Oh my apocalypse [YiZhanFF]

Part 20: Fire and destruction everywhere

The two had been traveling for hours and the sun was about to rise when their journey came to an abrupt end. Just in time, Zhan noticed that the bridge, which was supposed to be in front of them and take them to the other side, was completely destroyed.

Parts of the structure were hanging down. Pieces of the concrete were hanging down from thin iron bars, ready to break and crash down at any moment.

Zhan and Yibo left their car and took a closer look at everything on the edge of the abyss. At the bottom of a deep canyon below them, lay most of the bridge, along with many cars. But what frightened them the most was, that it didn't even look like the bridge had existed until two weeks ago. It seemed more like the apocalypse had been there many years ago.

"What do we do now?" Yibo asked as the two sat back in their car and looked at the map.

"Now? Now we have to find a place to rest. And tonight, when we can drive on again, we have no choice but to drive back about 50 miles and then straight toward the city and right through it." Explained Zhan.

"Isn't there any other way?"

"No, I don't see anything on the map here that will take us past the city and to our destination."

"So we really have to go straight through the city without knowing what it looks like?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I don't see how else we're going to get to the hotel. And the biggest problem is, it will cost us another day if we have to pass through the city and then get back on the right route."

"I see. We'd better give your dad a heads up then. I guess they're planning on going over the bridge, too."

"Yes. But we'll do that later. I'm assuming they're just about to set up camp and then go to sleep. Let's do it before we move on. Right now, though, we ourselves should find a place to rest in safety first."

"I saw a building a few miles back. I can't tell you anything about its condition, though, or whether it's safe there. It's hard to judge in the dark. And so close to the road, I don't like it. We don't know if there are vampires around, or else nutty people like the ones from the place with the old man."

"We should still check it out. If the building is intact and we can hide our car somewhere so it can't be seen as people drive by, we should be okay."

"Let's go then. The sun is coming up and we may not have much time. We're too close to the city here and the black creatures could be anywhere." Replied Yibo.

Zhan nodded and started the engine. He prayed inwardly to God that their gasoline would still last until they reached their destination. Because an hour ago they filled their last canister with gasoline into the tank. Now they can only hope that it will be enough, or that they will be lucky again and find another working gas pump.

When they reached the building a few minutes later and could now see better in the rising light of the sun what condition it was in, it was immediately clear to them that they would not be safe there. Basically, the building was ripe for demolition. No doors, no windows, and the lawn in front of it was so high that anyone passing by could immediately see that recently a car had driven along there.

So instead of taking that big risk of being spotted, Zhan drove back even further and then spotted a small hut. It was a little hidden behind some trees. Visible, but only if you looked for it intently. He drove the car onto the dirt road and to the hut, it looked safe from the outside.

Zhan parked the car behind the hut, then they walked around the small hut, trying to see something through the windows. But that didn't work, so their only option was to go straight in through the front door.