Chapter 15: Clearing the School Alley (1)

The recent struggle for the rifle made them realize how inconvenient it was for two people to carry a door or a bed board during chaotic combat. With no tools or materials, there was nothing they could do to improve the situation; they had to make do. This time, they left ten rifles and twenty grenades for those staying behind, instructing them to only fire if absolutely necessary, to avoid drawing attention and luring the undead with the noise.

Listening to the intermittent yet sometimes intense gunfire echoing across Beijing, Li Fengyi felt cold sweat trickling down his back. There was no time for him to ponder the conflicting orders.

A group of them slipped out of Courtyard No. 5, its entrance already cleared of zombies; only a few distant ones wandered aimlessly among the cars, slowly edging closer. Group Seven led the way westward. When they encountered zombies, Li Fengyi and Li Qiang took turns striking them down with steel pipes. They ran to the alley by the school, scanning the area for something to block its entrance. Seeing the street lined with cars, Li Fengyi said, "Use the cars. Groups Two, Three, and Four push, Groups One and Seven cover."

Groups One and Seven spread out silently, clearing zombies one by one. The door boards formed a line, giving Groups Two, Three, and Four space to operate. Some car doors could be yanked open—those were opened, and the zombies inside dealt with. Others were locked from the inside; breaking the glass, they cleared the zombies and released the handbrakes. Soon, three sedans were lined up to block the alley, followed by two vans forming a second row behind them.

Groups One and Seven climbed over the vehicles. Li Fengyi stood atop a car, surveying the scene; none of the cars were tall—within the Third Ring Road, large trucks weren’t allowed in during the day, so most vehicles were only about the height of a person. They had tried to pick the tallest models available.

The sound of smashing glass and moving cars drew zombies from both sides of Hepingli North Street, rushing through spaces between vehicles. The obstacles slowed them down considerably.

Li Fengyi cast one last glance at the bicycle repair stall at the corner of the street, wondering what tools might be there, then jumped down and led everyone northward.

Less than a hundred meters from the elementary school gate, the alley had three residential compound entrances. Two had been blocked by hastily driven cars; after clearing the zombies, those were secure. On the east side of the alley was a small vegetable stall—they’d grab some produce on their way back. Without pausing, they continued forward, clearing the path as they went. The zombies at the school gate had already begun surging in their direction.

The massive horde, numbering in the hundreds, forced Li Fengyi’s group into a complete retreat after a single clash. The onslaught was overwhelming. Li Fengyi shouted, "Everyone, pay attention! Fall back slowly, don’t panic!"

The alley was narrow; only two door boards could be laid side by side, but a line of zombies could charge ten abreast. The boards creaked under the onslaught.

At last, someone standing behind cried out, "Oh my god, the zombies are eating me!" and threw down his board, fleeing, causing chaos.

Groups One, Two, Three, Four, and Seven fell into disarray. After decades of peace, most were used to mental work, not physical exertion. The recent days of clearing Courtyard No. 5, handling weapons, and sealing the alley had pushed everyone’s nerves to the limit. Now, with the zombie swarm crashing in, panic erupted.

Amid the confusion, Li Fengyi shouted to everyone he could see, "Climb onto the cars! Hit their heads!"

In the chaos, fewer than thirty managed to scramble onto the car roofs. One, trying to escape, crawled under a car, only to be grabbed by the legs and dragged out by zombies, screaming desperately.

Li Fengyi and five others climbed onto the roof of the car blocking the eastern courtyard entrance, wielding steel pipes like whack-a-mole, striking the heads of the clustered zombies. Li Qiang and a dozen others climbed onto the roof of the car opposite.

The vehicles rocked violently under the mass of zombies, as if about to capsize. Despite the rain of blows—three to five strikes killing one zombie—the undead pressed forward relentlessly, fiercer than the bravest warriors.

Suddenly, Li Fengyi saw zombies from the courtyard rushing at Li Qiang’s group from behind and shouted, "Zombies behind you! Watch out!" Their faces changed, eyes fixed in terror on what was coming, mouths agape, speechless.

Li Fengyi instinctively turned to look—a dense horde was pouring out from behind the building, from the units...

The car roofs were only two or three meters long and just over two meters wide. Everyone huddled in the middle, out of reach of the zombies in front or behind. Hands clawed at the roof, leaving scratch marks on the metal. The zombies’ strength was immense. Li Fengyi thought, it’s a miracle there haven’t been casualties until now.

He raised his steel pipe and said, "Hit the zombies in the alley—ignore the ones behind!" With pressure from both front and rear, the cars stabilized, no longer rocking.

Noticing this, Li Fengyi shouted again, "Three people hit forward, three people hit back!" In emergencies, people tend to follow whoever is loudest and most authoritative. He redistributed the fighters, splitting them between front and back.

Li Qiang’s group unconsciously mirrored them, three attacking forward, three backward. The rest, seeing both sides covered, hesitated, until Li Qiang snapped, "This side, add two more to each!" At last, no one stood idle.

Thus, at the gates of the two courtyards flanking the alley, Li Fengyi and Li Qiang divided their people into two teams—one to fight ahead, one behind—striving for balance, lest an uneven onslaught flip the cars.

The alley had more zombies than the courtyards, mainly because of school letting out—children and parents packed together, unlike the scattered zombies slowly wandering from the building entrances in the courtyards.

Perhaps Li Qiang’s group, with more living people, gave off a stronger scent; most of the alley zombies gravitated toward them.

Even so, as the front row of zombies fell, those behind clambered over the bodies, rising higher and continuing the charge. Soon, the zombies were nearly level with the car roofs. Li Fengyi pounded a few more times, then called to those behind him, "My side—climb the wall!"

The people behind him squeezed past toward the northern wall. Li Fengyi covered the retreat, steel pipe flailing. His aching arms felt numb, as if he were one of the zombies himself. Once everyone was up, someone on the wall shouted, "Boss Li, give me your hand!"

Without hesitation, Li Fengyi kept swinging his right arm, raised his left high, and was grabbed and hauled up by several hands, as if lifted by a wire in a stunt show. The alley zombies had already reached the car roof, snarling and growling in low voices at the people on the wall.