Vial #127

Chapter 22: Demise of Dread

"Is there people in it?" I ask in fear that my Father had stumbled upon the swarm.

"It looks like two figures are standing on the top. They're signalling for us to come." I immediately get into the car, barely waiting for Jackson to shut the door before taking off. I zoom into the swarm, biters go flying around and below the truck as I plough through the endless crowd of corpses. The windows are splattered with blood as I roll over the endless bodies. The windshield wipers are little help, which blur my vision of the scene ahead.

My breathing gets strong as I come into view of the figures. Their eyes lock with the vehicle. I switch places with Will, who has taken the front seat. Then I open the sunroof, shoving off a body.

"Dad!" I shout, the emotion of hope coursing through my veins, willing me to go on. At first his face is confused, then he smiles and calls my name. My brother, Jamie, starts jumping up and down.

"Will, go close, as close as you can get to them." He drives up, nearly right against their car, just a tiny gap separating the two. It's almost too late, biters are clambering up the sides.

My dad holds up Jamie, in hopes of getting him out of reach of the biters. "Dad, you need to jump!" I yell to him but he shakes his head.

He holds onto Jamie's hand, guiding him onto the top of our truck. I take him into my arms before setting him into the truck below. Now my Dad takes the leap and lands on the edge. His arms swing backwards, trying to find a stable centre of gravity. I reach out and grab his hand, his other one flying backwards. His left leg swings between the cars. I can hear his shouts of pain. My grip is slipping but I desperately pull, waiting for Will to come help. As he appears, my grip slips and my Father falls. Will runs to the side shooting at the biters.

"Open the door," I shout frantically to Sadie who's sitting on that side of the truck.

I wait for the response, "we got him", before I head down, scooting into the back to see him. "Emma, I've been bit, you can't save me," he says his voice wobbly, nearly tripping off of the tightrope.

"I have a cure," I rally and rummage through my bag until I find a vial. I immediately inject him gently in two spots; one on his wrist by the endless bite wounds marking his hand, and another on his upper leg by the penetrations there.

"Hurts like a-"

"I know but it will subside soon," I cut him off glancing at Jamie and Diana who are already enjoying the company of someone their age. Jamie is eleven, Diana ten.

We're going to need another car because we have eight in a truck that is only supposed to hold five. We manage to squeeze three adults in the back with my father lying at their feet. The remedy seems to have had an immediate effect on him and the colour returns to his face. Once I return to the front, beside Will at the wheel, I let Jamie sit in my lap, while Diana sits uncomfortably between the two front seats.

Will manages driving through the swarm, weaving in and out of biters. They bang against the window with gnarly groans that send shivers down my spine. The desperation for human flesh cannot be masked as they claw against the window in hopes of reaching us.

"Will, go faster," I shout, knowing that the glass won't hold. Already I can sense microscopic cracks forming on the outer surface.

"I can't... they're everywhere, the tires can't get enough friction, we're literally rolling on a road of biters or dead bodies." Fear courses through me. What if we get stuck like a car in mud? We urge him to keep going, trying out all different settings to get the wheels to turn faster.

The windows are stained an ugly red, muscles and other body parts have splattered the outside glass. It's like we're in a car wash of bodies. I can see the sky through the sunroof, reminding me that this endless huddle does end. My Dad's car was about halfway through it, so we're nearly out.

The swarm stays dense around the perimeter of the car but filters as we continue to the other side. Eventually through the wandering bodies, I can see clear road. "Keep going, we're almost there!" I urge him. Will pushes down harder on the gas but we still move at a snail's pace. The biter hoard is behind us now, trailing further back but the gore trapped in and around the wheels is slowing down our movement.

Suddenly we come to a deep stop. "Will, why aren't we moving?" I ask as others start whispering among themselves.

"It's not going, I think we're stuck," He's trying different controls in hopes that one will allow us to continue on our way. Already the stragglers that were falling behind are catching up, their fists banging on the back and side windows.

"We need to do something, or we aren't getting out of this." Aiden speaks up and then orders Jackson and I to hit the roof.

"My dad should come," I suggest, "he was military," I say and Aiden nods his head. I get up first, my heart pounding at the sight of the biters all wandering about. We've passed through so many but still too many have followed us. The path that we've come from is covered up, masked by the walking bodies.

I shoot down at the biters, one hand clutching the side rail, always getting Will to try to keep going. Even when we've cleared a generously sized circle around the truck, we still aren't moving.

I rack my brain for any ideas. Maybe the engine is clogged and dead. Maybe something has wedged behind the wheel, preventing us from rolling on.

"Cover me," I say, swinging my body over the side. The back left wheel is lying on top of several bodies, some of which are still struggling to be freed. The wheel is stuck in the slippery, mud like gore. When I resurface on the roof, there's only one thing to say, "Someone needs to go down."