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“Will try, Sir. With that zig zagging going on, it makes it difficult.”

Neville took aim and tried to lead the car in its hectic pattern. Bang! Neville puts a round through the windshield, but misses the two in the car. Bang! Another miss. The police car speeds up toward them once the shots begin and they were getting close.

“Neville, how you doing?” Webb asks in a heightened tone.

“Can’t seem to get a bead on them, sir?”

“Ok gentlemen, let’s get ready to receive some guests.”

The Team set up in a defensive position. “Let them get a little closer and then give them shit.” The car was driving erratically as it came into range.

The passenger began leaning out the window and firing a rifle in their direction. Shin had to take cover as a couple rounds landed right in front of him. Those rounds kicked up asphalt that peppered Shin’s face. Webb riddled the passenger side of the car.

“Ah… Ça c’est bon,” Neville grinned as he sighted the infected leaning out the passenger side window. Bang! A round flew from Neville’s muzzle and found the chest of the infected. He jerked back and lost his balance off the open window. As he flipped back, he fell and rolled under the rear tires of the police car. The tire caught the side of his face, crushing the side of its skull and ripping the skin off. The face of the passenger was flung to the side of the road like a discarded piece of trash.

The team opened up, trying to eliminate the threat, sending rounds into the car, through the windshield and into the engine block. Neville took one more aim with the sniper rifle at the driver. The car had steadied some as the infected aimed the car right at them and toward the sitting truck. Bang! The driver’s head exploded, and he slumped over, although the car didn’t slow down much.

“Move!” Webb yelled. Everyone jumped out of the way as the police car slammed into the pickup. The police car wedged underneath the truck and with the momentum caused it to flip over and roll down into the ditch. The truck finally ended up on its roof.

“Mother fucker!” Webb screamed. “I am really tiring of this shit! Everyone okay?” The Team took a few minutes to take stock of their sanity and their equipment and weapons. They stared at the wrecked truck lying in the ditch. With their mode of transportation now inoperable, their inability to get around made things much more dangerous.

Webb stood up and stretched his back. “Well, shit,” he said.

Neville looked at him, “You sound like Shaw.” Webb smirked.

Shin looked at the wreck. “The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.”

“The trip to an ass whopping begins with one punch,” Neville responded.

Shin looked confused, “That is not Confucius, I do not think.”

Webb spoke up, “We need to assess what is going on. Is all of Campbell lost or are some of our elements still intact? None of that will happen without transportation, so the first order of business is to find some wheels.”

After 20 minutes of walking, the Team came across a golf course. Neville and the Doctor stayed back out of sight while Webb and Shin scoped out the course. There were several vehicles in the parking lot and they tried each one. Shin checked the fourth one in line and it was open with the keys were in it. He motioned Webb over to join him. A couple minutes later, Neville and the doctor came out from hiding as Webb and Shin drove up in the vehicle.

Neville just stared at Webb and Shin sitting in a light blue minivan. “C’est tout? That’s all you could find?”

Webb looked offended, “What? You don’t like it?” He turned to Shin, “I knew we should have taken that armored Hummer instead. I just thought the minivan would serve us better as a disguise,” Webb said sarcastically.

Neville should his head, “Ok, Laissez les bon temps rouler.”

They entered the base with caution, driving toward their division HQ. They passed by multiple fires and various scenes of destruction as they made their way toward their unit. Some were because of car wrecks and some because of buildings that were on fire.

It was getting dark, and the fires were casting eerie shadows across the road and on the sides of buildings. It made this trip unnerving as shadows produced an atmosphere of trepidation. In highly stressful situations, your mind can deceive you and trick your eyes into seeing things that aren’t really there. Combine that with the shadows created by the flickering glow, and you have a recipe for extreme paranoia.

“Do you guys see things moving around out there?” Shin was shifting his gaze from shadow to shadow.

“Nah, it’s just the light from the fires,” Neville explained. Immediately a figure slammed against Neville’s window, screaming and trying to bite through the glass. “Bordel de merde,” he shouted, and the whole car jumped in surprise.

“Go, go,” Webb prodded. “Should have shot the fuck, but we don’t need the added attention.” They turned on the road leading up to their HQ’s and when they got within 200 yards, were forced to stop. They erected a roadblock across their path. “Shin, check it out.”

“Copy.” Shin got out with Webb and Neville, covering him out their windows. Shin approached the road block cautiously, climbed over the barrier and disappeared from sight. Seconds later, he came running back, hurdled the barrier and then stopped, bent over with his hands on his knees. He puked all over the ground in front of him. Everyone ran up to him as he tried to articulate what he saw, “Must have been large battle…. worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Doctor, stay here, please. Neville, with me.” Webb and Neville made their way over the barrier and through a mass of military vehicles. As they came out on the other side, their breath caught in their throats.

CHAPTER 19

Shaw was like a kid in a candy store. “Damn, if we had one of these on the farm.” He was in love with their newly gained transportation, a brand-new E-One 4X4 AFPP vehicle. A massive tire truck that was built like a tank.