of rounds tore through the night.Most missed, but one lucky shot struck the RPG gunner right in the crotch.
The man collapsed forward and accidentally fired his rocket—
Straight at Issy.
The warhead roared past her face close enough for her to feel the searing heat.
BOOM!The rocket slammed into a nearby security booth, erupting into a fireball that mushroomed into the sky.
The zombies on the road — more than fifty of them — stopped.They turned toward the explosion, then back toward Issy.
"Oh, shit…"Issy rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be hallucinating.But it was real.
The zombies, previously shuffling like elderly arthritis patients, were now twitching, stumbling, and — horrifyingly — beginning to run.
"This is hell…"Issy whispered to herself, sprinting into the nearest house.
"Mari, help me block the door!"she screamed, shoving a heavy sofa toward the front entrance.
Meanwhile, Limo stared in horror at the drone feed.More than fifty zombies swarmed toward Issy's position like ants to a fallen crumb.Dozens more were converging on the soldiers trapped at the center of the village.
"Kantsuke, looks like your girls are in deep shit,"he muttered, gripping his revolver tightly.
"Molly, pack up. We're going to help them."
Even with his wounded shoulder throbbing, Limo knew now was not the time for weakness.