Age of zombies

[19] The escape

As we stood in the cool night air, Yabe still holding onto me, Ethan broke the silence. "Jake... I know how to hot-wire cars."

I blinked, pulling away from Yabe to look at him. "Wait, you can hot-wire a car?"

Ethan nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah, I learned it a while back. Don't ask why. Point is, if we can find a vacant car, I can get it running, and we can drive out of here instead of running through this shit."

I exchanged a glance with Yabe, who looked up at me with hopeful eyes. Driving sounded a hell of a lot better than running through zombie-infested streets. I wasn't about to question Ethan's skills, not now.

"Alright," I said, my mind racing. "Let's do it. We need to find a car."

We moved quickly, sticking close together as we made our way through the darkened streets surrounding the dorm. The silence was eerie, and every little sound seemed magnified in the emptiness. We kept our flashlights low, scanning the street for any parked cars that looked empty.

After a few minutes, Ethan pointed ahead. "There. That one."

It was a small sedan parked along the side of the road, the windows dark. I could see that the street around it was clear, no signs of any zombies in the immediate area.

We jogged over to the car, and Ethan immediately crouched down by the driver's side door, pulling a small screwdriver from his pocket.

"Where the hell did you get that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said," Ethan muttered as he worked, "don't ask."

Yabe stayed close to me, her hand still trembling slightly as she kept a lookout. I could feel the tension rising in my chest, knowing that every second we were out here was another second we risked being spotted by the undead.

"Hurry, Ethan," I said, glancing nervously over my shoulder. "We don't have time."

"I'm going as fast as I can," he muttered, focused on the task at hand. After a few tense moments, there was a soft click, and the door opened. He crawled inside, pulling off the panel beneath the steering wheel and working the wires.

I kept watch, gripping my katana tightly, the weight of it familiar but heavy. Yabe stayed close, her eyes darting nervously around the darkened street.

"Got it," Ethan finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. A moment later, the engine roared to life.

Relief flooded through me as I motioned for Yabe to get in the backseat. "Nice work, Ethan."

He grinned, sliding over to the passenger seat as I climbed into the driver's seat. I adjusted the seat, gripping the wheel tightly as the car hummed beneath me. For the first time in what felt like forever, we had a way out.

I floored the gas, the tires screeching as we sped down the road. The darkness outside felt even more oppressive now, the headlights barely cutting through it. I could see the barricaded gate up ahead, but there was a patch where the metal fence was down. The only problem was the razor wire that still stretched across the gap.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. "The fence is down, but the razor wire is still up. We won't get through without cutting it."

Ethan cursed under his breath, glancing nervously at the gate as we rolled closer. "We don't have another way out, man. That's the only spot."

I nodded, pulling the car to a stop a few feet from the opening. "I'll take care of it."

I grabbed my katana, stepping out of the car. Yabe's eyes widened, and she leaned forward. "Senpai, are you sure?"

"Yeah," I said, giving her a small smile. "I've got this."

I jogged over to the fence, the razor wire glinting in the headlights. My heart pounded in my chest, knowing how close we were to freedom, but the wire was a problem. If we didn't get through it fast enough, the noise of the engine might attract attention, and that was the last thing we needed.

I raised my katana, gripping it tightly with both hands. The blade gleamed in the dim light as I swung down, cutting into the wire. The first strike didn't go all the way through, but I gritted my teeth and swung again, the katana slicing through the metal with a sharp clink.

The wire snapped free, dropping to the ground in a twisted mess. I bent down and started yanking the rest of it away, careful not to cut myself on the sharp edges. Each piece of razor wire I tossed aside felt like a small victory, but the back of my mind kept whispering that we were running out of time.

I heard Yabe call out from the car, her voice tight with worry. "Senpai, hurry!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" I shouted back, cutting through another length of wire.

The last piece finally came free, and I stood up, panting slightly from the effort. The gap was clear now. I jogged back to the car, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

"Alright, let's go," I said, climbing back into the driver's seat.

Yabe gave me a small, relieved smile from the backseat, and Ethan nodded. "Nice work, man."

I slammed my foot on the gas, and the car lurched forward, speeding through the gap in the fence and out onto the open road. For a moment, all I could feel was the rush of relief—the sense that, for once, we were ahead of the danger instead of running from it.

We had made it out.

But as we drove deeper into the darkness, the reality of the situation crept back in. The world outside was still collapsing, and we had no idea what was waiting for us around the next corner.

"We're not out of this yet," I muttered under my breath, my grip on the steering wheel tightening. "But at least we've got a head start."

Yabe leaned forward from the backseat, her voice soft but steady. "As long as we're together, Senpai... we'll make it."

I nodded, feeling a small surge of hope despite the chaos around us. We had a long way to go, but at least we were moving. At least we had a chance.

Q: What would be your weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse?