Kingdom Come – The Ashes of Paradise
Chapter 2
"Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory."
—Miguel de Cervantes
July 19 – 6:30 PM
Claire Redfield, survivor of two of Umbrella's freak accidents and brother to Chris Redfield, reloaded her pistol as she stepped through the doors into the giant auditorium she and Leon had been using as a base since the outbreak yesterday. So far, about forty people, scattered around the seats, talking in small groups, some crying, and some just staring off into nothing, occupied the room. She could understand their reactions, remembering her own shock and fear when she had been in Raccoon.
She and Leon had been in St. Louis following up a rumor of an Umbrella base in the city. They'd been here for a week when it had happened, and though they hadn't found anything, the fact that there was a spill here proved there must have been a lab. She sighed softly, moving farther into the room and dropping into a chair, resting her gun on her knee, taking a moment to tug out her ponytail and shake her dirty hair loose. She hadn't had a shower in almost 36 hours now, and she felt...nasty.
"Hey beautiful." A quiet voice from behind her whispered in her ear, and she gave a start, until firm hands were placed on her shoulders.
"Hey you." She leaned her head back over the chair, grinning up at Leon, his tasseled brown hair and bright eyes smiling down at her. "You find anyone else?"
"Two more, a kid and his mother. They're over in the other room. You?" He gave her a squeeze then climbed over the back of the chair next to her, dropping into it. It had been almost eight months, and Claire still wished she could see him in that police uniform of his, instead of the jeans and t-shirts he preferred now. She was still gun-ho for red and angels, though the one she was wearing now was covered by a jean-jacket, which was covered in slime.
"Nothing. I think the Umbrella plant must have been in the hotel district. The people we got out there earlier seem to be it." She sighed. A city with several million inhabitants, and so far, they'd found forty, maybe fifty survivors. "I found a bus we can use though, to get out of the city. It's about four blocks from here."
"Good. I found a gas station that managed to avoid getting trashed, so we should be able to fill up the tank there." Leon patted her knee absently, then sighed, leaning back. "You ever get the feeling we're cursed? I mean, everywhere we go, this happens."
Claire shrugged faintly, picking up her handgun and holstering it. "Sometimes I do, but others...well, the way I see it, it's more the people there are blessed that we were here, more then we were cursed. You know of these people wouldn't have made it on their own, except Ronald and Joseph." The two she was referring to were still out looking for survivors. Ron was a member of the St. Louis police force, and Joseph had owned a gun shop. Both of them had been invaluable resources.
"There is another problem I discovered." Leon said this quietly, and Claire turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised.
"What?"
"Well, when I was over on Madison, I ran across a hunter. Two of them, actually, I remember Chris telling me about them. Big, froglike things with sharp claws that can jump. Well, so far as I can tell, if there are two, there will be more. And if some of Umbrella's creations are loose, then who knows what else might be around."
"Wonderful. That's just wonderful." Claire flopped back in her chair and threw her legs over his lap absently. She always seemed to think better when she was touching him. "Fine then, when Ron and Joe return, we get the bus and fill up the tank. Tomorrow, the volunteers will do another sweep of the city. We'll leave at six tomorrow evening." Leon nodded, resting his hands on her knees.
"Think you'll sleep tonight?" He grinned at her teasingly, though his voice was somewhat serious. Claire had been having terrible dreams since she and Leon had escaped from Raccoon, and being in that Umbrella prison had not helped the matter.
"Oh, I don't know. With everything going on, I've earned a break. But I don't know if I'll sleep exactly." She grinned back and leaned over to poke him in the side.
"Well, I'll just have to...keep you occupied then."
"Good."
July 19 – 8:45 PM
Leon was filling up the second of four gas tanks from the diesel pump at the gas station, being covered by a tall, balding man carrying a shotgun. His name was Ronald Walker, and until two days ago he had been a lieutenant with high hopes in the St. Louis PD. But now, he was standing in the semi-dark, shooting zombies and watching the back of a rookie cop who was suddenly his superior.
"That's two." Leon called over to him, setting the filled container down and getting the next. He had his gun tucked into his belt incase he needed it, but so far, they'd only encountered three or four of the zombies since leaving the auditorium.
"Well hurry it up. I'm freezing." Ron called back to him with a grin, peering out into the darkness still.
"Yeah, I hear that." Leon was wearing a light windbreaker over his t-shirt, and he could still feel the wind. "Hey, over on your left."
"Hmmm?" Ron swiveled around, shotgun held out, and saw two of the zombie creatures shamble out of the darkness towards them. He raised the shotgun. "I got it." And aimed carefully, taking a few steps forward, until the drooling things were only a few feet away. His first shot caught the closer one in the upper torso and head, sending it tumbling to the ground, arms waving frantically. His next hit the second in the middle, ripping it in two, both halves collapsing in a pile.
"Don't these things ever die?" He grumbled faintly, firing his last shot, catching the crawling torso of the second zombie in the face, and it flopped back onto the ground. He tugged out a few more shells, loading them into the shotgun as he looked around. "All clear!"
"Good. I'm almost done." Leon smiled, putting the third gasoline can down with the other two, then filling up the last. There were no more incidents, and five minutes later, each holding two cans, guns in easy reach, they headed off towards the bus.
July 19, 8:50 PM
Claire glanced back at her two companions as they dragged the last of the zombies off the bus, tossing their bodies onto the pavement nearby. There had been three moving ones inside, and half a dozen dead, but they'd dispatched them easily enough. Joseph Tolster, a blond man with pale skin, a rifle held on a strap over his shoulder, was holding the arms of the last of the bodies, while Liz Evans, a redheaded woman perhaps two years older then Claire, twin handguns tucked into her waistband, was carrying the legs.
"Okay, that's the last of them." The redhead tugged her pistols out and grinned to Claire and Joe. "Why don't you two use those mops and water we drug out here and clean out the bus some, like we planned, and I'll keep watch for once."
"Bleh, fine." Claire smirked at the women, then grabbed up the mop she had brought along, and the bucket of water, climbing onto the bus, followed by Joe, carrying a broom.
Claire managed to mop up most of the blood on the floors and seats, while Joe brushed the more solid waste out the back door. They made idle chatter, Joe telling Claire about the last gun show he had been to, over in Denver. He'd picked up the rifle he was using now there, a beauty of a weapon, if Claire had any opinion.
"Yeah, so there was this guy trying to sell regular old Glock 17's as these special..." Joe drifted off as a scream came from outside, followed by several shots. The two dropped their cleaning tools, tugging out their weapons as they headed for opposite doors, jumping outside.
Liz was laying on the ground, one of her guns held out, her other arm hanging limply at her side, blood coursing down from her shoulder. She was trying to crawl away from a large, sinewy creature, on all fours, with long claws for fingers, a flicking tongue, and an exposed brain.
"Licker!" Claire cursed, stamping her foot to draw the things attention, remembering they only seemed to react to sound. It turned towards her, hissing, almost ignoring the two bullets from Liz that tore through its shoulder. Claire leveled her pistol and fired, bullet sliding through one of its front legs, sending it crashing to the ground for a moment, tongue flailing about. Another shot from her caught the mutation just above the left eye, as a rifle round from Joe slammed into its back, and several more rounds from Liz went through the side, sending it flipping over twice, and then laying their, twitching, screaming softly for a moment, and then falling still.
"Jesus Christ! What was that?" Joe asked, his rifle aimed at the bulbous, pulsating head as he walked over. Liz tucked her remaining pistol into her pants, standing slowly, her hand clamped over her shoulder, her face filled with pain, though she was staring as well.
"It's a licker; one of Umbrella's mutant creations. They're hard to kill, as you saw, and have a six or seven foot tongue to impale people. I assume that's what happened to Liz." She holstered her own gun, letting Joe take surveillance, going over to Liz and putting an arm around her. "Come on, let's get you on the bus." The redhead nodded weakly, leaning on Claire as they climbed onto the bus.
Liz collapsed into the first seat, and Claire rummaged around on the front of the bus till she found the emergency first aid kit, opening it up and looking through it. "Okay, we have some ointment to keep down infection, and a couple bandages. Here." She helped the girl take off her ruined shirt, taking a look at the gash in her shoulder. It wasn't deep, but it was long, running from her shoulder to halfway down her arm.
"It's not as bad as it looks." Liz forced a smile, closing her eyes as Claire tugged out a tissue; dipping it in the only soapy water they had, in the bucket, and cleaning the wound gently, then applying the ointment.
"...Claire?" Liz opened her eyes slowly, peering at the younger woman. "I...I wont get infected from this, will I?" The young woman looked scared, eyes wild, the thought just occurring to her.
"I don't know, Liz. I don't think so, but I don't know." She shook her head, ponytail bobbing, and then unrolled the bandages, wrapping them around the wound and tying it tight. "How does that feel?"
"A little better." She forced another smile, trying to relax. Claire patted her on her good shoulder, and then slipped back out of the bus, over to Joe.
"Any sign of them?"
"Not yet, but they should be here any moment, I'd bet. If they made it." Joe was clenching and unclenching his rifle, eyes drifting to the licker every few moments.
"They made it. Leon knows what he's doing." Claire smiled. She sounded so sure of herself, but inwardly, she was scared. What if something had gone wrong? Leon was her support, much as she was his, and without him...
She killed that line of thought quickly, watching Joe as he padded over to the creature, kneeling down next to it and picking up a bloody, metallic object. He slung his rifle over his back and whipped it off on his shirt. When he saw Claire's questioning expression he held it up, smiling. "Liz's gun."
"Oh, yeah, she'd probably want that back."
He nodded, cleaning it off, looking down at the licker. He kicked it lightly, and it twitched, but nothing more. "I still can't believe it." He sighed faintly, walking back to her. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would someone design a virus to do this? It's impractical, for one thing. Look at all the spills, all the death..." He put the pistol into his belt and swung his rifle off his back again, peering into the darkness.
"Don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out." Claire said quietly. "Umbrella doesn't make sense, and they don't think in terms of practicality. Everything I've seen..." Footsteps cut her off, and she spun around, pistol out, to see two figures moving towards them quickly.
"...Leon!" She grinned broadly, making out that familiar figure, and the two gas cans in his hands.
"Evening Miss, I heard you needed a jumpstart." Leon grinned at her as he stepped into view, setting the cans down and stretching. There were some bloodstains on his clothes, and Claire looked at them nervously, then up to his face. "Not mine..."
Ron had set his two cans down, and was looking at the corpse of the licker nearby. "...What's this thing?" His shotgun was pointed at it nervously, even though it was obviously dead. Joe smiled weakly at him. "I'll explain it to you. Come on, let's fill the tanks up." The other man nodded, and they picked up the four cans, heading towards the back of the bus."
Meanwhile, Claire grinned and stepped forward to hug lean gently, peering up at him. "You had me worried for a few minutes, you were suppose to be here earlier."
"We got tied up with a few zombies. Nothing to worry about, but it took some time to clear them out." He pushed her away gently, so as to keep the blood on his clothes off her face, and looked over at the licker. "What happened?"
"Damn thing attacked Liz, sliced her arm open good. She's on the bus. I bandaged the wound as best I could, but..." She leaned against the bus, crossing her arms. "What if we do if she's infected?"
"Well, we can't leave her here. If she begins to show signs, we'll handle it then." Leon sighed faintly, and then headed for the door of the bus. "I had some first aid training at the academy, I'll take a look at her now."
"Okay. I'll check on Joe and Ron." She waved to him and then headed towards the back of the bus.
She stepped around the bus just in time to hear Joe fire his rifle, and to see a zombie collapse about twenty feet away, a smoking hole in his head. He pulled back the hammer, discharging the empty shell casing and loading another, then aimed again. Ron was busy pouring the gas into the tanks, already on the third one.
"I've seen three of them." Joe said to Claire, hearing her footsteps, and then fired again, and there was a thud in the darkness. He grinned, reloading. "Infrared scope." Bang! There was a third thump, almost inaudible this time.
Claire drew her pistol, watching for any that Joe might miss. "Well, we'd better hurry. You almost done there, Ron?" The other man nodded, tossing aside the third can and getting the fourth, pouring it in.
Joe took down three more of the creatures, and Claire one, before the can was empty. More could be seen, shambling slowly towards them.
"Why are they all coming now?" She hissed as Ron closed the bus's fuel tank up and stood. "Anyway, back on the bus. Now." She turned and ran around the bus, the two close on her heals, leaping up inside. Leon was talking quietly to Liz, and they both turned to look at the three questioningly.
"There is a large number of the infected coming this way. Leon, the keys are in the ignition. Start her up." Claire forced the back door shut, as Leon nodded, closing the front and dropping into the drivers seat. There was a thump as something smacked into the back of the bus, and a moan pierced the air, followed by several more.
"Here we go." Leon turned the keys, starting up the bus. It took three turnovers, but eventually the engine kicked in, and they all relaxed, as the bus started moving. "Next stop, the survivors. And after that..."
"We get out of here." Claire finished his sentence with a grin, dropping into a chair, letting out a deep breath.
July 19 – 10:00 PM
The bus pulled up outside of the auditorium, and the four uninjured people climbed out, Liz having fallen asleep on the ride back. They had a doctor with them who could look at the injury, and a collection of medicines stored inside that would have to be brought out with the other supplies.
"Okay people!" Claire clapped her hands together as she proceeded to the front of the Auditorium. "Pack up, we leave in the morning." There was a general cheer from everyone present, and she grinned. "Doctor Williams, grab a kit and head to the bus, Liz has been hurt." A man in his late fifties nodded and stood up, picking up his briefcase and bag, and heading to the bus. "Those of you who are armed, you'll keep watch while everyone else loads the bus. We should be able to have this done in an hour."
All those around, from the six kids they'd saved to the two senior citizens, nodded and stood, moving over to the packages of food and such things that had been secured, gathering them up. The ten people with guns holstered their weapons and went outside to stand watch.
"You did good, momma." Leon said with a whisper, teasing her. "We're getting the kids out of here." She almost laughed.
"Kids? Some of these people are three times my age! But...you're right; I think we pulled it off. So, go supervise. I have to use the bathroom." She patted him on the rear teasingly and then headed towards the bathroom.
Leon watched her go, then headed outside, ordering those people still armed to fan out around the bus, as the line of loaders began plodding out of the building. Ron and Joe were sitting on top of the bus, talking absently, rifle and shotgun held ready. He grabbed the two senior citizens, a balding man and a rather withered looking, if friendly, old woman and told them where things should go, then had them direct the others so they wouldn't get stuck lifting things. Then he climbed up the bus, magnum out, and peered into the darkness.
"See anything?" He glanced over at Joe, who was using his Infrared Scope to look farther into the darkness.
"A couple of points of movement. I could take them, if you want." He lowered his rifle, glancing up at Leon, who shook his head.
"No, not yet, if they start coming towards us, then you can. For now, save your ammo." The two nodded, smiling to him, and then went back to watching.
Claire emerged from the building a few moments later, and Leon watched as she walked among the guards, talking to them quietly, whispering advice or encouragement. He couldn't believe how well suited for this situation she seemed to be. He'd always know she was a strong woman, but she took to leadership like a natural. Everyone they had found looked up to her, and listened to her. It was a remarkable change from the frightened girl he'd met in Raccoon all those months ago.
Everything went well, for once. They ended up shooting a dozen or so zombies who came shambling towards their line, but without injury to themselves. And, at 11:15, they closed up the bus, posted the first shift of guards, and everyone slipped inside to sleep.
July 19, 5:30 PM
Jo shifted Bobby in her arms and sighed, looking at the town a hundred or so yards away. It seemed unnaturally quiet, for rush hour. The cars had stopped passing her an hour or so back, but she had gone by a number of wrecks, two of which had the stumbling, white-eyed people scattered around them. Twice she'd ended up running almost a mile, just to feel safe again. The things were slow, but she didn't want to see what would happen if they caught her. Or Bobby.
The first thing she saw as she entered the town made her heart stop for a few moments. There was a state trooper patrol car nearby, crashed into a fire hydrant, a large puddle around it. A body was sprawled over the wheel of the car, and as she walked towards him, she could tell it was an officer, who was very dead. And since no one had come to get him, and there didn't seem to be anyone around, that meant that the town was probably as messed up as the highway had been.
"Bobby, wait here." She set the boy down, who nodded once, his eyes scared. Jo turned, heading over to the car, and pulled the door open. The officer slumped out, and she could see he had large injuries to his neck and chest. She pushed him out of the way with a shoe, trying not to gag. At least he wasn't walking around like the rest of them.
A few moments rummaging in the car turned up the officer's pistol, three clips, and a two-way radio. She pushed away from the car, walking back to Bobby, who had sat down on the street, staring at the cop.
"Bobby, don't look at him." She said absently, toying with the radio. After a few moments she managed to find the send switch and brought it to her face. "Hello? Is anyone out there?"
For a few moments, there was nothing. She almost threw the damn thing away, but then it buzzed to life, a static filled voice echoing out.
"This is Captain Frelon of the Davidville PD. Who's this?" A gruff voice, but a voice none the less. Jo grinned, there were still people alive out here.
"This is Jo Berkton. My son and I are on the outskirts of town, near route 43 and Main. We just walked here. What's going on?"
"I don't know, Ma'am. Stay where you are, I'm only a few blocks away. I'll come and pick you up. If you see anyone else, hide. Something is very wrong with the people here."
"I noticed. Okay, Captain, we'll be here." She put the radio in her handbag, along with the gun and the weapon, and then picked Bobby up, padding over to a bench and dropping down onto it to wait.
Fifteen minutes later a jeep turned around the corner up ahead and stopped, a burly looking man behind the wheel glancing around for a moment. When he spotted them, he waved, and pulled the jeep down the street to them.
Jo stood up, Bobby still in her arms, and walked over to the jeep. "Captain Frelon?" He nodded, reaching up to tug the cigar out of his mouth.
"Yeah, you must be Berkton, come on, get in." He unlocked the door and she tugged it open, climbing in. Bobby hopped off her lap into the back seat and stared out the window as Frelon turned the Jeep around. "By the way, call me Martin. I don't think my rank means much anymore, with no police force."
"No police force?" Jo turned to peer at him, brushing blond locks of hair from her face to get a better look. "What do you mean?"
"Well, everyone but me and Billy-Joe is dead, so far as we can tell. Stumbling around with those white eyes and moans. Zombies."
"Zombies..." He'd said the word she had been avoiding her whole walk back, unwilling and unable to admit that such a thing might have been possible. "It can't be zombies. They don't exist. They aren't real."
"Yeah, well, if you can think of a better term for them, you're welcome to." Jo said nothing as Bobby climbed back up from and curled up in her lap, watching the town go by. They passed a dozen or so of the shambling corpse-people. She refused to think of them as zombies. Also a large number of the creatures were sprawled out on the ground, some with bullet holes, some being eaten by other ones. She closed her eyes after a few moments, and waited for them to get to the station.
July 19, 6:00 PM
Billy-Joe hauled the last of his former comrades down the steps of the police station and onto the bonfire he'd made. Seventeen bodies, at last count, and five other cops were missing still, out on patrols and having never reported in. This last one was William Hooper, a Lieutenant and damn good patrol officer, but there was no point in worrying about that now. The bodies on the fire were crackling and starting to roast, but at least that smell was better then the rotting one the Captain had told him would appear in a few days.
They had managed to find nine survivors, scattered around town in closets and cars. No one was really sure why some were infected and some weren't, but once the creatures had begun attacking in numbers, few had survived. He glanced around the street, moving over to one of the corpses the captain had capped this morning, grabbing an arm with his gloved hands and dragging it over to the fire, tossing it just as a jeep came rolling around the corner at the end of the street, and over to them.
It skidded to a halt and Martin stepped out, the woman and child he'd gone to get climbing out the other side. She looked to be maybe thirty, to Billy-Joe, and the boy to be five or six. Both of them looked dirty, and tired, and scared.
"Captain, welcome back." He nodded to his commanding officer, then smiling to Jo. "The names Billy-Joe, but most people just call me Bill."
She smiled weakly at him, shifting the child in her arms. "I'm Jo Berkton, and this is Bobby." She said little else, her eyes drifting to the bonfire, and then looking away. Poor woman, Billy-Joe thought, to have to see all this. And the child, he was just clinging to her, as though pretending nothing around them was going on.
"Come on, I'll take you inside. You can meet the others." He smiled and headed for the door. Captain Frelon had walked over to two more of the corpses they had shot, and was hauling them to the fire.
"Others? But I thought you two were the only survivors." Jo glanced over at the captain for a moment, then back to Billy.
"Of the Police force, we are, but we managed to find a few people still alive in town. Come on."
He padded up the steps and into the station, Jo following after him slowly.
Billy-Joe led her into the conference room, where the survivors were currently staying. Nine of them so far, not including Jo and Bobby, were in the room, sitting around and talking quietly. There were 7 adults and two kids, and five of the adults were armed. Everyone tensed slightly when the door opened and Billy-Joe came in, but they relaxed, seeing whom it was.
"Folks, seems we have two more survivors. This is Jo Berkton and her son, Bobby." Billy-Joe smiled and stepped back, giving the others in the room a chance to introduce themselves. The four men were all shopkeepers from the center of town, one of them a gun shop owner, and they had managed to ban together and get to the police station without being infected. All four of them were armed to the teeth with pistols, shotguns and backpacks. A pretty blond woman, about twenty-five, was the mother of the two children, and she had been in the station, reporting her car stolen when all hell broke loose. Another was a housewife, currently clinging to her husband's pistol like a life preserver, and the last had owned a flower shop. She was carrying a pair of nasty looking shears, which had bloodstains on them, and might have explained how she survived.
The mother of two came over and smiled, cooing at Bobby and offering him a bit of the food they had. He smiled and his mother put him down, so he could go along with the woman to the corner of the room, where the two other children were sitting. Jo flopped into a chair, watching, as the others introduced themselves, though she only caught one or two names.
After a while, she glanced around. "Does anyone know what's going on here?" She asked quietly, looking at the survivor's faces. But they were all blank. As lost as she was.
"Great. Just Great."
July 20, 10:00 AM
Claire was sitting on the steps outside of the auditorium, pistol held loosely in her hands, frowning at the ground. She'd gotten back from her patrol a few minutes earlier, but had not been able to find any more survivors. Only two more people had been brought in this morning, one by Joe and another by Robert, a quick-witted salesmen who seemed to have a knack for finding people. Everyone was back except for Ron, who had taken the farthest search area, and would hopefully be back soon.
She glanced up, hearing running footsteps coming down the street, and saw Ron hurdling towards her, his shotgun waving above his head.
"They're coming! Hundreds of them, a couple minutes behind me!" He shouted out, hurdling past her and inside, Claire standing and following him. He slid to a stop inside as Leon and Joe ran over.
"I was in the warehouses, right? And I thought I heard someone crying but...I couldn't find them." Ron shook his head and sighed. "Anyway, as I was coming out I was attacked by a handful of zombies. More than I could handle with the rifle, anyway. So I ran...and as I was coming, I saw...more and more of them. They're swarming, and definitely coming this way."
"They'll be here in a couple minutes. We need to get everyone on the bus now!" He panted, slumping down for a few minutes into a chair. Joe handed him a box of shotgun shells, which he took gratefully, refilling his ammo belt.
Claire frowned. "Okay, here's what will do. Leon, get the people with guns outside and have them watch for the incoming carries. I'll round up everyone else from the building." Leon nodded, grabbing up his pistol from his chair.
Five minutes later found Leon and Joe on the roof of the bus, and the other nine armed people in a line in front, waiting. The rest of the survivors were trickling out of the building, two or three at a time, running the short distance from the doors to the bus.
"I see them!" Joe had been using the zoom on his scope, and now he fired a shot, echoing through the silence. Everyone else tensed, raising his or her weapon, waiting. After a few moments, the creatures came into view, coming down the main street, and out of side streets. In groups of twos and threes, but always headed towards the bus.
In a span of moments the guardians had opened fire; shotguns, rifles, pistols, a single semi-automatic weapon, aiming for the heads as Claire and Leon had taught them. The first line of advancing zombies crumpled, some falling dead, others crawling forward on their stomachs and hands and knees. A lull in the fire, a moment of collective reloading, and the zombies drew closer. Then they began again, and the next line fell.
The last few survivors ran out of the building, followed by Claire and Liz, both holding their pistols. Liz's arm was in a sling now, but Doctor William's had high hopes for her recovery. "Leon! Call them in!" Claire shouted out, leaping onto the bus with Liz. A moment later two windows opened and they joined in, firing at the creatures.
A third wave had fallen back, and slowly the defenders backed off, slipping into the bus and taking up positions at the windows, picking off the creatures one by one. Leon and Joe were last in, hoping off the roof and climbing in quickly. The ex-cop dropped into the seat, closing the doors, and started up the bus.
"Lets see if they like this." Leon grinned, turning the bus slowly as the zombies began to reach it. The fell before it, one by one, as he pointed it down the street, and let it rip. Starting slowly, the large vehicle ripping through the small army of zombies, dozens falling beneath the wheels, making the bus bounce and shake, but the people inside cheered. They had made it!
"So where to?" Leon asked Claire, who had curled up in the seat behind him. She shrugged and patted him on the shoulder.
"I don't know Hon. We'll head out of the city for now."
"Sounds like a plan." He turned onto the main highway out of the city, knowing they would have to stop and move some wreckage. But they were almost free.