Rise of the Dead

Chapter 13: The Military

"If there is true evil in this world, it lies in the heart of mankind." ~ Edward Morrison

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A lone gunshot fills the air and everyone's eyes dart out the windows, desperately trying to figure out where it came from, my heartbeat audible in my ringing ears. 

"What was that?" Soph asks in a panic, her hands trembling as she looks over her shoulder.

"It was a gunshot, I think it came from over-" I start to explain but I'm cut off by a roar to my right. A huge explosion erupts from the land in the near distance, a greyish cloud billowing up into the baby blue sky. 

"Toby stop the car!" I exclaim, unclipping my seat belt preemptively and swinging open the door. Toby breaks hard and it's all I can do not to fall out of the car, my hands grasping the door frame tightly. I stumble out of the car and race around the car, staggering to a stop to watch the cloud start to fall as the others join me in silence. 

"We should check it out," Toby says excitedly, his face gleaming with excitement and I frown as I turn to face him.

"I don't think so, there's nothing good that can come from that explosion. What if there's a load of infected? In fact, it's almost a definite after that," I reply loudly, a commanding tone flooding my voice.

"No. I think we should see what's going on, if we stay in the car we'll be quite safe," Josh adds and Soph nods her head in agreement.

"He's got a point," Amelia adds, outnumbering me clearly.

"Fine," I say defeated, "but the second we see infected we're leaving."

We pile back into the car and drive for another ten minutes before the ash gets so thick we have to crawl along at an incredibly slow pace. It's a blessing the ash can't infiltrate the car, I don't know what modifications the previous owners made but the air vents seem impenetrable. Everything falls silent and an eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere sweeps over us, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

"I don't like..." I start but I'm cut off by a smear of scarlet smashing into the window. A scream rises from my throat and the others jump from the shock, Toby swerving the car slightly. As the shape slides down the window, I make it out to be a human's figure, though I can't tell if its body has been destroyed by the infection or the explosion.

Suddenly more and more body's hit the windows and Sophie start screaming, screams full of fear and trauma. I crawl over to her and envelop her in a rushed hug, pressing her head against my chest and urging her to close her eyes.

"Come and sit in the back," I whisper softly, guiding her trembling frame towards the back of the vehicle. She crawls through shakily and I place a kiss on her forehead before slipping into the passenger seat, the mood uncanny and silent.

The ash seems to be clearing and I can see a looming shadow ahead, its outline prominent in the fog- a bridge. Toby pulls over and as the last traces of ash clear we step out the car quietly, our eyes wide and alert. We move around to the front of the vehicle and I signal for them to follow me, drawing my gun from my waistband whilst keeping my actions noiseless and gentle. I walk around the corner of the bridge and see we have reached what used to be a medium-sized town, my breath hitching in my throat as I look through the chaos.

Most of the buildings are demolished or seriously damaged by the explosion making it impossible to live here, rubble is piled up over the pavement and military patrol the streets. I pull the others to the side of the bridge as one walks past and my eyes follow his movement, lots of soldiers are dotted around the town centre and I frown in confusion.