Day 26: Night Terrors

“Where are we going?” Liz asked as Johnathan sped down the road. She and Nina took over the backseat and she held the little girl’s hand as they watched the scenery go by in blurs of green and gold. The occasional zombie would stray out in front of Johnathan’s bumper and he’d plow them down without hesitation.

“I don’t know. Anywhere we can find life.”

“Well, it’ll have to be somewhere with a gas station. You’re almost on E,” Fadil replied.

“Damn it, you’re right. This is why Nina and I ended up at the Roadhouse in the first place,” Johnathan said, kicking himself. “Great. Now what are we going to do?”

“There’s a station coming up soon, turn here,” Fadil directed.

“Even if we can make it to a gas station, who’s to say it’s not overrun by those things? It’s not like the pump and pays from previous generations. You have to turn them on from inside before you can get the gas to work,” Liz said.

“She’s right,” Fadil sighed. “The only way to get this to work is to have one of us inside and one ready to pump outside.”

“And if the place is crawling with undead?” Johnathan asked.

“Then…I don’t know,” Fadil replied. “What do you suggest we do? Drive around until we run out of gas? Either way, we’d be in the exact same predicament.”

“Yeah well, we’re about to find out now,” Johnathan said as the gauge began beeping. “I don’t even think we’ll make it to the station.”

“Oh god!” Liz cried from the backseat. “We have to try.”

“Take this next right. If we’re lucky we can make it on fumes,” Fadil said. Johnathan put the pedal to the floor and quickly turned. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to save our lives!”

“Speeding uses gas faster! We’re half a mile away from the nearest station and the tank is already on E.”

“And logically, one would think to get as close as possible, right? You cover more road with speed.”

“That’s insane! Slow down.” The gauge beeped again, this time the fuel light came on and blinked red. “SLOW DOWN!”  

Ignoring Fadil’s pleas, Johnathan continued zipping forward, the neon sign of the Sheep Mart Gas Mart within sight. Mowing over another roaming monster, they listened at the sputtering tank. And just before they sailed into the parking lot of the station, Johnathan hit the brakes and everyone jerked forward.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Fadil shouted, gripping his arm. A throbbing ache arose in his elbow and was burning its way up his shoulder.

“Look,” Johnathan pointed straight ahead. The group had made it to the station. And just as he’d suspected, a large group of zombies was waiting for them.

“HELP!” Someone shouted. For the moment, the zombies appeared preoccupied with a car parked in the lot.

 

“Someone’s in there,” Fadil said, watching as the monsters clawed at the windows. “We’ve got to help them!”

“Are you kidding? That’s the distraction we needed! We just have to find a way inside the building, pump the gas and go,” Johnathan stated.

“You ignorant piece of…”

“Daddy…” Nina’s hand tightened around Liz’s and she glanced over at the little girl. No one else had noticed but as they argued, a crowd was quickly gathering around them.

“We need to move,” Liz said. Johnathan took his foot off the brakes and tried to move forward. But again the tank sputtered and this time the engine died.

“No, no, no, don’t do this, not here, not now!” He turned the key, the engine stuttered but refused to turn over. No matter how many times he tried, the motor wouldn’t crank. “Oh my god,” Johnathan exclaimed as he watched a swarm rush his vehicle.

“DADDY!” Nina screamed as the truck was bounced on its wheels with the force of the horde just outside.

“What are we going to do now?” Liz cried.

Continue---->

---------------------------------------

---------------------------------------

The polls are now open. Vote for your chance to control the action! Remember, you can add your own choice to the plot through the comments section or the poll below. Polls close at 12 noon EST tomorrow and reopen at 8 pm EST.