Pushing Up Gravestones - Pushing Up Gravestones – Chapter 16

He was like an angel sent down when there was no hope, if angels
were blond middle-aged men.

“Keep close behind me,” their savior said in a gruff voice.

The convenience store that he led them through was dark and
empty. They followed the man as he maneuvered around the store to a specific
destination not far off.

“Name’s Randle,” he said as they neared a barricaded corner.

The girls ducked underneath the shelves and entered a makeshift
cave and were shocked to see the guns and ammunition.

Denise squinted around and saw that there was another person in
there as well.

Instantly she stiffened and grabbed Tina’s shoulder.

A boy, not much older than Denis, stepped into the dim light
with a rifle in hand.

He looked like a miniature Randle with brown hair so light it
was almost blond; the hardness of Randle’s face however was softened on the
boy.

Denise couldn’t help the thought that formed in her mind.

He’s
cute.

She couldn’t believe she actually thought that, something so
superficial, considering the circumstances. She looked over at Ferra and judged
the way Ferra bit her bottom lip that she also came to the same conclusion.

“This here’s my boy Rory,” Randle continued. Rory gave them a
curt nod, although Denise could feel his eyes linger on hers a little bit
longer.

The girls seated themselves in the makeshift gun hovel.

“So, what’s your story?” Rory asked, his voice soft.

Before Denise could open her mouth to answer, Ferra jumped at the
opportunity and explained to them how zombies chased the group and that they
had nowhere else to go.

Randle nodded. “Y’all will be spending the night here. We’ll
talk about what we’re gonna do next in the morning.”

With Tina laying beside her,
Ferra next to her and the men with guns to keep watch, Denise fell into an
exhausted sleep. The first real sleep she’s had in a long time.

***

“We’re hunters,” Rory
explained as they all munched on a breakfast of jerky and beans. “We used to hunt
deer, elk, whatever, you know before all this happened.”

“Hence all the guns?” Denise
smiled.

“One can’t have too many guns
in times like these,” Randle sighed.

Rory poked little Tina and
handed her a wrapped candy bar.

Tina’s eyes widened at the
very rare commodity. “For me?”

Rory laughed a hearty chuckle
that made Denise smile.

“Yeah. I was saving it for
someone special.”

“Thank you,” Tina grabbed the
candy bar and tucked it into her pocket.

Rory was quickly becoming a
favorite among the girls.

But before they got too
comfortable they heard a large resonating crash. Everyone stiffened.

Seconds passed on like hours.

Everyone held their breath,
not a sound was made.

After what seemed to be an
eternity, Randle’s hold on his rifle loosened and he nodded.

“The doors won’t hold on for
much longer. They’ll be upon us before nightfall.”

“Then we have to get out of
here,” Rory said. He looked at all the ammunition. “We’ll take what we can.”

Randle was quiet.

“Where will we go though,”
Ferrah poked her head out into the darkened store. “Will we just keep running
away for ever? Can’t we stand and fight?”

Randle chuckled. “That’s very
brave Red. But there are too many out there and even with all the ammo, they’ll
over come us in a matter of minutes.”

The group sat in somber
silence.

“But there is a place to go
to. A place that will be safe.”

Denise wondered what the man
was talking about.

“The military base,” Randle
smiled. “I’m willing to bet it’s the safest place out here at the moment.”

Denise nodded. “Yea, that
makes sense. But how will we get there? We can’t walked out the front door.
They’re waiting for us.”

“There’s a back door,” Rory
explained.

“But even if we use the back
door they will chase us. It’s not a matter of which door to use.”

Randle nodded in agreement.
“That’s why we need a distraction.” He looked at his son and added, “And that’s
why I’m not coming with you.”

***

“Dad, this is ridiculous.”
Rory tried to fight the tears that were streaming down his face.

They stood outside the barricaded
corner to allow themselves some privacy from the girls.

“It must be done Rory.”
Randle grasped his son’s shoulders and forced him to look him in the face.

“You take the girls to the
back door and I’ll stay back and distract those hounds from hell.”

“You’re gonna died Dad,” The
boy sobbed into his dad’s shirt. “How can I let you do this?”

“Just survive.” His said in a
hoarse whisper. “Take care of those girls and live so that my life would not
have been wasted in vain.”

***

The girls and Rory stood
beside the back door exit waiting for the 
sign. They didn’t know what the sign was only that, “they’ll know it
when it came.”

They carried as much ammo as
reasonable possible without it slowing them down.

Rory stood stiffly beside
Denise. She knew what Randle was about to do and she could tell that Rory was
dying in the inside.

“Rory,” she whispered. He
flinched and said nothing in return. Denise didn’t know what made her do it but
she held his hand. Her soft palm against his hard callused one. He didn’t hold
it back but he didn’t remove his hand either.

Just them they heard a loud CLANG that made them jump.

“Was that the sign,” Farra
whispered.

Rory tensed and relied on his
ears. He shook his head and pointed in the direction of the front door.

The door had been broken down.
In a matter of seconds they could here the zombies grunting and shuffling into
the convenience store and still there was no sign from Randle.

Rory softly let go of
Denise’s sweaty hand and held his rifle with both hands.

It would be a matter of
minutes before the zombies would be upon them.

Should they just run out now?

Was Randle already captured?

Where was the sign?

Just then a loud earth
shaking, ear-blowing explosion boomed. The group did not need to ask or wait to
know that was the signal.

Rory opened the door and they
ran out the store, but not before he turned around in the direction of the
explosion.

Randle had blown himself up
with the remaining ammo all so his son can live another day.

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