"Watch your back!"
Sarah shouted, seeing the infected getting closer. But Brian was already on it. He spun around and kicked out with all his strength, catching the infected in the leg. The sudden blow knocked the creature off balance, and it fell to the ground.
Without hesitation, Brian stomped on its back, pulled out his dagger, and plunged it into the infected's head, ending its life.
"Whoa..." Sarah stared at the boy in front of her. He seemed like a completely different person now—decisive and cold. Brian had seen the infected in the car's rearview mirror and knew it was coming, but now he realized these monsters weren't as terrifying as he'd thought.
He turned back to Sarah and noticed a small patch of blood on her right pant leg. "Sarah, are you hurt? Did it get your leg?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"Ah!" Sarah hadn't felt it until he mentioned it. Now, pain surged through her leg, and she let out a cry. Joel, who had just climbed out of the car, felt his heart sink when he heard about his daughter's injury. In their current situation, a leg injury was the last thing they needed.
"Can you walk?" he asked, quickly moving to Sarah's side and helping her stand. When she shook her head, his heart dropped even further.
Brian stood by, unsure of what to do next. He felt like he'd done all he could as a neighbor and friend. With the infected closing in and Sarah's injury slowing them down, they were in a dangerous position. He knew he couldn't risk his life for people he barely knew.
Just then, Tommy, who had disappeared earlier, reappeared, looking frantic. "Damn it, the infected are coming! We need to get out of here, now!" he shouted.
While the three of them had been unconscious, the infected had spread from the highway into the town. People who had been running toward the road were now fleeing back, bringing even more infected with them.
Joel handed his gun to Tommy and picked up Sarah. "Tommy, you cover us," he said.
"Got it," Tommy replied, taking the gun and turning to Brian. "Hey, kid, I remember you have a gun, right? Stick with them. I'll cover the rear."
Brian hesitated for a moment but nodded. His main goal now was to get out of this nightmare.
The four of them followed the panicked crowd, dodging people who were tumbling out of buildings and screaming in terror. Behind them, a few infected were already closing in.
As they reached an intersection, a car suddenly careened out of a side street and crashed into a gas station at an angle.
"Boom!" The impact hit a gas pump, and the ensuing spark ignited the gasoline, causing an explosion that engulfed the entire station in flames. Dozens of people who had sought refuge there were instantly set ablaze. The screams of agony were unbearable. Some people rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames, while others ran toward anyone nearby, hoping for help. But in their panic, they only spread the fire further.
The horrifying scene made the crowd behind them hesitate. The explosion had blocked the way forward, and the panicked people scattered like headless chickens, running in all directions.
"Go right!" Joel didn't waste any time. He led Brian and Tommy, whispering to Sarah to close her eyes and stay calm.
Brian followed closely behind. The Madillo Theater was just ahead, and beyond that, it was only a short distance to the highway. If they could make it there, they could find a car and get out of this mess quickly.
But reality had other plans. Just as they were about to reach the intersection, a burning car exploded at the corner, causing the people who had been running forward to turn back in terror.
The road ahead was blocked, and the infected were closing in from behind. The group was trapped.
"Over here, there's an alley!" Tommy spotted a narrow passage between two buildings, blocked by a metal gate. He called out to the others, and they quickly made their way inside. Luckily, the gate wasn't locked, and they managed to get in just in time. Tommy grabbed a stick and wedged it against the gate, barring it shut and leaving two unlucky souls outside.
Joel, who was in the lead, almost got attacked by an infected that lunged out of a trash can around the corner. Brian reacted instinctively, firing a shot that accidentally blew the infected's head off. They continued down the alley, hoping to lose the monsters, but the infected kept coming, climbing over fences and walls to stay on their trail.
Carrying Sarah slowed them down significantly. As the infected got closer, they ducked into the nearest bar, hoping the door would hold them off.
But as they tried to close the door, an infected hand slipped through the crack, preventing it from shutting. Tommy braced himself against the door, and Brian rushed over, firing several shots through the gap. The infected fell back, and they managed to close the door.
Without wasting any more time, they moved through the bar and out the other side, leaving the infected behind, still pounding on the door in frustration.
They emerged from the bar, took out a straggling infected, and rescued someone about to be attacked. They entered a mountain path beside the highway through a broken fence.
As they moved quickly toward the highway, shooting at the scattered infected along the way, a blinding light appeared on the hill ahead. An armed soldier blocked their path.
"Halt! Freeze and put your hands up!" Despite knowing that the highway was guarded by the military, they were surprised to encounter a soldier so far from it.
Tommy, holding a gun, quickly dropped it and raised his hands high, not wanting to risk getting shot. The soldier, seeing the armed man disarm and another man carrying a child, slightly relaxed his guard and didn't pay much attention to the other kid standing nearby.
Brian subtly moved to the right, half-hidden behind a rock, thinking that this kind of situation was all too familiar from apocalyptic movies. It usually went like this: the escaping survivors meet soldiers, the soldiers check with their superiors, and then the superiors coldly order the soldiers to shoot the civilians. Although the movies might not reflect reality, it is always better to be cautious.
"Sir, please help me," a voice suddenly shouted from the shadows. Brian was taken aback for a moment, then realized it was the survivor they had rescued outside the bar, who had been following them stealthily.
"Stay where you are, or I'll shoot!" The soldier, not expecting anyone else to come out from behind the group, didn't have time to contact his superiors. He raised his assault rifle and warned the survivor not to come any closer.
But the survivor seemed oblivious, still running frantically forward, shouting "Help me" over and over, as if in a trance.
Seeing that the survivor had no intention of stopping, the soldier didn't hesitate. He fired his assault rifle at the survivor, who was instantly riddled with bullets and fell to the ground.
The scene fell silent for a moment. Although the survivor's death was partly due to his actions, the soldier's ruthless shooting still sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Joel, looking at the twitching body on the ground, knew things were about to get worse. He glanced at Brian, who had somehow hidden behind a rock, and his mind raced.
Sarah was in his arms, and if the soldier decided to shoot at them, she would become a human shield. Realizing this, he began to subtly move toward Brian's direction.