| Empty Graves Part Twelve: There Will Be Terrible Times The centre of town was a madhouse. Zombies were everywhere, crawling over everything, attacking the two trucks that roared back and forth in the streets, trying to crush as many as possible while the drivers and passengers shot wildly at their attackers. The blood of the dead was stale and brown and ran through the streets like a river as more and more zombies died. But they still poured into the town like a flood of disease. It was unstoppable. "Jesus," murmured Jake as he drove the car around the corner from Stewart Avenue. "They're everywhere, Jake. What are we going to do?" asked Mary as she looked onto the chaos ahead with fear in her eyes. Jake quickly slammed on the brakes, coming to a halt not three feet from on of the undead that was quick to spin around on its bony feet and begin clawing at the hood of the car. Popping the car into reverse, Jake revved the engine wildly and tore the car away from the clawing zombie that then fell to the ground, slicing its hands on the rusty metal bumper of the vehicle. Spinning the car into the driveway of an abandoned house, Jake roared the car back up Stewart Avenue, past their parent's houses. As they passed, Jake and Mary looked out their windows and could see both their sets of parents staring out into the street with tears in their eyes as their children fled the town in desperation. "Jesus, is there anyway out of this god-forsaken town?" screamed Jake as he neared the other corner of Stewart Avenue. There was another hoard of zombies in the street, but they were more spaced out. Jake roared the engine once more and pressed his foot right down to the floor, ploughing the old car through several zombies, the first one cracking the windshield with its decayed head, which burst on contact sending blood and gore across the car and onto the street. "Well they're certainly easy enough to kill in a car anyway," said Jake as they roared up the street away from their homes and past lives. Perhaps for the very last time. It was unlikely they would return, and even if they did, would there be anything left? They were heading south to escape the town, but first they would have to crash through one of the fences that was protecting the town. Even if any zombies got through the large whole they would leave, they wouldn't make a difference. Fort Severn was a dead town now; it had no chance in hell of surviving. Jake was pushing the car to its limits so that as they crashed through the fence, they would get away quick, and it worked. Jake and Mary were free from Fort Severn and were heading for a new life in Halifax. They were leaving behind their families and their homes, all their friends having been converted to the new, diseased order over the past few weeks. It was a slaughterhouse in Fort Severn now. Anyone who could survive in there could survive anywhere. "Jake, what if we don't have enough fuel?" asked Mary as she gripped onto her seat as they ramped over a grass verge, crashing down onto the main road where Jake slowed their pace a little. "Don�t worry. I've got three tanks of gas in the trunk, I figure that should last us the journey if we don't push the car too much. But it'll be a long trip." "Just as long as we don't get stranded. I'd hate to get stuck out in the open," she replied as she looked out of her window. The dead were roaming the landscape all around them, some realising food was driving right by them. They began to walk after them, but Jake and Mary were outrunning them for now. She was glad of that. After several straight hours of driving they had managed to reach Hearst and were roaring on to try and get to their destination as soon as possible. Hearst was just as dead as everywhere else, but they hoped that eventually the concentration of the zombies would lessen due to their migration over the past weeks. And this was indeed the case and as they progressed further, eventually coming to stop in a small, deserted town called Crystal Lake. They needed to refuel and they had to be quick. There were zombies in the area, but they were fortunately quite far away so there was still time to refuel at a steady, calm pace. Jake and Mary got out from the car. Their bodies aching with the pain of sitting in one position for so long. "God damn! Ah yeah, that's much better," said Jake as he stretched his legs and back. "Jake, do you want me to drive for the next tank?" asked Mary who had managed to get a couple of hours sleep on the first part of their journey. "Sure, that�s be great," replied Jake as he pulled a heavy tank of gas from the truck while he glanced around the immediate landscape. It was scenic, very scenic in Crystal Lake and he could see a camp not too far away. "Nice place," said Jake as he began to fill the tank. Mary had been driving for six hours straight, and Jake had been sleeping the whole time. Driving was a tiring thing to do, especially at night, and as dawn approached Mary was able to see the surrounding landscape once again. They were almost at Quebec now and the beautiful landscape of buildings reflected the sky. The freeway was totally empty and Mary was able to drive on any side or any lane of the road that she wished. Despite the horror of the situation, it was at times like these she was almost happy it had happened. The moments of freedom one was able to feel were wonderful and made you fly as high as a kite in the warm summer breeze, but as soon as another zombie came into view, the hopes and dreams soon faded and the grim reality set in again. Quebec was a beautiful place to be, and as Mary drove through the empty streets, Jake woke up and opened his eyes to another new landscape. "Where are we now?" he asked. "Quebec," replied Mary, smiling as she observed the abandoned streets and rows and rows of beautiful buildings. "My god, it's beautiful," said Jake as he rolled his seat back up to sitting position. "Yeah it is isn't it?" finished Mary as they continued on through the city, eventually coming out the other end and onto another empty freeway, occupied by only a couple of crashed or abandoned cars every so often. They were on the last section of their journey after Jake refueled the car for the last time, swapping positions with Mary so they could safely complete their journey to Halifax. There were barely any zombies in sight, just a few and they were scattered all across the landscape. It seemed as if they were going to be okay. It seemed as if Halifax was going to be totally empty by the time they got there, but whether this was going to be the case remained to be seen. It was nearly midnight when Jake and Mary made it to Halifax in Nova Scotia. The streets were empty and there was not a single zombie in sight. Maybe the city was empty or maybe they were hiding. But whatever the case, it was safer than Fort Severn and as they came to a halt at the sea side of the city, Jake and Mary thought about their home town and their parents again. Wishing to return to their arms and their homes once again. But that was in the past now, and they had to live for the future. Halifax was their future. |