"Which vehicle?" the radio asked, making even Bunny stare at it with disbelief.
Tanner shot a few more before snatching the radio back up. "The moving one, you dumbass! Which one do you think?"
"Copy that," the radio said calmly.
"Military intelligence," Angel put in as she bashed a corpse in its torn face.
"Not now," Tanner barked at her, firing one shot after another.
"We are not doing good here," York warned.
Bunny said nothing, giving the car all the gas she could, before slamming on the brake, and jerking the wheel, spinning it wildly, throwing the dead in every direction. Before they’d even straightened out again, she’d already shifted gears and floored the gas again, hurtling forward.
"Private, please be advised of incoming," the radio told them.
"Incoming what?" Lucy asked.
The dead exploded all around them, splattering the car with blood as they barreled forward. A moment later, a Blackhawk went over them, insanely low, the mini-gun mounted on its side mowing the corpses in the street down, clearing the way.
"Thank you very much for that." Tanner told the radio.
"Don't thank me, Private," the radio replied, though the voice had changed.
Tanner looked at it a moment in surprise. "Colonel, is that you?"
"Copy that, Tanner."
"Good to hear your voice, sir."
Bunny wove to the side, avoiding a knot of corpses, jumping the curb in the process and kept going down the sidewalk. Overhead, the Blackhawk circled, coming around for another pass.
"Private, I need you to turn that car around, and head back. I'll provide some cover to get you clear, but you are not, I repeat, not to approach the perimeter of base camp. Do you copy?" Williams said over the radio.
Tanner looked at Bunny, who shook her head and kept driving. Behind them, the other three stared in horror. They were being turned back, left to the madness and horror in the streets.
"I cannot comply with that order, Colonel," Tanner said at last. "I’m not the driver."
"Become the driver," Williams stated.
Bunny bounced the car off the sidewalk and back into the street, scraping down the side of a bus, knocking the clinging dead on the driver's side away, much to Angel's relief. Tanner looked at her for a moment, but Bunny paid him no mind.
"I'm unable to do that, either, sir. The driver is in total control of the vehicle," he said at last.
"Son of a bitch," York said, using one of his last bullets to clear away a clutching corpse.
"Let me speak to the driver then," Williams ordered.
"Kinda busy," Bunny said, throwing the car around a turn, plowing sidelong through a herd of dead, sending them flying.
Tanner looked at the radio. "The driver is a bit busy right now, sir."
"Doing what?"
"Driving, sir. What else?" Tanner replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Silence from the radio as the Blackhawk tore them a hole and Bunny flew through it, spinning back to the north. In front of her, she noticed the engine temperature slowly rising, and knew they weren't going to last much longer, no matter how many dead the helicopter cleared for them.
"Listen to me, Tanner," Williams said suddenly. "We've initiated lockdown. Nothing gets in or out of this base camp. I'm sorry, son, but I can't open a gate for you. There's no gates left to open. Turn around, return to the city. It's all I can offer."
"Bullshit," Bunny said. "He's got a way in and out."
"How can you be so sure?" Tanner asked.
"Because I would have one," she told him.
Tanner thought about that for a minute as he plucked a few more from their path. "Sir, we really need a door."
"I can't help you, Private. Turn back. That's an order."
Bunny took one hand off the wheel as the chopper spewed hot dismemberment down on the dead in the street before them again. "This is the driver, Colonel. Tell me where the backdoor is, or I swear this to you now, I will create one. That is all."
She tossed the radio back to Tanner and focused on driving, running through the ever-tightening path of hungry death that clawed at her and her passengers. In the car around her, they fought on, valiant in a quiet way, refusing to yield to the certainty of their situation.
"Driver, there is no back door," Williams said over the radio. "Do not approach."
"Sir, I don't mean to be contrary," Tanner told him. "But she's serious about making a door, so if you got an ace up your sleeve, you best just pull it on out. Driver is running pretty low on reasons to stop the car, do you understand?"
Bunny spun the car onto South Prairie, ramming her way ahead as the Blackhawk paced her overhead. They had stopped firing, leaving them to fend for themselves once again as she roared onto Garfield Boulevard, turning back towards the Park.
"Copy that, Private," Williams said at last. "Back door is East 55th, on the west side of the Park."
"We're on the wrong side!" Lucy cried. "Will we make it there?"
"Bet your ass we will," Bunny snarled, throwing the shifter down and flooring the gas.
Spinning back onto Calumet, she tore down the street, not even trying to slow down as she plowed through the walking corpses. All around her, by the time they knew she was coming, she was hitting them, sending them flying to the right, left, and over the roof.
Tanner buckled down and kept on firing, changing magazines frequently, but clearly ready to go the distance. Angel hacked away, the machete blade dancing near Bunny's ear more than once, but the woman's aim sure and steady. York defended the other side with steadfast resolve, beating them back as they reached for Tanner.
Reaching 51st, Bunny slid
