Apocalypse Redemption

Chapter 2: Starting New

Breathing in the air of a pollution free highway relaxed Alex. The horrific nightmare he had the night before still had him worried, for they hadn't seen zombies in weeks, and they were said to be scattered all along California.  They had been listening to the radio for any luck about survivors, but the only transmissions that they received were from the ELR (Elite League of Rogues).

The ELR had recently lead an attack on Washington D.C. and successfully assassinated the president of the United States.  They took control of what was left of the government, and initiated martial law.  In some of their most recent transmissions, they revealed that they flooded the Capital building, White House, and Pentagon with zombies, presumably killing all remaining officials, leaving just the ELR members to "govern" over the leader's decisions.

"Do you really think that they'll shut down the boats going to Hawaii before we get there?"  Kathy asked with a yawn from the passenger seat of the truck.

He looked over at her and replied, "They can't yet.  I've been listening to their reports ever since I woke up, and there's only a Bandit of Chicago presence in California.  The ELR members who are carrying the nuclear weapons are still in the middle of the country on their way here.  They had only one in California, and they detonated it in Los Angeles before they knew of the boats."

She nodded, and rolled back over to look out the window at the rising sun on the green, lush, landscape.

Having nobody on the road made travel a breeze, for nobody was veering around you trying to get somewhere first, and there was no traffic to worry about.

But the fact that there were no cars was something to worry about.  It showed that either everybody was in hiding, everybody in the area is a zombie, or a mix of both.  With their only weapon at hand being a pistol that Vincent left behind, having a large group of bandits or refugees attacking them would result in heavy losses.

Alex opened the panel that seperated the front of the truck to the back where everybody was stored, and he saw that Brittany and Chad were the only two awake. They were talking to each other, probably about what they want to do in the future, and looked at the bright light coming from the open window.

Alex shut it, and continued to focus on the highway that went through the mountainous side of California.

A buzzing sound on the radio interrupted the peace and quiet.

"INCOMING RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM THE OVAL OFFICE"

"This is George Bowman, leader of the ELR.  I would like to formally announce that out nuclear weapons program has successfully mades its way to the Utah-Nevada border.  We have come prepared for the detonation of both Las Vegas and San Francisco.  We do not recommend that citizens stay in these cities and evacuate immediately.  With the detonation of San Francisco Bay, we advise that the officials who began the ferry system shut down the program immediately so that innocent civilians will not perish.  Thank you, and have a pleasant day."  The transmission cut off, but was followed by a second buzz.

"INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM THE RADIO TOWER OF HONOLULU."

"Attention, Elite League of Rogues.  We do not plan on shutting down our program, ever.  We will continue service from Honolulu to San Francisco until you force us to shut down.  We are not afraid of you.  We will continue saving people from your grasp.  Thank you, and have a pleasant day."  The transmission ceased.

Alex couldn't believe that the government of Hawaii would ever make an appearance on the national radio, but here they were, responding to the threats given by the ELR.  It showed hope that Hawaii was a safe-haven, and that it was aware of the dangers that were against them.

Alex pulled off from the road and drove onto a side road that led to a gas station.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tickets to check them, and he shook them with glee.

When he rounded the corner, he saw the gas station in view.  But something else caught his eye.

Parked in the gas station was a large tank-like vehicle with people standing around it.

With bandit suits attached to the vehicle.  All of the people there turned to look at the truck, and immediately began running to the tank.

"GUYS!"  We have company!!"  Alex screamed.

One of the people there reached for a rocket launcher attached to his back.  As Alex backed up, he saw the man taking aim.  When the man fired, the missle went far right, struck the rocky slope next to the truck, causing a rock slide that  slammed the road beside them, but made a barrier between the bandits and them.

Alex turned back and opened the panel.  "Guys!  There's a barrier between u..."

A violent explosion occurred infront of the truck that sent the rocky barrier into pieces.  When Alex looked past the explosion, he saw the tank in the middle of the road by the gas station with two bandits beside it.  The tank redirected it's cannon in the truck's direction, and the bandits began running forward.