19: The Car

"Not another barricade," groaned Lisa.

It was four o'clock, and they were still nowhere near the Umbrella headquarters. They'd run into barricade after barricade – those tall blue wooden constructions seemed to be everywhere, and there was no avoiding them. Finding alternative routes hadn't worked. Whenever they started to think they'd found another way through the city, they'd run into yet another dead end.

So Jack and Lisa decided to do what they'd done before, when they were escaping from the dogs – climb over the barricades. This, however, was difficult and tiring now that they were no longer motivated by terror, and the exertion was beginning to take its toll on them both.

"There has to be a better way than this," Lisa panted, as Jack helped her climb up yet another barricade.

"Like what?" said Jack, watching Lisa clamber over the top and drop out of sight.

"Well," said Lisa, from the other side of the barrier, "We could break through them or something, like in the movies."

"Yeah? What with?" said Jack, starting to climb up.

"Oh, I don't know – a car, or something," said Lisa, waving her hand in the general direction of some battered cars lining the street.

Jack laughed.

"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas," said Lisa, slightly annoyed.

"Hey, I ain't sayin' it ain't a good idea," said Jack, and jumped down. "I just wonderin' where we gonna get a car from. An' even if we get one, I dunt know how to drive."

"Whoever said anything about you driving?" said Lisa, raising an eyebrow.

"You know how to drive?" said Jack, surprised.

"Uh-huh. My dad taught me last year, in between being at work and being asleep," said Lisa. "Don't look so surprised. I am actually good for something, you know. I'm not the kind of girl who spends all her time either standing around doing nothing or screaming helplessly while the hero rushes to save her. I can drive, and I know First Aid, and lots of useful stuff like that. I can even kill monsters."

Jack was about to say "what about the zombie kid", but decided against it. He couldn't be bothered to argue with her; he was too tired. His feet hurt, he ached all over, and the prospect of travelling quickly and in comfort was fast becoming attractive.

"Okay. So we drive – well, you drive. Now we gotta find a car that ain't bust," said Jack.

This was easier said than done. Most of the cars were either complete wrecks or, not to put too fine a point on it, still occupied. Neither of them fancied being in a car when the previous owner was not only previous, but still in the car and decomposing quietly. Or, worse, suddenly opening eyes that had turned white and trying to rip their throats out.

"Hey, how 'bout this one?" said Jack, calling Lisa over to look at one of the cars.

Lisa knew next to nothing about cars, but she liked this one. It was a sleek, shiny black convertible, stylish and virtually undamaged. There was just one problem – the owner was still strapped into the front seat.

"Nice car," said Lisa. "Shame about the driver."

"Yeah," said Jack. "He be 'bout to lose his nice new car."

"Jack!" said Lisa, appalled. "You can't just throw him out of the seat and drive off! What about respect for the dead?"

"What 'bout it?" said Jack.

"Um, you're meant to have some?" Lisa prompted.

"Hey, I got plenty of respect for dead people," said Jack reasonably. "Take this guy – I respect him fine. But we need this car more than he do right now. Hell, he ain't gonna drive it."

He saw Lisa's expression, and sighed.

"Look, if it bother you, then maybe I ask him nice if he let us borrow it, yeah?" he said sarcastically.

"I don't think he can hear you any more, Jack. He's dead. You won't get a reply no matter how loud you shout," said Lisa.

Jack ignored her.

"Hey, buddy?" he said to the dead man. "Can we borrow you car?"

Silence.

"Well, I dunt hear any objections," said Jack. "C'mon, give me a hand with him. We leave him on the sidewalk."

They opened the car door, unbuckled the driver's seatbelt, and picked up the deceased driver.

"Just when I think I know you, Jack," sighed Lisa. "One minute you're all thoughtful and considerate, asking if I'm all right and lending me shirts when I'm cold, and the next minute you're talking me into stealing cars and dumping bodies out onto the sidewalk."

"Welcome to my world," said Jack simply.

They were just about to lower the body to the ground when the dead driver's eyes suddenly shot open; he wasn't quite as dead as he first appeared.

"Unnngh," he groaned, and as Jack dropped him, he tried to sink his teeth into Jack's leg.

"Not on your afterlife, buddy!" yelled Lisa, and shot the zombie driver five times in quick succession before Jack even had chance to react.

The zombie fell over, and Lisa hurled herself into the driver's seat, yelling at Jack to get in – which he did, with extreme alacrity.

"Drive!" yelled Jack.

"I can't!" said Lisa. "There's no key… oh God, where's the key? Where is it?"

She began searching desperately for the car key, ripping open the glove compartment and pulling out its contents, then searching on the floor, under the seat, anywhere that the key might have fallen.

"I can't find it!" she wailed. "The key's gone! That guy must still have it… oh, God! We're going to die!"

"Hotwire the car!" suggested Jack.

"What? I don't know how to do that!" screamed Lisa.

"Fine, then I do it," said Jack.

"You know how to hotwire a car?" said Lisa.

"No, but I seen it plenty of times on TV," said Jack. "Like in that movie the other day – the cartoon one with all the dogs an' that little ginger kitten."

"Tell me you're not talking about "Oliver and Company"," groaned Lisa.

"Yeah, that be it," said Jack.

"So what you're telling me is that you once saw a cartoon domesticated animal attempt it in a Disney movie, and you're about to use this valuable learning experience to perform a very risky and completely illegal procedure in a life-or-death situation?" said Lisa.

"Uh-huh."

Lisa buried her face in her hands.

"We're going to die," she said glumly. "Jack, you know nothing about hotwiring cars!"

"Then I better learn pretty damn fast. Now shut up, move over an' cover me while I figure out how to do this!" yelled Jack.

Subdued, and more than a little surprised – Jack had never told her to shut up before – Lisa moved out of the way. The zombie, she noticed, was struggling to its feet again. Didn't these things ever give up?

Well, they couldn't be invulnerable. They might be difficult to kill, and persistent, but there had to be some point at which the zombies would finally give up the ghost. And she intended to find it.

There was a zap, a sizzle and some muffled swearing behind her. Lisa ignored it, keeping her eye on the zombie the whole time. It was getting too close for her liking.

"All right, that's far enough! Don't move!" yelled Lisa, aware even as the words escaped her lips that yelling at the zombie was a complete waste of breath. Did she honestly think that it would stop just because she told it to?

Lisa's hands shook slightly, her gun dancing a nervous figure-of-eight in the air as she tried to steady her nerves and take aim.

Please hurry, Jack, she said silently. I don't want to kill if I can avoid it - monster or no monster.

So it's okay for Jack to kill a monster, but not for you, said a scornful little part of her brain. What makes you so special?

I don't want to be a killer, thought Lisa.

So that makes it okay to pass all the responsibility onto Jack, does it? Blood's okay as long as it's on someone else's hands? You're pathetic, Lisa Hartley.

No, no –

What's wrong? Too scared to get your hands dirty, uptown girl? Or maybe you're just not up to the job?

No, Lisa told herself. I can do this. I'm no helpless bimbo who's terrified of everything and always needing to be rescued. I once hit a zombie so hard its head came off – I can look after myself. And Jack too, if necessary.

So pull the trigger already. Jack's counting on you to watch his back. He needs you, Lisa. Don't let him down.

"I won't," said Lisa under her breath.

She pulled the trigger – once, twice, and again a third time. Yet again she was astonished at how resilient the zombies were – this one was absorbing bullet after bullet with barely a pause or a wobble.

Time to reload again. Desperately hoping that the next shot would be the one that killed the zombie once and for all, Lisa refilled the gun, dropping some of the bullets on the floor in her haste.

"Come on, Jack!" she cried, but it came out all wrong, sounding impatient and angry at his inability to start the car.

"I be tryin'!" Jack snapped. "I never do this b'fore, Lise! Who you think I be, James Bond?"

"Graaaah…" said the zombie, raising its arms.

"I'll give you "graaaah!", you dead jerk!" Lisa screamed, and began firing anew.

Still the zombie carried on, unhampered by bullet wounds or lack of higher brain function.

"Get away!" yelled Lisa, still firing frantically at the zombie.

But it wouldn't stop, or draw back. It was coming closer now, so close that she could feel the all-pervading stench of rotting bodies enveloping her like a poisonous cloud.

The zombie's decaying fingers reached out towards her, ready to claw at her skin, to grab her and tear her apart with its fingernails and yellowing teeth. There was no stopping it…

Lisa opened her mouth, ready to scream, and then the car engine unexpectedly roared into life.

"Got it!" yelled Jack.

Rejoicing at this answer to her prayers, Lisa ducked away from the zombie's fingers and quickly traded places with Jack. He didn't seem too happy about exchanging the driver's seat for a seat just inches away from a hungry zombie, but this wasn't a problem for very long.

Lisa slammed her foot down on the accelerator, and the car sped away – backwards, as it turned out. The car was still in reverse gear, just as its former owner had left it while parking his car for the last time. Lisa remedied matters instantly, turned the car around, and drove off as fast as she could.

They were soon far away from the zombie, and Lisa felt her heart and breathing slow to their normal rate as the terror dwindled away. She and Jack were safe – for now, at least.

Jack sat back in his seat, and looked around with interest at his new, comfortable surroundings.

"Hey, nice," he said. "This thing got a CD player?"

Lisa started to laugh.

"What?" said Jack.

"We barely got away with our lives back there, and now you're asking if our means of escape has a CD player? You're crazy!" she said.

Jack looked downcast.

"But I like you," Lisa added, and that made him smile.

"I love - " Jack began, and once again his courage failed him at the last moment.

"What?" said Lisa, genuinely curious.

Jack wanted to say the last word – you – but he couldn't say it aloud, no matter how hard he tried.

"I love… the way you drive," he finished lamely. "You drive like you been doin' it you whole life."

"Thanks," said Lisa, pleased by the compliment but feeling vaguely disappointed that he hadn't ended the sentence another way.

They drove on. It wasn't long before another of the barricades came into view, but hopefully, thought Lisa, barricades would no longer present a problem.

"It seem a real shame to bust a nice car like this," said Jack regretfully.

"Jack, the whole reason we're driving a car is to break through the barricades," said Lisa, although secretly she agreed with him.

"Okay," said Jack, with a note of reluctance in his voice. "Step on it, Lise."

"Here we go," said Lisa, and put her foot down.

Tyres screeching, the car zoomed towards the barricade. They were just about to hit it –

"Get down!" yelled Lisa, and she and Jack ducked just in time as the car burst through the blockade with an almighty crash, sending bits of plank and splintered wood flying everywhere.

They both raised their heads cautiously. The car was continuing on its journey at full speed, and they both appeared to be alive and well. But as Jack opened his eyes, he noticed something else. On their way through the barricades, they appeared to have picked up another passenger.

"Aaaargh!" yelled Jack.

"What's the matter, Jack?" Lisa asked him.

Jack pointed wordlessly ahead. Lisa looked, and screamed; there was a zombie lying on the hood of the car, pressed up against the windscreen.

"Unnngh," it moaned.

Jack and Lisa both screamed, and Lisa swerved sharply. Luckily for them both, the zombie wasn't expecting this, and was thrown right off the car. It landed on the road somewhere behind them.

"Nice one," said Jack weakly.

"Thanks," said Lisa, wondering how many more nasty surprises she could take before she finally went insane with terror. She and Jack had no idea that the horrors they'd already seen were only the tip of the iceberg, and that the worst was yet to come…