This Would Be Paradise (Book 2)-A Zombie Novel

Chapter 32

Roy stared out the back seat window as we drove back to Hargrove. The airport shuttle van that was supposed to be at the apartment was gone, so we were coming back completely empty handed, but with a heavier heart. If we had just gotten here a day ago, we could have possibly prevented this. Or as John had said, been caught in the middle of it.

He also said that the recon would have to wait since Roy's exchange no doubt put the mercenaries on edge. They'd be expecting an assault so we should lay low for a couple of days, then try to canvas the nearby Gretna area. Since Tim's radio was a close range one, the mercenaries broadcasting equipment had to be within a few miles of where we had the exchange.

Suddenly the sound of squealing tires reached my ears.

"Holy shit!" Roy screamed from the back seat.

I whipped around to see what was happening just as a bullet flew through the back windshield and embedded itself in the center console, less than half a foot from my face. I slunk back into my seat, the fact that I just about had my head blown off rendering me into shock.

"Bailey!" John yelled.

I looked up at him and he let out a huge breath, his face relaxing. He didn't have much time to relax as more bullets were put through the back windshield. He veered off to the side, but we were trapped on the interstate, no turnoffs within sight.

"Roy, you okay?" I yelled into the back.

"Yeah," he croaked.

I looked out the side mirror to see a giant black SUV barreling towards us, a man with a handgun leaning out the passenger window.

"Everyone keep your heads down!" John yelled. "Roy, pass that assault rifle up here."

Gingerly, so that he didn't lift any body part within shooting range, Roy handed us the assault rifle. I grabbed the barrel and pulled it into my lap. More gunfire hit the car, the sound of metal on metal pinged in the back end of the car.

John drove in a serpentine manor all over the highway.

"Go faster!" Roy yelled.

"We go any faster and they shoot out our tires, we'll roll and be squished to death," John shot back. "But I got an idea. Hold on."

I barely had time to grab the seat belt and assault rifle before John turned the car 180 degrees around so that we were now facing the SUV head on.

"What the hell?!" Roy screamed from the backseat.

Instead of answering, John floored it as if we were playing a high-stakes game of chicken. The SUV was forced to stop, their tires squealing and the back end sliding out. The guy who was shooting from the passenger seat was thrown forward from the window landing with a splat on the pavement. He didn't get up.

"Bailey, now!" John commanded.

I unrolled the window and pointed the muzzle of the assault rifle towards the side of the SUV. As we passed by, everything seemed to be in slow motion. The guy at the wheel was fumbling with something, but I hit the trigger before he could finish. A spurt of bullets sailed through SUV's passenger side window, hitting the driver and shattering his window behind him. His body jerked with each hit until I let go of the trigger.

I heard John's voice through the ringing in my ears. "The back seat!"

The SUV's back seat window had started to roll down. I twisted the rifle so that it was facing the back and let the rest of the bullets fly. The rifle clicked empty as the muzzle smoked like a lit cigarette.