"Klaus! Come on!" Conor screamed from the van as Klaus ran back and climbed inside. They could hear the deep rumble of the bus as it started up and began to roll onto the highway. Despite the flat, it picked up speed quickly, moving away, children staring out the windows in horror. By the looks of them, they were barely ten years old.
Bobo stomped on the gas just as the first of the zombies reached the shoulder behind them, cinders and gravel spraying from the tires as he took off in pursuit of the bus. He exhaled loudly, checking the rearview mirror as the undead began to pour onto the highway.
"Shhhi.... that was close..." he said, relaxing somewhat in the seat.
"Good job, Klaus," Aiden said, slapping him on the shoulder. Then through the front window he could see the bus suddenly swerve to one side, then the other, tires screeching as the driver tried to correct it.
"Fuck!" Bobo shouted, hitting the brakes hard as the bus spun completely sideways, smoke rising as the tires skidded across the asphalt. The tire that had gone flat was now completely missing, the wheel assembly sparking as it scraped along the highway.
Out of control, the bus violently struck a group of abandoned vehicles with a thunderous crunch of metal and glass, the tires on its right side coming off the ground for a moment and dropping back down with a heavy bounce. Immediately smoke and flames could be seen rising from beneath the crumpled hood.
Bobo kept the van under control and stopped it close to the rear of the bus, several children standing with their hands against the windows and tears in their eyes.
"Goddamn..." Bobo mumbled, shaking his head in frustration. He threw the door open and ran to the back door of the bus.
"Open the door!" he called out, jumping up on the bumper. The kids retreated in fear, not trusting the crazed stranger and in shock from the crash. "Open the door! I'm trying to help you!"
They backed away even farther.
"Mutha-" he shouted and ran around the vehicle to the side door, now twisted and half-open. The driver now lay over the dash, upper body on the hood of the bus, massive pool of blood running away from her crushed head. Bobo threw the door to the side, fragments of glass tumbling to the ground as he bounded up the steps and down the central aisle.
He frowned at the sprawled little bodies of children who had died on impact. Ignoring it as best he could, he moved to the back door, shoved the lever and kicked it wide open.
"Ya'll need to get off the bus, okay? It's not safe here. Engine's on fire. My friends will help you."
The side door of the van slid open and Conor, Aiden, Klaus and Trish waved them over with forced smiles on their faces.
They knew the zombies were on their way.
"It's okay, honey," Trish said, reaching out to take a little girl's trembling hand.
"My backpack!" the girl shouted, turning to go back for it.
"No, honey! Just leave it," Trish said, stepping out of the van, arms outstretched.
"I got it," called out a boy from deeper inside the bus. He stepped out and handed the pink backpack to the girl who then climbed into the van. The boy, who appeared to be about ten years old, crossed his arms with a smug look.
"Ya know, this situation is exactly what our parents warn us about. You want us to get into a van full of strangers? You gonna tell us you got candy in there as well?" he said.
"No one is going to hurt you, buddy," Aiden said. "No one in this van. There are things coming this way that will, though. You seem pretty smart. Look, something has happened to the world and we are all in danger. Please, help us get the rest of the kids inside before it's too late."
"Danger?" the boy asked, helping another child step into the van, which was quickly becoming filled to the brim. "You mean like aliens? Killer robots? Are you talking Pacific Rim stuff?"
Aiden gave him a grin.
"Let's just get everyone in the van and I'll explain everything, okay?" he said.
It seemed that only nine children had survived the crash and they jammed themselves into the seats, squashed up against one another, several sitting on the laps of the adults.
"Everybody in?" Klaus asked, turning to survey the situation. Decaying arms struck his window, sending a jagged crack through the glass and startling everyone in the vehicle. "Ah! Bo, get us out of here!"
At the same time, multiple zombies attacked the sides of the van, rocking it to and fro. Bobo threw it into reverse and pulled away from the wrecked bus, now besieged by the monsters that had begun to feast on the recently deceased.
There were so many surrounding them that the van slowed considerably as it struck them, throwing the kids about. The windows were immediately filled with the gruesome faces of the undead and the children began to scream and cry, which only seemed to encourage the zombies. Rolling and unfocused eyes stared in, slimy and gore-covered hands painting the glass in reds and browns as they reached for any entry point.
"Damn, there's just too many of 'em!" Bobo shouted, slipping the van into drive and pulling the wheel to the left. Zombies were pushed aside, many falling to be trampled by the others or pulled beneath the grinding tires.
"Mommy! I want my mommy!" cried a little girl, no more than eight years of age and Trish tried to comfort here amid the madness.
Conor stared at the bloody ocean of faces on the other side of the glass, his heart pounding as he clenched the hammer. If they could not escape and soon, there was no chance for any of them. They were too far outnumbered. Even with an unlimited supply of guns and ammo, they would be overtaken.
"Come on, Bo!" he called out.
"I'm tryin', brutha! It's like hittin' a wall!" said Bo, pulling the steering wheel right, then left, the motor roaring as sweat dripped into his eyes. There were now four zombies atop the hood, pounding on the front windshield, eyeing the passengers, longing to taste of their flesh.
The sound of a motorcycle reached them, though they could not see it. It raced past on the other side of the highway, loud enough to distract some of the horde, who stumbled away to investigate the rumbling noise. The van lurched forward, tires spinning on the remains of those that had fallen and then catching on the asphalt, screeching as they found traction. Bobo put the pedal to the floor, knocking dozens of creatures away as he saw a clearing ahead and aimed the nose of the van at it.
They picked up speed, the zombies that clung to the windshield tumbling off, one leaving its hand entangled in the wipers, its fingers still opening and closing.
"Hell, yeah! We're free!" Bobo said, wiping his forehead and checking the side mirrors, watching the smoking bus grow small behind them.
"Yes!" Klaus chimed in, slapping Bobo on the arm.
"Now, we ain't stoppin' fo shit. I don't care who's in trouble," Bobo said, his smile fading as the distant sound of automatic gunfire erupted ahead of them. They had almost reached the Missouri River and the bridge that spanned it, now lined with dozens of police vehicles, the officers firing their guns into the gathering clusters of monsters that had begun to encroach on them.
Bobo stopped in front of the roadblock and rolled his window down as an officer stepped over to him.
"Can we get across, officer?" Bo asked. "Just rescued a bunch o' kids from a bus. We need to get 'em somewhere safe."
The cop nodded, throwing his AR15 assault rifle over his shoulder.
"One thing - if you go across, there's no comin' back," he said, then his radio barked out a few sentences. "Yep, we have orders to pull back to the other side. Looks like they're blowin' the bridges. I'll pull the car up and you go through. Guess you just made it in time, huh? I feel sorry for any poor soul caught on this side."
He jumped inside his squad car and pulled it forward to create a passage over the bridge, which Bobo quickly navigated, bringing them to the other side of the river. Gathered on the opposite end were many military vehicles, soldiers working feverishly near the supports for the bridge spans, evidently placing explosives that would soon bring it all down.
"If they can't get across the river, we'll be sa
fe, right?" asked on of the kids from just behind Klaus' seat.
"Not for long, I'm afraid," said Klaus. "St. Louis isn't the only city this is happening in, I'm sure. They'll be coming from the west as well. In fact, there are probably zombies here already and destroying these bridges may cut off a much-needed means of escape."
"Take this exit, Bo," Aiden said, leaning forward to get a better look out the window. "Take the overpass and head down 94. Just a few miles down is where I live."
"All right," Bo replied.
Along the highway, everything appeared normal. In fact some commuters seemed absolutely oblivious to the new state of the world. For now there was still electric power, though it probably would not take long for the whole grid to go down. St. Louis was dead, the outlying cities would soon follow.
Fast food drive-thrus were still choked with customers and Bobo turned to the others with eyebrows raised.
"Yo, we all know what's in store. Burger run while it's still possible? Stock up a bit?" he asked, hopefully.
The other glanced at each other with nods.
"Let's do it," Conor said. "We need to be quick about it, though. A couple of us run inside and right back out again."
"Right," Bo said and took a right on Pralle Lane. Just down the service road sat the bright and glowing structure of a White Castle restaurant. The van skidded to a halt and Klaus, Conor and Aiden jumped out, running inside and joining the line at the counter.
It all seemed so surreal after the night they had suffered through. Each of them were splattered with blood, clothes torn, yet no one seemed to pay it any attention. These people had no idea what was waiting just over the horizon.
"Everyone," one of the employees called out. "Our credit card machine is acting up for some reason. I apologize, but for now we can only take cash."
"For some reason..." Aiden said with a grin. "That reason'll be bitin' you on the ass in just a few."
"Good thing we played tonight or I wouldn't have a penny in my pocket," Conor said, fishing his money out of his jeans.
"Just buy a shitload of food, man," Aiden said, staring at the trays back behind the counter. "I need to get to Mara. Make sure she's all right."
"What can I get ya?" asked the perky redhead behind the register.
"Uh, how many burgers do you have ready back there?" asked Conor.
"What?" she asked. "What do you mean? How many do you need?"
"I want whatever is ready, whatever you can just toss in a bag right now. We are in a really big hurry."
She called back to those preparing the food and after a short conversation addressed Conor once more.
"Right now we have sixty-three burgers, twenty-eight chicken, thirty-one fish-"
"I'll take all of it," said Conor.
"All?"
"Yep."
They could hear the crackling of the intercom as an outside customer began to relay their order.
"Yeah, give me three fish sandwiches and a large Coke. Do you guys-" came the voice.
"Yes, Sir?" asked the young kid standing at the drive-thru window.
No answer.
"Sir?"
"Oh my God! What? Aaaaah!"
Conor and Aiden looked at each other in realization. The zombies had arrived.
Just then the girl handed them several bags full of food and Conor slapped down the cash.
"Keep it," he said and they ran to the parking lot, the sound of a horrendous car accident filling the air. Then the ground shook as the bridge into the city exploded and collapsed into the river.
They reached the van, seeing an approaching group of the undead making its way onto the parking lot, moving toward the restaurant.
"Go!" Aiden shouted and the tires squealed as Bobo swung the van onto the street, jumping a curb and racing onto the highway.
"This may be our last decent meal for some time," Klaus said, handing out burgers to the kids. "Don't waste it."
From the trees to the east, hundreds of zombies began to emerge, colliding with vehicles, body parts flying into the air, cars veering off the road, many crashing to be instantly shrouded in the creatures.
"How far to your place, man?" Bo asked, pulling the wheel to avoid a female zombie as she reached out for the van. She caught the side mirror, the momentum tearing her arm from her body. "We ain't got much time."
"Two more exits, then make a left. Couple miles down," Aiden said as he finished a cheeseburger. "Best burger I've ever had. I'll run in, get my girlfriend and get the hell out."
Highway 70 soon became choked with horrified drivers, cars going in the wrong directions and dead things feasting on their fresh kills. Somewhere dogs were barking crazily, adding another dimension of anxiety to an already-tense situation.
Bo flew through two lights and made a left, maneuvering the van around a group of police cars, the officers standing in absolute confusion, their handguns drawn. Down a steep hill the van went, smashing a zombie that shambled off the shoulder, its head breaking into pieces as it struck the front windshield.
"Turn right at this stop sign," Aiden called out and Bo complied, pulling into a subdivision. "The white house, fourth one down. Wait - where the fuck is my car?"
"Your front door's open..." Conor said as he opened the passenger door, the van coming to a sudden stop.
"Shit," Aiden said and jumped out, running into the house with his brother on his heels.
"Careful, man," Conor said as they entered the living room area.
"Tina?" Aiden called out, moving toward the dining room. The place had been recently ransacked, the table flipped on its side, chairs broken, refrigerator standing open with jars and bottles shattered on the floor.
"Tina!" Aiden shouted, turning for the stairs that led to the second floor.
"Someone might still be in here," Conor warned as Aiden ran up the stairs at full speed. He called out Tina's name a few more times as he explored each room, finding nothing.
They ended up in the master bedroom and Aiden began to dig through the top drawer of his dresser, coming up with a large screwdriver. He knelt at the side of his bed and started loosening screws in the side of its wooden frame.
"Fuckers got my 9mm out of the drawer, but they didn't get the good stuff," said Aiden as he began to work on a second screw. In moments, he had pulled off a section of the bed frame, revealing a hidden drawer full of guns. He pulled it out with a laugh.
"AR-15, two more 9s, Sig Sauer 40 cal and plenty of ammo," he said, handing his brother a Glock.
Someone knocked hard on the back door downstairs, both brothers looking at one another, then rushing down. Upon reaching it, Aiden pulled the door wide-open, rifle pointing out. A young girl, perhaps fourteen, jumped back with hands in the air.
"Whoa!" she cried out.
Aiden lowered the gun.
"What do you want? You're the girl from down the street, right? Your brothers are the local hoodlums."
"Yeah, but... I'm not like them."
"Sure..." Aiden said.
"It was them that took your car and..." she began.
"And what?"
"Your wife," she said.
"What?!"
Aiden grabbed her by the front of the shirt and yanked her inside the house.
"What happened? What the fuck did they do to her? Tell me everything!"
"They took her..." she paused for a moment, unsure how to continue. "Beat her up a bit. Stole your car and took off with her. They saw the news. They were talking about looting and stuff."
For a moment, Aiden considered hurting her out of revenge, but quickly calmed. She was innocent.
"Where were they headed?" Conor asked. "Did they say?"
"I don't know..." she said. "I'm sorry."
"Those motherfuckers have always been trouble," Aiden grumbled. "If they hurt her, I'm going to kill every last one of them."
A section of fence around his backyard fell in, followed by a dozen zombies, slobbering and moaning upon seeing the three people w
ithin the doorway.
"Damn," Conor said, pulling the door shut and locking the deadbolt. "Gotta go."
"Think, Justine. That's your name, right?" Aiden said as they moved through the kitchen toward the front door. "Where would your brothers go? What were they talking about?"
"Ummm... lots of nasty stuff about your wife-"
"Girlfriend. We're not married," Aiden cut her off. "Come on. Where were they headed?"
"Wait. Guns. They were talking about getting guns," she said.
"Hmmm. Nearest place for guns is Bass Pro Shop on Fifth Street," Conor said.
Aiden's eyes lit up with hope.
"Let's go," he said and turned to Justine.
"Thanks, Justine. Good luck. Find yourself a place to hide. These things want to kill us all. They're attracted to noise, remember that," Conor said as he shoved the front door open, holding the Glock at the ready. Justine squeezed past him and ran down the street toward her house.
The brothers ran back to the van, jumping inside as the windows of Aiden's house shattered outward, undead monsters crawling through the openings.
"Head back to the highway, Bo," Aiden said, handing a gun to Klaus and placing the last one on the seat next to Bobo, who gave him a thankful nod. The van screamed backwards out of the driveway and as Bo threw it in drive, Conor hazarded a glance back and regretfully saw Justine fall beneath a sudden swarm of zombies, who began to viciously tear her to shreds. He closed his eyes tight and turned away.
Panic had finally hit the residents of Aiden's neighborhood, families hectically loading cars, but far too slowly, most eaten with their belongings still in their arms. The streets became a chaotic scene, people running in all directions, chased by the newly risen corpses, who now bore inhuman strength and a hunger impossible to satisfy.
"Where we goin'?" Bo asked, turning the van up on a sidewalk to avoid a stalled SUV, crushing two mailboxes before moving onto the street again.
"Sons of bitches kidnapped my girlfriend..." Aiden growled. "Stole my car. I think they're headed for Bass Pro, to steal weapons."
As they sped back onto the highway, they soon passed the White Castle that they had previously visited. In the few minutes that they had been gone, the place had been totally destroyed, every window shattered, the place now overflowing with zombies, no sign of a single living person.
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