Rise of the Undead

Chapter 3

"What now?" Rosa asked as she ran an unsteady hand through her thick black hair.

I shrugged, and stared at the massive pile-up halfway down the ramp leading toward I-84 West. "Damned if I know."

"We could try and take the entrance near McDonald's on Corbin Avenue."

Her suggestion was good, but I wasn't sure if it would be effective. We'd encountered quite a few obstacles already. Granted, we were safe, for the moment, as we saw none of the undead around yet, but it wouldn't stay that way the longer we waited. Our situation grew dire by the second, and our means of getting home no longer seemed likely.

"What if we find the same thing there? How will we get to Waterbury, then?"

"We could take the back roads through Bristol," Chase suggested as he slid out of the parked vehicle.

I raised a brow in question. "You know about that?"

"Hells yeah!" he exclaimed. His face turned red as his mother glared in his direction. "I mean, yes. Dad takes that route all the time whenever he goes fishing."

My eyes narrowed. "And he takes you along, I gather?"

Sweat broke out across his forehead as he tugged on his shirt collar. "Umm . . . yeah."

Rosa's scowl deepened. "Oh? And you kept this to yourself this entire time, because . . . ?"

"'Cause Dad said . . ."

"Get in the car."

"But, Mom, I . . ."

"Now!"

He groaned, and hopped into the back seat. A slight shiver coursed down my spine as a slight breeze started to blow. I pulled the edges of my gray sweater close, and shook my head. I kept telling myself I was dreaming. That I'd wake up any minute now, and find myself back in bed, but I knew it was a lie. This was real, and it was definitely happening. Would we get out of this alive? I wondered. I rubbed my hands across my forearms to ward off the cold, and nodded at Rosa as I headed back to the car. She followed suit, and slid into her seat, snapping the seatbelt into place.

"We're going to give the Corbin Avenue entrance a shot. If that doesn't work, we'll need to find a place to hunker down for the night. We’ll then try making our way home in the morning," I said as I backed out of the ramp, and drove down the street.

"Can we get something to eat?" Grady inquired.

"Once we're safe and sound."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

He nodded with satisfaction, and sat back in his seat. For the most part, the street was clear of abandoned cars. Though, the occasional biter shuffled back and forth across the road. Swinging left at the nearest intersection, I made my way toward the gas station. My hands began to sweat as we began to encounter a little resistance.

Cars were scattered right and left, mutilated bodies strewn about. Undead crowded around several cars, eating what was left of the vehicle's occupants. Tears rose to the surface as I saw one shove its hands into the stomach of a five-year-old boy. Another munched on the right arm of an elderly woman, blood and viscera dripping down its chin.

A cell phone rang inside the car, drawing the attention of the nearest undead. Mary apologized as she hit the silence button. I accelerated, and she groaned with pain as she slid toward the seat in front of her. Her head connected with the edge of its plastic head rest. The SUV shot forward, the bumper clipping several zombies as I drove into them. The sound of bones crunching caused a thick wave of bile to rise.