Chapter Ten: Let Me Take the T-Rex for a Spin

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The guest bedroom window was structured much like those in most of the villas.

The entire window was divided into three sections. The two side sections were narrow, while the center consisted of one enormous sheet of glass.

Opening the central pane required activating the switch beside the bed, which raised it electrically.

The two smaller side windows, however, could be opened by hand.

Beyond the window lay the manor’s backyard. Directly below, some forty feet away, was the swimming pool, where traces of blood still remained.

The filthy bastard who had once splashed around in the pool had vanished, leaving behind only several trails of water leading toward the parking lot.

Past the pool was the expansive shooting range where they had practiced the previous afternoon. It was equipped with clay-pigeon launchers and rails for moving targets.

Beyond the range stood the forest surrounding the manor, a sensible arrangement designed to prevent stray shots from harming anyone.

After checking the surroundings outside the manor, Gavin leaned toward the window and searched for the horde of zombies to the left.

At that moment, from Madison’s room, the horde stood at the extreme left edge of the visible area.

The backyard was dimmer than the garden and parking lot. Squinting, Gavin carefully judged the distance.

Once he had reached a rough conclusion, he straightened and reached for the window hinge.

He ran his fingers over it twice, confirming how well lubricated and maintained it was, then slowly pushed the window open.

He eased it outward a little. The mechanism moved with remarkable smoothness, making not the slightest sound.

Gavin turned back to Madison and mimed zipping his lips shut.

Madison nodded in understanding. Gavin continued pushing until the window stood fully open.

Seeing this, Madison stepped forward and pressed down on the window to keep it from sliding back unexpectedly. At the same time, he handed Gavin the bottle he was holding.

The two bottles were different sizes. Gavin hefted each one twice to judge its weight, then silently fixed his gaze on the third target from the left.

He took aim and threw.

The bottle streaked through the darkness and struck the target dead-on, breaking with a crisp crack.

In the open shooting range, the sound of shattering glass carried even more clearly than it had in the parking lot.

Beside him, Madison quickly raised a thumb in approval.

Gavin did not even look at him. He glanced at his watch first, then pressed himself against the glass and kept his eyes fixed on the horde.

Judging by the distance, and with so many obstacles removed, it should have taken the zombies roughly eleven or twelve seconds to cross the eighty-odd meters.

But Gavin noticed that after leaving the parking lot, the horde lost some time at the shooting-range fence.

Only a tiny number of zombies at the front cleared it in a single leap. Nearly all the others slammed into the barrier, then tumbled and crawled their way over.

By the time the horde finally began piling up at the third target from the left, Gavin looked down at his watch and found that fifteen seconds had passed.

His attention therefore settled on the shooting-range fence.

A moment later, he understood. The fence stood roughly 160 centimeters high, an effective measure for keeping wild boars from charging into the range from the forest.

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Most passenger cars stood about 140 centimeters high at the front and rear. Off-road vehicles were taller, while sports cars were lower.

Gavin firmly memorized that twenty-centimeter difference and decided that, when planning any escape route in the future, he would always keep the 160-centimeter threshold in mind and apply it when choosing obstacles.

He then walked silently toward the bedroom door, picking up another bottle along the way.

After leaving the room, they followed their usual route along the wall to avoid the zombies at the food-delivery hatch on the first floor. The two of them arrived at the terrace at the far end of the villa’s shooting range.

This time, Madison followed him onto the terrace and stared blankly into the gloomy night.

After judging the distance, Gavin hurled another bottle and then settled in to admire the spectacle of a hundred zombies surging forward.

Time passed slowly. Once the zombies finally began spreading out and patrolling around the target area, Gavin waved Madison over and led him back into the corridor.

As they walked, Gavin seemed to hear something and glanced back.

The faint noise was coming from Madison’s slightly trembling mouth.

He said nothing. He continued forward until they reached the door on the parking-lot side, then patted Madison on the shoulder.

“Come on, buddy. Let me borrow your T-Rex. I’ve never driven a pickup like this.”

As he spoke, he held out his hand.

With Madison this tense, Gavin had no intention of placing the steering wheel—and his life—in his hands.

Madison blinked in surprise. As he instinctively took out the keys, he asked, “Weren’t I supposed to drive? That’s my baby. Besides, you should get some rest. You’ve been carrying us this whole time.”

“Relax. Why quibble over that? I’m going home to rest afterward.”

“Your home’s all the way in Chicago. I’ll just have to pray you don’t have trouble sleeping in a strange bed. Ha-ha.”

Gavin chuckled and casually slapped Madison on the shoulder.

When Madison remained dazed, Gavin grabbed him by the upper arm and continued, “I haven’t called my family even once. Once we’re in the truck, help me make a few calls home.”

“Can you believe it? It’s not that I don’t want to call. I’m afraid to.”

“What?”

Madison stared at Gavin suspiciously. “You get scared too?”

“Of course. When Charlie Sheen was exposed as having AIDS, I was scared half to death.”

Gavin said it teasingly, but Madison’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He hurriedly asked, “Wait, what did you say? Charlie Sheen has AIDS? When did that happen? How come I never heard about it?”

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could I not know about news that big? Are you messing with me, you bastard?”

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While Madison was saying this, Gavin reached out and snatched the keys from Old Mad’s hand.

When he realized his left hand was empty, Madison instinctively clawed at the air twice. He then wiped his sweaty palm against his trousers and shook out the military knife in his right hand twice before asking, “Gavin, were you serious? Charlie Sheen really has AIDS?”

“Who knows? I only heard it somewhere.”

Gavin’s reply was utterly insincere.

Charlie Sheen’s diagnosis was not supposed to become public until 2015. It was only 2013 now.

Gavin had said it merely to ease Madison’s nerves.

Seeing that Madison had relaxed somewhat and that his breathing had grown steadier, Gavin placed a hand on the door and said quietly, “Enough. Don’t worry about nonsense like that. Even if Charlie Sheen doesn’t have AIDS, he ought to be a real zombie by now.”

“Back to our plan. I took a look just now, and there are no zombies in the parking lot. Their sensitivity to sound has become their weakness.”

“Stick close to me. We’re not doing anything unnecessary. We’re driving straight out of this godforsaken villa!”

“Buddy, enjoy the sound of that T-Rex’s engine!”

With that, Gavin pulled open the door and moved toward the stairs in a crouch.

The little calm Madison had recovered vanished the moment he began descending.

By the time Gavin left the stairs, lowered himself into the garden, and used the shrubs for cover as he moved toward the parking lot, Madison’s teeth had begun chattering again.

Gavin had no time to worry about him. At that moment, his eyes were focused solely on the surroundings—and on the Dodge T-Rex.

The T-Rex was parked near the middle of the lot, far from the exit.

But it was closer to the villa.

After crossing the garden and passing only two rows of cars, Gavin reached the front of the T-Rex.

Madison was nervous, but as soon as Gavin stopped, he instinctively went around him and halted beside the passenger door.

Gavin glanced at his watch, then pressed the key fob. The T-Rex’s headlights came on at once, accompanied by two muted unlocking chimes.

As the lights flared, Gavin yanked open the door, tossed the rope-bound pack and military knife onto the back seat, then threw himself into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle as quickly as possible.

When the T-Rex’s engine came to life, Madison was already seated beside him. He turned around and gripped the back of his seat, staring intently through the rear window.

Even as his teeth chattered nonstop, even with both hands clenched around the seatback, even as cold sweat trickled toward the corners of his eyes, he kept his gaze fixed on the direction from which the zombies might come pursuing them.

While Madison watched, Gavin gently pressed the accelerator.

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