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Last Caress: Part 3

 Car Trouble

Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash

As dawn broke Jim could see that there was a fire about 3 blocks down. It must have been a house fire that spread. It created enough commotion that all of those things had left the neighbourhood from what he could see, and he had a clear path to both the duffel bag he threw under the steps just a day earlier and he could see that his car was not blocked in and he had a clear path to it once he was over the fence.

He knew that when he fired that car up though he would have those things coming at him at full speed. The car had what was at once time a desirable set of blue bottles on it which created a mean chugging sound when he started it. In this situation that mean sound will bring every one of those things at him from 3 blocks around. Thats how loud it is.

He had thought throughout the night what his plan would be. He knew that he needed to get out onto a freeway and outside of the city asap. These crowded neighbourhoods provided way too many obstacles for him to be able to retain a decent enough speed to keep them in the rear-view mirror. He could go easy on the car but it still chugged far too loudly.

His plan was to get onto the interstate and drive out to the old farm. He would hole up there and wait to see what happens. Meanwhile, while on the farm he would make sure that the old Chevy was in decent shape and would take the time to reinforce it however he could. This car was fast but he’s not outrunning cops, he’s needing something that can plow through obstacles if necessary and is quiet enough that it won’t attract unnecessary attention.

Jim peaked his head out the door of the garage and quickly made haste toward the duffle bag. He had managed to grab a couple of handguns from his brothers and whatever shells they had available. When he arrived there the day prior, he found a dead body and the house had been vacated. The neighborhood had been overrun quickly due to its location to the hospital.

The hospitals became ground zero and were the first to be over run. Then depending on what was around the hospital the surrounding area would become over run. Typically, the residential areas were the first taken and that was the case here. Jim grabbed what he could for food when he went outside, he had seen Shortround trying to hop over the fence. It was then that they see one in the neighbour’s yard and they quietly made their way into the garage.

With the duffle bag over Jim’s shoulder, he quietly opened the gate and made his way to his car. He put the bag in the passenger’s seat so he could reach the guns and ammo and he quietly closed the door making just a bit of a thud. Jim noticed a little infected girl crossing the street 30 yards in front. He was shocked to see such a young girl in such terrible shape. He locked the doors manually and sunk down in the car to load up his guns and get them ready.

Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash

Jim slowly peaked up from the dash and seen that the streets were still clear. He put the guns in the console beside him and then turned the key in the ignition. The car sounded like thunder as it echoed off the houses. He put it in gear and could see about a block and a half behind him he had caught someone’s attention.

This person took off in a full out spring towards Jim. Jim took it easy and just kept the car going at a decent pace to keep the guy far enough behind him that he was safe sacrificing speed for a lack of decibels.

Jim could see the highway ramp was clear but there was a group of them that he had gotten their attention just up the road that were now running towards him. He checked his rear-view mirror and he seen that there was actually 3 of them back there now. He decided he would make a break for the highway ramp.

The ramp was on the other side of some railway tracks so he quickly assessed the situation to see that given where the mob was he was at risk for getting stuck on the tracks if he tried to just cross them — his car was too low to do that so he needed to cross the tracks at a place that the street was designed for crossing which was going to be a hard left turn right where that mob was.

To slow down to that pace risked him getting stuck in the mob so he opted instead to hang a right and then a left and then another left giving him a straight away across the tracks and onto the ramp.

Photo by Pawel Janiak on Unsplash

Jim turned the wheel and gave the car a bit more gas. He made his way down the block and seen that there was quite a crowd chasing him now. They were pouring out of the yards in twos and threes when they heard the car go by. Jim makes his first left, and he hears the sound of a train horn.

Oh no, no way he thinks to himself, and he gives the car some more gas for the remainder of the block. He gets to the street that leads across the tracks and he can see the train coming towards the intersection from the right. He decides very quickly he needs across those tracks as he makes the turn onto the street.

There was a mob of a hundred of those things in a parking lot of a gas station that he got all of their attention. Between the first mob, the second mob and those ones that were chasing him he had 300 of them all within a block of him.

He nailed the gas and the car squealed as it grabbed traction and propelled him forwards. The mob by the tracks now were facing him and the other mob was not far behind he sped towards the intersection going from 0 to 60 in five seconds.

Jim could see the train on his right side, and he knew his car was going to take some damage once he hit that intersection, but he matted it anyway. When the first of those things was hit it flew over the windshield hitting its head on the roof. The next 3 went under the car causing a big thump and tearing them up something fierce. It nearly made Jim lose control as hit the next 4 which two grazed off the sides of the car and the other two went up and over the hood but smashed Jims’s windshield on their exit.

Jim could see the front of the train was covered in blood and it was not slowing down for him. He kept his foot on the gas and two more ricocheted off the side of his car as he crossed the tracks, he just about made it.

The train clipped the back quarter panel of the right at the bumper and literally disintegrated that the rear end of the car. The front end careened off towards the highway ramp and stopped. The train was a long one and those things were not too smart as they kept trying to cross the tracks by running at the train.

Jim had smashed his head on the driver’s side window and cut his forehead as it shattered. He quickly realized his beloved car was now spent and that he had to take the foot mobile as he called it. Jim grabbed his guns and duffle bag and made for the ramp. He knew he had about 4 minutes or so before that train was done passing so he needed to get a new ride asap.

He run up the ramp onto the highway and seen a vacant and empty road. He decided to run for as long as he could and then get as low as he could and stick to the ditch on his way out of the city. He’d have to try to find a ride or commandeer a vehicle to make it the rest of the way to the farm.

Photo by: Jake Blucker — Unsplash

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