Hope On The Rocks/Issue 93

This is Issue 93 of Hope On The Rocks, entitled "Shallow Grave".

This issue is Kevin-centric.

715, Shallow Grave
“Look!” Holly cries out, and we all look. Garrett is being surrounded by zombies, and is trying to fight them off, only with his Ruger and hunting knife. “We have to help him.” I say, taking out my gun. I check for bullets, four left, and cock it. “Nah, man.” Gord says, leaning back in his seat. “That dick has done enough for us. I’ll just wait here.” “Hey.” I say, looking at Gord. “We’re a group here. And Garrett’s a part of it, just as much as you.” Gord looks at me, giving me an uncormfortable look. “How are we gonna get out?” Kerri asks, and I understand what she means: zombies are slowly surrounding the car. The only thing I see right now, is dead faces pressed against the windows. “I’m working on that.” I say, looking around. There’s not other way than the doors and windows. We’re trapped. Then i hear a gunshot, followed by one more. A bullet goes through the windshield hitting the seat, only inches from Gord’s shoulder. “Fuck!” Gord cries out, cocking his gun and shooting through the window. “Not gonna sit in here one more minute.” Kerri and Holly get out their guns too and begin to shoot through the windows. I follow, even though it’s dumb. Within a few seconds, I have glass everywhere. I think I’ve got a piece in my eye, because everything is getting blurry on my right eye. I don’t have time to think about that though. We manage to get out of the car, only a few scratches from the glass. “Hey!” Gord yells at the people on top of the RV. Texas is standing with a rifle, shooting the zombies around Garrett. “Watch where you fucking shoot!” Texas shrugs, and so do I.

Eventually, we get all the zombies, only with two death: Frank and Stanley. Stanley’s corpse, well, walked away. So the only grave we’re digging is for Frank. I am digging along with Neil. He wasn’t fighting so he has energy enough to do it. The rest are clearing the road so we can get moving as soon as possible. “Too bad, huh?” Neil mutters, digging. “With Frank and Stan?” I ask. I haven’t had a conversation to Neil yet, so we don’t have a lot to talk about. “Yeah.” I nod. “It is. Seems like it gave Garrett a boost though.” Neil raises his eyebrows. “Seems like it. Didn’t think anything could give that guy a boost.” “Me neither.” The voice of Garrett says. We both turn around, standing in the shallow grave. Garrett is standing with a shovel, his eyes red. I think Frank and Garret knew each other before the outbreak, not sure though, so this must be hard for him. “You’re okay?” I ask him, moving a bit so Garrett can get down. “Yeah...” Garrett says. “I just wanted to help.” I nod, watching him as he jumps down to us. Neil continues digging, pretending to ignore us. “You know... I lost friends too.” I say, laying a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. “Me too.” Garrett says, and begins to dig. “Only I caused them.”

Deaths

 * None

Credits

 * Kerri Mavis
 * Kevin Gardner
 * Texas Starr
 * Garrett White
 * Holly Boehicki
 * Neil Bradson
 * Gord Rivera