Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven - Herd of Zombie Cows (1/2)
There was a brief moment of pause where the universe around them seeming to slow down and their minds evaluated whether a fight or flight response would be best.Seeing the rabid, rampaging, zombie cows beginning to run towards them, Winston did not delay his own decision, putting his foot down, but stalled the truck instead.
”Shit!”
”What are you doing?”
Winston turned the key in the ignition, restarting the truck and shoved the gear stick into the reversing position.The herd of undead barely two metres away, his foot heavily upon the pedal again, the truck shot backwards.Tyler was flung forward against the closed carriage, while the others gripped the sides.
Ren Zexian gingerly took to his feet threw out a sizeable ball of flames from his hand over Tyler's head. It landed upon the forehead of one of the beasts, bursting into a flurry of fire across the creature's vision.It shook away the flames, screaming as it did and knocked into the cow beside it.This delayed the herd for a just a few moments as beasts fell or stumbled, but they were not slowed for long.However it was enough for Winston to be able to do a sharp turn and thrust the truck back into first gear and begin accelerating away.Both Tyler and Ren Zexian slipped and fell during the turn, falling into the bed of the truck.The stampeding herd closed the gap during the manoeuvre, close enough that the stench of their rotten breath could be smelled by the men in the back.
Dexter attempted to shoot a few bolts of lightning, but while they were brighter, stronger, it was barely enough to stun one lone cow, which fell beneath the hooves of those behind it, trampled into a bloody pulp upon the asphalt.The next bolt fell upon the road, uselessly as the truck finally pulled away from the herd, challenging Dexter's range.
”They seem sturdier that the human undead,” Ren Zexian commented as he threw a series of small fireballs.
”No shit!” Dexter replied, grabbing onto the sides once more as the truck swerved down a side road, as Winston moved to avoid another threat, which was cutting off their way back to town; humanoid zombies that had been drawn by the sound of their truck and had been slowly following them since then.The squad were jostled up and down as this road was more dirt than concrete and lead to an small out of the way village.Naturally, there were more zombies, but their numbers seemed fairly low.Possibly most of those that turned in this place wandered away or followed escaping survivors to areas with more prey.These were infinitely easier dealt with, only one or two was even able to get near to the truck, which just swerved to avoid them, than the herd that had not yet ceased its hunt.The cows even trampled over any undead humans that happened to wander into their path.
But suddenly, the herd that had managed to keep upon their trail this long, stumbled to a halt.Their legs stomped upon the ground, nostrils flaring and the ones in front even seemed to attempt to back up a pace, but for the cows behind them pushing them unwittingly forward.One became extremely agitated as it came near to a thick hedge of foliage, piquing Ren Zexian's interest as he asked the driver to hold on for a moment.Dexter seconded his request as a command.Zombies didn't feel fear… right?
Without warning, a series of long, green vines rose upwards and swung down to wrap themselves around the zombie cow.It was lifted, upwards, its moos becoming loud and almost sounding distressed as the vines pulled it to the other side of the hedge and then the men heard nothing more from it.
”The hunter becomes the hunted?” Harry murmured as the zombie cows turned and ran back down the road, away from the hedge and away from the squad.
”But really, first zombie cows and now plants?” Tyler moaned, bitterly.
”I also have seen canines that had risen as undead,” Ren Zexian mentioned, though his mind was currently considering the strange scene that they had witnessed.He stood up and jumped out of the truck bed.
”Are you crazy?!” Patrick cried out to him as the man neared the thick hedge and began to walk the length of it, though in the opposite directions of where the vines had appeared from.The truck came to a complete stop as Winston, who had seen this in the rear view mirror, waited for instructions.
”Had you not figured that one out by now?” Tyler laughed without mirth.”I say we leave him.”