Chapter 92: The Way Home Part II

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Way Home Part II

"What about throwing something smaller?"

Everyone looked at him.

Ben pointed toward the side street.

"We don’t need the sound to be enormous. They already follow small noises. We just need something to land far enough away."

Killian assessed the distance.

"He’s right."

Erik looked around the alley.

His attention settled on a glass bottle lying beside one of the dumpsters.

Kai picked it up.

He weighed it once in his hand.

"Finally."

Penelope raised an eyebrow.

"Finally what?"

"My years of making questionable decisions are useful."

Erik looked toward him.

"Can you reach the intersection?"

Kai looked offended.

"Can I reach the intersection?"

Erik waited.

Kai looked toward the target again.

"Yes."

"Then do it."

Kai moved to the corner.

Everyone stepped back.

He waited until the nearest zombie turned away.

Then he threw.

The bottle sailed over the street.

It struck the pavement near the side intersection.

Glass shattered.

The effect was immediate.

Every zombie stopped.

Their heads turned.

Then they moved.

One after another, the infected abandoned their wandering paths and headed toward the sound.

Even the three farther down the street changed direction.

Kai watched them go.

"Still got it."

Erik touched his shoulder.

"Move."

They moved.

Nobody ran.

Not yet.

They crossed the street quickly but carefully, weaving between abandoned vehicles as the zombies continued toward the broken glass.

Twenty meters.

Fifteen.

Ten.

They were almost there.

Killian reached the truck first.

He unlocked it manually to avoid any electronic chirp.

Erik opened the passenger door.

Kai reached the rear.

Then a car alarm exploded into life.

Everyone froze.

The sound came from less than half a block away.

A vehicle somewhere behind them began screaming into the night.

The zombies stopped moving toward the broken glass.

Then every head turned.

Not toward the alarm.

Toward the entire street now vibrating with sound.

Killian’s expression changed.

"Get in."

Nobody hesitated.

Ben climbed into the rear first.

Kai followed.

Penelope squeezed in after them.

Erik entered the passenger side.

Killian got behind the wheel and closed the door.

Outside, the zombies had begun changing direction.

The first growl echoed across the street.

Then another answered.

Penelope looked through the rear window.

More figures were appearing.

Not just the nine they had avoided.

Others were emerging from alleys.

From behind vehicles.

From storefronts.

Drawn by the alarm.

Kai looked behind them.

"I would like to formally apologize for saying this trip back to the truck sounded easier."

Ben stared out the window.

"You cursed us."

"I acknowledge that now."

Killian inserted the key.

The engine roared to life.

Every zombie turned.

Erik looked toward the road ahead.

"Don’t take the same route back."

"I wasn’t planning to," Killian replied.

Their eyes moved across the street at nearly the same time.

The main avenue was already beginning to fill.

Killian shifted the truck into drive.

Penelope grabbed the handle above the door.

"Please tell me you have another route."

Killian pressed the accelerator.

"I do."

The truck surged forward.

Behind them, the jewelry district disappeared beneath flashing alarms, abandoned luxury cars and a growing mass of infected.

Penelope looked back only once.

They had done it.

They had reached the district.

They had survived.

They had collected more resources than she had expected.

And somehow, all five of them were still alive.

Now they just had to make it home.

Penelope turned forward.

The city stretched ahead of them.

Dark.

Chaotic.

Unrecognizable.

But somewhere beyond it, their family was waiting.

Killian tightened his hands around the steering wheel and drove.

They were going home.

The jewelry district disappeared behind them.

Killian didn’t look back.

He kept both hands on the steering wheel as the truck moved through the darkened streets, choosing smaller roads whenever possible and avoiding the main avenues that had become clogged with abandoned vehicles.

Nobody spoke for several minutes.

There was nothing particularly unusual about the silence.

They were exhausted.

Ben sat with his head resting against the back of the seat, his machete still held loosely between his knees. Kai sat beside him, watching the city pass through the window while Penelope remained squeezed between the two men in the crowded back seat.

Erik sat beside Killian in the front.

Everyone still had their weapons within reach.

Nobody had suggested putting them away.

The truck turned onto another street.

Penelope looked outside.

The city was quieter now.

Not peaceful, but quieter in a way that felt almost more unsettling than the chaos they had witnessed earlier.

Only a few hours ago, the streets had been filled with screaming people, blaring horns and panicked civilians running in every direction. Now, entire blocks appeared abandoned.

Vehicles remained scattered across intersections, some crashed into one another and others simply left wherever their owners had abandoned them. Storefronts stood open with shattered windows while apartment buildings remained almost completely dark.

Occasionally, Penelope saw movement behind a curtain.

Someone watching.

Someone hiding.

Someone waiting for morning.

The people who had survived the initial chaos were learning.

Silence kept them alive.

A lone zombie wandered near the entrance of a pharmacy.

Killian slowed before turning onto another road rather than passing directly beside it.

Nobody questioned the detour.

They had stopped fighting simply because they could.

There was no reason to kill every zombie they encountered. Every unnecessary confrontation created another opportunity for someone to get scratched, bitten or killed.

The goal wasn’t to clear the city.

The goal was to get home.

Ben finally broke the silence.

"How long were we gone?" Ben asked.

Kai checked the time before his eyebrows rose slightly.

"Not as long as it feels," Kai answered.

Ben turned toward him.

"That’s impossible," Ben replied. "I feel like I’ve aged ten years."

Kai glanced at him.

"You look exactly the same."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t necessarily a compliment."

Ben gave him a tired look.

Penelope leaned forward slightly to see the time herself.

It really hadn’t been that long.

A few hours.

That was all.

Yet it felt as though they had spent the entire night fighting.

Maybe because every minute outside had demanded their full attention.

Every alley.

Every doorway.

Every abandoned vehicle.

Every sound.

There had been no opportunity to relax.

Penelope leaned her head against the seat.

"I’m tired," she admitted.

Kai slowly turned toward her.

Penelope noticed.

"What?" she asked.

"You voluntarily admitted you’re tired," Kai replied. "Should we be concerned?"

Penelope frowned.

"I’m allowed to be tired."

"I know. I’ve just never heard you admit it without someone physically forcing you to stop working first."

"Maybe I’m experiencing personal growth."

Kai nodded thoughtfully.

"The apocalypse has changed you."

"It has been five days."

"A very transformative five days."

Penelope smiled faintly.

Five days.

It was strange to think so little time had passed.

Five days since she had opened her eyes in this world.

Five days since everything she understood about her life had changed.

Somehow, this place no longer felt entirely unfamiliar.

There were people waiting for her now.

People she worried about.

People she wanted to return to.

Her family.

Aunt Mary.

Aunt Lucy.

And Aurora.

The thought of the newborn immediately made Penelope wonder whether she had been difficult while they were gone.

Hopefully, she had slept through most of it.

Knowing their luck, Aurora had probably screamed the entire time.