Tom smiled and winked at Benny. “And why would they do that, Vin? Who would want to go those lengths to throw suspicion on you?”
It was a long and ugly silence. The zoms were almost at the hundred-foot line. Benny counted sixteen of them in the first wave. Cold sweat ran down his face and back, and pooled like slush at the base of his spine. He had his bokken in his hands, but the hard wood felt like a toothpick against what was coming for them.
“Charlie wouldn’t do that,” Vin protested. “He’d know that we’d clear our names once we got back.”
“You mean if you got back. You said it yourself, Vin. No rules out here in the Ruin.”
“Hundred feet,” Benny said, and edged backward, raising the sword in both hands. “We have to go!”
“Vin,” called Tom. “I have to get Benny out of here. You let us walk, and I promise to help you with Captain Strunk and the court.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Vin said after a pause.
“Because you know what my word’s worth,” said Tom.
The moans of the dead were as loud as the shouting men. Tom whirled and saw that the firefighter and one other zom were out in front of the pack. With a snarl he leaped toward them, and the silver blade of his katana flashed in the sunlight. Tom backpedaled as the zoms fell one way and their heads crunched and rolled the other.
“Clock’s ticking on that offer, Vin.”
“I could just let the zoms have you and take my chances with the court. Joey and I never broke no laws in town. We have a clean record.”
“Tell that to the court when Strunk gives them the only piece of evidence found at the scene. They’ll hang you just to have someone to vent on.”
The fourteen remaining zoms were now only fifty feet away. Tom stared at them and then at the horses. “Damn it!” he said with a growl, and with a flick of his wrist, he cut the reins that held the horses to the overturned truck. With his free hand he slapped their rumps and yelled at them. Chief needed no urging and was already racing away. Apache ran a few steps, then stopped and looked back at Benny. He was just starting to turn to come back when a zom made a grab for him. Apache reared up and kicked the corpse in the face, then with a whinny of protest he wheeled around and galloped after Chief. They headed for the trees, but Benny saw that the woods were filled with the hungry dead. Even with the carpet coats, how could the horses hope to survive?
And how could he and Tom survive without them?
“Benny!” Tom snapped. “Climb!” He pushed Benny toward the Escalade, and Benny scrambled up onto the hood and then turned and scaled the mangled front of the panel truck. Tom pivoted in place and hacked at the zoms who were closing in on them now. Hands and parts of arms and heads flew, but there were far too many of them. Tom slammed his sword into its sheath and jumped onto the Escalade, just as the living dead reached for him. He kicked backward and then Benny was there, reaching down a hand to pull his brother to safety.
They crouched on the overturned truck, completely exposed. On the far side of the road, Vin Trang stood with his pistol raised.
Tom slowly straightened, and in a movement so smooth that it looked like flowing water, Tom pulled his pistol and pointed it at Vin. The range was too great for accurate handgun shooting, but Tom’s hand was rock steady. Even from that distance Benny could see that Vin’s whole arm trembled.
“If you take a shot, Vin,” Tom warned, “you’d better pray you kill me with the first round.”
Vin tried to meet Tom’s stare, tried to man it out, but after a few seconds he lowered his gun.
“Where’s Charlie taking the girl, Vin?” Tom asked.