ROPE!! Suddenly Jeff remembers the 8 feet or so of rope that he carries in his pack. The plan begins to develop and fall into place. Jeff informs Skyler of his idea and they prepare to run for their lives.
PLAN:
Step 1: Throw everything in the tree house not needed into the large bay windows of the adjacent house
Step 2: Wait for zombie horde to be distracted by loud crashing sounds of glass
Step 3: Jump down from treehouse and sprint (essential word here) to the tree right beside the neighbor's fence
Step 4: Skyler scales the tree like a lumberjack (those 3 summers in Montana will definitely pay off now)
Step 5: Throw rope down to Jeff and pull him up into the tree
Step 6: Jump down on the other side of the fence and then quickly select a route of escape
What actually happened....
Steps 1-3: As planned
Step 4: So Skyler was a bit exaggeratory when describing his feats as a lumberjack. They go with option B which is Jeff stands at base of tree and makes a step with his hand and then hoists Skyler into the tree leaving them at step 5.
Jeff is frantically clawing at the base of the tree with his feet and Skyler is barely able to lift him more than a foot off the ground. Then Jeff sees the terror in Skyler's eyes as they grow wide and he drops Jeff's hand. Jeff takes one moment to turn around and sees three death creatures have strayed from the horde and are steps from him.
His only option is battle and luckily he is wearing his backpack still. Jeff grabs the baseball bat from the middle pocket and takes aim. He swings hard and connects with the first attacker's left side sending him staggering backwards. Jeff then slams the second death creature square in the jaw. It is akin to a slow motion action film as the death creature's jaw jerks upward and away and his front two teeth and a splatter of blood follow the arc of his jowls. Jeff jabs the third death creature in the ribs and gives himself a few seconds to bash in the brains of the toothless one before setting his sights back on the origin of assault.
The first death creature is shuffling forward and seemingly un-phased by the first hit. Jeff's second strike connects with the death creature's left leg just below the knee and does its job of breaking the tibia and fibula and sending the creature to the ground. Jeff immediately takes out his knife from his side pocket and drives the blade swiftly through the skull of the fallen death creature. Three properly placed cuts and Jeff turns in time to feel the impact of the remaining death creature's hands hitting him in the chest and see the horde moving in his direction.
There is nothing he can do now, he shoves the final death creature off with his bat and turns to throw Skyler his knife and pack when he feels the fibers of his rope graze past his arms and hears Skyler yell, "Hold on bro," as his feet fly from the ground and his thoughts are of Elise and how he'll never see her smile again. His face and neck crash into the branches of the tree above him. Before Jeff has time to think and assess his surroundings his body is once again being drug through branches but this time in a downward motion. As he connects with the sod he feels a shooting pain in his left arm.
He is scrambling to his feet as he realizes that his left arm is indeed broken and clasps it painfully to his side. Skyler is almost at full speed five feet in front of him as the rope connecting them begins to get taut. Jeff barely has time to wipe away the blood dripping into his right eye as he runs after Skyler. They dodge in and out of yards and through neighborhoods for several minutes before slowing to a pace slightly faster than a jog. They continue at this pace for thirty minutes when they finally reach the highway and Skyler collapses on the pavement panting for breath. We have escaped! Somehow! Jeff looks back and sees only an empty exit ramp and a highway littered with abandoned vehicles. He sighs in relief and begins to try and piece together what happened.
Apparently as the last death creature was about to make a snack out of Jeff, Skyler had a moment of brilliance and lassoed the rope around Jeff. He had already tied the rope around his own waist and it was the momentum of Skyler jumping from the tree that lifted Jeff's body out of danger just in time. Oh the beauty of a pulley system. Jeff began to assess his broken arm and lacerated face. He was glad to find no perforations of the skin in his arm and set to creating a makeshift splint. The cuts on his face had congealed and that was good enough for now.
Once the rope, bat and knife were safely secured back in Jeff's bag and his splint on, he and Skyler began to weave their way through the mass automobile graveyard and head toward Austin. Their late start and complications that morning had taken a considerable amount of time and it was almost noon. That meant they would need to quicken their pace to make up for lost time and hopefully reach the small town of Sunset Valley just outside of Austin by dusk.
If they accomplished that, then they would be able to do surveillance of Austin the next morning and spend several hours to determine a solid route through the city to the army outpost. That is if everything went according to plan and Jeff had a funny feeling that this morning wasn't the last encounter with death creatures he and Skyler would have for the day.
(to be continued...)
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