Calvin slammed the door shut behind them, opening it up just enough so that he could secure the chain inside. After that, they sprinted back around to the truck, hopping in.
As Zion fired up the engine, several plumes of smoke rose to the north. “Mother of god, what the fuck is going on?”
CHAPTER SIX
Zion sped towards the camp, seeing huge pillars of smoke rising ahead. His eyes were intense and focused as he seethed with rage.
Mateo was nervous, worried about his family in the camp, and Calvin simply sat dumbstruck, staring in every direction, still in shock from the explosions.
“Jesus christ man, it’s everywhere,” he breathed, seeing several columns of thick smoke around the city.
Zion clenched his jaw. “I know,” he said.
Calvin leaned forward to look at the approaching plume, stretching hundreds of feet into the air. “What the hell were those things?” he demanded. “Fucking missiles?”
“Sounded like it,” Mateo replied.
“But from who?” Calvin asked. “Why? What the fuck?” He scrubbed his hands down his face.
Zion gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, punching the gas. His stomach sank lower and lower as they grew closer to the camp. What if the missile had hit it? Of course, even if it didn’t, hitting close enough would be just as dangerous as the noise would attract zombies towards whatever damage was done.
They were still a few miles away when they came around a bend and Zion slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop in front of a horde easily several hundred zombies strong. They shambled in the direction of the camp.
“Now what?!” Calvin cried.
Zion revved the engine several times, staring straight ahead. “Buckle up,” he demanded.
Calvin swallowed hard. “Oh, shit,” he muttered, and then squeezed up against the door. He motioned for Mateo to get closer to him. He did, and Calvin managed to buckle the seatbelt around both of them. Zion clicked his own belt on, and then gunned it, tires squealing as the truck peeled out.
As he picked up speed, he drifted to the right side of the road, getting into the shoulder where the zombies weren’t as thick. The first creature smacked hard, flying off into the horde and vanishing as it fell into the sea.
Several more cracked off of the front of the vehicle, jostling everyone inside. As the horde thickened, Zion drove almost completely off of the road into the grass. Tree branches bounced off of the right side of the truck while zombies bounced off of the left.
The constant sound of wood and bone crunching against the truck was sickening, and damaging to the truck. Numerous cracks appeared in the windshield, blood and leaves sticking to it. Zion didn’t let up, speeding even faster.
The front passenger tire hit a deep divot in the grass, sending the right side lurching up. Mateo and Calvin held on for dear life as Zion gave the gas one more push. As they approached the other side of the horde, he steered back onto the road, plowing through another batch of creatures as he broke through, leaving them in the dust.
Calvin whirled around and looked back at the horde they’d just broken through, lumbering after them, arms outstretched. “How close are we?” he asked.
“A mile at most,” Zion replied.
“That gives us, what,” Calvin stammered, “thirty minutes at most before those things get here?”
Zion nodded firmly, not taking his eyes off of the road. “Then you’d better start coming up with a plan.”
“What the hell are you gonna do?” the sniper demanded.
“Destroy,” Zion replied. He made a hard right turn onto the road where Wendy’s camp was. As he approached, his chest tightened as he saw a missile had landed a block away from the edge of the gate. The impact had ripped through the fencing, creating a gaping hole where several zombies were already working their way through.
Gunshots filled the air in the distance, popping off one right after the other. The trio sat in stunned silence for a moment before Zion snapped back to action and punched the gas again.
The truck made it up to speed quickly, heading straight for the hole in the gate. Calvin gripped the handle above his head to brace for impact as the vehicle hit some debris just short of it. They launched slightly into the air, crashing through the handful of zombies at chest level, demolishing them.
They skidded into the heart of the camp, four square blocks of utter chaos. Debris was everywhere, a house on fire in the corner, several people trying to escape from the second floor. Bodies littered the ground, indiscernible between zombies or civilians who’d been near the blast.
Then, a terrifying sight sprinted towards them. A runner.
The freshly minted zombie tore across the street, heading towards the burning house. Without hesitating, Calvin unbuckled himself and dove from the car, slinging his rifle into position in a fluid motion. He raised it and looked through the scope, tracking the sprinting monster as it grew closer to its roasting dinner.
A split second later, he squeezed the trigger and the ghoul’s head exploded. The creature flopped to the ground, sliding to a stop a few feet away from two people escaping the house. The gunshot startled them, and they whirled around to see Calvin, who waved at them.
“Get in!” Zion barked. “We gotta find Monique!”
Calvin jumped into the back, getting situated and standing against the back of the cab, smacking the roof to let him know he was ready to go.
“Please, can we go to my family?” Mateo pleaded.
Zion nodded. “They’ll probably be in the same place,” he replied, and hit the gas. They tore off down the road towards the family house, one block up and over. As they came to the first intersection, they saw that the chaos wasn’t just relegated to the front entrance.
There were several runners roaming the area, chasing down people and responding to any noise. Gunshots rattled in the distance at a panicked pace. Zion sat for a moment, letting Calvin pop off
