The cold bullet pierced through the infected's skull, and blood mixed with brain matter sprayed out from the hole, splattering all over Brian. The infected, now brain-dead, collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon, lifeless. Blood gushed from the wound, quickly pooling around the body and filling the air with a thick, metallic stench.
Brian felt like all the strength had been drained from his body. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Behind him, Sarah stood frozen in shock, trembling uncontrollably. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.
On the other side, Joel had shot Jimmy and turned to see Brian and Sarah—one a crumpled mess, the other stunned into silence. He knew they couldn't stay here any longer. "Get up, we need to get out of here, now," he said, yanking Brian off the ground and pulling Sarah along as he dragged them toward the front door.
As they stumbled out of the house, Joel saw his brother Tommy's car parked outside. Tommy's face lit up with relief when he saw them.
"Where have you been? I've been calling you non-stop. Do you have any idea how bad it is out there?" he asked.
"I know, let's go," Joel replied, cutting him off. He opened the back door and pushed the still-dazed kids inside. He didn't need to ask about Brian's parents; he knew they were out of town. He slammed the door shut and got into the front seat.
"Damn it, why are you covered in blood? Are you hurt?" Tommy asked, concerned.
"It's not my blood. Let's just go," Joel said, not wanting to waste any more time. Tommy didn't argue. He started the engine, backed up, and sped toward the highway.
In the back seat, Brian wasn't paying attention to the conversation up front. He was staring at his hands, replaying the horrifying scenes in his mind.
I... I killed someone.
The feeling was terrible, but he was an adult in a 13-year-old body. He took a deep breath and gradually pulled himself together. He could feel a barrier inside him break, and he remembered reading about how killers felt after their first kill. Once the initial panic passed, they saw themselves as superior, as predators, and everyone else as prey. He knew he had to stay rational.
I can't let this control me.
"Brian, Sarah, are you okay?" Joel asked, turning to look at them after they had driven a short distance. He had never really liked Brian before, thinking he was too close to his daughter, but seeing him protect Sarah had changed his mind a bit.
"I'm fine," Brian replied, glancing at Sarah, who nodded in agreement. "My parents called me earlier. They said the infection is completely out of control. What's happening out there?"
Joel didn't know much either, so he looked to Tommy for answers. "I'm not sure. People are saying everyone in the city has gone crazy, like they're being controlled by some parasite or something," Tommy said, focusing on driving.
"And our phones, radios—none of them are working. We can't get any accurate information," he added. The car fell silent as everyone realized how serious the situation was.
When they reached a fork in the road, Tommy turned to Joel. "I saw the latest news on the way here. The military has set up roadblocks on the highway, blocking everyone from entering the county. Where do we go now?"
"Since the highway's out, let's take Route 71," Joel said.
"Alright," Tommy replied, turning right as a police car sped past them. They saw families packing their cars, trying to flee with their loved ones. There were even abandoned cars with open doors and trails of blood leading away from them.
"Damn it, what are these monsters?" Joel muttered, thinking of the infected he had encountered back at the house.
"No idea. The police are just as clueless," Tommy said. "It's not just our town. The infection started in the south, but it's spreading fast, east and west."
After about 15 minutes, they reached Route 71. They passed by the burning ruins of Louis' farm and saw a family of three walking along the roadside, trying to escape on foot. Tommy wanted to stop and help, but Joel, sitting in the passenger seat, argued that they couldn't take on more people, especially with kids. Reluctantly, they kept driving.
When they reached the intersection, they saw a long line of cars stuck in traffic. Tommy sighed. "Looks like everyone had the same idea."
The cars had been waiting for a while, and people were honking their horns impatiently. A helicopter flew overhead, adding to the chaos. The driver of the blue car in front of them couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his door open and shouted at the cars ahead, "What the hell is going on up there? Move it!"
Before he could finish, two infected in hospital gowns lunged from the shadows beside the road. One tackled the man to the ground and started biting him, while the other climbed into the open door and attacked the woman in the passenger seat.
The sudden appearance of the infected stunned everyone in the car. For a moment, they were all frozen in shock. Then the infected that had taken down the man tore into his neck and turned to the car, letting out a guttural roar as it lunged toward the vehicle.
"Tommy, backup! Get us out of here!" Joel shouted, shaking Tommy out of his daze. Tommy quickly shifted into reverse, floored the gas, and drove into a nearby town.
They turned left onto a main road, but a crowd of terrified people fleeing in the opposite direction blocked their path. A car was even parked sideways in the middle of the road, forcing Tommy to slow down and wait for the crowd to clear. But with Joel's constant urging, he gritted his teeth, floored the accelerator, and barely made it through the narrow gap.
Just as they thought they were in the clear, blinding headlights appeared from the left. A runaway truck collided with their car, flipping it over several times before it finally came to rest against a storefront on the side of the road.
"Whoa, holy crap!" Brian slowly came to, his head pounding like it was being stabbed with needles. Miraculously, he seemed to be okay. He realized Sarah and Joel were still unconscious, and Tommy was nowhere to be seen—probably thrown from the car.
He yanked on the car door, but it was too deformed to open. Luckily, there was a sunroof. Without hesitation, he popped it open and climbed out.
On the street outside, chaos reigned. People were running in all directions, and the firelight illuminated everything like daylight. In the distance, Brian could see several infected figures.
"Sarah, Joel, wake up!" He quickly crouched by the sunroof, shouting their names and pushing at Joel, who was in the front seat. Because of his size, Brian didn't care if Joel was conscious or not. He grabbed Sarah from the back seat and dragged her out of the car.
Joel, jolted awake by Brian's push, turned around and saw Sarah being pulled to safety. He breathed a sigh of relief, then kicked at the windshield with his left foot until it shattered. Sarah, who had been dragged out of the car, slowly regained consciousness. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Brian asking if she was hurt.
But before she could answer, she saw something horrifying. Behind Brian, an infected with a grotesque face was sprinting out of the darkness, straight for them!