The Mutation Wave

Chapter 3: Hellfire

An almost perfect semi-circle of warm light waned down on the horizon, painting the sky with a violet hue. The sun rays gently bounced off the concrete walls of the city, tenderly illuminating the many faces on the street. Their silhouettes swayed slowly in the cool breeze like dozens of old couples dancing their own slow waltz. It looked almost peaceful.

CRASH!

The sound of glass shattering pierced the quiet early evening as a figure landed on a car from above. The undead twitched and turned to the source of the sound, screeching as if they were truly angry at her for disturbing their peace. She leapt off the crumpled car roof and kicked it towards the charging zombies with incredible force. The car crushed them instantly.

More zombies sprinted towards her.

The air temperature shot up by several thousand degrees as white hot flames shot out from her hands, incinerating the zombies in her path within seconds. Lines of zombies jumped towards her relentlessly, only to get caught up in the hellfire. She began to walk forward-

SCREECH!

A van shrieked to a stop, running over a row of zombies and narrowly missing her from the side. "Marianne! Get in, let's go!" a voice called out from inside the vehicle.

"What?! This was not the plan!" Marianne yelled, stopping her spray of flames.

"What plan?! You just jumped three floors out of a window!" William yelled back from the driver's seat.

"I can't believe you're driving a van! I thought all the vehicles would've run out of power by now!" Marianne exclaimed, hurriedly climbing into the vehicle. "How'd you even get out of the apartment if you didn't jump out with me?"

"Like normal people; through the front gates."

"Go, go, go! I can't power this thing forever!" Masako shouted from the backseat, electricity crackling between her fingertips and the battery compartment. The van lurched forward as William stamped on the accelerator.

"ARGHH!" he growled, struggling to hold the wheel steady against the impact of the zombies hurling themselves against the vehicle. Masako groaned with effort as the van accelerated until it gradually outpaced the zombies. The electric van came to a smooth halt in front of William's house, its engine humming contently.

"Turn off manual drive mode. Turn on defensive driving mode," William commanded. The steering wheel retracted back into the dashboard and various signals started to light up in response.

"Turn off engine." William turned back. "Masako, ya alright there?"

"I could use a nap..." Masako slumped onto the seat, breathing heavily.

"Well, you deserve it. I'm going up to pack my things; I'll be back," William jumped out of the van.

"Good to see you've made the right decision." Marianne followed him, her combat boots crunching the ground as she landed from the van.

William walked leisurely along the empty corridors to his apartment, ignoring the broken windows and bloody handprints that decorated the walls. Some doors to the other apartments were hanging off their hinges, seemingly broken by a strong force from inside the house. He unbolted his metal grilles and opened the doors to his apartment.

Marianne followed close behind, surveying the surroundings as he began packing. Her eyes drifted to the photo frame sitting on his desk.

"I've got a wife." William picked it up, putting it into his bag as well. "She's onboard one of the rescue cruises right now."

"Why didn't you go too?"

"There was only space for one, so I traded my place with her. Apparently, there are limits to the privileges of an Internet celebrity." William sat on his bed. "That's why I'm doing research to find a way to end this apocalypse. It's the only way we can be reunited safely again."