What We Become | Book Two

14. Victory

They stumbled and groaned in a chorus, alerted by the sudden presence of the screeching vehicle. Their necks snapped, their eyes widened, and the direction they were heading turned to us.

"You're going to have to drive through them," Chris urged as the Infected began to swarm the truck. Hands banged against the metal as their curiosity drove them to find out what was inside. "Anytime now would be good!" he shouted, twisting his body in his seat.

I pushed down on the gas and the truck roared forward, trampling down the bodies in its path. The vehicle bumped and rattled as the wheels rolled over them one after another.

"Oh shit!" Chris exclaimed, grabbing onto his seat.

Some were clever. They grabbed onto parts of the truck where they could, pulling themselves up before they were dragged back down by the clambering crowd. I swerved across the road, creating zig-zag patterns of Infected across the tarmac, trying to lose as many of them as possible.

"You're going to have to come off the road. You'll never lose them on a straight," he said, his voice frantic.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked, resting his hand against the dashboard to steady himself. "Do it," he ordered.

I pulled on the steering wheel and the truck rocked and bounced over the uneven ground, its wheels leaping after each bump in the grass. The tyres pulled the vehicle across the field which was clearly never intended to be driven on.

"They're still following!" I shouted over the struggling engine, stealing quick glances in the rear-view mirror.

"Do something about it then!"

"Like what?" I yelled as I turned a corner.

"Ben!" Chris shouted.

The vehicle slammed into the hedge that bordered the field and we were both launched forward as the airbags erupted in front of us. The seatbelt locked across my body and my face was thrown into the hard cushion.

Everything seemed to stop for a moment as my vision came back into focus. There was a pounding in my head and my chest felt tight. My body ached as I blinked hard and pushed the airbag away from my face.

"Are you good?" I directed to Chris, fighting the ringing in my ears.

A groan came from the passenger seat, followed by his strained voice. "Yeah," he said. "I think I'm good."

My eyes drifted to the wandering smoke which had begun billowing from underneath the bonnet. "Shit," I muttered, unclipping my seatbelt.

"What?" Chris questioned, rubbing at his head. "Oh," he said when he noticed. "Well, there goes bringing it back in one piece," he tried to joke.

I shot him a glare. "This isn't the fucking time."

He shrugged as he unbuckled himself. "Hey, I wasn't the one driving. Nobody ever lets me drive."

"Yeah, for a good reason," I groaned. "At least we're still alive."

Chris turned to the window and his eyes widened at the approaching Infected. "We need to go," he said, pushing the door open.

I mirrored his movements and jumped out of the car, sprinting in the direction he was running.

"We just need to get out of sight!" I called to him. "We can't outrun them."

He outstretched an arm and pointed to a road not far ahead. "Over there," he replied as I began to overtake him.

My feet continued to hit the tarmac as I turned the corner. Chris followed a few metres behind as the Infected gained in numbers. My eyes caught sight of a garage ahead. It had seen better days but my heart still skipped a beat when I read the sign that sat above the floor to ceiling windows.

The place had been ransacked but that part was unsurprising. There were few places that hadn't been. When the outbreak happened, it became normal to take whatever you could and apologise later.

It was the bright yellow car that sat to the side of the building which caught my attention, peeking out from under a large piece of waterproof fabric. My eyes latched onto it, unwilling to look at anything else.

I pulled the cover off and peered in the window where the keys sat, hanging beside the steering wheel. It was almost too perfect to even be real.

"Shouldn't we be- Shit," Chris stopped abruptly.

I pulled on the handle and the new car smell hit me. I couldn't stop the childish grin which spread across my face, threatening to never leave as I slid into the driver's seat.

"An R8?" he scoffed. "No way is that going to work anymore. Somebody would've got to it already. For all you know it's a trap."

His head twisted and panic flooded his face. The groans began to echo the narrow streets of the town, getting closer by the second. We didn't have long before they caught up and neither of us wanted to stick around any longer than needed.

"If you're going to try anything, now would be a good time to do it," he urged.

I pushed on the clutch and turned the key, revelling in the sound as the engine roared to life. The petrol gauge flickered as three blips displayed a half tank and I let out a quiet squeal of delight. It was better than perfect. it was a simple victory that we didn't get anymore.

"Way to be discreet," Chris scoffed from outside. The engine rumbled over the sound of his voice.

"We might as well turn up in style," I grinned. "Would you just get in, please? Unless you'd rather stay here with them."

I pointed to the Infected who had heard the sound of the car and were approaching in their pack.

"Are you going to let me drive this one?" he asked as I revved the engine, causing a resounding roar to echo through the empty fields.

"Not a chance."