Alex grabbed his duffel bag and unzipped it. “I’ve got something even better,” he said as he produced her old machete. The one she got in Louisville.
Dylan grinned and reached for it. “You still have it. My lucky machete!”
“Lucky?” he asked with a puzzled frown.
“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” she said with a shrug.
He couldn’t fault her logic. She was lucky. They all were. The question was: For how much longer?
Chapter 5 - Saul
Saul sped away from the infirmary in a cloud of dust and gravel, heading for the nearest exit. He swerved between buildings and banked around a tight corner. Tara and Amy screamed when the Humvee tilted sideways, two wheels spinning in the air. For a few precious seconds, they hung suspended, their lives dependent on his driving skills. With a deft twist of the wheel, they fell back to all four tires and raced ahead without pause.
“Where are you going?” Tara cried, clinging to her seat.
“I’m getting us out,” Saul answered with barely a glance in her direction. His concentration on the vehicle was complete. He changed gears at the speed of light, his feet working the gas and brakes with smooth efficiency.
“What about Mary?” she asked. “We need her.”
“No, we don’t. You’ve got Dylan and me. That’s enough,” he answered.
“But—”
“No buts. With your research and the samples of the cure, you’ll be fine.” He dodged around a group of soldiers running toward a warehouse, twisting the wheel with the finesse of racing driver. This wasn’t his first rodeo. He’d driven many a high-speed obstacle course in the past. Besides, if you could hold your own in the streets of Johannesburg, his old home, you could make it anywhere.
“But—”
“I said no, Tara. The base is overrun. Mary is either dead, or they’ve escaped to one of the evacuation points. You’ll never find her now, and I won’t risk all of our lives on a maybe.” Saul spoke with deliberate harshness to drive his point home.
Tara stared at him in the rearview mirror for a second, her eyes ablaze. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, Saul. I trust you. If you say it can’t be done, it can’t be done. Get us out of here.”
“He’s right. We’ve just come from the civilian quarters, and it’s a madhouse,” Alex said.
Saul grunted. “That’s what I thought. It’s too close to the breach. You were lucky to make it out alive.”
He took another tight turn, clipping an infected with the Humvee’s front wheel. The zombie disappeared without so much as a bump in the road. Ahead, the route opened up, and he pushed the vehicle as fast as he could. For several minutes, they drove unhindered by either people, zombies, or traffic.
As they neared one of the gates, Saul slammed his fist on the dashboard. “Damn it. We’re not getting out that way.”
Alex leaned forward. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s blocked.” Saul pointed at the mass of vehicles thronging the exit. It was mostly army trucks, with a couple of civilian buses and cars mixed in between.
“Now what?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know,” Saul answered, spinning the Humvee around with a squeal of burning rubber.
“Ow,” Tara cried as everyone in the back seat went flying.
“Watch it,” Dylan said.
“Sorry,” Saul muttered, though he hardly paid attention. His entire focus lay on getting them off the base, and he didn’t know how he was going to manage that.
“Most likely, all the exits look like that,” Alex said.
“I know,” Saul said with gritted teeth.
“And the base is fenced in,” Alex continued.
“You’re not helping,” Saul answered with growing frustration.
“What about the breach?” Dylan asked, and the two men stared at her with surprise.
“The breach?” Saul repeated.
“The zombies broke through, right? That means, no fence,” Dylan said.
Alex glanced at Saul. “She’s right.”
Saul nodded. “It’s a plan. Better than nothing.”
“Do you think we can make it?” Alex asked.
“We’ll make it,” Saul said with grim determination. He swerved in the direction of the civilian quarters, jerking the wheel to the left and right as he dodged people, traffic, and other obstacles.
The sirens’ wail grew louder, and the number of infected in their path increased. They roared past the kitchen and common room to find it in flames. Billows of black smoke obscured their view, and it took every ounce of Saul’s concentration to get them through.
The air cleared, and he pointed them toward the fence. It wasn’t easy navigating the rows of tents set up for the civilians, and everyone hung on for dear life. A woman appeared in his path, her face contorting into a frightened scream as she froze in the headlights.
Saul yanked the wheel, narrowly missing her. The Humvee plowed through a tent, its contents scattering to the four winds. The canvas stuck to the hood, covering the window. “Shit, I can’t see!” Saul screamed, easing his foot off the gas.
“Let me,” Alex cried. He wormed his way to the front and wound down the window. Leaning out, he grabbed the tent and pulled. It came partially free, granting Saul a small gap through which to see.
“I need more,” Saul said, speeding up again.
“I’m working on it,” Alex replied, yanking at the canvas.
“Work harder!”
Dylan clambered through to join him, and together they freed the tent. It flew off the truck, its ropes and steel tent pens scraping against the paint job.
Saul breathed a sigh of relief as the way forward became clear. Just in time too. The fence loomed right ahead, and he swerved to the side to avoid ramming into it. Alex and Dylan crashed together in a heap, their bodies entangled in the front seat.
He ignored their cries, focusing on finding a way out. At last, a gap in the wire came into view, and he took the opening. Alex and Dylan went flying again, their enraged screams ringing inside the enclosed cabin.
“Oh, come on!”
“Really?”
“Hold on,” Saul said as the Humvee raced across the open field. It was about
