We had been walking through the downtown sewer system for about an hour when I came to the realization that, although it was disgusting down there, it wasn't as bad as I would have anticipated. Most of the time we were trudging through about 5 inches of brown water, and we had haphazardly figured out how to go approximately east. Of course, the sewer system didn't always want to go east, but we managed as best we could to stay the course. We hadn't had the forethought or planning opportunity to gether much of a stash for our trek, but we did manage to grab some bottled water and snack food from the gift shop. Occasionally during our trek, we found an alcove or platform that was less disgusting than the rest, and sat to drink and eat. We had travelled about five hours when , through the democratic process of voting, we decided to take a look above ground. We walked until we found the first ladder and pinhole of light from above, and ascended to the surface. As the first one up, I had to brace my shoulder against the deceivingly heavy manhole cover to pop it open. Once raised, I slid it to one side and peered very slowly above, hoping that my head would stay joined to my body for at least a little while longer. We seemed to be in the middle of an industrial area, which I guess was a good thing, because there didn't seem to be anyone around, infected or otherwise. I motioned for Thom to come up, and I pulled myself out of the hole and onto the pavement. My wet shoes sloshed against the ground, smacking the pavement like a fish hitting a dock. I stood upright and took notice of the surroundings, surveying the area, as it were. Thom and Isabel came up after me, their soaked footwear imitating the sounds of mine. There was a warehouse right in front of us, some sort of packaging plant, and an industrial business complex on the opposite side of the road. Aside from those two buildings there didn't seem to be anything around, just roads pulling away in each direction into farmlands. A few vehicles were scattered in the roadways, including an overturned pickup truck, but none appeared to have anyone in them. I figured there was a good chance we could salvage one of the cars and maybe make some good time getting home this morning. We walked guardedly into the open road towards a silver Rav-4 that was just off the road and up onto the grass across the street. The passenger door was open. Thom grabbed a metal signpost that was lying on the side of the road, and nodded to me as if to say he had my back. I approached the door, set my hand on the outside of it and, edging my way over, craned my neck to look inside. The front seat was empty. I moved onto the seat, and raised my head up over the headrest to get a glimpse into the back seat. There was nothing there either. Thom moved around to the back of the SUV and looked in the rear window to the storage area, and signaled that it was clear. I spun forward in the seat and shimmied over to the drivers' side, reaching for the ignition. Now ordinarily this would be the part in the movie when the victims realize there are no keys and they have no hope of escaping. Thank Christ this was not a movie. The keys dangled from the ignition, a large metal AC/DC keychain on it that was so heavy and jagged that I'm sure it wouldn't make it through an airport security check. I turned the key, hoping for some noise, and noise it made. It turned over in one try; it purred even. Thom and Isabel smiled, I think for the first time since all this started. They hopped in, Thom in the passenger seat and Isabel in the back, and slammed their doors simultaneously. I put the Rav in drive and started to hit the gas, but stopped. I turned to Thom, puzzled.
"Umm, which way do we go?"
We all burst out laughing, and after a second or two, it became raucous laughter, more of a nervous laugh than anything else, but satisfying nonetheless. As we recovered from our laugh fest, Thom pointed out the windshield towards the east, but as I looked at his face, I wondered why picking a direction caused such a sudden cessation of his laughter and smile? My eyes followed his arm out from his body, past his hand and finger, and into the road ahead. Standing in the middle of the road about 50 yards ahead of us were three figures. None of them moved except for a visible rising and falling of their chests with heavy breathing. They did not look well; their faces were dark, stained. Their clothes were stained too. Isabel leaned into the front seat right beside my ear.
"Reverse." She whispered, as if they might hear.
I shifted the car into reverse and looked over my shoulder. Past Isabel and into the road behind us, there were about 10-15 more people running out from behind the industrial complex and towards our car. My expression must have changed drastically; I might even have let out some sort of yell, because both Thom and Isabel jumped in their seats and looked back. Before I even had time to move my head back forward, I heard loud, low barks from either side of the car. We seemed to be a beacon, drawing out every infected thing within miles. Looking to the front again, the original three were now joined by about 13 more, and all running towards us. Thom and Isabel were both yelling "GO GO GO" at the top of their lungs. I slammed the car into drive and hit the gas so hard I thought my foot was going to go through the floor. The Rav-4 lurched forward, dirt from the road spraying up behind us as we bolted forward. The grill of the car made contact with the first infected person after about 10 yards, and to this day I will never forget the sick thud and the splatting sound that echoed through the car as it got bent over the hood and its head hit the windshield full force, shattering like a melon. With my foot glued to the floor, we ran over, clipped, and smacked more infected beings, covering the car with a dark red and yellow sludge. A few tried to grab and hang on to the car, but the roughness of the road bumped most of them off. One had a particularly strong hold of the luggage rails on the roof, and when we swerved, its head hit Isabel's window and shattered it into a million crystalline cubes. Oddly enough, that didn't cause him to let go. Quite the contrary, he reached into the window and grabbed a handful of Isabel's short hair. Isabel screamed with a piercing cry of pain as the strength of her hair roots was tested. She was yanked towards the window, her head slightly hanging out of the car as the thing tried to adjust its grip. Thom had spun around almost instantly and was reaching over his headrest in an attempt to pry the things fingers off. As we sped along at 80 km/hr, I noticed out of Thom's side mirror that not one, but two more infected were actually climbing over the first one's body to get to the car, their feet dragging in the dirt alongside the car. I yelled to Thom.
"Two more climbing up the first one!"
Thom looked at me quickly.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me? Shit!"
Thom turned his attention back to Isabel, whose shoulders were now outside of the car window. One of her hands were clawing at the thing's face, the other wrapped up in the middle seatbelt, her arm turning white from the pressure. Thom spun back around into the front, looking around frantically. He reached all over the car, in the glove box, under the seat. His hand came back up from under the seat with a large, red metal security club. He fleetingly smiled at me and turned back towards Isabel and her chain of zombies. As Thom turned to face the thing, its head was rearing back, its jaw opening so wide it seemed it might swallow the entire car. He jumped on the chance and shoved the club straight out like a sword into its mouth. The other two things' heads were now visible over each shoulder of the first one, yellow bile foaming out of their mouths. The club sunk deep into the infected thing's throat, almost poking right through to the back of the neck were it not for a spine blocking the way. The thing gagged a horrible gag, yellow and red spray gushing out from its oral cavity. It almost seemed like slow motion as its fingers opened up on Isabel's scalp, which was now bleeding down her forehead and streaking her face. The hand finally released its grasp of her scalp and the three gruesome, wet, screaming faces flew away from the car like a whip being cracked. Isabel slumped back into her seat, her left arm finally free to be loosened from the seatbelt. Thom leaned between the seats halfway into the back and grabbed her face.
"Are you okay? Isabel, are you okay?" his voice trembled.
Isabel's eyes fluttered then came to rest on Thom's face. Her features began to relax and her body calm.
"Yes. I'm okay. Thank you."
Thom slumped down, almost lying between the seats and let out a huge breath. I did the same and then checked all the mirrors around the car. All seemed clear. For now. The only thing that lay ahead of us now was a long country road with nothing on it, which seemed a little strange all things considered.
