I didn't have time to argue. From his vantage point he could see for miles, and I knew what was headed our way. I rolled up the window and pushed on the accelerator. The van pulled away steadily in the opposite direction.
I needed to make it back onto highway 48, the smaller freeway that led west from the city. As I made my way through the now abandoned streets I was amazed at the destruction that had occurred within such a short time. Store windows broken, spattered with blood, the carcasses of infected with their heads blown off, and humans half devoured and left to rot. Cars of all shapes were left abandoned, doors opened, their interiors just as their owners had left them when the virus mutated.
I passed a small sedan with a child inside. It smashed its face against the glass, smearing the puss from its caked yellow eyes. Swollen teeth snarled at me, snapping at the object it could not obtain. I could only hope that its parents had seen it turn and had the sense to trap it inside. The alternative was too gruesome to imagine.
I slowed down a bit, the cars in this part of town blocked a good portion of the road. I could still weave in between them or move around them, but it was a lot slower going. The dog in the passenger seat began to whimper, and looking over at the right side I saw a walker, shambling in front of a shoe store. He was tall and wore a basketball jersey and a flat brimmed baseball cap, the brim slightly turned to the left. He was moving toward us, his long, lanky arms swinging back and forth like pendulums as he walked. His eyes were caked in the familiar yellow puss and his jaw hung open, tongue lolling to the side like his hat.
I was so distracted by him that I didn't notice the barricade ahead of me. I slammed my breaks on just in time, stopping mere inches from it. Cars were pushed together in an unatural formation, and other items like doors, window frames, pieces of plywood, and strands of metal interwoven like baskets across the top. Along the upper edge was a series of spikes made from tent stakes, old bent trampoline poles and auto parts. Most were covered in the familiar black blood stains from the corpses that lay heaped at the bottom of the barricade.
I heard the cocking of a rifle and a voice called out to me. "Who's there?" I laughed at the almost ridiculous question. "Would you even know me if I said my name?" I asked, my tone sarcastic and mocking. "Well, no I guess" the voice said, uncertainty clouding its typical procedure. "What do you want?" I almost felt like I was ordering from a fast food menu. Here I was, window rolled down, hanging out of a van, some stranger asking me my intentions. "Truthfully?" I asked with a voice full of levity. "I just wanted to get to the freeway, but your little homage to Les Miserables is in my way." The voice was silent. Was he watching me? Did he go back to ask his superior officer what he should do? I waited inpatiently for a moment and then decided just to find a different route.
I put the van in reverse and looked behind me. As I pulled backward I heard a familiar voice. "No freaking way!" I turned back to see Jeff standing on the top of the barricade, a rifle in one hand and megaphone in the other. He wore a red bandana around his head and a black one around his upper arm. His usual pale complexion was replaced with a mild sunburn. "How are you even still alive?" He asked, taking large steps over the various parts of the barricade as he worked his way to the ground. I smiled and shook his hand, to which he pulled me in for a hug.
He smelled awful, and his skin was caked with a mixture of dirt, grime and blood. I almost gagged on the combination and took a step back. "This is quite the operation you have here." I said admiringly. I scanned the barricade with new understanding. Jeff's paranoia was perfectly suited for the apocalypse. "Do you think it will hold?" I asked, pulling on one of the metal plates and war hocking of come off easily. "That mega horde isn't too far from here and..." Jeff's knowing smile made me lose my train of thought. "Oh I'm not worried about that." Said Jeff. "We actually created it."
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