Page 81 of Marked for Execution
Reed leaned out the window and pulled the pin and tossed it. I grabbed the hem of his pants and pulled his ass back in right before we slammed into the gate with a loud crash that could wake the dead.
The bomb went off, sending debris and shrapnel everywhere, making our ears ring.
Samuel drove into the night without looking back. None of us did. The good thing about Ashborne was that they always kept their vehicles full of gas. That was why they didn't collect any more to store.
“You guys run into anything? You took kinda long,” Reed asked on our second mile out.
“Yeah, but we took care of it.” Like that,Siliburied that part of her life with Ashborne. I didn’t say a word, respecting her decision.
We drove until daybreak, and Samuel switched out with Gunner. Suddenly, a man appeared in the road, and we swerved, almost hitting a tree.
“What the fuck?”
Reed leaned out the window and aimed his rifle, letting off a few rounds. He hit the man, but the body dissipated into thin air, making us all take a second look.
“Did he just…”
“Fucker just disappeared.”
“Maybe I’m sleep deprived.”
“I know him,”Silistated flatly.Of course, she did. This girl had died everywhere. I shouldn’t be surprised. “At least, IthinkI do. He’s tortured me in the past. We need to go, now.”
Her statement, and the way her voice changed, made us all tense up. We grabbed our weapons and readied ourselves as Gunner slammed on the gas and got back on the road.
Looking at the rear window, I saw nothing but dust kick up.
Boom!Something landed on the roof of the Humvee and clawed at it, the sound of metal screeching piercing my ears.
“Fucking hell!”
We shot up the roof only to have the thing jump onto the hood, staring at us with an evil smile. His body was covered in some sort of camouflage, like a ghillie suit, but not quite. His face sizzled in the sun, and the smell of burnt flesh wafted into the car. His flesh started to boil and pustule while his hands turned into monstrous claws right before our eyes. He slammed his fist into the front windshield and Gunner swerved, throwing the guy off the hood of the vehicle.
“What the hell kinda mutant shit is this?” Gunner yelled as he backed up and ran over the body again. The bump tousled us about in the back as Gunner slammed on the gas and tried to get away from the dead body—if he was dead at all. He was still fighting with his skin burning in the sun.
“First winged bloodsuckers, now this shit? When the hell does the human race get one leg up?”
Reed’s statement brought back a memory of the conversation I had with crazy Otis back in Ashborne.
“They say bloodsuckers from Clan Corrus can clone. Did you know that? Imagine an army of them, growing exponentially, just from mere cloning,” he rambled with his arms waving around to demonstrate.
“It’s Clan Corrus.”
“Of course, it is,” the men grumbled.
“We can never catch a fucking break in this place,” Samuel said as he leaned out the window to make sure the body remained still. “Fucker’s not moving.”
“Good. How much gas do we have?”
“Enough to get away from that shit if he decides to start reanimating.”
The sun passed the highest point in the sky, and we finally decided to stop for a rest.
“Hey, what is that over there?” Reed leaned toward the front and pointed to the right.
We all looked and tried to see what he was seeing.
“It’s a recreational vehicle, an RV. Smells like dirty humans in there,”Silistated. I could smell the pungent scent too. In fact, since running intoSili’sex, my body had been feeling a little different. I didn’t get time to investigate it during our breakout, but now, sitting in this Humvee, my mind flitted through reasons why things were happening.