Chapter 50- Horders- Buried alive

I could hear his heartbroken scream reverberating through the car's interior, and knew I had only seconds to act. I don't remember thinking, just acting. It was though my muscles instinctively understood what needed to be done, as though preserving this child's life was more important than saving my own. I rapidly moved to the back of the car and grabbed the monstrosity by the ankles. I've heard of the miracles of adrenaline but never experienced them until now. With one gigantic motion I heaved the beast out of the window, flinging him onto the road behind the car. Before it could react I pounced on its head, pounding my forearms and elbows into its pale skin as hard as I could. All I could think of is "disconnect the brain" as I hit it over and over. I heard a primal scream coming from somewhere and realized it was me, that I had turned into some sort of raging beast. All my anger, all my frustration came out on those sickening yellow eyes, and I hit them until I couldn't see them anymore.

It began to rain and I felt the cold droplets hitting my neck like small ice cubes. I began to shiver, not so much from the cold, but the shock of what I had just done. I stood up and looked at my handiwork, two corpses laying on the road, the thick black ooze from their bodies covering the pavement and my clothing. I turned and saw two wide eyes peeking out from the back of the seat and shook the thick goop off my hands in a single motion. Looking back at Oliver I nodded to him. He didn't say a word, but simply nodded back.

I looked around for something, anything, that could be used as a weapon. On the side of the overturned truck there was a large metal box with the words "tools" spray painted roughly on it. Removing the small crowbar from the trunk of my car I popped open the box and pulled out a long handled claw hammer and some thick leather work gloves. A large sheathed knife sat behind a box of nails and a thick metal level about 4' long was propped diagonally across the box's interior. I took them both and headed back to the car where Oliver waited. He was shivering in the cold, and I turned on the heater as I climbed in. "We need a better car, something with a little more protection" I said to him, and he nodded and pointed down the highway where we came from. "What about that truck?" He said inquisitively. A looked in the rear view mirror and saw the shape of an old pickup behind us. "Do you like trucks?" I asked with a smile. He returned my smile and nodded, and I grabbed the tools I had gathered and handing him the hammer. "This is for you." I said, looking him in be eyes before we climbed out of the car. "Hopefully you'll never need to use it." He held the hammer as though it were a gift, gently cradling it and running his hands over the smooth cold metal. He gripped the handle tightly and slammed the head down onto the dashboard. A loud satisfying crunch put a big smile on his face and he looked back at me and grinned. "Not bad for a kid" I said to him with a stern smile. "But you're lucky that hit didn't trigger the airbag." His giddy smile was replaced by the horrific realization of danger and he looked at his dent and swallowed hard. "Come on" I said as I exited the car. "Let's go get you a truck."

Walking on the open road made me more nervous than I thought it would, especially knowing that I had someone to protect. My eyes scanned each shadow for movement, any sign that one of those things was waiting for us. In the distance I could still see the helicopter scanning the horizon, searching each rooftop almost methodically. I wondered who was in there and what they were looking for.

As we approached the truck we slowed our pace, carefully inspecting it for any danger. It seemed benign enough, and the doors were unlocked. I glanced in the back and saw what looked like a load of camping gear. Perhaps our luck had changed after all! Climbing into the driver's seat I reached for the ignition but found the keys were missing. That didn't make sense, if the driver was turned into one of those things he or she wouldn't have thought to take the keys with them. I looked around on the floorboards to see if they had fallen down, but couldn't see anything. As I ducked my head to look under the elevated seat I jumped as I heard the engine roar to life. I looked at the car as though it were alive, and Oliver began to laugh. "You should see your face!" He said between guffaws. "You don't believe in ghosts, do you?" He chided in an almost adult manner. "How did you do that?" I asked, astonished. He pointed at the steering column. "My Grandpa had one of these trucks" he said. "He used to let me drive it around the block with him. It actually doesn't need a key." His smile faded a bit, and I assumed he was thinking about his grandfather, the man I had found laying outside the parking garage. "Hey," I said, looking in his eyes. "That was great. Thanks a lot." His smile returned and I pulled myself up into the driver's seat.

We began driving down the road slowly, again searching for a way through the blockage of metal and glass. The rain had stopped and we rolled down our windows, letting in the clean night air. Oliver hung out of the window, his arms draped over the side and head laying down, looking up at the stars now peeking through the parting clouds. The cars ahead were almost bumper to bumper, and the pathway around the side of the overturned truck was barely large enough to fit the truck. I could hear the concrete barrier scraping on the metal of the rear view mirror, and reached out to pull it closer. The left tires rode up on the barricade and I used the front of the truck to nudge a small compact car out of the way. I could tell by the scrapes on its side this wasn't the first time someone had done this.

As we rounded the corner the truck bounced free of its impingement and our headlights illuminating an almost impassible blockade of abandoned vehicles down the freeway. Pulling to a halt the light also revealed at least dozen creatures standing idly amongst the havoc, all of which now turned to face us. Their thick yellow eyes looked white in the light, and they bared their blood-filled teeth, hissing in disdain at our arrival.

"Roll the windows up!" I commanded and put the truck in reverse. The angle and the tight fit would be almost impossible to manage, and I could as soon as I started that there was no going back. The first few approached the front of the car, placing their hands on the hood. If I didn't get momentum now we'd be trapped, and it would only be a matter of time before we became a snack for those hideous creatures. I pushed on the accelerator, slowly at first, and watched as the creates in front of the car moved to the side. "Sit in the middle" I commanded, and Oliver gladly moved to the center of the bench seat, away from the window. More and more gathered at the front, slapping their hands on the hood and the windows, and I moved a little faster. It almost seemed that I could move through the crowd in this way, nudging them to the side rather than running them over. I moved the truck between two cars, thinning out the herd as they where naturally peeled off in the space between the metal barricades. In the distance I could see more gathering, and despite my success thus far, a feeling of dread began filling my heart. Oliver must have felt the same, because his grip on my arm tightened. The pounding fists and dead faces were horrible looking, and it seemed as though the infection was swelling every part of thier physique. Oliver buried his face in my arm, refusing to look at the horrible scene. Feeling his fear combine with my own, I pushed on the accelerator, picking up speed as much as the confused maze of abandoned vehicles would allow. In front of me I saw a large one lifting a tire, and before I could react he heaved it at the front of the car. To my surprise it bounded off the hood and rolled to the right, crunching one of my attackers in the process. Oliver sat up and looked ahead as he heard the noise, and noticing the large dent in the hood he looked up at me with fear. I couldn't let him down. I floored the truck and felt the wheels slip as something was pulled under the vehicle. It took a moment to get traction, but once we did the strong engine pulled us forward, and the sound of crunching bones and horrible moans filled our ears.

Oliver was covering his ears with both hands, unable to handle the horrible sound. "Go!" He begged, his little voice full of despair and fear. The truck slammed into the corner of an abandoned SUV and I heard the familiar crunch of rending metal and squealing rubber as it was knocked to the side. The old truck pushed onward, the ocean of demons now more behind us than ahead. I could see the road clearing up ahead and me heart leapt. "We're almost there!" I called out to him over the tumult outside. Suddenly a large crash filled the interior and the passenger window broke into a thousand pieces. Fists clenching rocks reached into though the opening, the glass shards tearing their grey flesh as they reached for us.

Oliver leapt to action, using his hammer like an expert carpenter. Smacking knuckles and crushing fingers, he pounded each hand to a useless pulp, screaming "Go, go!" as his hammer dealt its swift justice. Clearing the last car, I pulled out into a straightaway, where a clear highway stretched out before us. "We did it!" He called out to me, smiling through a face covered in dark red spatters. I pushed hard on the accelerator and we felt the engine open up, propelling us to freedom. Glancing backward we could see the massive crowd of bloodthirsty monsters stumbling in the shadows, unable to maintain speed with our ever increasing velocity. Oliver jumped over to me and wrapped his arms around my neck. "Did you see me?" He cried enthusiastically. "I saved us!" I looked at him proudly as his sat down next to me and buckled his set belt. Reaching over I tousled his hair and smiled back. "We wouldn't have made it without you." I said, watching his face fill with pride. "You were amazing."