Al’s arms tightened around Daniel. She opened her mouth and nodded slowly, her gaze at her feet.
Finn didn’t blame her in the least. While he might not like the report, he would give it fully.
“I didn’t think of that,” she said.
Finn settled his pack over his shoulders. He picked up a pistol, double-checking the clip, from habit more than necessity. It was full.
“To sum up, a car or a bike would be bad. Stealth is more important right now.”
“What’s your plan, then?” Daniel asked. He deferred without antagonism. This time at least. They didn’t have time to butt heads and clash antlers.
The man ran a hand down Al’s back. Part territorial, part reassuring himself maybe. It had to be killing him what had gone down in the supermarket. Her getting hurt because of him, no matter the circumstances.
Finn knew he’d been right. All round nice guy or not, Daniel could not keep her safe. Not like Finn could.
Not like Finn would if it came down to it, when it came down to it. Daniel could fend for himself.
“There’s a river about a kilometer west. I say we make for—” An almighty explosion shook him, the ground trembling beneath his feet. It was soon followed by a second. No time for talk. “They’re getting closer. Let’s go.”
They ran, keeping careful and low. They dashed from shed to shed, then along a line of dumpsters.
Ali did wel to keep up, sequestered between them. Daniel led. Finn found it easier on his concentration if he could keep her in sight.
She was less of a distraction right in front of him than she would have been behind.
Plus, the assholes were back there.
Flames roared in the distance, but they could stil hear the pack of gunmen over the fiery cacophony. They yelled and fired their guns into the air. The assholes were doing their best to round them up and hunt them down.
Suburbia surrounded the shopping precinct, older-style wooden buildings mixed in with newer brick and tile.
They moved as fast as they could. Daniel helped Al scale a chest-high wire fence while Finn stood guard. A few feet from the ground, she lost her footing and tumbled down, landing hard. The big guy hurried down there in a flurry of action. He landed deftly beside her while she stood and rubbed at her fine ass.
“Umm, I’m okay.”
Daniel cupped her chin and gave her a good long look. “Hurt anything?”
“My butt, my pride, otherwise, no.”
The big man gave a tight nod, walked her back from the fence so there was room for Finn amongst the shrubbery. “Come on over.
We’d better keep moving.”
Finn got up and over while the big guy watched their back trail, gun in one hand, Ali in the other.
Moaning drifted up from within some of the houses where the infected had been sheltering from the daylight. The situation grew worse.
“This is going to get ugly fast,” Finn reported.
The big man grunted, keeping his eyes on his woman. She barely stood her ground, swaying like a wind buffeted her.
Daniel didn’t wait for her to throw a leg over the next fence. The man grabbed her about the waist and lifted her over the hip-high wooden palings. Setting her down, he kept a hand on her while following her over.
Doing his best by her. But, had she been in Finn’s care from the start, she wouldn’t have been hurt. He hoped she didn’t have a bad concussion, internal bleeding or bruising.
They moved through a long line of suburban backyards, slowly, steadily gaining ground. The scenery altered little. Children’s swing sets, a soccer ball and line after line of washing. Colors had paled from days and days of exposure.
A motorbike tore up the street in front of them. They changed direction, running alongside the river, as opposed to toward it.
Swimming pools were swamps, with the water turned algae green. They clambered over fences and pushed through bushes and gardens running wild.
They had to cross another street.
“Wait.” Finn stepped up from behind them, leaving Daniel to watch their backs and her.
Up the street an infected stumbled onto the asphalt in the remains of a suit and tie. Its bald head swayed from side to side, coated in dirt and old blood, and blinded by daylight. Gunfire drew it back toward the shops, away for now. Another infected lurched along beside it, a child in the tattered remains of pajamas, joining the chase.
What he wouldn’t give for a silencer. The first time they were forced to shoot would give up their position. “Go.”
Ali jerked to life, crossing the street with Daniel hot on her tail. He wasn’t more than a step away from her, one hand wrapped tight around her arm.
Another bike drew close. It hummed and growled like a hungry animal. A street over, no more.
“We’re being herded,” he said.
“Yeah. We gotta head west,” Daniel said.
“Agreed.” Finn motioned them on, staying at their backs as promised.
They cut through some open-air car parks beneath a block of apartments, climbing the hood of a vehicle when it blocked their way.